Ai Sugiyama (杉山愛, Sugiyama Ai, born July 5, 1975) is a Japanese former tennis player. She reached the world No. 1 ranking in women's doubles on the WTA Tour and had a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8, achieved on February 9, 2004. In her career, she won six singles and 38 doubles titles, including three Grand Slam titles (one with Julie Halard-Decugis and two partnering Kim Clijsters), and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title (partnering Mahesh Bhupathi). Sugiyama held the all-time record, for both male and female players, for her 62 consecutive Grand Slam main-draw appearances, until she was surpassed by Roger Federer at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships.[1]

Ai Sugiyama
杉山愛
Country (sports) Japan
ResidenceKanagawa
Born (1975-07-05) July 5, 1975 (age 48)
Yokohama, Japan
Height1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Turned proOctober 1992
RetiredOctober 2009
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$8,128,126
Singles
Career record492–419 (54.0%)
Career titles6 WTA, 1 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 8 (February 9, 2004)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQF (2000)
French Open4R (1995, 2000, 2003)
WimbledonQF (2004)
US Open4R (2003, 2004)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsRR (2003)
Olympic GamesQF (2004)
Doubles
Career record566–295 (65.7%)
Career titles38 WTA, 4 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 1 (October 23, 2000)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenF (2009)
French OpenW (2003)
WimbledonW (2003)
US OpenW (2000)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour FinalsF (2003, 2007)
Olympic GamesSF – 4th (2004)
Mixed doubles
Career record35–21
Career titles1
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open2R (1999, 2001, 2003, 2006)
French OpenSF (2000)
WimbledonSF (2004)
US OpenW (1999)

Career edit

1990s edit

In 1993, at age 17, Sugiyama played tennis legend Martina Navratilova in her native city, losing in three sets. The same year, she made her Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon but lost in the first round to world No. 30, Gigi Fernández, in three sets. In 1994, Sugiyama again reached the main draw at Wimbledon but lost to world No. 6 and compatriot, Kimiko Date. Later that year, she reached her first singles final in Surabaya but was forced to retire against Elena Wagner. She went on to win the Japan Open doubles, her first tour title. Later that year, she broke into the WTA top 100. In 1995, she won her first Grand Slam match and reached the fourth round of Roland Garros. In the first round, the Japanese player defeated 15th-seeded Grand Slam runner-up and former top-5 player Helena Suková by 9–7 in the final set, her first victory over a top-20 player. Two months after, she defeated Amanda Coetzer to reach the third round, while losing to world No. 4 and former Wimbledon champion, Conchita Martínez. In November, she made an impressive run at the Oakland Tier-II tournament. While she was only ranked 63, she defeated 22nd-ranked Irina Spîrlea, former Wimbledon runner-up Zina Garrison Jackson, and No. 10, Lindsay Davenport to reach the second final of her career, where she lost to No. 7, Magdalena Maleeva. After this run, Sugiyama broke into the top 50.

In 1996, she reached the third round at the Australian Open. In Miami, seeded 23rd, Sugiyama reached the fourth round, defeating No. 10, Jana Novotná, her second top-10 victory. That moved her into the top 30. She also reached the semifinals of the Japan Open in Tokyo and the fourth round at Wimbledon, where she defeated No. 5, Anke Huber, her third top-10 and first top-5 victory. She represented Japan and reached the third round at the Atlanta Olympics defeating Martina Hingis.

Sugiyama began 1997 season by playing her third final losing to Elena Likhovtseva, after defeating Sabine Appelmans in the quarterfinals. The following week she reached the second round at the Australian Open. In April, she won her first professional title at the Japan Open against Amy Frazier. However, she could not reach a good result in Grand Slam events, with a second-round exit at the French Open and US Open and a first round loss at Wimbledon. At the end of the year, she reached her first Tier-I final at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, defeating Natasha Zvereva, No. 14 Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, No. 9 and multi-Grand Slam events winner Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, and Dominique Van Roost before failing in the final against top seed and second-ranked Jana Novotná.

In 1998, she opened with a second singles title in Gold Coast. Then she broke into the top 20 and reached another semifinal in Sydney, defeating Conchita Martínez. Throughout that year, Sugiyama showed consistency: a third WTA Tour title at the Japan Open, quarterfinals in Tokyo (Pan Pacific), Berlin, defeating No. 4, Amanda Coetzer, playing Strasbourg and San Diego, defeating Steffi Graf, Luxembourg, third round in Indian Wells, Miami and Montreal and second round at both French and US Open. In 1999, she reached the final of the Japan Open, the semifinals in Gold Coast and Tokyo (Princess Cup) defeating No. 8, Julie Halard-Decugis, the quarterfinals in Strasbourg and Moscow, defeating No. 6, Mary Pierce, third in Indian Wells, Montreal, defeating No. 7, Jana Novotná, and at the US Open. She also reached the second round at the French Open and Wimbledon. The same year, Sugiyama won the US Open mixed doubles with Mahesh Bhupathi, her first Grand Slam title.

Sugiyama received the WTA Sportsmanship Award in 1999.

2000–2005 edit

On July 10, Sugiyama reached the final of the women's doubles at Wimbledon, partnered by Halard-Decugis, but lost in straight sets to the Williams sisters after a one-day rain delay. On September 10, she won the women's doubles at the US Open, defeating Cara Black and Elena Likhovtseva in three sets, in one hour and 19 minutes. On October 23, she became the first Japanese woman to rank No. 1 in the world in doubles, winning seven titles in the process.

