| Womens Tennis Association Top 20 WTA singles rankings as of June 22, 2009, with player photos and bio info. Some WTA player photos are linked to larger versions, others to player photo search. |
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 Dinara Safina is shown after winning her 9th WTA singles title by defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-3, in the final of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan, on Sept 21, 2008. |
WTA bio page ITF: Dinara Safina career record Safina record at The WTA since 1996 DSafina.com official DinaraSafina.com English, French, & Spanish Dinara Safina Interview Transcripts |
| Winner of 11 WTA Tour singles titles: | Finalist (11): | Semifinalist (13): | |
| 2009 | Madrid, Rome | Roland Garros, Stuttgart, Australian Open, Sydney | 's-Hertogenbosch |
| 2008 | Tokyo PPO, Montreal, Los Angeles, Berlin | Moscow, Beijing Olympics, Eastbourne, Roland Garros | US Open |
| 2007 | Gold Coast | Charleston | Moscow, 's-Hertogenbosch |
| 2006 | Rome, 's-Hertogenbosch | Montreal, Gold Coast | |
| 2005 | Prague, Paris Indoor | Hasselt, Estoril, Luxembourg, Moscow | |
| 2004 | Luxembourg | Paris Indoor | |
| 2003 | Palermo | ||
| 2002 | Sopot, ITF/Mallorca 1/ESP; ITF/Las Palmas-ESP, ITF/Rome Parioli-ITA | Estoril | |
| 2001 | ITF/Rome-ITA |
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Dinara Safina comes from a tennis family. She is the sister of the lesser-known (well, to WTA-specific fans, anyway) ATP pro Marat Safin, who won the 2005 Australian Open. Her mother, Raouza Islanova, gave both Anastasia Myskina and Elena Dementieva their early training at the Spartak Academy in Moscow, and her father, Mikhail Safin, is director of the Spartak Club. Despite the Spartak connection, Dinara received much of her early training in Valencia, Spain, and thus speaks Spanish in addition to Russian and English. Dinara was coached by Frenchman Hubert Choudury (who once coached Patty Schnyder), then by Russian Alexander Zlatoustov. After the 2005 Australian Open she dropped Zlatoustov and, at the suggestion of her agents, was coached by Lars Wahlgren until May when, dissatisfied by Whalgren, she returned to coaching from Zlatoustov. In December, 2005, Dinara took on a new coach again, this time Glen Schaap, who had previously been coaching Nadia Petrova. Since 2008, Dinara has been coached by Zjelko Krajan. Dinara is also coached by her mother, Raouza Islanova. Dinara's progress through the ranks was slowed when she hurt her low back in her 1st round match at Wimbledon in 2004, and missed 3 summer tourneys with a lumbar spine stress fracture. Like Justine Henin, Daniela Hantuchova, and Emmanuelle Gagliardi, Dinara resides in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Dinara is attired in adidas togs, and chops with a Babolat "Pure Storm Team" axe, which has a 98 sq in head, weighs 11 ounces strung, is slightly head light for better control, and has a stiffness rating of 64. |
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 Serena Williams hoisted the trophy after defeating Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 7-5, in the final of the US Open on Sunday, Sep 7, 2008. It was Serena's 9th Grand Slam singles title. |
Venus & Serena Williams Wallpaper WTA bio page ITF: Serena Williams career record Serena Williams record at The WTA since 1996 VenusSerenaFans.com Interview-Feature Aug 19, 2007, International Herald Tribune Serena Williams Interview Transcripts At the 2002 WTA Champ's: fastest serve: 117 MPH; avg 1st serves: 99-100 MPH |
| Winner of 33 WTA Tour singles titles: | Finalist (13): | Semifinalist (13): | |
| 2009 | Australian Open | Miami | Dubai, Paris Indoor, Sydney |
| 2008 | US Open, Charleston, Miami, Bangalore | Wimbledon | Stanford |
| 2007 | Miami, Australian Open | Moscow | |
| 2006 | Los Angeles, Cincinnati | ||
| 2005 | Australian Open | ||
| 2004 | Beijing, Miami | WTA Champ's, Los Angeles, Wimbledon | Rome |
| 2003 | Wimbledon, Miami, Paris Indoors, Australian Open | Charleston | Roland Garros, Rome |
| 2002 | Leipzig, Tokyo Princess Cup, US Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros, Miami, Scottsdale, Italian Open | WTA Champ's, German Open | Sydney |
| 2001 | WTA Champ's; Indian Wells, Canadian Open | US Open | |
| 2000 | Hannover, Los Angeles, Tokyo outdoor | Paris Indoors, Canadian Open | Wimbledon |
| 1999 | US Open, Paris Indoors, Indian Wells, Los Angeles, Grand Slam Cup | Miami | |
| 1998 | Sydney | ||
| 1997 | Chicago |
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After recovering from knee injury and surgery in August 2003, Serena Williams was less consistent than before. Serena won 8 titles in 2002, her biggest year, and 4 titles in 2003, but won only 2 tourneys or fewer each year from 2004 to 2007. However, in 2008, Serena appeared to have left her injury problems mostly, if not entirely, behind her. Serena has a huge contract to wear Nike togs (she was formerly of the Puma persuasion) and she swings a Wilson K Factor KBlade Team 104" bat. Serena's former racquets have included the Hyper Hammer 6.2 (with a 110 sq." head), and the nCode N3 (with a 113" head, weighing 9.4 ounces and balanced head-heavy). Serena reportedly has her bats strung (at about 67 lbs) with Wilson 16-gauge Natural Gut. Serena is coached by her father Richard; she and sister Venus did spend some time at the Bollettieri Academy in Bradenton, Florida, way back in the 20th century. Serena's agent is Jill Smoller at the William Morris Agency. (Dec 8, 2008) # 2 Serena Williams has withdrawn from the ITF Hopman Cup citing a hamstring injury incurred at the 2008 WTA Championships. Serena has been replaced by former # 11 Meghann Shaughnessy, who missed almost all of last year due to a left knee injury. Serena says she will be ready to play before the Australian Open. (Jul 12, 2007) # 7 Serena Williams has withdrawn from the July 14-15 US vs Russia Fed Cup semifinal, and from next week's Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open in Mason (Cincinnati), Ohio, due to a left hand injury she incurred at Wimbledon. Serena sprained her left thumb during her 4th round victory over Daniela Hantuchova on July 4. # 41 Meilen Tu has replaced Serena on the US Fed Cup roster. AP story (Oct 7, 2005) # 11 Serena Williams, still troubled by left ankle and knee problems, has withdrawn from the Zurich and Philadelphia tourneys, and will not play again until 2006. Serena said: "My doctors advised me my leg needs to fully recover in order to play at the level I'm accustomed to." BBC story (Aug 6, 2005) # 7 Serena Willams has withdrawn from the JPMorgan Chase Open which begins August 8 in Los Angeles. Serena is still troubled by a injured left ankle which she incurred last April in the quarterfinals of the Bausch & Lomb Championships at Amelia Island, Florida. The injury caused Serena to miss the French Open. After losing in the 3rd round at Wimbledon in June, Serena said that the injury had been a hairline fracture, and that is was still troubling her, although it was not the cause of her defeat. At that time she said that the injury, which was at first called a sprain, had been a hairline fracture. Serena is expected to play in the Rogers AT&T Cup in Toronto, which begins August 15. (May 20, 2005) # 4 Serena Willams has withdrawn from the 2005 French Open. Serena is still troubled by a sprained left ankle which