Mariam Bolkvadze (Georgian: მარიამ ბოლქვაძე, romanized: mariam bolkvadze, pronounced [maɾiam bolkʰʷadzɛ]; born 1 January 1998) is a tennis player from Georgia.

Mariam Bolkvadze
მარიამ ბოლქვაძე
Bolkvadze at the 2022 French Open
Country (sports) Georgia
ResidenceLondon, England[1]
Born (1998-01-01) 1 January 1998 (age 26)
Batumi, Georgia
PlaysLeft (two-handed backhand)
CoachSimon Ainley[1]
Prize moneyUS$ 470,949
Singles
Career record294–187 (61.1%)
Career titles7 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 151 (7 March 2022)
Current rankingNo. 339 (22 April 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQ2 (2021)
French OpenQ2 (2021)
WimbledonQ2 (2022)
US Open2R (2019)
Doubles
Career record130–85 (60.5%)
Career titles12 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 204 (21 March 2022)
Current rankingNo. 432 (22 April 2024)
Team competitions
Fed Cup7–11 (38.9%)
Last updated on: 24 April 2024.

On 7 March 2022, she achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 151, and on 21 March 2022, she peaked at No. 204 in the WTA doubles rankings.

Playing for Georgia Fed Cup team, Bolkvadze has a win–loss record of 7–11 in Fed Cup competitions, as of April 2024.

Personal life edit

Bolkvadze was born in Batumi and at the age of 13 moved to the United Kingdom to further her tennis development.[2] She stayed initially with her godmother before finding a host family two years later.[2] Maria Sharapova was her favourite player growing up. She is fluent in Georgian, Russian, and English.[3][4]

Junior career edit

Bolkvadze began playing tennis at the age of nine and spent much of her teenage years training in London, where she was coached by Otto Buchholdt.[3] As a junior she played in very few ITF events, instead concentrating on domestic competitions organised by the LTA and continental tournaments run by Tennis Europe. She won the 2013 Aegon Junior International in London, defeating Jodie Burrage in the final. At the European Junior Championships held in Moscow later that year she lost to Fanny Stollar in the round of 64.[5]

She reached her only final on the ITF Junior World Tour as a qualifier at the G4 Nottingham event in April 2013, where she was runner-up to Freya Christie.[6]

She was a finalist with American partner Caty McNally in the girls' doubles at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships, losing to Usue Maitane Arconada and Claire Liu in straight sets. She played her only junior grand slam draw in singles at the same tournament, coming through qualifying before being defeated by Sofia Kenin in the third round.[7]

Senior career edit

2019: Breakthrough at the US Open edit

Ranked 202 in the world, Bolkvadze entered US Open qualifying and was drawn against eighth seed Heather Watson. After beating her in straight sets, she defeated in the second round Han Na-lae in three tight sets to set up a match against Xu Shilin. By another win she qualified for her first major main draw, and became the fourth Georgian to qualify for a Grand Slam tournament. In the first round, she defeated Bernarda Pera in three sets, before losing to third seed Karolína Plíšková, 1–6, 4–6. With her wins, she reached a new career-high of 152 in the world.

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.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Singles edit

Tournament 2019 2020 2021 2022 W–L
Australian Open A Q1 Q2 Q1 0–0
French Open A Q1 Q2 Q1 0–0
Wimbledon Q1 NH Q1 Q2 0–0
US Open 2R A Q2 A 1–1
Win–loss 1–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–1

