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Vania King (金久慈)

King at the 2011 U.S. Open
Country	USA
Residence	Long Beach, California, US
Born	(1989-02-03) February 3, 1989 (age 23) Monterey Park, California, US
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight	59 kg (130 lb; 9.3 st)
Turned pro	July 5, 2006
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	$2,584,462
Singles
Career record	167–163
Career titles	1 WTA, 0 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 50 (November 6, 2006)
Current ranking	No. 57 (May 28, 2012)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	3R (2012)
French Open	3R (2011)
Wimbledon	2R (2006, 2009)
US Open	3R (2009, 2011)
Doubles
Career record	205–122
Career titles	14 WTA, 2 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 3 (June 6, 2011)
Current ranking	No. 6 (May 28, 2012)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	QF (2012)
French Open	SF (2011)
Wimbledon	W (2010)
US Open	W (2010)
WTA Championships	SF (2010, 2011)
Mixed Doubles
Career record	11–16
Career titles	0
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open	1R (2008, 2011)
French Open	F (2009)
Wimbledon	2R (2007)
US Open	QF (2006)
Last updated on: May 28, 2012.

Vania King (traditional Chinese: 金久慈, simplified Chinese: 金久慈, Hanyu Pinyin: Jīn Jiǔcí) (born February 3, 1989 in Monterey Park, California, US) is a Taiwanese American female tennis player. King won both the 2010 Wimbledon Women's Doubles and 2010 US Open Women's Doubles titles with Kazakh partner Yaroslava Shvedova.

Personal life[link]

King's parents moved to the United States from Taiwan in 1982.^[1] She is the youngest of four children. Her brother Phillip was a four-time All-American at Duke University and two-time US junior champion.

Tennis career[link]

In 2006 King won her only WTA singles title at the PTT Bangkok Open, a Tier III tournament with $200,000 in total prize money. She defeated Tamarine Tanasugarn in the final. On November 6, 2006, King achieved her career-high singles ranking of 50th overall.

In 2009, she reached the Mixed Doubles final at the French Open, alongside Brazilian player Marcelo Melo, losing to number 1 seeds Liezel Huber/Bob Bryan.

King lost in the second round of the 2009 Wimbledon Championships to No. 15 Flavia Pennetta. She played in the ladies doubles with Anna-Lena Grönefeld, losing in the quarter-finals to eventual champions Venus and Serena Williams.

At the 2009 U.S. Open King was granted a wild card and had her best Grand Slam performance to date. She was defeated in the third round by World No. 22 Daniela Hantuchová 6–2, 6–2.

2010[link]

King began the year ranked 80th in the world at the Brisbane International. She reached the second round of the singles tournament losing to Andrea Petkovic 4–6, 6–2, 6–1. In doubles, she partnered with Anna-Lena Grönefeld and lost in the first round to Bacsinszky/Garbin. King/Grönefeld fared better at the Medibank International in Sydney, where they were seeded 4th. They lost in the semifinals to Garbin/Petrova 6–3 7–5. In the singles tournament, King failed to qualify, losing in the first round of the qualifying tournament to top seed Ágnes Szávay, who went on to defeat Jelena Janković in the first round of the tournament.

At the 2010 Australian Open, King lost in the second round to Roberta Vinci 7–6, 7–5. In doubles, she partnered with Grönefeld again and entered the tournament seeded 14th. They lost in the second round to Kuznetsova/Azarenka 6–3, 4–6, 6–3.

King's next major tournament was the Memphis international in mid-February. She entered the singles tournament seeded seventh and lost in the second round to Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden 3–6, 6–4, 6–2. In the doubles tournament, she and partner Michaëlla Krajicek were seeded third and won the tournament without dropping a set, defeating Mattek-Sands/Shaughnessy in the final 7–5, 6–2.

King then traveled to the Monterrey Open. In doubles, she reunited with Groenefeld and reached the finals of the doubles tournament as the 1st seed, falling 3–6, 6–4, [10–8] to 2nd-seeded Benešová/Záhlavová. In singles she lost in the quarterfinals to second seed Daniela Hantuchová 2–6, 6–2, 6–1.

At the Premier Mandatory BNP Paribas tournament in Indian Wells, King lost in the second round to second seed Caroline Wozniacki 5–7, 6–2, 6–4. She did not enter the doubles tournament. King fared better in the Premier Mandatory Sony Ericsson Open in Miami later that month. She partnered with Julie Coin and reached the quarterfinals of the doubles tournament before losing 6–3 6–2 to 3rd seed Petrova/Stosur, who went on to become the runners-up.