she incurred last month in the quarterfinals of the Bausch & Lomb Championships at Amelia Island, Florida. (Oct 17, 2004) 5th-seeded # 9 Serena Williams withdrew from the Swisscom Challenge in Zurich, still troubled by her left knee, which she had surgery on over a year ago. Although Serena has won 2 tourneys this year after returning from the knee surgery, and said several times that her knee has fully recovered, she has had intermittent relapses of trouble with the knee, causing tourney withdrawals. (Dec 13, 2003) # 3 Serena Williams has signed a deal with Nike that an AP source says will pay her $40 million over 5 years, the largest endorsement contract ever signed by a woman. Earlier reports had suggested that the total could be as high as $55 million (over 8 years), but Serena will have to make ends meet with a mere 40 mil. Serena had been wearing Puma while she moved to the top of the rankings. Serena's sister # 11 Venus Williams signed a similar contract with Reebok in Dec 2000: up to $40 million over 5 years. (Aug. 4, 2003) # 1 Serena Williams had surgery to repair a partial tear in the mid-portion of the quadriceps tendon of her left knee in Los Angeles on Friday, Aug. 1, and will miss the U.S. Open (which starts Aug. 25th). In a statement released by IMG (her agents), Serena's doctor, Los Angeles orthopedic surgeon Rodney Gabriel said: "I expect a 100 percent recovery and Serena's speedy return to competitive tennis." |
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 Venus Williams is shown hugging the big pizza pan called the Venus Rosewater Dish after winning her 4th Wimbledon title by defeating Marion Bartoli 6-4, 6-1, on July 7, 2007. It was Venus's 6th Grand Slam singles title. |
Venus & Serena Williams Wallpaper WTA bio page ITF: Venus Williams career record V. Williams record at The WTA since 1996 VenusSerenaFans.com Interview Video 2002 Wimbledon QF, Venus (1) d Likhovtseva, 6-2, 6-0, Jul 2 Interview Video 2001 US Open final, Venus (1) d S Williams (10), 6-2, 6-4, Sep 8 Interview Video 2001 Wimbledon final, Venus (1) d Henin (8), 6-1, 3-6, 6-0, July 8 Venus Williams Interview Transcripts At the 2002 WTA Champ's: Fastest Serve: 121 MPH Avg 1st Serve Speeds: 104-105 MPH |
| Winner of 41 WTA Tour singles titles: | Finalist (22): | |
| 2009 | Acapulco, Dubai | |
| 2008 | Doha WTA Championships, Zurich, Wimbledon | |
| 2007 | Seoul, Wimbledon, Memphis | Tokyo (Japan Open) |
| 2006 | ||
| 2005 | Wimbledon, Istanbul | Stanford, Antwerp |
| 2004 | Warsaw, Charleston | Stanford, Berlin |
| 2003 | Antwerp | Wimbledon, Warsaw, Australian Open |
| 2002 | Gold Coast, Paris Indoors, Antwerp, Amelia Island, Stanford, San Diego, New Haven | Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open, Hamburg |
| 2001 | Wimbledon, US Open, Miami, Hamburg, San Diego, New Haven | |
| 2000 | Wimbledon, US Open, Olympics, Stanford, San Diego, New Haven | Linz |
| 1999 | Oklahoma City, Miami, Hamburg, Italian Open, New Haven, Zurich | Hannover, Stanford, San Diego, Grand Slam Cup |
| 1998 | Oklahoma City, Miami, Grand Slam Cup | Sydney, Italian Open, Stanford, Zurich |
| 1997 | US Open |
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Venus Williams occasionally picks up her mail at Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. She is fleet of foot as well as hitting hard and deep; her service speeds have reached 127 mph, which matches the women's record set by her sister Serena at Wimbledon in 2004 (Brenda Schultz McCarthy set a new record, 130 mph, in 2006). Venus wears her own line of garb called Eleven, and, like her sister Serena, chops with a Wilson K Factor KBlade Team 104" axe. Venus reportedly has her bats strung (at about 65 lbs) with Wilson 16-gauge Natural Gut. Venus is coached by her father, Richard Williams, and her regular hitting partner and "coaching consultant" is David Witt, who has worked with her sister Serena as well. Venus' agent is Stephanie Tolleson at IMG . (April 8-9, 2008 revised) Current Wimbledon champ and former # 1 Venus Williams has announced that she will not be playing for an indefinite period. On Tuesday at the Bausch & Lomb Championships, Venus said: "I've just been having some issues that I need to resolve, so I'm working on that at the moment and I'm hoping to be back playing as soon as possible. I'm not going to get any further into it, but of course I love the sport... "Of course I want to be [at the French Open]. I don't want to be at home watching on TV. Watching this week will be enough on TV, so hopefully not too many more weeks." Last summer, after the US Open semifinals, Venus's mother, Oracene Price, said Venus was taking medicine for anemia. On Wedesday, it was announced that Venus was taking the time for unspecified medical tests, but that she hopes to be practicing by the end of next week and playing again by the Italian Open in early May. Venus's agent, Carlos Fleming said: "Venus has assured me that there's no serious medical problem. But she did see this timing as a good opportunity to have these evaluations to make sure that her health is in order." AP story (Apr 17, 2006) Venus Williams has not played since her 1st round loss at the Australian Open. Venus currently suffers from a sprained right elbow. (Oct 2, 2003) # 6 Venus Williams has withdrawn from next week's tournament in Filderstadt, Germany due to her persistant abdominal muscle strain, which has caused her to withdraw from all other events she had entered in the past few months, including the US Open. (Nov. 13, 2002) Venus retired at 0-5 from her WTA Champ's SF against Kim Clijsters due to pain from a previously twisted left ankle. Venus held a news conference at the Pacific Design Center in LA on Nov. 12 to introduce her new interior design company "V Starr Interiors". |
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 Elena Dementieva after defeating Amelie Mauresmo 6-4, 6-3 in their quarterfinal of the French Open at Roland Garros on June 1, 2004. |
Elena Dementieva Wallpaper WTA bio page ITF: Elena Dementieva career record Dementieva record at The WTA since 1996 Elena Dementieva: Striking Russian Blonde 100% Elena Dementieva Elena Dementieva Interview Transcripts Feb 2004 Eurosport interview (Real Video) Elena describes her development as a tennis player At the 2002 WTA Champ's: Fastest Serve: 106 MPH Avg 1st Serve Speeds: 96 MPH |
| Winner of 13 WTA Tour singles titles: | Finalist (14): | Semifinalist (38): | |
| 2009 | Sydney, Auckland | Paris Indoor | Stuttgart, Charleston, Australian Open |
| 2008 | Luxembourg, (Beijing Olympics), Dubai | Istanbul, Berlin | Doha WTA Championships, Moscow, US Open, Wimbledon, Eastbourne, Charleston, Paris Indoor |
| 2007 | Moscow, Istanbul | New Haven, San Diego, Tokyo Indoor | |
| 2006 | Los Angeles, Tokyo Indoor | Indian Wells | Moscow, 's-Hertogenbosch, Warsaw, Antwerp |
| 2005 | Philadelphia, Charleston | Moscow, Filderstadt, US Open, Los Angeles, Indian Wells, Sydney | |
| 2004 | Hasselt | Moscow, US Open, Roland Garros, Miami | Zurich, New Haven, San Diego, Los Angeles |
| 2003 | Shanghai, Bali, Amelia Island | Moscow, Toronto, Paris Indoors | |
| 2002 | 's-Hertogenbosch | Filderstadt | |
| 2001 | Acapulco, Moscow | Miami, Leipzig | |
| 2000 | Olympics | US Open, WTA Champ's, Indian Wells, Los Angeles | |
| 1999 | Palermo | ||
| 1998 | ITF-Buchen-GER | ||
| 1997 | ITF/Istanbul-TUR | ||
| 1996 | ITF/Jurmula |