Her greatest success was Scottsdale 2003. Beating Lindsay Davenport in the second round, she went on to defeat Eleni Daniilidou to progress to the semifinals. Scheduling problems forced both the semifinals and finals matches - for both singles and doubles - to be played on the Sunday of the tournament. Thus in a single day, Sugiyama managed to save a matchpoint in the semifinals against Alexandra Stevenson, rally from a set down to defeat doubles partner Kim Clijsters in the final, and then secure victories in both doubles matches to raise both trophies. The year 2003 proved to be her best year ever, pushing Serena Williams to the limit at Roland Garros and reaching the round of 16 in Wimbledon and US Open where her fourth round loss to Francesca Schiavone at Flushing Meadows was rather controversial. She finished the year ranked tenth, having defeated world No. 1, Justine Henin, in the round robin section of the season-ending championships. She also won a total of eight doubles titles that year, seven with Kim Clijsters (Sydney, Antwerp, Scottsdale, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, San Diego, Zurich) and one with Liezel Huber (Linz).

Sugiyama began 2005 with four consecutive first-round losses. She lost in the first rounds of the first three Grand Slams; only at San Diego did she really do well, making it to the final, which she lost in straight sets to Mary Pierce, having defeated Daniela Hantuchová, Sesil Karantacheva and Svetlana Kuznetsova en route. Sugiyama also reached the final in doubles with Hantuchová, losing to Virginia Ruano-Pascual and Conchita Martínez. She broke her Grand Slam "curse", reaching the third round before losing to Clijsters, the eventual champion.

That year, Ai had better results in doubles than in singles. Partnering with Elena Dementieva, she reached the finals of her first tournament, Sydney, losing to Bryanne Stewart and Samantha Stosur. They reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open. She entered a few tournaments with Anastasia Myskina and Elena Likhovtseva, but with poor results. In Berlin, she played again with Daniela Hantuchová, reaching the semifinal, losing to Black and Huber. At the French, they lost to Birnerová and Vanc in the second round. They won their next tournament, in Birmingham over Daniilidou and Russel. At Wimbledon, Hantuchová and Sugiyama reached the quarterfinal, losing to eventual champions Black and Huber. At the Canadian Open in Toronto, they lost the semifinal to eventual champions Grönefeld and Navratilova. At the US Open, they reached the third round, losing to Yan Zi and Zheng Jie. She tried three partners in the next tournaments, before returning to Daniela in Zurich, where they reached the finals (beating top seeds Lisa Raymond and Stosur en route), losing a close three-set match to Black and Rennae Stubbs. They finished the year ranked No. 5, failing to qualify for the year-end championships.

Sugiyama played mixed doubles at two events: the French & the US Open. At Roland Garros, playing with Mirnyi, she lost in the first round. At the US Open, she partnered with Ullyett. The duo reached the quarterfinals, losing to eventual champions Hantuchová and Bhupathi. Entering the Doha with an 0–5 singles record, she managed to beat wildcard Selima Sfar. In the second round, she upset Myskina in three sets, needing several match points to close the match out. In her quarterfinal match against Julia Schruff, she had a comfortable win. She lost in the semifinal, in an epic match against Nadia Petrova. At 0–4 in the second, she won five consecutive games to 5–4. She won the doubles title with Hantuchová, defeating Yan and Zheng in the semifinal and Li Ting and Sun Tiantian in the final.

2006 edit

In Rome, she and Hantuchová won the title, their third as a team and biggest title, beating Li and Sun; Black and Stubbs (No. 2), and Květa Peschke and Schiavone (No. 8).

At the French Open, 22nd seeded Ai beat Daniilidou in the first round, but lost to French qualifier Aravane Rezaï in the second. Deciding not to compete in the mixed, Ai and Daniella beat Caroline Dhenin and Mathilde Johansson , then squashed Sofia Arvidsson and Martina Müller; they escaped in three sets against Marion Bartoli and Shahar Pe'er. In the quarterfinals, they beat second-seeded Black and Stubbs. In the semifinals, they beat fourth-seeded Yan and Zheng but lost in two sets in the final to top-seeded Raymond and Stosur.

Wimbledon saw Sugiyama, the 18th seed, defeat 12th seed Martina Hingis in three sets to advance to the fourth round. The summer brought several bad singles losses, as well as doubles upsets. Sugiyama reached the final in Los Angeles, bowing to Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez. In Montréal, she beat Aleksandra Wozniak and Anabel Medina Garrigues before losing to Kuznetsova. In doubles, partnering with Nathalie Dechy, they reached the quarterfinals.

At the US Open seeded 28th, she defeated Zuzana Ondrášková, and Tathiana Garbin before falling to second seed Justine Henin. In Beijing, she beat qualifier Alicia Molik, who was also her doubles partner in the event, in the first round. She then upset fourth-seeded Nicole Vaidišová in three sets before losing to Peng Shuai in another three-set match. She reached the final of a Tier-IV event in Seoul, losing to Eleni Daniilidou of Greece in a three-set final.