King's next Premier was the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, where she reunited with Krajicek and reached the finals of the tournament before falling to top seeds Huber/Petrova 6–3, 6–4. In singles, she lost to Petrova in the second round 6–2, 6–1.

At the Premier Mandatory Madrid Masters, King paired with Chuang Chia-jung for the first time for the doubles tournament. They defeated 4th seeds Huber/Medina Garrigues before falling in the quarterfinals to Pe'er/Schiavone 7–6, 6–3. In singles, King lost in the first round to Karolina Šprem.

King then entered the Strasbourg International. In the doubles tournament, she partnered with Alizé Cornet and won the tournament after an injury to Lucie Hradecká forced top seed Hradecká/Chuang to walkover in the second round. King/Cornet defeated 2nd seed Rodionova/Kudryavtseva 3–6, 6–4, [10–7] in the final for her 10th tour doubles title. In singles, King defeated 2nd seed Elena Vesnina in the first round and reached the semifinals before falling to Kristina Barrois 2–6, 6–2, 7–6.

For the 2010 French Open, she lost in the first round to Bethanie Mattek-Sands 2–6, 2–6. She entered the mixed doubles tournament with Christopher Kas, reaching the semifinals before falling to Shvedova/Knowle 4–6, 4–6. In women's doubles, she reunited with Michaëlla Krajicek and reached the 2nd round, losing to 4th-seeded Petrova/Stosur 4–6, 7–6, 4–6.

At Wimbledon, King won the 2010 Ladies' Doubles title in straight sets on July 3, 2010 with Kazakh partner Yaroslava Shvedova. They defeated Russians Elena Vesnina and Vera Zvonareva 7–6, 6–2 in the final.

At the 2010 US Open, King and doubles partner Yaroslava Shvedova won their second Grand Slam doubles title defeating the second seeded pair Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova 2–6, 6–4, 7–6 in the rain-delayed final.

Grand Slam Finals[link]

Doubles: 3 (2–1)[link]

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	2010	Wimbledon	Grass	Yaroslava Shvedova	Elena Vesnina Vera Zvonareva	7–6(8–6), 6–2
Winner	2010	US Open	Hard	Yaroslava Shvedova	Liezel Huber Nadia Petrova	2–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–4)
Runner-up	2011	US Open	Hard	Yaroslava Shvedova	Liezel Huber Lisa Raymond	6–4, 6–7(5–7), 6–7(3–7)

Mixed Doubles: 1 (0–1)[link]

Outcome	No.	Date	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1.	June 4, 2009	French Open	Clay	Marcelo Melo	Bob Bryan Liezel Huber	7–5, 6–7(5–7), [7–10]

WTA Career Finals[link]

Singles: 1 (1–0)[link]

Outcome	No.	Date	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1.	October 15, 2006	Bangkok	Hard	Tamarine Tanasugarn	2–6, 6–4, 6–4

Doubles: 26 (14–12)[link]