ITF Circuit finals edit

Singles: 16 (8 titles, 8 runner–ups) edit

Legend
W60 tournaments
W25/35 tournaments
W10/15 tournaments
Finals by surface
Hard (5–5)
Clay (2–2)
Carpet (1–1)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Jul 2014 ITF Astana, Kazakhstan W10 Hard   Vlada Ekshibarova 7–5, 6–3
Loss 0–2 Aug 2014 ITF Telavi, Georgia W10 Hard   Yuliya Kalabina 4–6, 4–6
Win 1–2 Apr 2015 ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt W10 Hard   Lina Gjorcheska 6–1, 6–4
Win 2–2 Apr 2016 ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt W10 Hard   Sofya Zhuk 6–3, 7–5
Win 3–2 Sep 2016 Batumi Ladies Open, Georgia W10 Clay   Aleksandra Pospelova 6–4, 7–6(18)
Win 4–2 May 2017 ITF Cairo, Egypt W15 Clay   Camila Giangreco Campiz 6–3, 3–6, 7–6(4)
Loss 4–3 May 2018 ITF Antalya, Turkey W15 Clay   Elizabeth Halbauer 3–6, 1–6
Loss 4–4 May 2018 ITF Antalya, Turkey W15 Clay   Magdalena Pantucková 4–6, 1–6
Loss 4–5 Feb 2019 GB Pro-Series Glasgow, UK W25 Hard (i)   Jessika Ponchet 3–6, 1–6
Loss 4–6 Apr 2019 ITF Óbidos, Portugal W25 Carpet   Maryna Zanevska 5–7, 2–6
Win 5–6 Apr 2019 ITF Óbidos, Portugal W25 Carpet   Nuria Párrizas Díaz 6–2, 7–6(5)
Loss 5–7 Jun 2021 ITF Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal W25 Hard   Beatriz Haddad Maia 4–6, 4–6
Win 6–7 Jul 2021 President's Cup, Kazakhstan W60 Hard   Valeria Savinykh 4–6, 6–3, 6–2
Loss 6–8 Jan 2022 GB Pro-Series Loughborough, UK W25 Hard (i)   Sofia Samavati 2–6, 5–5 ret.
Win 7–8 Dec 2023 ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt W25 Hard   Elena Pridankina 6–2, 6–1
Win 8–8 Jan 2024 ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt W35 Hard   Elena Pridankina 6–0, 6–3

Doubles: 21 (12 titles, 9 runner–ups) edit

Legend
W80 tournaments
W60 tournaments
W25 tournaments
W10/15 tournaments
Finals by surface
Hard (9–4)
Clay (2–3)
Carpet (1–2)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 May 2014 ITF Netanya, Israel W10 Hard   Anastasia Pribylova   Pia König
  Barbora Štefková
3–6, 2–6
Win 1–1 May 2015 ITF Ashkelon, Israel W10 Hard   Naomi Totka   Laura Deigman
  Hélène Scholsen
6–0, 6–2
Win 2–1 Jun 2015 ITF Telavi, Georgia W10 Hard   Tinatin Kavlashvili   Marianna Natali
  Seira Shimizu
6–4, 7–5
Win 3–1 Apr 2016 ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt W10 Hard   Nastja Kolar   Oleksandra Korashvili
  Margarita Lazareva
7–6(0), 7–5
Loss 3–2 Apr 2016 ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt W10 Hard   Victoria Muntean   Oleksandra Korashvili
  Margarita Lazareva
5–7, 3–6
Loss 3–3 Aug 2016 ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt W10 Hard   Ana Bianca Mihaila   Sharmada Balu
  Ana Veselinović
6–4, 6–7(2), [8–10]
Loss 3–4 Sep 2016 Batumi Ladies Open, Georgia W10 Clay   Tatia Mikadze   Alona Fomina
  Margarita Lazareva
4–6, 2–6
Win 4–4 Oct 2016 ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt W10 Hard   Alona Fomina   Guadalupe Pérez Rojas
  Jil Teichmann
6–2, 6–3
Win 5–4 Apr 2017 ITF Cairo, Egypt W15 Clay   Tereza Mihalíková   Bojana Marinković
  Despina Papamichail
7–6(7), 6–3
Loss 5–5 Apr 2017 ITF Cairo, Egypt W15 Clay   Margaux Bovy   Irina Fetecău
  Anna Slováková
6–7(2), 6–2, [5–10]
Win 6–5 Jul 2017 ITF Istanbul, Turkey W15 Clay   Ekaterine Gorgodze   Petia Arshinkova
  İpek Öz
6–1, 6–3
Loss 6–6 Jul 2017 Telavi Open, Georgia W15 Clay   Ekaterine Gorgodze   Polina Pekhova
  Maria Solnyshkina
2–6, 6–1, [7–10]
Win 7–6 Mar 2018 ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt W15 Hard   Barbora Štefková   María Paulina Pérez
  Paula Andrea Pérez
6–2, 7–6(6)
Loss 7–7 Sep 2018 ITF Óbidos, Portugal W25 Carpet   Inês Murta   Katarzyna Piter
  Valeria Savinykh
3–6, 2–6
Loss 7–8 Apr 2019 ITF Óbidos, Portugal W25 Carpet   Nastja Kolar   Sofia Shapatava
  Emily Webley-Smith
1–6, 6–2, [9–11]
Win 8–8 Jul 2021 ITF Astana, Kazakhstan W25 Hard   Ekaterina Yashina   Vlada Koval
  Anastasia Tikhonova
7–6(7), 6–1
Win 9–8 Oct 2021 Internationaux de Poitiers, France W80 Hard (i)   Samantha Murray Sharan   Audrey Albié
  Léolia Jeanjean
7–6(5), 6–0
Win 10–8 Feb 2022 AK Ladies Open, Germany W60 Carpet (i)   Samantha Murray Sharan   Susan Bandecchi
  Simona Waltert
6–3, 7–5
Win 11–8 Oct 2022 Trnava Indoor, Slovakia W60 Hard (i)   Maia Lumsden   Conny Perrin
  Diāna Marcinkēviča
6–2, 6–3
Win 12–8 Aug 2023 ITF Roehampton, UK W25 Hard   Lily Miyazaki   Talia Gibson
  Petra Hule
7–5, 6–3
Loss 12–9 Oct 2023 ITF Sunderland, UK W25 Hard (i)   Samantha Murray Sharan   Freya Christie
  Elena Malõgina
0–6, 6–4, [4–10]