2007 edit

The beginning of 2007 was better than the prior two years. She lost to Anastasiya Yakimova in the second round of the Australian Open (10–8 in the third), before beating her in Miami. Sugiyama and Daniela Hantuchová reached the quarterfinals, losing to eventual champions Black and Huber. In Tokyo, she reached the quarterfinals, losing in three sets to No. 1, Maria Sharapova. In Doha, she injured her toe, but recovered to reach the round of 16 in Indian Wells. In Miami, she fell to Dinara Safina in the third. She went 0–3 in Fed Cup play versus France, losing to both Tatiana Golovin and Dechy, but rebounded to win 50k Gifu with Ayumi Morita. The Japanese duo lost only one set en route to the title. She played in Berlin with Katarina Srebotnik. They swept Lourdes Domínguez Lino and Flavia Pennetta in a double bagel, but then fell to the second seeded Black and Huber the same day.

Her next tournament was Rome, where she beat Maria Kirilenko in a 2 hours 49 minutes three-set match. She lost to Pe'er in the next round. At Roland Garros, she reached the third round. She defeated Eva Birnerová in the first round and Meilen Tu in the second round, but then fell to Anna Chakvetadze, the 9th seed. In doubles, seeded seventh with Srebotnik, she defeated Lucie Hradecká and Renata Voráčová in the first round, Stéphanie Foretz and Camille Pin, and Pe'er and Safina in the second and third round. They then defeated Maria Elena Camerin and Gisela Dulko in the quarterfinals. They upset top seeds and defending champions Raymond and Stosur in the semifinals, winning in three sets to reach the French Open finals. They lost in the final in straight sets to Alicia Molik and Mara Santangelo.

At Wimbledon, seeded 26th, she beat wildcard Melanie South and Alizé Cornet. She lost against the second seeded Sharapova in the third round. In doubles, she and Srebotnik beat Andreea Ehritt-Vanc and Anastasia Rodionova; Émilie Loit and Nicole Pratt, and got a walkover from Bartoli and Meilen Tu in the third round. In the quarterfinals, they beat Elena Likhovtseva and Sun Tiantian. They came back from 1–6, 0–3 to beat top-seeded Raymond and Stosur, winning in three sets. They lost in the final to the second seeded Black and Huber.

During the US Open Series, she reached the third round of San Diego, where she defeated Sybille Bammer. She then lost to Chakvetadze. She reached two doubles semifinals in San Diego and Stanford with Srebotnik, losing both times to Victoria Azarenka and Chakvetadze. However, they won Toronto, defeating Peng Shuai and Yan in the quarterfinal, Molik and Santangelo, in the semifinal and Black and Huber in the final, winning their first title as a te.

At the US Open, Sugiyama lost in the second round to Ekaterina Makarova. Ai and Srebotnik impressively defeated Sun Shengnan and Ji Chunmei, and eventually defeated Michaëlla Krajicek and Agnieszka Radwańska. The team advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Loit and Vania King, but lost to eventual champions Dechy and Safina. Srebotnik and Sugiyama continued their form and thus qualified for the Tour Championships, which were held in Madrid. The team, seeded second, defeated the Taiwanese duo of Chan Yung-jan and Chuang Chia-jung, but lost to Black and Huber in the final in a super tiebreak.[2]

2008 edit

 
Sugiyama in July 2008

In singles, Sugiyama's season started out badly, as she lost to Azarenka in Gold Coast and Gajdosova in Sydney. However, in Melbourne, her form returned, beating Vera Zvonareva in the first round and Tatiana Perebiynis in the second round, before losing to 12th seed Vaidišová. In doubles, she and Srebotnik lost in straight sets in Sydney to Yan/Zheng, the eventual champions. In Melbourne, they drew the Williams sisters in the second round and lost in two sets. Sugiyama's dream of a career slam died. In doubles, she reached the final in Antwerp with Peschke, as well as the semifinals in Doha and Dubai with Srebotnik.

On March 30 in the third round at the Tier-I event in Miami, she upset eighth seeded Hantuchová in an epic three-set match. She came back after losing a match point in the second set, as well as having served for the match twice in the second set. In the third set, she was down three to none, but still managed to win. It was her first top ten win since Beijing 2006. In the next round, she lost to Zvonareva. In doubles, she and Srebotnik won the title, beating Akiko Morigami and Alina Jidkova, Lucie Hradecká and Renata Voráčová, and Davenport and Hantuchová. They earned the title by beating Australian runners-up Azarenka and Pe'er and No.-1 team Black and Huber. It was their second team title, and Sugiyama's eighth Tier-I title.

Sugiyama won her ninth Tier I doubles title with Srebotnik at Charleston at the Family Circle cup, their third team title, scoring a two-sets win over Edina Gallovits-Hall and Olga Govortsova. Sugiyama broke the record for consecutive slam appearances woman with 57 as of her appearance in the 2008 Wimbledon tournament. Sugiyama made it to the third round of ladies' singles, losing to Alisa Kleybanova of Russia. At Stanford, she defeated Alexa Glatch and then beat world No. 11, Hantuchová. In the quarterfinals she beat Dominika Cibulková, saving three match points in the process. Sugiyama and Ayumi Morita represented their nation at the Summer Olympics, losing in the second round to the Williams.

2009 edit

 
Sugiyama at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships

Ai started with a first-round loss to Stosur, and in the women's doubles a semifinal finish losing to Klaudia Jans and Alicja Rosolska in the Brisbane International partnering Hantuchová. In the Sydney International, Sugiyama made the semifinals eventually losing to Safina.