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1.	October 1, 2006	Guangzhou	Hard	Jelena Kostanić Tošić	Li Ting Sun Tiantian	6–4 2–6 7–5
Winner	1.	October 8, 2006	Tokyo	Hard	Jelena Kostanić Tošić	Chan Yung Chuang Jung	7–6(7–2), 5–7, 6–2
Winner	2.	October 15, 2006	Bangkok	Hard	Jelena Kostanić Tošić	Mariana Díaz-Oliva Natalie Grandin	7–5, 2–6, 7–5
Winner	3.	May 14, 2007	Fes	Clay	Sania Mirza	Andreea Ehritt-Vanc Anastasia Rodionova	6–1, 6–2
Runner-up	2.	October 7, 2007	Tokyo	Hard	Chuang Chia-jung	Sun Tiantian Yan Zi	1–6, 6–2, 10–6
Runner-up	3.	October 19, 2007	Guangzhou	Hard	Sun Tiantian	Peng Shuai Yan Zi	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	4.	February 4, 2007	Tokyo	Hard	Rennae Stubbs	Lisa Raymond Samantha Stosur	7–6, 3–6, 7–5
Winner	4.	October 12, 2007	Kolkata	Hard	Alla Kudryavtseva	Alberta Brianti Mariya Koryttseva	6–1, 6–4
Runner-up	5.	February 10, 2008	Pattaya	Hard	Hsieh Su-wei	Chan Yung-Jan Chuang Chia-Jung	6–4, 6–3
Winner	5.	September 21, 2008	Tokyo	Hard	Nadia Petrova	Lisa Raymond Samantha Stosur	6–1, 6–4
Winner	6.	November 2, 2008	Quebec City	Hard	Anna-Lena Grönefeld	Jill Craybas Tamarine Tanasugarn	7–6(7–3), 6–4
Winner	7.	January 11, 2009	Brisbane	Hard	Anna-Lena Grönefeld	Klaudia Jans Alicja Rosolska	3–6, 7–5, [10–5]
Winner	8.	September 14, 2009	Quebec City	Hard	Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová	Sofia Arvidsson Séverine Beltrame	6–1, 6–3
Winner	9.	February 14, 2010	Memphis	Hard	Michaëlla Krajicek	Bethanie Sands M Shaughnessy	7–5, 6–2
Runner-up	6.	March 7, 2010	Monterrey	Hard	Anna-Lena Grönefeld	Iveta Benešová B Strýcová	3–6, 6–4, [10–8]
Runner-up	7.	April 18, 2010	Charleston	Clay	Michaëlla Krajicek	Liezel Huber Nadia Petrova	6–3, 6–4
Winner	10.	May 22, 2010	Strasbourg	Clay	Alizé Cornet	Alla Kudryavtseva Anastasia Rodionova	3–6, 6–4, [10–7]
Runner-up	8.	June 19, 2010	's-Hertogenbosch	Grass	Yaroslava Shvedova	Alla Kudryavtseva Anastasia Rodionova	3–6, 6–3, 10–6
Winner	11.	July 3, 2010	Wimbledon	Grass	Yaroslava Shvedova	Elena Vesnina Vera Zvonareva	7–6(8–6), 6–2
Winner	12.	September 13, 2010	US Open	Hard	Yaroslava Shvedova	Liezel Huber Nadia Petrova	2–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–4)
Runner-up	9.	March 6, 2011	Monterrey	Hard	Anna-Lena Grönefeld	Iveta Benešová Barbora Strýcová	6–7(8–10), 6–2, [10–6]
Runner-up	10.	May 15, 2011	Rome	Clay	Yaroslava Shvedova	Peng Shuai Zheng Jie	6–2, 6–3
Winner	13.	August 21, 2011	Cincinnati	Hard	Yaroslava Shvedova	Natalie Grandin Vladimíra Uhlířová	6–4, 3–6, [11–9]
Runner-up	11.	September 11, 2011	US Open	Hard	Yaroslava Shvedova	Liezel Huber Lisa Raymond	4–6, 7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–3)
Runner-up	12.	October 16, 2011	Osaka	Hard	Yaroslava Shvedova	Kimiko Date-Krumm Zhang Shuai	7–5, 3–6, [11–9]
Winner	14.	October 22, 2011	Moscow	Hard (i)	Yaroslava Shvedova	Anastasia Rodionova Galina Voskoboeva	7–6(7–3), 6–3

Singles performance timeline[link]

Women's doubles performance timeline[link]

Mixed doubles performance timeline[link]

^{KU=with Kevin Ullyett
FC=with František Čermák
MM=with Marcelo Melo
CK=with Christopher Kas
VS=with Vincent Spadea
DM=with David Martin
JK=with Jordan Kerr
HT=with Horia Tecău
DN=with Daniel Nestor
DB=with Dustin Brown
RB=with Rohan Bopanna}

References[link]

External links[link]

• Vania King at the Women's Tennis Association

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vania King

v t e Women's Tennis Association: Top ten female singles tennis players from the Americas as of May 28, 2012. 1. Serena Williams (5 ) · 2. Christina McHale (36 1) · 3. Venus Williams (53 1) · 4. Vania King (57 1) · 5. Aleksandra Wozniak (58 1) 6. Varvara Lepchenko (63 2) · 7. Sloane Stephens (70 9) · 8. Jamie Hampton (90 3) · 9. Stéphanie Dubois (97 1) · 10. Irina Falconi (112 2)

v t e Women's Tennis Association: Top ten female doubles tennis players from the Americas as of May 28, 2012. 1. Liezel Huber (1 ) · 1. Lisa Raymond (1 ) · 3. Vania King (6 ) · 4. Gisela Dulko (14 ) · 5. Raquel Kops-Jones (25 1) 5. Abigail Spears (25 1) · 7. Bethanie Mattek-Sands (39 14) · 8. Paola Suárez (59 1) · 9. Jamie Hampton (74 ) · 10. Megan Moulton-Levy (101 1)

v t e Women's Tennis Association: Top ten American female singles tennis players, as of May 14, 2012. 1. Serena Williams (6 3) · 2. Christina McHale (36 ) · 3. Vania King (58 1) · 4. Varvara Lepchenko (59 18) · 5. Venus Williams (63 9) 6. Jamie Hampton (87 2) · 7. Sloane Stephens (92 10) · 8. Irina Falconi (101 1) · 9. Jill Craybas (133 3) · 10. Alison Riske (136 1)