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Elena Dementieva was born in Moscow; in 2008 she joined Svetlana Kuznetsova, Dinara Safina, and Nadia Petrova by changing her residence to tax-free Monte Carlo, Monaco, saving the 13% of her income that would go to the Russian flat rate income tax. Elena received her early training at Moscow's Spartak Academy, as did her friend Anastasia Myskina. Elena's mother Vera travels with her on the tour, and since Wimbledon, 2005, has reportedly been her only coach. Prior to that, former Russian great Olga Morozova, had been coaching Elena. At last report, Elena's agent is someone at IMG. Elena has good groundstrokes on both sides, but prefers her forehand; says Elena: "I really like to be aggressive on my forehand side." Her mobility is good. Her serve formerly was a major problem, but by 2008 she had reduced her frequency of double faults, and began putting more pace on her 2nd serve as well. Elena's garb and her bat are both labeled "Yonex". Elena formerly swung the Yonex MP Tour-1 and Yonex RDX 500 models, then, up until winning the Sydney title in January, 2009, the Yonex RDS 001. Four days later at the Australian Open, Elena came out swinging the new Yonex RDiS 100 Mid a 27" bat with a 93 sq" string area, weighing about 12.1 oz strung, balanced 8 points head light with a stiffness rating of about 68. She reportedly has her bats strung (at about 51 lbs main 48 lbs cross) with 16-gauge Luxilon Big Banger Alu Power, a synthetic composite monofilament made of nylon, fluocarbon resin, and aluminum fibers. (Mar 8, 2006) 5th-seeded # 8 Elena Dementieva has withdrawn from the Pacific Life Open. Elena, a finalist at Indian Wells in 2006, incurred a rib injury during a 2nd-round match in Antwerp on February 15th. While practicing in Moscow last week, she felt pain in the area; the AP reports she has now been diagnosed as having a right rib stress fracture. Apparently she will be out for at least a month. Elena said: "I'm going to miss a couple of tournaments." (June 15, 2005) Elena Dementieva retired from her 2nd round match against Denisa Chladkova at 's-Hertogenbosch due to a shoulder injury. Elena led 4-1, then felt a sharp pain in her right shoulder while hitting a forehand. She tried to continue, but retired from the match after losing 4 of the next 5 games. Elena said: "It was just too difficult to play on... I don't know how bad it is. I will go to hospital to find out if it's a strain or whatever, but I don't know if I'll be able to play at Wimbledon. I'm very upset right now. I was warm enough, but I was just hitting a forehand and felt a sudden pain on the front of my shoulder." Elena had been working with former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek on her serve this week, but she did not think that had anything to do with the injury. Elena said: "We didn't do anything different... I was working really hard for a couple of days and he really helped me a lot. I just think it's one of those grasscourt things, with the bad bounces... "I think my game is in much better shape than at the French Open. Sometimes when you're feeling good, bad things happen to you... I felt really good and ready to play well here and at Wimbledon, and now I don't know if I'll be able to. I have never had anything like this before." Elena got a scan of the shoulder immediately, which revealed that the injury was a strain, not a tear. After the scan, Elena said: "For the moment it's difficult to say if I'm [definitely] going to be able to play at Wimbledon, but I'm trying to be optimistic. The results of my test show that I have a right shoulder strain. I hope that I can play but I'll have to wait and see how it feels over the next few days. I'm going to take care of it and do as much training as possible." Reuters story |
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 Svetlana Kuznetsova gives thumbs up after defeating Justine Henin 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 during their semifinal match at the Qatar Total Open on March 3, 2004. |
WTA bio page ITF: Svetlana Kuznetsova career record Svetlana Kuznetsova record at The WTA since 1996 Kuznetsova Fanpage Kuznetsova page at Tennis Rulz Svetlana Kuznetsova Interview Transcripts |
| Winner of 11 WTA Tour singles titles: | Finalist (18): | Semifinalist (19): | |
| 2009 | Roland Garros, Stuttgart | Rome | Miami |
| 2008 | Beijing, Tokyo PPO, Indian Wells, Dubai, Sydney | Roland Garros, Miami | |
| 2007 | New Haven | US Open, Rome, Berlin, Indian Wells, Doha | Moscow, Stuttgart, Warsaw, Dubai |
| 2006 | Beijing, Bali, Miami | Roland Garros, Warsaw | Zurich, Stuttgart, New Haven, Rome, Amelia Island, Dubai, Sydney |
| 2005 | Warsaw | Eastbourne, Tokyo indoor | |
| 2004 | Bali, US Open, Eastbourne | Beijing, Warsaw, Doha, Dubai | Filderstadt |
| 2003 | San Diego | ||
| 2002 | Helsinki, Bali | Casablanca | |
| 2001 | ITF/Cagliari-ITA |
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Svetlana Kuznetsova was born in St. Petersburg, Russia; in 2007, she established her residence (like Justine Henin and several other WTA players) in Monte Carlo, Monaco, thus avoiding double taxation on prize money. She is attired in Fila togs. Svetlana swings a Head MicroGEL Extreme bat, which was adopted in 2007 by most former users of the Head Flexpoint Instinct. In 2004 her racquets were reportedly strung with 16-gauge Luxilon Big Banger Alu Touch, which is a set of 2 different synthetic composite monofilaments (ALU Power & Supersense), one for the mains, and one for the cross strings. Svetlana received her primary tennis training at the Sánchez-Casal Academy Academy near Barcelona, Spain, and has been coached by Sergio Casal, Emilio Sanchez, Stefan Ortega, and others; Ortega was the coach who most often traveled with her. In October, 2008, Svetlana thanked the Sánchez-Casal Academy, but announced that she would now be coached by Olga Morozova, the 1974 Roland Garros and Wimbledon finalist, who coached Elena Dementieva for a few years (until Wimbledon in 2005). But by late March, 2009, Svetlana decided that things weren't working out with Olga, and she parted ways with her as well. Later in the spring of 2009, Svetlana hired Larisa Savchenko Neiland as her coach. Svetlana is also an excellent doubles player (13 WTA titles), and a popular partner. She began playing WTA doubles with coach and former ATP player Emilio's younger sister, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, a former WTA # 1. When Arantxa retired, Martina Navratilova asked Svetlana to play doubles with her. When Martina chose to play doubles with an American partner in 2004 to prepare for the Olympics, Svetlana teamed up with Elena Likhovtseva. In 2005 Svetlana played doubles with Alicia Molik, and they won the Australian Open & NASDAQ-100 Open together. Svetlana's agent is someone at IMG. |
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 Jelena Jankovic is shown after defeating # 7 (and former # 1) Martina Hingis 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in the 1st round of the Sydney International on Jan 8, 2007. Jelena had won the Auckland tourney, her 2nd WTA singles title, just 2 days earlier. |