In the 2009 Australian Open, she made the third round losing to Jelena Janković. As the ninth seed in doubles playing with Hantuchová, they beat the No. 1 seeds, Black and Huber. In the third set "Hantuyama" were down 2–5, but rallied to take it to a tie-break, where they saved seven match points to win 12–10. In the semifinals, they beat Dechy and Santangelo to make it her first women's doubles final there. They were defeated by the Williams in two sets. A respiratory infection forced her to withdraw from the 2009 Open GDF Suez. Sugiyama entered the Dubai Tennis Championships and lost in the opening round to Bartoli in a tight three-set match. Sugiyama and Hantuchová also played doubles but withdrew because of the infection.

At the Indian Wells Open, Sugiyama and Hantuchová were seeded fifth in the women's doubles but lost to the pair Alla Kudryavtseva and Rodionova in the first round. In singles, she lost to qualifier Angela Haynes in the second round. At the Sony Ericsson open she lost her opening matches in singles and doubles, being beaten in the second round in singles after receiving a bye. Her loss in the doubles event with Hantuchová dropped her doubles ranking to No. 5. Sugiyama lost four consecutive singles matches in Miami, Stuttgart, Rome, and Madrid. However alongside Hantuchová, Sugiyama made the finals at the Rome Masters where they lost to the No. 7 seeds, Hsieh Su-wei and Peng. They reached the quarterfinals at the Madrid Masters where they lost to Stosur and Stubbs, whom she and Akgul Amanmuradova beat in the finals at Eastbourne, her 38th doubles title.

On June 22, she extended her record of consecutive Grand Slam appearances to 61 at Wimbledon, defeating the seeded Patty Schnyder in straight sets to break her eleven match losing streak. She lost in the third round to Hantuchová. In Stanford she lost to Sharapova in three sets, saving two match points in the second set. She then lost in the second round in Los Angeles to Radwańska. Sugiyama retired at the end of the 2009 tennis season after the Pan Pacific Open, held in her native country, Japan. A special ceremony for her was held at center court before the tournament. Ai planned a few months at home before concentrating on teaching youngsters at her tennis academy in Japan.[3]

Major finals edit

Grand Slam tournaments edit

Women's doubles: 10 (3 titles, 7 runner-ups) edit

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 2000 Wimbledon Grass   Julie Halard   Serena Williams
  Venus Williams
6–3, 6–2
Win 2000 US Open Hard   Julie Halard   Cara Black
  Elena Likhovtseva
6–0, 1–6, 6–1
Loss 2001 Wimbledon (2) Grass   Kim Clijsters   Lisa Raymond
  Rennae Stubbs
4–6, 3–6
Win 2003 French Open Clay   Kim Clijsters   Virginia Ruano Pascual
  Paola Suárez
6–7(5–7), 6–2, 9–7
Win 2003 Wimbledon Grass   Kim Clijsters   Virginia Ruano Pascual
  Paola Suárez
6–4, 6–4
Loss 2004 Wimbledon (3) Grass   Liezel Huber   Cara Black
  Rennae Stubbs
3–6, 6–7(5–7)
Loss 2006 French Open Clay   Daniela Hantuchová   Lisa Raymond
  Samantha Stosur
3–6, 2–6
Loss 2007 French Open (2) Clay   Katarina Srebotnik   Alicia Molik
  Mara Santangelo
6–7(5–7), 4–6
Loss 2007 Wimbledon (4) Grass   Katarina Srebotnik   Cara Black
  Liezel Huber
6–3, 3–6, 2–6
Loss 2009 Australian Open Hard   Daniela Hantuchová   Serena Williams
  Venus Williams
3–6, 3–6

Mixed doubles edit

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1999 US Open Hard   Mahesh Bhupathi   Kimberly Po
  Donald Johnson
6–4, 6–4

Olympic Games edit

Doubles: 1 bronze final edit

Result Year Location Surface Partner Opponents Score
4th place 2004 Athens Hard   Shinobu Asagoe   Paola Suárez
  Patricia Tarabini
3–6, 3–6

Year-end championships edit

Doubles: 2 (2 runner-ups) edit

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 2003 Los Angeles Hard (i)   Kim Clijsters   Virginia Ruano Pascual
  Paola Suárez
4–6, 6–3, 3–6
Loss 2007 Madrid Hard (i)   Katarina Srebotnik   Cara Black
  Liezel Huber
7–5, 3–6, [8–10]

WTA career finals edit

Singles: 13 (6 titles, 7 runner-ups) edit

Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. Jul 1994 Surabaya Classic, Indonesia Hard   Elena Wagner 6–2, 0–6, ret.
Loss 2. Nov 1995 Silicon Valley Classic,
United States
Carpet (i)   Magdalena Maleeva 3–6, 4–6
Loss 3. Jan 1997 Gold Coast Championships,
Australia
Hard   Elena Likhovtseva 6–3, 6–7(7–9), 3–6
Win 1. Apr 1997 Japan Open Hard   Amy Frazier 4–6, 6–4, 6–4
Loss 4. Nov 1997 Kremlin Cup, Russia Carpet (i)   Jana Novotná 3–6, 4–6
Win 2. Jan 1998 Gold Coast Championships,
Australia
Hard   María Vento-Kabchi 7–5, 6–0
Win 3. Apr 1998 Japan Open Hard   Corina Morariu 6–3, 6–3
Loss 5. Oct 1999 Japan Open Hard   Amy Frazier 2–6, 2–6
Win 4. Mar 2003 Scottsdale Classic, U.S. Hard   Kim Clijsters 3–6, 7–5, 6–4
Win 5. Oct 2003 Linz Open, Austria Hard   Nadia Petrova 7–5, 6–4
Win 6. Jan 2004 Gold Coast Championships,
Australia
Hard   Nadia Petrova 1–6, 6–1, 6–4
Loss 6. Aug 2005 Carlsbad Open, U.S. Hard   Mary Pierce 0–6, 3–6
Loss 7. Oct 2006 Korea Open Hard   Eleni Daniilidou 3–6, 6–2, 6–7(3–7)