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Marion Bartoli

Country	France
Residence	Geneva, Switzerland
Born	(1984-10-02) 2 October 1984 (age 27) Le Puy-en-Velay, France
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	63kg [1]
Turned pro	February 2000
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed both sides) born left-handed
Career prize money	$7,145,016
Singles
Career record	446–270
Career titles	7 WTA, 6 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 7 (January 30, 2012)
Current ranking	No. 8 (May 21, 2012)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	QF (2009)
French Open	SF (2011)
Wimbledon	F (2007)
US Open	4R (2007, 2008)
Other tournaments
Championships	RR (2007, 2011)
Doubles
Career record	117–82
Career titles	3 WTA, 1 ITF titles
Highest ranking	No. 15 (July 5, 2004)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	3R (2004, 2005)
French Open	3R (2005, 2006)
Wimbledon	QF (2004)
US Open	SF (2003)
Last updated on: March 7, 2012.

Marion Bartoli (born 2 October 1984) is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles.^[2] She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships.

Bartoli has defeated three reigning world no. 1 players in her career so far. She defeated Justine Henin in the semifinal of the 2007 Wimbledon Championships, 1–6, 7–5, 6–1, Jelena Janković in the fourth round of the 2009 Australian Open, 6–1, 6–4 and Victoria Azarenka 6–3, 6–3 in the quarterfinals of the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open. She has also recorded wins over other top players such as Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Ana Ivanović, Lindsay Davenport, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Dinara Safina, Caroline Wozniacki, Petra Kvitova, Sam Stosur and Kim Clijsters.

She is known for her unorthodox style of play using two hands on both her forehand and backhand. On January 30th 2012 she rose to a new career high ranking of No.7 in the world.

Early life and personal life[link]

Bartoli was born in Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire. She is of Corsican, Catalan, and metropolitan French descent.^[3] She started playing tennis at the age of six. Bartoli trained in a small facility as a youngster, where there was not much room behind the baseline. Her father, Walter, gave up his career as a doctor to become her full-time coach when Bartoli won the 2001 Junior US Open title, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4.

She is an animal lover and has a cat named Calinette. Bartoli has a brother who is in the French military. Her role model off the court is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. She is also an admirer of Roger Federer. Her mother Sophie, is a nurse and is rarely seen in the crowd, as she gets so nervous watching her daughter play. Bartoli has told the press she had an IQ of 175, when tested as a child.^[4]

Playing style[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2009)

Bartoli is known for her unorthodox and very intense style of play on the court. She uses two hands on both the forehand and the backhand, and is generally classed as an aggressive and hard-hitting player. She developed her two-handed style on the advice of her father, who is also her coach. He had seen the classic 1992 French Open final in which Monica Seles defeated Steffi Graf, and immediately was inspired to teach the technique to his daughter.

Bartoli also had trouble with her forehand at the time, so when she made the switch to two hands, it greatly improved and she has never stopped. She uses her double-fisted strokes to create sharp angles to open up the court and prefers to take the ball very early on groundstrokes. Her return of serve is considered to be her biggest weapon and she often stands inside the baseline to receive serve, even on first serves.

Her style of play can be most closely compared to that of Seles, who had a strong influence on Bartoli as a young player, though unlike Seles, Bartoli is right-handed.

In the past she was not a very good mover and was further inhibited by her two-fisted strokes, which could make her vulnerable to fast all-court players. Since then Bartoli has worked on her fitness and mobility and has lost weight, and now her court movement has improved markedly.

Bartoli is also known for her unusual serve, in which she uses her wrist to generate speed. She has also changed her service motion many times over the years. Furthermore, Bartoli manifests unusual on-court mannerisms and never stops moving and jumps on the spot between points. She is continuously moving her legs and sometimes does this when her opponent is serving.

Equipment[link]

Bartoli is currently playing using the new Prince EXO 3 Warrior racquet. She has previously used the Prince EXO3 Black and the Prince O3 Red. All her Prince racquets are modified in New York to make them longer by 1.5 inches than standard racquets to give her better reach with her two-handed strokes. For many years she had no clothing sponsor, but wore Nike. In October 2011, she signed a three year clothing deal with Lotto. Before her breakthrough into the top 100, Bartoli was playing with a standard length Babolat racquet and she was wearing Le Coq Sportif apparel.