WTA bio page ITF: Jelena Jankovic career record Jankovic record at The WTA since 1996 jj-jelenajankovic.com official website Jelenin svet site of Serbian documentary film about Jelena JelenaJankovic.net WTA video: Jelenin svet Serbian documentary film trailer WTA video: Jankovic d Zvonareva highlights, Moscow final, 2008-10-12 WTA video: Jankovic d Petrova highlights, Stuttgart final, 2008-10-05 WTA video: Jankovic d Kuznetsova highlights, Beijing final, 2008-09-28 WTA video: Jelena Jankovic Video Card July, 2008 WTA video: Jankovic d Cornet highlights, Rome final, 2008-05-18 WTA video: JJ & Anna Chakvetadze Offcourt Rome, May, 2008 WTA video: Jelena Jankovic Photo Shoot Indian Wells, March, 2008 WTA video: Jelena Jankovic & New Sony Phone Feb, 2008 WTA video: Jelena Jankovic Whirlpool Photo Shoot Stuttgart, Oct, 2007 Jelena Jankovic Interview Transcripts |
| Winner of 10 WTA Tour singles titles: | Finalist (10): | Semifinalist (18): | |
| 2009 | Marbella | Paris Indoor | |
| 2008 | Moscow, Stuttgart, Beijing, Rome | US Open, Miami | Doha WTA Championships, Los Angeles, Roland Garros, Indian Wells, Dubai, Australian Open |
| 2007 | Birmingham, Rome, Charleston, Auckland | Beijing, Toronto, 's-Hertogenbosch, Sydney | Stuttgart, Los Angeles, Roland Garros, Strasbourg, Warsaw, Doha, Dubai |
| 2006 | Los Angeles | Beijing, US Open, Strasbourg | |
| 2005 | Seoul, Birmingham, Dubai | ||
| 2004 | Budapest | Linz | |
| 2003 | ITF/Dubai-UAE |
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Jelena Jankovic was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. She did not start playing tennis until the relatively late age of 9½. When Jelena was 12½ she went to Florida and received her primary tennis training at the IMG Bollettieri Academy in Bradenton, attending school in the mornings and Bollettieri's in the afternoons. In August, 2008, Jelena became the 10th Bollettieri-trained player to achieve the WTA's # 1 singles ranking. As of 2008, Jelena again resides in Belgrade (but has a second house in Miami, and is building another in San Diego). Jelena prefers hardcourts, and her backhand. In the spring of 2005, Jelena, who had been swinging a Yonex RQ-5 bat, switched to Prince. In 2006 and early 2007, Jelena chopped with the Prince O3 Red. She last swung that bat in the 2007 French Open semis; the following week at Birmingham Jelena unleashed the new Prince Ozone Seven, and liked it so much she won the tourney. In 2008, Jelena started with another new Prince model, the O3 Speedport Pro White MP. Jelena's Prince contract expired in Dec 2008, but as of April, 2009, she has not yet signed a new one, and in 2009 has been swinging the same bats with the logos taped over. At last report, Jelena has her main strings strung with Luxilon Big Banger Alu Power at about 73 lbs tension, and her cross strings with Prince Natural Gut at about 71 lbs. Jelena wore adidas in her younger days, then switched to Lacoste togs, and in mid-2005 began sporting the Ralph Lauren Polo logo. Jelena reached the semifinals of the 2006 US Open wearing some nice looking togs of her own. The following month, she signed with Reebok as her new tailor. In January 2009 Jelena became the first WTA player to sign a contract with ANTA, the largest seller of sports shoes in China. ANTA is producing a new "JJ" line of shoes and attire for Jelena. Wheels? "I have a Porsche 911, a turbo. It's a 2008, and it's a very fast car. It's a new one from this year. I'm a promoter of Hyundai cars in Serbia, so I'm driving there Hyundai cars; [also] a Jeep." In August, 2005, Jelena, who had been slumping recently after taking on Roman Savochkin as her first touring coach, indicated she might not keep him. Jelena said: "I don't have confidence so I'm not playing my best. I have a new coach now and he's changing little things in my game. So all the shots feel so insecure at the moment... I don't know [if I will continue with Savochkin]. I will see because now I'm not playing so good." AP story In 2007, the WTA listed Jelena's coach as her father, Veselin Jankovic. In April, 2007, Jelena indicated that she was traveling with her mother and a hitting partner. After she defeated Venus Williams in the 3rd round of the 2007 French Open, Jelena was asked about her current coach. Jelena said: "He's not my full-time coach, so he doesn't like that I mention it yet. But he's helping me here and there, together with my mom, who is my No. 1 supporter and always in my box. But when he becomes officially my full-time coach, then I will announce his name." Times of London story on Jelena's part time coach Richard Brooks. In early 2008 Jelena was coached by Scott Humphries. But they parted ways after the Dubai tourney, and Jelena was again without a coach until April, 2008, when Ricardo Sanchez began traveling with her. As for fitness training, at the US Open in September, 2008, Jelena said: "I was getting tired quite quickly, but I have been working with the Pat Etcheberry quite a lot. Every day I feel that I'm just little by little I'm getting stronger." Jelena's agent is someone at IMG. (Jan 10, 2009) Unfortunately, # 1 Jelena Jankovic, who lost to Venus Williams in their Hong Kong exhibition match on Friday, had to withdraw from her consolation match against Jie Zheng due to stomach flu, which is impairing her preparations for the Australian Open. Jelena said: "I have been weak and sick for the last couple of days. I have been trying my best to get on the court but I feel slow, I have no reactions and it has been a struggle for me. My main goal now is to get back on court as soon as possible and get ready for the Australian. I will try and stay optimistic and hope for the best." story (Oct 25, 2008) The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour announced on Sunday that regardless of the outcome of remaining matches this season, current # 1 Jelena Jankovic will finish the season holding the # 1 ranking. Jelena has amassed a 63-17 match record in 2008, with the Doha, Qatar WTA Championships left to play. JJ's season record Jelena said: "It has been a truly amazing year for me. Winning four Sony Ericsson WTA Tour titles [Rome, Beijing, Stuttgart & Moscow], over 60 matches and to make it to two semifinals [Australian Open and French Open] and a final [US Open] in the Grand Slams this year is a dream come true. I worked really hard this year and to finish No.1 is where I want to be and where I hope to stay." WTA story |
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 Vera Zvonareva serves to Francesca Schiavone of Italy while defeating her 6-3, 6-3 in their quarterfinal of the Italian Open in Rome on May 14, 2004. |
WTA bio page ITF: Vera Zvonareva career record Vera Zvonareva record at The WTA since 1996 Zvonareva.ru official Zvonareva.com Vera Zvonareva Interview Transcripts |
| Winner of 9 WTA Tour singles titles: | Finalist (11): | Semifinalist (20): | |
| 2009 | Indian Wells, Pattaya City | Australian Open | |
| 2008 | Guangzhou, Prague | Doha WTA Championships, Linz, Moscow, Charleston, Hobart, Doha | Beijing (China Open), Beijing Olympics (bronze), Miami |
| 2007 | Auckland | Charleston, Luxembourg, Québec City; | |
| 2006 | Birmingham, Cincinnati | Auckland | Hasselt |
| 2005 | Memphis | Rome | |
| 2004 | Memphis | Philadelphia, Cincinnati | Beijing, Montreal, San Diego, Eastbourne, Rome, Warsaw |
| 2003 | Bol | Linz, Vienna | |
| 2002 | ITF/Naples-USA | Palermo | Warsaw, Sopot |
| 2001 | |||
| 2000 | ITF/Moscow-RUS | ||
| 1999 | ITF/Tbilisi-GEO |