Doubles: 71 (38 titles, 33 runner-ups) edit

Result No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. Apr 1994 Japan Open Hard   Mami Donoshiro   Yayuk Basuki
  Nana Miyagi
6–4, 6–1
Loss 1. Nov 1994 Surabaya Classic, Indonesia Hard   Kyōko Nagatsuka   Yayuk Basuki
  Romana Tedjakusuma
w/o
Win 2. Jan 1995 Hobart International, Australia Hard   Kyōko Nagatsuka   Manon Bollegraf
  Larisa Neiland
2–6, 6–4, 6–2
Loss 2. Apr 1995 Japan Open Hard   Kyōko Nagatsuka   Yuka Yoshida
  Miho Saeki
7–6, 4–6, 6–7
Win 3. Apr 1996 Japan Open Hard   Kimiko Date   Amy Frazier
  Kimberly Po
7–6, 6–7, 6–3
Loss 3. May 1997 Internationaux de Strasbourg, France Clay   Elena Likhovtseva   Helena Suková
  Natasha Zvereva
1–6, 1–6
Win 4. Sep 1997 Princess Cup, Japan Hard   Monica Seles   Julie Halard-Decugis
  Chanda Rubin
6–1, 6–0
Win 5. Jan 1998 Hard Court Championships, Australia Hard   Elena Likhovtseva   Park Sung-hee
  Wang Shi-ting
1–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win 6. Oct 1998 Luxembourg Open Carpet (i)   Elena Likhovtseva   Larisa Neiland
  Elena Tatarkova
6–7, 6–3, 2–0 ret.
Win 7. Nov 1998 Leipzig Cup, Germany Carpet (i)   Elena Likhovtseva   Manon Bollegraf
  Irina Spîrlea
6–3, 6–7, 6–2
Win 8. Nov 1998 Philadelphia Championships, U.S. Carpet (i)   Elena Likhovtseva   Monica Seles
  Natasha Zvereva
7–5, 4–6, 6–2
Win 9. Jan 1999 Sydney International, Australia Hard   Elena Likhovtseva   Mary Joe Fernández
  Anke Huber
6–3, 2–6, 6–0
Loss 4. Feb 1999 Paris Indoors, France Carpet (i)   Elena Likhovtseva   Irina Spîrlea
  Caroline Vis
5–7, 6–3, 3–6
Win 10. May 1999 Internationaux de Strasbourg, France Clay   Elena Likhovtseva   Alexandra Fusai
  Nathalie Tauziat
2–6, 7–6, 6–1
Loss 5. Nov 1999 Leipzig Cup, Germany Carpet (i)   Elena Likhovtseva   Larisa Neiland
  Mary Pierce
4–6, 3–6
Win 11. Jan 2000 Sydney International, Australia Hard   Julie Halard-Decugis   Martina Hingis
  Mary Pierce
6–0, 6–3
Win 12. Apr 2000 Miami Open, United States Hard   Julie Halard-Decugis   Nicole Arendt
  Manon Bollegraf
4–6, 7–5, 6–4
Win 13. Jun 2000 Eastbourne International, UK Grass   Nathalie Tauziat   Lisa Raymond
  Rennae Stubbs
2–6, 6–3, 7–6(3)
Loss 6. Jul 2000 Wimbledon, UK Grass   Julie Halard-Decugis   Serena Williams
  Venus Williams
3–6, 2–6
Loss 7. Aug 2000 Canadian Open Hard   Julie Halard-Decugis   Martina Hingis
  Nathalie Tauziat
3–6, 6–3, 4–6
Win 14. Aug 2000 New Haven Open, U.S. Hard   Julie Halard-Decugis   Virginia Ruano Pascual
  Paola Suárez
6–4, 5–7, 6–2
Win 15. Sep 2000 US Open Hard   Julie Halard-Decugis   Cara Black
  Elena Likhovtseva
6–0, 1–6, 6–1
Win 16. Oct 2000 Princess Cup, Japan Hard   Julie Halard-Decugis   Nana Miyagi
  Paola Suárez
6–0, 6–2
Loss 8. Oct 2000 Linz Open, Austria Carpet (i)   Nathalie Tauziat   Amélie Mauresmo
  Chanda Rubin
4–6, 4–6
Win 17. Oct 2000 Kremlin Cup, Russia Carpet (i)   Julie Halard-Decugis   Martina Hingis
  Anna Kournikova
4–6, 6–4, 7–6(5)
Win 18. Jan 2001 Canberra International, Australia Hard   Nicole Arendt   Esmé de Villiers
  Annabel Ellwood
6–4, 7–6(2)
Win 19. Mar 2001 Indian Wells Masters, U.S. Hard   Nicole Arendt   Virginia Ruano Pascual
  Paola Suárez
6–4, 6–4
Loss 9. Jul 2001 Wimbledon, UK Grass   Kim Clijsters   Lisa Raymond
  Rennae Stubbs
4–6, 3–6
Loss 10. Sep 2001 Princess Cup, Japan Hard   Kim Clijsters   Cara Black
  Liezel Huber
1–6, 3–6
Win 20. Feb 2002 U.S. National Indoors Hard   Elena Tatarkova   Melissa Middleton
  Brie Rippner
6–4, 2–6, 6–0
Loss 11. Aug 2002 San Diego Open, U.S. Hard   Daniela Hantuchová   Elena Dementieva
  Janette Husárová
2–6, 4–6
Loss 12. Aug 2002 LA Championships, U.S. Hard   Daniela Hantuchová   Kim Clijsters
  Jelena Dokić
3–6, 3–6
Loss 13. Aug 2002 Canadian Open Hard   Rika Fujiwara   Virginia Ruano Pascual
  Paola Suárez
4–6, 6–7(4)
Loss 14. Sep 2002 China Open Hard   Rika Fujiwara   Anna Kournikova
  Janet Lee
5–7, 3–6
Loss 15. Oct 2002 Linz Open, Austria Carpet (i)   Rika Fujiwara   Jelena Dokić