Tennis career[link]

Early years[link]

Bartoli started entering tournaments regularly at the age of 16. After a few aborted starts in 1999 and 2000, in 2001 she played in the ITF $10,000 clay events in the spring. Winning two tournaments back to back in May (in Hatfield and Torino) ensured that the French Open would giver her a wildcard into her first Grand Slam, where she lost to Catalina Castaño. Bartoli also won another tournament in Koksijde, Belgium.

In 2002, she received a wildcard into the Australian Open. She lost to Tina Pisnik, 3–6, 6–4, 7–9. She then won her fourth ITF title in Columbus, Ohio. She followed that with a first-round exit at the French Open, losing in three sets to Ai Sugiyama. In the US Open where she qualified, she upset Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, 6–3, 6–1. It was Bartoli's first win over a player in the top 100. She followed that with a win over Rossana de los Ríos, before losing to fourth seed Lindsay Davenport, 3–6, 1–6.

2003[link]

Bartoli began 2003 by reaching her first WTA semifinals in the Canberra Women's Classic, losing to Francesca Schiavone, 4–6, 6–3, 3–6, after coming through the qualifying draw. For the first time, she earned her place in a Grand Slam (the Australian Open) through her ranking, but lost to 11th seed Magdalena Maleeva in the first round in straight sets. She then received a wildcard in Paris, but lost in the first round to Maja Matevžič. She then qualified for her first Tier I event at Indian Wells, California, before losing in straight sets to eighth-seeded Chanda Rubin in the second round. She repeated this two weeks later by qualifying in Key Biscayne, Florida, but this time made it to the quarterfinals, after Davenport retired in their fourth-round match because of an injured hamstring. She then lost to Serena Williams, 1–6, 2–6.^[5]

She qualified for the Sarasota Clay Court Classic and the Family Circle Cup, but lost in the first round of both tournaments, as well as in the first round of the Bausch & Lomb Championships. In the Internationaux de Strasbourg, she reached the quarterfinals, losing to Vera Zvonareva 1–6, 2–6. At the 2003 French Open, she earned her first victory over Rossana de los Ríos 6–3, 6–0, but lost to Jennifer Capriati in the second round. In the grass season, she made it to the third round in Birmingham, losing to Elena Dementieva after upsetting Émilie Loit in the first round. She then lost to compatriot Amélie Mauresmo in 's-Hertogenbosch. At her first Wimbledon, she drew the ninth seed, Slovak Daniela Hantuchová in the first round and lost 4–6, 1–6.

She lost in early rounds in Bank of the West Classic, JPMorgan Chase Open, Rogers AT&T Cup, and Pilot Pen Tennis. However, at the Acura Classic, she defeated her first top-20 player in Meghann Shaughnessy 3–6, 7–6, 7–5, but lost to Kim Clijsters in the third round 1–6, 1–6. She drew Hantuchová again in the first round of the US Open, and again only took five games off the Slovak, this time losing 3–6, 2–6. She then failed to qualify in the Sparkassen Cup and Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. At the end of the year, she reached the second round of Generali Ladies Linz, losing to Vera Zvonareva, and the quarterfinals of Bell Challenge, losing to Milagros Sequera, 6–1, 3–6, 1–6.

2004[link]

Bartoli began 2004 by getting to her first Women's Tennis Association (WTA) semifinal in the season-opener in Auckland. She got to the second round of the Australian Open for the first time, losing to 22nd-seeded Patty Schnyder in three sets.

In February, Bartoli played at the 2004 Hyderabad Open, where she won three straight matches against Ankita Bhambri, Galina Fokina, and Mervana Jugić-Salkić to reach the semifinals, before losing to eventual champion Nicole Pratt in three sets. This performance briefly made her a top-50 player.

But simultaneously she refound her doubles form of late 2003. Partnering compatriot Émilie Loit, she reached the semifinals of Acapulco, the quarterfinals of Indian Wells, and then Bartoli won her first WTA tour doubles title in Casablanca.

After a forgettable singles clay-court season (culminating in her second loss to Sugiyama at her native Grand Slam event), she rose back up the rankings by reaching the third round of Wimbledon (losing to Sugiyama for the second successive Grand Slam). She also got to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in doubles, partnering Loit for the second successive Grand Slam (they had failed to get beyond the second round of the French Open). Bartoli got to her third singles semifinal of the year in Cincinnati, before pulling out of her match with Lindsay Davenport with a blister on her right hand. She reached the second round of the US Open, despite being drawn against 32nd-seeded Meghann Shaughnessy in the first round. She lost to Russian Vera Douchevina in three sets in the second round.