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Vera Zvonareva was born and resides in Moscow, Russia. Vera formerly swung a Fischer "Pro No. One FT", and reportedly strung her bats with 16-gauge Kirschbaum Super Smash Spiky, a polyester monofilament with a textured outer wrap. In 2007 Vera began chopping with a Prince Prince O3 White axe, and recently she has been using Gamma Live Wire Professional, strung at about 64 lbs. Vera, who likes traveling, strawberries, volleyball, hockey, reading and listening to music, speaks very fluent English. Vera began playing tennis at age 6. She was coached by Julia Kashevarova, and then by Lex Carrington, who at times left the court when Vera got very upset with herself after making errors (oncourt Vera is visibly one of the most self-critical players on the WTA Tour, a marked contrast to her bright-eyed cheerful attitude offcourt). Since early 2006, Vera has been coached by Samuel Sumyk, a Frenchman residing in Florida, who also works with Meilen Tu and Elena Likhovtseva. Vera's agent is John Tobias of SFX Sports Group. (May 8, 2009) # 6 Vera Zvonareva has withdrawn from the Madrid Opn due to torn left ankle ligaments which she incurred in a fall at the Family Circle Cup last month in Charleston. Vera has missed all events since then, and it is feared she will have to withdraw from this year's French Open. (Jun 18, 2007) # 19 Vera Zvonareva has withdrawn from Wimbledon due to the same left wrist injury which has been troubling her for months. (May 24, 2007 revised) # 17 Tatiana Golovin (right foot), # 19 Vera Zvonareva (left wrist), and # 32 Shuai Peng (left ankle), have unfortunately all joined # 6 Martina Hingis (right hip, leg & back) in withdrawing from next week's French Open due to injuries. # 89 (and former # 11) Karolina Sprem has also withdrawn; the reason for Karolina's withdrawal is not yet known. (Aug 23, 2005) # 19 Vera Zvonareva from Moscow, Russia, has withdrawn from the 2005 US Open due to a sprained left ankle. |
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 Victoria Azarenka is shown after match point as she defeated Martina Hingis 3-6, 6-1, 6-0, in the 3rd round of the US Open at Flushing Meadows on Sep 1, 2007. |
WTA bio page ITF: Victoria Azarenka career record Azarenka record at The WTA since 1996 vikaazarenkatennis.com official website Victoria Azarenka Interview Transcripts |
| Winner of 3 WTA Tour singles titles: | Finalist (4): | Semifinalist (6): | |
| 2009 | Miami, Memphis, Brisbane | Rome, Indian Wells | |
| 2008 | Gold Coast, Prague | Stuttgart | |
| 2007 | Estoril, Tashkent | Prague | |
| 2006 | Tashkent | ||
| 2005 | ITF/Petange-LUX | Guangzhou |
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Victoria Azarenka, whose nickname is Vika, not Vicky, was born in Minsk, Belarus (still her favorite city), where she started playing tennis at age 7. Victoria's mother knew the wife of NHL goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin. In 2005, the Khabibulins invited Victoria to live with them in Scottsdale, Arizona, and she has lived and trained there ever since. Victoria won the juniors singles titles at the 2005 Australian Open and the 2005 US Open. Victoria prefers her backhand, and hardcourts. She is coached by Antonio Van Grichen; her fitness trainer is Mark Wellington. Victoria swings a Head MicroGEL Extreme bat, and wears Nike attire and shoes (not surprising, since Nike is Greek for "victory"). Victoria, who speaks Belarusian, English and Russian, enjoys listening to music, spending time with friends, and reading. |
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 Caroline Wozniacki is shown after she defeated Anna Chakvetadze 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, in the final of the Pilot Pen Open at New Haven on August 23, 2008. |
WTA bio page ITF: Caroline Wozniacki career record Wozniacki record at The WTA since 1996 CarolineWozniacki.dk official website Caroline Wozniacki Interview Transcripts New Haven champion 2008-08-23 postmatch interview |
| Winner of 5 WTA Tour singles titles: | Finalist (4): | Semifinalist (2): | |
| 2009 | Eastbourne, Ponte Vedra Beach | Madrid, Charleston, Memphis | |
| 2008 | Tokyo (Japan Open), New Haven, Stockholm, ITF/Odense-DEN | Luxembourg | Portoroz |
| 2007 | ITF/Ortisei-ITA, ITF/Las Vegas, NV-USA | Tokyo [Japan Open] | |
| 2006 | ITF/Istanbul 2-TUR |
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Caroline Wozniacki, was born in Odense, Denmark, but her parents are both Polish. Caroline's father, Piotr, was playing professional soccer for a Danish team when Caroline was born. Caroline now resides in Monte Carlo, Monaco, but her parents reside in Poland. Caroline's mother, Anna, played volleyball for Polish national team. Her brother, Patrik, plays pro soccer in Denmark. Since she began playing tennis at age 7, Caroline has been taught by her father, who still travels with and coaches her. Like Ana Ivanovic and some other players who wear "the mark with three stripes," Caroline sometimes receives coaching from Sven Groeneveld of adidas. She has also been coached by Morten Christensen at the national tennis center in Denmark. Caroline typically has 4 hours of tennis and 1 hour of fitness training each day. Caroline won 2005 Orange Bowl juniors tourney, was a 2006 Australian Open junior singles finalist, and won the 2006 Wimbledon juniors singles title. Her favorite players while growing up were Martina Hingis and Steffi Graf. Caroline swings a Babolat AeroPro Drive racquet; and is attired in fashions by adidas. Offcourt Caroline likes to read, shop, listen to music, and chow down on a good steak. (Feb 22, 2009) After her loss to Victoria Azarenka in the Memphis final on Saturday, Caroline Wozniacki headed to Las Vegas, Nevada, for two weeks of strength and conditioning coaching from Gil Reyes, former trainer of Andre Agassi. Caroline's next tourney will be at nearby Indian Wells, CA. Memphis Commercial Appeal story |
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 Nadia Petrova of Russia after defeating compatriot Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in a QF match of the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Tuesday, June 3, 2003. |
Nadia Petrova Wallpaper WTA bio page ITF: Nadia Petrova career record Nadia Petrova record at The WTA since 1996 Nadia-Petrova.org (official website) Nadia Petrova Interview Transcripts Nadia's fastest serves at Amelia Island in April, 2004 reached 118 MPH. |
| Winner of 9 WTA Tour singles titles: | Finalist (10): | Semifinalist (20): | |
| 2009 | Ponte Vedra Beach | ||
| 2008 | Quebec City, Cincinnati | Stuttgart, Eastbourne | Bali |
| 2007 | Paris Indoor | Los Angeles, Amelia Island | Tokyo PPO, Eastbourne |
| 2006 | Stuttgart, Berlin, Charleston, Amelia Island, Doha | Linz, Moscow | Antwerp |
| 2005 | Linz | Bangkok, Berlin | Philadelphia, Roland Garros, Amelia Island, Paris Indoor |
| 2004 | Gold Coast | Philadelphia, Linz, Bali, Amelia Island, Miami | |
| 2003 | Linz | Philadelphia, Zurich, Roland Garros, ’s-Hertogenbosch | |
| 2002 | Gold Coast | ||
| 2001 | Amelia Island | ||
| 2000 | |||
| 1999 | |||
| 1998 | ITF/Makarska-CRO, ITF/Hvar-CRO, ITF/Dubrovnik-CRO | ||
| 1997 | ITF/Tbilisi-GEO |