  Nadia Petrova
3–6, 2–6
Win 21. Jan 2003 Sydney International, Australia Hard   Kim Clijsters   Conchita Martínez
  Rennae Stubbs
6–3, 6–3
Win 22. Feb 2003 Antwerp Games, Belgium Carpet (i)   Kim Clijsters   Nathalie Dechy
  Émilie Loit
6–2, 6–0
Win 23. Mar 2003 Scottsdale Classic, U.S. Hard   Kim Clijsters   Lindsay Davenport
  Lisa Raymond
6–1, 6–4
Loss 16. Mar 2003 Indian Wells Open, U.S. Hard   Kim Clijsters   Lindsay Davenport
  Lisa Raymond
6–3, 4–6, 1–6
Loss 17. May 2003 German Open Clay   Kim Clijsters   Virginia Ruano Pascual
  Paola Suárez
3–6, 6–4, 4–6
Win 24. Jun 2003 French Open Clay   Kim Clijsters   Virginia Ruano Pascual
  Paola Suárez
6–7(5), 6–2, 9–7
Win 25. Jul 2003 Wimbledon, UK Grass   Kim Clijsters   Virginia Ruano Pascual
  Paola Suárez
6–4, 6–4
Win 26. Aug 2003 San Diego Open, U.S. Hard   Kim Clijsters   Lindsay Davenport
  Lisa Raymond
6–4, 7–5
Loss 18. Sep 2003 China Open Hard   Tamarine Tanasugarn   Émilie Loit
  Nicole Pratt
3–6, 3–6
Win 27. Oct 2003 Zurich Open, Switzerland Hard (i)   Kim Clijsters   Virginia Ruano Pascual
  Paola Suárez
7–6(3), 6–2
Win 28. Oct 2003 Linz Open, Austria Hard (i)   Liezel Huber   Marion Bartoli
  Silvia Farina Elia
6–1, 7–6(6)
Loss 19. Nov 2003 WTA Finals, New York Hard   Kim Clijsters   Virginia Ruano Pascual
  Paola Suárez
4–6, 6–3, 3–6
Loss 20. Jul 2004 Wimbledon, UK Grass   Liezel Huber   Cara Black
  Rennae Stubbs
3–6, 6–7(5)
Win 29. Aug 2004 Canadian Open Hard   Shinobu Asagoe   Liezel Huber
  Tamarine Tanasugarn
6–0, 6–3
Win 30. Sep 2004 Bali Classic, Indonesia Hard   Anastasia Myskina   Svetlana Kuznetsova
  Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
6–3, 7–5
Loss 21. Jan 2005 Sydney International, Australia Hard   Elena Dementieva   Bryanne Stewart
  Samantha Stosur
w/o
Win 31. Jun 2005 Birmingham Classic, UK Grass   Daniela Hantuchová   Eleni Daniilidou
  Jennifer Russell
6–2, 6–3
Loss 22. Aug 2005 San Diego Open, U.S. Hard   Daniela Hantuchová   Conchita Martínez
  Virginia Ruano Pascual
7–6(7), 1–6, 5–7
Loss 23. Oct 2005 Zurich Open, Switzerland Hard (i)   Daniela Hantuchová   Cara Black
  Rennae Stubbs
7–6(6), 6–7(4), 3–6
Win 32. Mar 2006 Qatar Open Hard   Daniela Hantuchová   Li Ting
  Sun Tiantian
6–4, 6–4
Win 33. May 2006 Italian Open Clay   Daniela Hantuchová   Květa Peschke
  Francesca Schiavone
3–6, 6–3, 6–1
Loss 24. Jun 2006 French Open Clay   Daniela Hantuchová   Lisa Raymond
  Samantha Stosur
3–6, 2–6
Loss 25. Aug 2006 LA Championships, U.S. Hard   Daniela Hantuchová   Virginia Ruano Pascual
  Paola Suárez
3–6, 4–6
Loss 26. May 2007 French Open Clay   Katarina Srebotnik   Alicia Molik
  Mara Santangelo
6–7, 4–6
Loss 27. Jun 2007 Wimbledon, UK Grass   Katarina Srebotnik   Cara Black
  Liezel Huber
6–3, 3–6, 2–6
Win 34. Aug 2007 Canadian Open Hard   Katarina Srebotnik   Cara Black
  Liezel Huber
6–4, 2–6, [10–5]
Loss 28. Oct 2007 Linz Open, Austria Hard   Katarina Srebotnik   Cara Black
  Liezel Huber
2–6, 6–3, [8–10]
Loss 29. Nov 2007 WTA Tour Championships, Madrid Hard   Katarina Srebotnik   Cara Black
  Liezel Huber
7–5, 3–6, [8–10]
Loss 30. Feb 2008 Antwerp Games, Belgium Hard (i)   Květa Peschke   Cara Black
  Liezel Huber
1–6, 3–6
Win 35. Apr 2008 Miami Open, U.S. Hard   Katarina Srebotnik   Cara Black
  Liezel Huber
7–5, 4–6, [10–3]
Win 36. Apr 2008 Charleston Open, U.S. Clay   Katarina Srebotnik   Edina Gallovits
  Olga Govortsova
6–2, 6–2
Win 37. Oct 2008 Linz Open, Austria Hard (i)   Katarina Srebotnik   Cara Black
  Liezel Huber
6–4, 7–5
Loss 31. Jan 2009 Australian Open Hard   Daniela Hantuchová   Serena Williams
  Venus Williams
3–6, 3–6
Loss 32. May 2009 Italian Open Clay   Daniela Hantuchová   Hsieh Su-wei
  Peng Shuai
5–7, 6–7(5)
Win 38. Jun 2009 Eastbourne International, UK Grass   Akgul Amanmuradova   Samantha Stosur
  Rennae Stubbs
6–4, 6–3
Loss 33. Oct 2009 Pan Pacific Open, Japan Hard (i)   Daniela Hantuchová   Alisa Kleybanova
  Francesca Schiavone
4–6, 2–6