In the absence of Amélie Mauresmo (with a groin injury) and Mary Pierce (with a shoulder problem), Bartoli received her debut Fed Cup call-up for France's semifinals against Spain. She was teamed with Loit again and helped complete a 5–0 whitewash of the Spanish team. In the final against Russia, Svetlana Kuznetsova had lost both of her matches, and Anastasia Myskina had won both of hers, making Bartoli's and Loit's doubles match against Myskina and Vera Zvonareva the decisive rubber. The Russian pair won the first set in a tiebreak, then the second set 7–5, handing the Fed Cup to Russia for the first time. As a result, her team leader Guy Forget resigned, and she was not chosen by the new team leader Georges Goven to play in 2005.^[6]

She ended 2004 ranked world no. 41, having gone 30–24 over the year. Her hard-court record was 23–13, with clay going 4–7, grass 3–3, and carpet 0–1.

2005[link]

After a promising start (semifinals in Auckland and quarterfinals in Canberra), which took her to world no. 32 and winning the second doubles tournament of her career in Pattaya City, injury disrupted the second quarter of 2005 for Bartoli. The only match she played in the clay-court season was her straight-sets first-round loss to Shahar Pe'er at the French Open (where she was seeded for the first time, 28th). Her quarterfinal run at Eastbourne (where she had to retire hurt) led her to a career-high ranking of no. 27 entering Wimbledon. She lost to Jill Craybas in the second round, 1–6, 4–6. Highlights of the year were reaching the third round of the US Open for the second time (losing to Sania Mirza) and making her second Women's Tennis Association semifinal of the year (and fifth of her career) in Québec.

Her end-of-season stats were 35–26, albeit padded by a victory in a satellite tournament in Doha at the end of the year. She went 30–21 on hard courts, 0–1 on clay, 3–3 on grass, and 2–1 on carpet. She was now ranked world no. 40.

2006[link]

In January 2006, Bartoli at 21 years of age won her first senior title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, beating Vera Zvonareva in the final, 6–2, 6–2. The tournament marked the first time she had beaten a top-10 player, when Nadia Petrova retired in the third set of their semifinal with a leg injury. She then lost in the second round of the first three Grand Slam events of the year (losing to Roberta Vinci in Australia, Serb Jelena Janković at the French Open, and Karolina Šprem at Wimbledon, all in three sets), but she won her third career doubles title by capturing the ECM Prague Open with Shahar Pe'er in May.

The North American summer hard-court season was very productive for Bartoli, getting to the third round (and in some cases that meant the quarterfinals) of five of the seven tournaments she entered, including the US Open, where she again lost in the third round, this time to seventh-seeded Patty Schnyder. The following week, she beat the Swiss player on route to her second final of the year in Bali, where she lost to world no. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova.

In October, Bartoli won her second Women's Tennis Association (WTA) singles title at the AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships, beating Aiko Nakamura, 2–6, 6–2, 6–2, in the final. This was the first ever WTA final contested by two players using two-handed strokes on both the forehand and backhand.^{[citation needed]} As a result of winning the title, she broke into the top 20 for the first time. In her last event of the year, she captured the Bell Challenge in Quebec City, shutting out Olga Poutchkova in the final, 6–0, 6–0.

Bartoli finished the year ranked world no. 17. Her record was 45–28, her best on tour so far. That consisted of 37–17 on hard courts, 4–6 on clay, 3–3 on grass, and 1–2 on carpet. She was 3–6 against top-10 players.

2007[link]

Bartoli began 2007 with another second-round exit at the Australian Open, this time falling to Victoria Azarenka in straight sets. She then performed well at the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, defeating ninth seed Dinara Safina, 6–4, 6–3, in the third round, before losing to sixth seed Nicole Vaidišová, 6–4, 3–6, 2–6, in the fourth round.

Bartoli then began to find her form during the clay-court season, which had previously not been a successful surface for her. She reached the final of the ECM Prague Open in May, losing to Akiko Morigami. Bartoli was hindered by a hip injury during the latter stages of the Prague tournament and withdrew from the Tier I tournament in Rome as a result. After reaching the semifinals in Strasbourg, she lost to Amélie Mauresmo. Then she reached her first career Grand Slam fourth round at the French Open by defeating Aravane Rezaï, 6–2, 6–4, Andrea Petkovic, 0–6, 6–2, 6–3 and 13th seed Elena Dementieva, 6–2, 6–4. In the fourth round, she was knocked out by fourth seed Jelena Janković, 1–6, 1–6. During this match, Bartoli injured her back.

Her form continued into the grass-court season, beating Daniela Hantuchová in three sets en route to a semifinal encounter with Maria Sharapova in Birmingham, which she lost in straight sets. A week later in Eastbourne, she got to her second successive semifinal, dispatching Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals, 6–1, 6–0, before losing to world no. 1 Justine Henin, 1–6, 3–6.