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Nadia Petrova was born and still resides in Moscow, Russia. Once a Prince user, in late 2003 Nadia was converted to the adidas religion for shoes & clothing. She kept using her Prince bat sans logo for a while, then signed with Babolat, at first swinging a Pure Drive (the model used by Clijsters & Roddick), then adopting the Babolat "Pure Storm Team" axe. Nadia reportedly has her bats strung with 16-gauge Luxilon Monotec Supersense, a synthetic composite monofilament made of nylon and fluocarbon resin. Nadia's 1st serves at times exceed 120 mph (her father, Victor Petrov, was a hammer thrower), and Mary Joe Fernandez considers Nadia the best server of the current crop of quality Russian players. Nadia's mother, Nadejda Ilina, won the bronze medal at the Montreal Olympics in the 400 meter relay, and Nadia moves very well for a player almost 6 feet tall. Nadia favors hardcourts. She was coached by Glen Schaap until late 2005 (Schaap then moved to coaching Dinara Safina). Nadia hired Alexsande Mityaev in December, 2005, but in February 2006 her coach reportedly became Andy Fahlke, a German. As of April, 2006, Nadia's WTA bio reported that her coach was Tomasz Iwanski, a Pole. Writing in her Moscow player's blog during the Kremlin Cup in Oct 2006, Nadia reported that she now has two coaches: Roger Anderson (of South Africa) and Tatiana Matoukhnuke. Since 2008 Nadia's coach has been another Pole, Matias Polonski, who has also worked with Marta Domachowska. Nadia has won 11 WTA doubles titles, most of them partnered with American Meghann Shaughnessy. (Jun 25, 2006) # 5 Nadia Petrova from Moscow, Russia, has withdrawn from Wimbledon. Nadia had a right hip injury which led to her early defeat at the French Open; she has also been plagued by chronic adductor muscle strains. Nadia had won 3 straight tourneys before Roland Garros. (Jan 24, 2006) After losing to Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open quarterfinals, Nadia Petrova told reporters she was shopping around for a new coach. Nadia said: "I do have a couple of people [in mind]. As soon as I'm back at home, I'll probably just repack my bags and go further. I have someone in Germany that I'd like to try out. I haven't met him, but I heard good things about him. So I'm just going to try out. I'm in a search for someone." [The German was reportedly Andy Fahlke.] interview (March 2, 2009) Nadia Petrova, who incurred a right foot injury in early February after arriving at Pattaya City, Thailand, and had to withdraw from the Pattaya Open, has also had to withdraw from all tourneys she was to play in since then, and has now withdrawn from the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California (which begins March 11). |
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 Marion Bartoli is shown after she defeated world # 1 Justine Henin in their semifinal at Wimbledon on Friday, July 6, 2007. Marion won 1-6, 7-5, 6-1. |
WTA bio page ITF: Marion Bartoli career record Bartoli record at The WTA since 1996 Marion-Bartoli.net (unofficial) Marion Bartoli Interview Transcripts |
| Winner of 4 WTA Tour singles titles: | Finalist (5): | Semifinalist (16): | |
| 2009 | Monterrey | Brisbane | Eastbourne, Charleston |
| 2008 | Stanford | Linz, Eastbourne, Paris Indoor | |
| 2007 | Wimbledon, Prague | Luxembourg, Eastbourne, Birmingham, Strasbourg | |
| 2006 | Quebec City, Tokyo Outdoor, Auckland | Bali | Seoul |
| 2005 | ITF/Dubai 2-UAE | Auckland, Quebec City | |
| 2004 | Auckland, Hyderabad, Cincinnati | ||
| 2003 | Canberra | ||
| 2002 | ITF/Columbus-USA, ITF/Poiters-FRA | ||
| 2001 | ITF/Hatfield-GBR, ITF/Torino-ITA, ITF/Koksijde-BEL |
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Marion Bartoli was born in Le Puy en Velay, France, but her address is now Geneva, Switzerland. She is coached by father, Dr. Walter Bartoli, who introduced Marion to tennis at age six. Her mother, Sophie, is a nurse. In addition to tennis, Marion enjoys jet skiing, volleyball, basketball, painting, music, and movies. Marion wears Nike togs (formerly Le Coq Sportif) and swings a Prince O3 Red bat. The O3 Red has a 105 sq. in. head, is 27.25" long, weighs 10.3 oz strung, and is evenly balanced, with a stiffness of 68. |
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 Ana Ivanovic held the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen after defeating Dinara Safina, 6-4, 6-3, in the final of the French Open at Roland Garros on June 8, 2008. |
Ana Ivanovic Wallpaper with 5 2008 French Open photos + 1 offcourt portrait WTA bio page ITF: Ana Ivanovic career record Ivanovic record at The WTA since 1996 Ana Ivanovic official website Ana Ivanovic 2007 Australian Open player's blog Ana Ivanovic Interview Transcripts June 2008 London Daily Mail Ana Ivanovic Profile 2008 French Open final: # 2 s2 Ana Ivanovic d # 14 s13 Dinara Safina 6-4, 6-3 interview video 2008 French Open final: BBC Highlight Video 2008 French Open final: RG-TV Highlight Video |
| Winner of 8 WTA Tour singles titles: | Finalist (4): | Semifinalist (8): | |
| 2009 | Canberra | Indian Wells | |
| 2008 | Linz, Roland Garros, Indian Wells | Australian Open | Zurich, Sydney |
| 2007 | Luxembourg, Los Angeles, Berlin | Roland Garros, Tokyo Indoor | Madrid WTA Championships, Wimbledon, Amelia Island |
| 2006 | Montreal | ||
| 2005 | Canberra | Linz, Zurich, Warsaw | |
| 2004 | ITF/Mallorca 2-ESP, ITF/Gifu-JPN, ITF/Fukuoka-JPN, ITF/Fano-ITA, ITF/Batumi-GEO |
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Ana Ivanovic was born in Belgrade, Serbia, and started playing tennis at age 5, after seeing it on TV. Her father Miroslav is an economist; her mother Dragana is a lawyer. Ana now resides in Basel, Switzerland. Ana formerly chopped with a Wilson nTour axe and wore Nike shoes and clothing. In 2006 Ana changed her tailor to adidas, and between Wimbledon and San Diego she began swinging a Wilson nCode nBlade bat. At the beginning of 2008 Ana changed racquets again, and came out swinging the 95" Yonex RQ iS 1 Tour, which she reportedly has strung with Luxilon Big Banger Alu Power strings at about 54 lbs tension. Another report confirms this data for the cross strings, but states that her main strings are Wilson Natural Gut at 56 lbs. Later in the year Ana began using a customized version of this racquet, the "XL" (extra light) model, which weighs 11.6oz strung (compared to 11.9oz for the regular model). Ana's strengths are her serve and her fine forehand. But in a December 26, 2008 interview, Ana said: "I think my backhand has improved a lot, especially since I changed racquets this year. The Yonex gives me a lot more spin, which helps with my backhand. I can hit through it (ball) more freely and control it better. Aside from that, I think my net play has improved a lot and also my movement." Ana likes to play on all surfaces, but likes hardcourts most. Ana won 5 ITF singles titles in 2004, her 2nd year as a pro, then began making a name for herself on the WTA Tour. She was coached by Eric Van Harpen, and then was coached by Zoltan Kuharsky, along with physical trainer Pierre Paganini, from October 2004 until April 2006. After that she was coached by Sven Groeneveld, who collects his pay from adidas and coaches a number of players who have adidas endorsement contracts. On July 17, 2006, Ana began working with Aussie Fed Cup captain David Taylor, who has coached Alicia Molik, Maria Kirilenko, and Maggie Maleeva. After the 2009 Australian Open, Ana began working with Craig Kardon, a former coach of Martina Navratilova, but Kardon was dismissed in early June, 2009. Ana has continued to work with Sven Groeneveld in addition to her other