ITF finals edit

$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments

Singles (1–2) edit

Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. 19 July 1992 ITF Evansville, United States Hard   Iva Majoli 3-6, 1-6
Win 2. 20 July 1992 ITF Roanoke, United States Hard   Tatiana Ignatieva 6–2, 3–2 ret.
Loss 3. 19 July 1993 ITF St. Simons, United States Clay   Hiromi Nagano 1–6, 1–6

Doubles (4–1) edit

Result No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. 10 February 1992 ITF Bangkok, Thailand Hard   Mami Donoshiro   Huang Qian
  Yang Li-hua
6–4, 3–6, 6–4
Loss 2. 17 February 1992 ITF Bandung, Indonesia Hard   Mami Donoshiro   Chen Li-Ling
  Yi Jing-Qian
6–4, 3–6, 4–6
Win 3. 26 June 1993 ITF Roanoke, United States Hard   Yoshiko Sasano   Mareze Joubert
  Vanessa Webb
6–4, 6–3
Win 4. 21 August 1994 ITF Fayetteville, United States Hard   Yuka Yoshida   Andrea Leand
  Eleni Rossides
6–4, 7–5
Win 5. 6 May 2007 ITF Gifu, Japan Carpet   Ayumi Morita   Kumiko Iijima
  Seiko Okamoto
6–1, 3–6, 6–0

Grand Slam performance timelines edit

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# P# DNQ A Z# PO G S B NMS NTI P NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles edit

Tournament 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 W–L
Australian Open A Q3 Q1 1R 3R 2R 4R 1R QF 1R 3R 2R 2R 1R 1R 2R 3R 3R 19–15
French Open A Q1 A 4R 1R 2R 2R 2R 4R 1R 2R 4R 2R 1R 2R 3R 2R 1R 18–15
Wimbledon A 1R 1R 1R 4R 1R 1R 2R 2R 3R 3R 4R QF 1R 4R 3R 3R 3R 25–17
US Open Q1 A 1R 2R 2R 2R 2R 3R 2R 2R 2R 4R 4R 3R 3R 2R 3R 1R 22–16
Premier Mandatory tournaments
Indian Wells Not Tier I 3R 2R 3R 3R 3R 4R 4R 4R A A 4R 4R 3R 2R 19–12
Miami A A 1R 1R 4R 3R 3R A 3R 2R 3R 3R 2R 3R QF 3R 4R 2R 18–16
Madrid Not Held 1R 0–1
Beijing Not Held Not Tier I A 0–0
Premier 5 tournaments
Dubai Not Held Not Tier I 1R 0–1
Rome A A A A A 1R 1R 1R 2R 1R 3R SF 3R 3R 2R 2R 1R 1R 11–13
Cincinnati Not Held Not Tier I 1R 0–1
Toronto/Montréal A A A A A 2R 3R 3R 1R 2R 3R A 3R 2R 3R 1R QF 2R 15–12
Tokyo NH 1R 1R 1R 2R 2R QF 2R 1R QF 1R 2R QF 1R 1R QF 1R 1R 20–18
Former Tier I tournaments
Moscow NH Not Tier I F 1R QF 2R A A A 1R A A A A NM5 7–5
Charleston A A A A A 2R 1R A A 1R 2R A A 3R A A 2R 5–6
Zürich NT1 A A A A 2R 1R 1R 1R A 1R 2R QF 1R 2R Q3 NTI Not
Held
20–17
San Diego Not Tier I QF F 1R 3R NTI 9–4
Doha Not Held Not Tier I 3R 2–1
Berlin A A A A 1R 1R QF 1R 1R 2R A 1R 3R 1R 1R A A 5–10
Career statistics
Tournaments played 4 8 11 17 19 26 23 23 25 25 27 26 24 27 25 23 24 19 376
Finals reached 0 0 1 1 0 3 2 1 0 0 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 13
Tournaments won 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 6
Overall win–loss 1–4 3–8 9–11 14–17 24–21 32–28 37–21 29–24 22–26 28–25 37–27 48–26 33–25 31–27 30–25 22–25 27–26 9–22 436–388
Year-end ranking 180 142 72 46 32 20 18 24 33 30 24 10 17 30 26 38 31 N/A N/A