At Wimbledon, Bartoli made her long-awaited Grand Slam breakthrough by advancing to her first Grand Slam final. After a win against 16th seed Shahar Pe'er, Bartoli upset third seeded Jelena Janković, 3–6, 7–5, 6–3, in a match interrupted by many rain delays. Bartoli followed this by beating Michaëlla Krajicek of the Netherlands, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2, in another delayed match. In her first Grand Slam semifinal, Bartoli came from behind to stun top-seeded Justine Henin, 1–6, 7–5, 6–1, in one of the biggest upsets in Wimbledon history.^[7] Bookmakers had Henin at 1/33 to win, and Bartoli was a 10–1 outside shot. Bartoli claimed afterwards that the reason for her turnaround in the match was seeing Pierce Brosnan in the royal box and being determined to play well in front of one of her favourite actors. In her post-match interview, she asked the former James Bond star if he could come back for the final the next day to see her again. However, the following day Brosnan was unable to attend, due to a wedding. In the final, Bartoli lost to three-time former champion Venus Williams, 4–6, 1–6. Her father, who was sitting in the player's box behind Williams' father Richard, broke down and cried when she acknowledged him in her post-match remarks as being responsible for her achievements. As a result of her Wimbledon performance, she rose to a career high of no. 11 in the Women's Tennis Association rankings.

After withdrawing from the Fed Cup, her first foray into the US Open Series ended in a defeat at Stanford. Seeded second, Bartoli faced American wildcard Lilia Osterloh in the second round and lost 7–5, 4–6, 3–6. Bartoli suffered a leg injury in the first set, which hindered her movement; she also cited fatigue and illness as contributing factors to the loss. In San Diego, Bartoli edged past Aiko Nakamura 7–6, 6–1, after a first-round bye, but lost to Elena Dementieva in the third round, 4–6, 5–7. This loss was perhaps seen as surprising because Bartoli had won their last two meetings, including losing just one game at Eastbourne. Despite the loss, Bartoli claimed that her level of play was fine; however, she lost her next match in Los Angeles to an in-form Maria Kirilenko 6–7, 3–6, after receiving a bye to the second round.

Bartoli picked up her form in Toronto, winning consecutive matches for the first time since Wimbledon. She beat Maria Kirilenko and Dinara Safina, but retired in her quarterfinal match against Yan Zi when trailing 2–6, 0–3. At New Haven, she beat Virginia Ruano Pascual 6–0, 6–4, before losing to Elena Dementieva once again 4–6, 2–6.

At the US Open, she reached the fourth round for the first time by defeating world no. 25 Lucie Šafářová in three sets. In the fourth round, she lost to eight-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams 3–6, 4–6.

After her US Open performance, Bartoli began her indoor season at a small tournament in Kolkata, India. She was the top-seeded player, but lost to Vania King. She then played at the Fortis Championships in Luxembourg, where she reached her first semifinal since her Wimbledon run by beating defending champion Alona Bondarenko and top-seeded Anna Chakvetadze for her third top-10 win of the year. However, she was then beaten by Daniela Hantuchová, 2–6, 2–6. She then suffered a first-round loss in Stuttgart to Agnieszka Radwańska, 6–0, 2–6, 1–6, on her 23rd birthday.

Bartoli then moved to the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, the first Tier I of the indoor season. She was the fifth seed at this event, and in the first round beat Alona Bondarenko for the second time in three weeks, 6–2, 7–5. However, she lost in the next round to home favourite Vera Dushevina, 6–2, 0–6, 4–6. She then moved on to another Tier I event in Zürich and reached the quarterfinals with wins over Peng Shuai and Michaëlla Krajicek. Her run came to an unfortunate end against Tatiana Golovin, when she had to retire with a knee injury whilst leading 5–4. Bartoli hurt herself during the game at 4–4, where she broke Golovin to love due to a string of unforced errors from her compatriot, and despite attempts to continue, she was forced to retire and reportedly left the court in tears.^[8]

Despite her injury, Bartoli still played at the Generali Ladies Linz held in Austria. After a first-round bye, she defeated homecrowd favourite Tamira Paszek in the second round, 6–2, 6–1. In the quarterfinals, she was pushed to three sets by a resilient Julia Vakulenko, but eventually prevailed, 6–1, 1–6, 6–4, to reach her second semifinal since Luxembourg. There, she lost to eventual runner-up Patty Schnyder, 6–7, 3–6, ending her hopes of reaching the WTA Tour Championships. However, after Serena Williams withdrew from the tournament due to her injury,^[9] Bartoli entered the event and played in the yellow group. Since Serena had already played one match, Bartoli did not play Anna Chakvetadze. Bartoli lost 0–6, 0–6 to Justine Henin, who avenged her shock Wimbledon defeat to Bartoli, but Bartoli defeated Jelena Janković, 6–1, 1–0, after the Serbian retired.