Junior Grand Slam finals edit

Girls' doubles: 1 (title) edit

Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 2016 Wimbledon Grass   Caty McNally   Usue Maitane Arconada
  Claire Liu
2–6, 3–6

National representation edit

Fed Cup/Billie Jean King Cup edit

Bolkvadze made her Fed Cup debut for Georgia in 2015, while the team was competing in the Europe/Africa Zone Group I, when she was 17 years and 37 days old.

Group membership
Round Robin
Play-offs
Matches by surface
Hard (6–5)
Clay (0–0)
Matches by type
Singles (4–5)
Doubles (2–0)
Matches by setting
Indoors (6–5)
Outdoors (0–0)

Singles (4–5) edit

Edition Stage Date Location Against Surface Opponent W/L Score
2015 Z1 PO Feb 2015 Budapest (HUN)   Turkey Hard (i) Başak Eraydın W 6–3, 6–3
2019 Z1 RR Feb 2019 Bath (GBR)   Serbia Hard (i) Ivana Jorović L 3–6, 1–6
  Croatia Ana Konjuh L 4–6, 3–6
  Turkey Çağla Büyükakçay L 4–6, 1–6
Z1 PO   Slovenia Kaja Juvan L 1–6, 0–3 ret.
2020 Z2 RR Feb 2020 Helsinki (FIN)   Israel Hard (i) Vlada Katic W 7–6(5), 6–1
  Moldova Anastasia Vdovenco W 7–5, 6–3
  Tunisia Ons Jabeur L 2–6, 2–6
Z2 PO   Finland Oona Orpana W 7–5, 6–4

Doubles (2–0) edit

Edition Stage Date Location Against Surface Partner Opponents W/L Score
2018 Z1 RR Feb 2018 Tallinn (EST)   Serbia Hard (i) Sofia Shapatava Olga Danilović
Bojana Marinković
W 6–7(7), 7–6(7), 6–3
2019 Z1 RR Feb 2019 Bath (GBR)   Serbia Hard (i) Oksana Kalashnikova Olga Danilović
Ivana Jorović
W 6–3, 7–5

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Mariam Bolkvadze Bio". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  2. ^ a b Capo, Steven (12 August 2022). "Decision Making W/ Mariam Bolkvadze" (video). youtube.com. Strand Tennis Center.
  3. ^ a b "Mariam Bolkvadze Biography". Tennis Europe. Tennis Europe. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  4. ^ "Mariam Bolkvadze". EDGE International. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Mariam Bolkvadze 2013 Tournaments". Tennis Europe. Tennis Europe. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  6. ^ "Mariam Bolkvadze Junior Singles Activity". ITF Tennis. International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  7. ^ Macpherson, Alex (27 August 2019). "Getting to know US Open 2019 debutantes Bolkvadze, Volynets, Wang Xiyu". WTA Tennis. Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 29 October 2022.

External links edit