Doubles edit

Tournament 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 SR W–L
Australian Open 1R A 2R 2R 1R QF 2R QF SF 3R QF SF 3R 3R QF 2R F 0 / 16 35–16
French Open A A 2R 2R 2R 3R QF SF 3R SF W 1R 2R F F 2R 3R 1 / 15 38–14
Wimbledon Q2 1R 1R 1R 1R 3R 2R F F 3R W F QF 1R F 2R 2R 1 / 14 36–15
US Open A 2R 3R 1R 2R 1R W A 1R 2R SF 3R 2R QF SF 3R 1 / 11 27–13
Year-end championships
WTA Finals A A A A A QF QF QF A SF F A A A F SF A 0 / 7 3–7
Premier Mandatory tournaments
Indian Wells Not Tier I 2R QF QF 2R W 2R F A A QF 1R SF 1R 1 / 11 21–10
Miami A A QF 2R 1R QF A W 1R 1R QF QF 1R QF 1R W 1R 2 / 14 20–12
Madrid Not Held QF 0 / 1 2–1
Beijing Not Held Not Tier I A 0 / 0 0–0
Premier 5 tournaments
Dubai Not Held Not Tier I A 0 / 0 0–0
Rome A A A A 1R 2R 2R QF QF QF A 2R QF W 2R 2R F 1 / 12 14–11
Cincinnati Not Held Not Tier I QF 0 / 1 1–1
Toronto/Montréal A A A A 2R 2R QF F QF F A W SF QF W QF SF 2 / 12 28–10
Tokyo QF 1R 1R 1R 1R SF QF 1R SF 1R SF QF SF QF 1R 1R F 0 / 17 15–16
Former Tier I tournaments
Moscow Not Tier I SF 1R SF W A A A SF A A A A NM5 0 / 5 10–4
Charleston A A A A 2R 1R A A A 1R A A 2R A A W 1 / 5 5–4
Zürich A A A A 1R QF QF 1R A 1R W A SF QF SF NTI Not
Held
1 / 9 11–8
San Diego Not Tier I 1R F QF SF NTI 0 / 4 7–4
Doha Not Held Not Tier I SF 0 / 1 2–1
Berlin A A A 2R QF 2R QF A A F A SF QF QF A A 0 / 8 13–8
Philadelphia A A 1R Tier II not held T II not held 0 / 1 0–1
Career statistics
Tournaments played 11 12 16 14 23 22 23 25 17 26 22 19 23 21 21 21 17 333
Finals reached 0 2 2 1 2 4 3 10 4 6 14 3 4 4 5 4 4 13
Tournaments won 0 1 1 1 1 4 2 7 2 1 8 2 1 2 1 3 1 38
Overall win–loss 8–10 16–9 18–15 11–12 23–22 38–18 31–21 59–17 35–15 40–24 59–12 36–16 35–20 37–18 38–19 40–17 29–15 566–295
Year-end ranking 208 53 45 77 25 13 16 2 9 12 3 9 14 12 6 6 No. 1

Mixed doubles edit

Tournament 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 W–L
Australian Open A A A 2R A 2R A 2R A A 2R A A 4–4
French Open 3R A A QF SF 1R A A A 1R A 1R A 9–6
Wimbledon 1R A A 2R A QF A A SF A 1R A QF 11–6
US Open A A A W 1R SF A A 2R QF A A 1R 11–5

WTA Tour career earnings edit

Year Grand Slam
singles titles
WTA
singles titles
Total
singles titles
Earnings ($) Money list rank
1992–94 0 0 0 132,587 n/a
1995 0 0 0 154,316 37
1996 0 0 0 160,077 43
1997 0 1 1 307,837 26
1998 0 2 2 377,728 19
1999 0 0 0 405,148 24
2000 0 0 0 729,635 12
2001 0 0 0 436,427 26
2002 0 0 0 416,408 26
2003 0 2 2 1,254,283 7
2004 0 1 1 736,354 17
2005 0 0 0 495,592 25
2006 0 0 0 595,062[permanent dead link] 25[permanent dead link]
2007 0 0 0 691,897[permanent dead link] 21[permanent dead link]
2008 0 0 0 757,201[permanent dead link] 18[permanent dead link]
2009 0 0 0 477,574 44
Career 0 6 6 8,128,126 27

References edit

  1. ^ "Sony Ericsson WTA Tour News". Archived from the original on October 5, 2008. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  2. ^ Women's Tennis Association (November 11, 2007). "Black, Huber Enjoy Season-Ending Glory in Madrid". Women's Tennis Association. Archived from the original on November 14, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  3. ^ Emotional Day 1 in Tokyo Archived September 29, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Sony Ericsson WTA Tour official website, posted September 27, 2009

External links edit

Awards
Preceded by Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award
1999
Succeeded by