Her final record for the year was 47–31, with 19–16 on hard courts, 14–7 on clay, 12–3 on grass, and 2–5 on carpet. Her record against top-10 players was 4–8. Despite not having earned a single title all year, she ended the year as a top-10 player at no. 10.

2008[link]

Bartoli started the year by playing the Medibank International in Sydney, losing to Francesca Schiavone in the second round 6–2, 3–6, 2–6. At the Australian Open, Bartoli was upset by Sofia Arvidsson 7–6, 4–6, 3–6, after Bartoli was up a break in both the second and third sets. At the Open Gaz de France, Bartoli made it to the semifinals, following easy wins over Virginie Razzano and Dominika Cibulková. However, she suffered a back injury while 6–2, 2–1 up against Anna Chakvetadze, but eventually lost 6–2, 2–6, 0–6. In Doha and Dubai, she lost to Caroline Wozniacki and Francesca Schiavone.

Bartoli at the 2008 Pilot Pen Tennis tennis tournament, where she beat Tsvetana Pironkova 2–6, 6–4, 7–5

In the Indian Wells, California, following wins over Elena Vesnina and Angelique Kerber, she lost in the fourth round to Lindsay Davenport 5–7, 2–6. In Key Biscayne, Florida in her first match, she lost to Caroline Wozniacki 3–6, 1–6. On clay at Amelia Island, Florida, she lost in the second round to Olga Govortsova. In Charleston, South Carolina, she received a bye into the second round, where she defeated Casey Dellacqua 7–5, 4–6, 6–1, but lost to Vera Zvonareva 4–6, 6–4, 1–6. Then at the Qatar Telecom German Open, she made the third round, following an easy 6–0, 6–3 win over Lucie Šafářová, but was upset by Ágnes Szávay in the third round, 5–7, 5–7.

In Rome, she was seeded eighth and got a bye. In the third round, she was defeated by ninth-seeded Patty Schnyder 6–4, 4–6, 6–7, after leading 4–1 in the last set and holding a match point in the tiebreak. She then played in Strasbourg as the top seed. She badly injured her wrist and withdrew while trailing 1–6, 0–1 against Chinese Peng Shuai in her first match. At the French Open, she played through injury and was defeated by Dellacqua in the first round 7–6, 3–6, 2–6.

Seeded first at Birmingham, she was upset 7–5, 4–6, 0–6 by Petra Cetkovská. At Eastbourne, she defeated Sybille Bammer 6–3, 6–0, and Alisa Kleybanova 6–3, 6–3, but lost her semifinal match to eventual champion Agnieszka Radwańska 5–7, 3–6. At Wimbledon, she was seeded 11th and defeated Sabine Lisicki 6–2, 6–4, and Tathiana Perebiynis 6–2, 7–5. She was upset by Bethanie Mattek 4–6, 1–6, suffering calf and shoulder injuries.

Seeded sixth at Stanford, she defeated Akgul Amanmuradova in straight sets, Anne Keothavong, defending champion Anna Chakvetadze 6–3, 6–4, and Ai Sugiyama 6–3, 6–3, to move into her first final since Wimbledon in 2007. In the final, Bartoli lost to the Canadian qualifier Aleksandra Wozniak, 5–7, 3–6. In Montreal, she overcame a stomach virus to beat Melanie South, 6–3, 6–7, 6–0. After a walkover in the second round, Bartoli defeated Anna Chakvetadze, 4–6, 7–5, 7–6, saving three match points in the process. Then in the quarterfinals, she beat Ai Sugiyama, again in straight sets. Playing with a twisted ankle, Bartoli fell to Dominika Cibulková in the semifinals, 6–4, 4–6, 3–6.

In Cincinnati, she was seeded first, but pulled out while trailing 6–7, 2–2 to Jamea Jackson because of an abdominal strain. Then in New Haven, she defeated Tsvetana Pironkova, 2–6, 6–4, 7–5, but lost to Caroline Wozniacki, 4–6, 0–6. At the US Open, she was seeded 12th and strolled through her opening rounds against Galina Voskoboeva and Virginia Ruano Pascual. She then beat former champion and 23rd-seeded Lindsay Davenport in the third round, 6–1, 7–6. She lost to 29th-seeded Sybille Bammer in the fourth round, 6–7, 6–0, 4–6.