coaches along the way. As of late 2007, Ana's strength and conditioning coach was Scott Byrnes (from Sydney, Australia); and her business manager Dan Holzman (from Switzerland), and her agent is Gavin Versi of Swiss DH Management AG. (May 8, 2009) 2008 French Open champion and WTA # 7 Ana Ivanvic has withdrawn from the Madrid Open due to a right knee injury. Ana said: "My knee has been bothering me since the Fed Cup a couple of weeks ago. It’s become more painful with each match so I decided to go and see a specialist in Munich. "Unfortunately he and his staff told me that I need to take a break from playing matches, although I must work hard on my recovery during the next week. It’s very frustrating because I feel that my overall fitness is at its peak, and I have been practising very well. "At the moment there is no danger of me missing Paris: my focus is now on Roland Garros." anaivanovic.com story (Dec 9, 2007) WTA # 4 Ana Ivanovic left Belgrade today on a flight for Sydney, Australia, where she will prepare for the 2008 season. The London Times today has a feature on how Ana has spent ten days practicing at the British Lawn Tennis Association's new £40 million facilities at Roehampton. Ana said: "Living in Serbia is difficult for us players at the moment,” she said. “Firstly there are not good practice facilities, but also we have become so famous that it’s not really comfortable. I got almost mobbed by fans just trying to do some shopping in a supermarket. So I am looking for somewhere as a base and London is a distinct possibility. I love being in the city with all the things there are to do, transport connections are good to anywhere in the world and there is no better place to train." |
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 Dominika Cibulkova is shown after she defeated # 7 Venus Williams in the 3rd round of the Qatar Total Open in Doha on Feb 21, 2008. It was Dominika's first win over a top-10 player. |
WTA bio page ITF: Dominika Cibulkova career record Cibulkova record at The WTA since 1996 DominikaCibulkova.sk official website dominika-cibulkova.com Dominika Cibulkova Interview Transcripts |
| WTA Tour singles titles (0): | Finalist (2): | Semifinalist (2): | |
| 2009 | (Hopman Cup) | Roland Garros | |
| 2008 | Amelia Island, Montreal | ||
| 2007 | Guangzhou | ||
| 2006 | ITF/Bratislava 2-SVK | ||
| 2005 | ITF/Amarante-POR |
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Dominika Cibulkova was born in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia (just across the Danube from Vienna, Austria), and still resides there. Her favorite cities are Paris, New York and Bratislava. Dominika speaks Slovakian and English. Dominika describes herself as happy person with a lot of energy; not surprisingly, the person most admires is Kim Clijsters. She enjoys listening to music, going to cinema, and spending time with friends. Dominika was introduced to tennis at age 7 by her parents, Katarina Cibulkova and Milan Cibulka. As of 2008, she is coached by a Slovak, Vladimir Platenik, and receives off-court training from Maros Molnar. She enjoys playing on both clay and hard courts, and her favorite shot is the swinging volley. |
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 Agnieszka Radwanska is shown while defeating Jill Craybas 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(4), in the final at Pattaya City on February 10, 2008, to win her second WTA singles title. |
WTA bio page ITF: Agnieszka Radwanska career record Agnieszka Radwanska record at The WTA since 1996 radwanskaagnieszka.blog.onet.pl unofficial website Agnieszka Radwanska Interview Transcripts |
| Winner of 4 WTA Tour singles titles: | Finalist (0): | Semifinalist (3): | |
| 2008 | Eastbourne, Istanbul, Pattaya City | Linz, Doha | |
| 2007 | Stockholm, ITF/Biella-ITA | ||
| 2006 | Luxembourg | ||
| 2005 | ITF/Warsaw 2-POL |
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Agnieszka Radwanska was born in Krakow, Poland, and still resides there. Agnieszka and her sister Urszula (1 year 9 months younger, ranked # 211 as of this writing) are coached by their father, Robert, who travels with them on the WTA Tour. Their mother, Marta, is an accountant. Agnieszka began playing tennis at age 4, and grew up playing at a club in Gronau, Germany, where Robert was club pro. Agnieszka won the Wimbledon juniors title in 2005. Agnieszka is a baseliner who prefers her forehand; her favorite surface is clay. She wears Nike Air Max Breathe Free II shoes, and swings a Babolat Drive Z Tour racquet, a control bat with a 100 sq." head, weighing 10.1 ounces. |
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 Flavia Pennetta defeated Alize Cornet 6-0, 4-6, 6-1, to win her 6th WTA singles title on Saturday, March 1, 2008. The Acapulco trophy has been a big ball for some time, but the sombrero was new in 2008. |
WTA bio page ITF: Flavia Pennetta career record Pennetta record at The WTA since 1996 Unofficial Penneta website 1 Unofficial Penneta website 2 nice photos of Flavia offcourt being pretty Flavia Pennetta Interview Transcripts |
| Winner of 6 WTA Tour singles titles: | Finalist (9): | Semifinalist (12): | |
| 2009 | Stuttgart | ||
| 2008 | Vina del Mar, Acapulco | Acapulco, Zurich, Los Angeles | Hobart, Palermo |
| 2007 | Bangkok | Acapulco | Bogotá, Barcelona, Seoul, Tokyo [Japan Open] |
| 2006 | Acapulco, Bogotá, Gold Coast | Estoril | |
| 2005 | Bogotá, Acapulco | Modena, Palermo | |
| 2004 | Sopot | Acapulco, Palermo | Budapest |
| 2003 | Hyderabad |
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Flavia Pennetta was born in Brindisi, Italy, and now resides in Verbier, Switzerland. Flavia was first taught tennis by her father at age 5. In 1996 she won the Italian 14-and-under doubles championship; the following year she won the Italian 16-and-under titles at both singles and doubles. She has been coached by Barbara Rossi and Gabriel Urpi. Flavia is attired in Tacchini togs. Formerly a Head chopper, in January 2006 Flavia began swinging a Wilson nCode nBlade axe, a control racquet with a 98 square inch head, which was slightly heavier, slightly stiffer, and balanced slightly more head-light than the nTour model then used by Lindsay Davenport and Justine Henin-Hardenne. With the arrival of Wilson's K-Factor series in 2007, Flavia upgraded to the new Wilson K Blade. |
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 Jie Zheng prepared to fire a forehand as she defeated Ana Ivanovic 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-4 in their quarterfinal of the China Open in Beijing on Sep 26, 2008. |
WTA bio page ITF: Jie Zheng career record Zheng record at The WTA since 1996 Jie Zheng Interview Transcripts |
| Winner of 3 WTA Tour singles titles: | Finalist (1): | Semifinalist (6): | |
| 2009 | Monterrey | ||
| 2008 | Wimbledon, Guangzhou, Beijing | ||
| 2007 | |||
| 2006 | Estoril, Stockholm | ||
| 2005 | Hobart | Rabat | Guangzhou |
| 2004 | ITF/Beijing 3-CHN | ||
| 2003 | ITF/Bronx, NY | Tokyo [Japan Open] | |
| 2002 | ITF/Shanghai-CHN, ITF/Tianjin 1-CHN |
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Jie Zheng was born in Cheng Du, China, and still resides there. Her parents are Shu Kai Zheng and Zhi Bin Lei. Jie's first memory of tennis was watching a match between Steffi Graf and Monica Seles; she started playing tennis at age 10 after seeing her older sister playing first. Jie graduated from Si Chuan Sports Academy in June 2000. Jie is coached by husband, Chang Yu; her favorite shot is her backhand. Jie wears Nike togs, and swings a Yonex bat. Her other sports interests include golf, table tennis, badminton, and her favorite cuisine is Chinese. In addition to her singles titles, Jie has won 11 WTA doubles titles, including the 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon titles, all partnered with Zi Yan. |
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 Amelie Mauresmo while defeating Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-3 in their semifinal at the Italian Open in Rome on May 15, 2004. |
WTA bio page ITF: Amelie Mauresmo career record Mauresmo record at The WTA since 1996 Amelie-Mauresmo.com (official site) Interview on Real Video 2001 Wimbledon 1st Rd, Amelie (6) def. N. Pratt 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-4, June 26, 2001 Amelie Mauresmo Interview Transcripts |
| Winner of 25 WTA Tour singles titles: | Finalist (23): | Semifinalist (25): | |
| 2009 | Paris Indoor | Madrid | |
| 2008 | |||
| 2007 | Antwerp | Eastbourne, Strasbourg, Dubai | Paris Indoor |
| 2006 | Wimbledon, Antwerp, Paris Indoor, Australian Open | Madrid WTA Championships, Beijing, Doha | US Open, Berlin, Miami |
| 2005 | WTA Championships (LA), Philadelphia, Rome, Antwerp | Filderstadt, New Haven, Paris Indoor | Toronto, Wimbledon, Miami, Doha |
| 2004 | Philadelphia, Linz, Montreal, Rome, Berlin | Filderstadt, Athens Olympics, Amelia Island, Sydney | WTA Champ's, Wimbledon, Eastbourne |
| 2003 | Philadelphia, Warsaw | WTA Champ's, Moscow, Rome, Paris Indoors | Berlin, Dubai |
| 2002 | Montreal - Dubai | Filderstadt, Moscow, US Open, Wimbledon, Paris Indoors, Antwerp | |
| 2001 | Paris Indoors, Nice, Amelia Island, German Open | Italian Open | Sydney |
| 2000 | Sydney | Bol, Italian Open | Hannover, Moscow |
| 1999 | Bratislava | Australian Open, Paris Indoors | Italian Open, Linz |
| 1998 | German Open | ||
| 1997 | ITF/Thessaloniki-GRE | ||
| 1996 | |||
| 1995 | ITF/St. Raphael-FRA |
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Amelie Mauresmo was born in St. Germains en Laye, France, and has a residence in Geneva, Switzerland. The Dunlop "300G" bat that Amelie formerly wielded was replaced by the "M-FiL 300" model. Amelie reportedly has her bats strung with 16-gauge Babolat VS Touch gut. In the spring of 2005, Amelie switched from Nike to wearing Reebok attire and shoes. She is coached by Loic Courteau, and also worked a bit with French former ATP great Yannick Noah to improve her game in early 2005. Amelie's agent is someone at Octagon. (Aug 17, 2007) US Open withdrawals: # 7 Amelie Mauresmo (not fully recovered from an appendectomy early this year) and #21 Na Li (rib injury incurred at Birmingham in June during a coughing fit resulting from a pollen allergy, reinjured in early August) have both withdrawn from the 2007 US Open. Amelie said: "I need to take time off to recapture my desire to play and to be at my best level. I have still not resumed playing in training and under such conditions, taking part in the US Open with a chance of winning is not possible." Reuters story (March 19, 2007) # 3 Amelie Mauresmo has withdrawn from the Sony Ericsson Open for an unusual reason. While Amelie was preparing to leave for Miami, she had some abdominal pain. She went to have it checked out, and wound up in surgery, having her appendix removed. Amelie will be out for about a month. (Apr 25, 2005) The main draw for the Warsaw J&S Cup was rearranged on Monday when top seed # 3 Amelie Mauresmo withdrew due an abdominal strain, as did Meghann Shaughnessy (back trouble) and Anna-Lena Groenefeld (knee). This gave Elena Bovina a 1st-round bye, moved Francesca Schiavone up to 9th seed, and put the 3 highest ranked losers in the qualifying finals into the main draw as "lucky losers." The abdominal strain also kept Amelie sidelined during Fed Cup weekend, Apr 23-24. |
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 Na Li delivering a forehand while defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the 3rd round at Wimbledon on June 30, 2006. Na then defeated Nicole Vaidisova 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 in the 4th round, becoming the first Chinese woman ever to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal. |
WTA bio page ITF: Na Li career record Na Li record at The WTA since 1996 Na Li Interview Transcripts |
| Winner of 2 WTA Tour singles titles: | Finalist (4): | Semifinalist (10): | |
| 2009 | Birmingham, Monterrey | ||
| 2008 | Gold Coast | Antwerp, Doha, Olympics, Luxembourg | |
| 2007 | Sydney, Indian Wells | ||
| 2006 | Estoril | Berlin | |
| 2005 | Estoril | Hobart, Rabat, Bali | |
| 2004 | Guangzhou, ITF/Beijing 1-CHN, ITF/Tongliao-CHN, ITF/Wulanhaote-CHN, ITF/Beijing 2-CHN, ITF/Shenzhen 1-CHN | ||
| 2003 | |||
| 2002 | ITF/Midland, MI-USA | ||
| 2001 | ITF/Ho Chi Minh City-VIE, ITF/Guangzhou-CHN | ||
| 2000 | ITF/Boca Raton, FL-USA, ITF/Nanjing 1-CHN, ITF/Nanjing 2-CHN, ITF/Shenyang-CHN, ITF/Dalian-CHN, ITF/Seoul 1-KOR, ITF/Ho Chi Minh City-VIE, ITF/Civitanova-ITA | ||
| 1999 | ITF/Shenzhen 1-CHN, ITF/Shenzhen 2-CHN, ITF/Westende-BEL |
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Na Li (sometimes written in the Chinese order, Li Na; Li is her family name, Na her personal name) was born and resides in Wuhan, Hubei, China. Na's mother, Yan-Ping, is an accountant. Na began playing badminton at age six, and has said she could be world champion at that sport, but she prefers to play tennis, which she began playing at age 8. Na also enjoys swimming and reading. Na is coached by Bjorn Hilberg; her favorite surface is hard court. She wears Nike and swings a Babolat Pure Drive Standard bat. |
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 Samantha Stosur of Australia celebrates after defeating Sorana Cirstea 6-1, 6-3 in their quarterfinal of the French Open at Roland Garros on June 3, 2009. |
WTA bio page ITF: Samantha Stosur career record Samantha Stosur record at The WTA since 1996 SamStosur.com Samantha Stosur Interview Transcripts |
| WTA Tour singles titles (0): | Finalist (4): | Semifinalist (4): | |
| 2009 | Roland Garros | ||
| 2008 | Seoul | Eastbourne | |
| 2007 | |||
| 2006 | Prague | New Haven | |
| 2005 | Gold Coast, Sydney | ||
| 2004 | Gold Coast | ||
| 2003 | |||
| 2002 | |||
| 2001 | ITF/Ibaraki-JPN, ITF/Osaka-JPN, ITF/Kyoto-JPN, ITF/Cairns-AUS |
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Samantha Stosur was born in Brisbane, Australia, and resides in nearby Gold Coast. Also known as "Sammy," "Sam," or "Samoid," she began playing tennis at age 8. Her father is Tony, her mother Dianne, and she has two brothers, Daniel and Dominic as well as a dog named Billy. Samantha swings a Babolat Pure Storm racquet, a 27" bat with a 98 sq" string area, weighing 10.9 oz strung, stiffness rating 62, balanced 3 points head light. Sam's tailor is Lacoste. Sam is coached by Rene Moller. She has a fine serve and excellent forehand, both of which utilize a lot of spin, particularly her kick serve. After defeating Samantha in the 2009 French Open semifinals, Svetlana Kuznetsova said: "[Samantha has] been playing great, so I expected very tough match. She serves great. I mean, I been playing ball from the second floor up here [due to the high bounce from the spin Samantha puts on the ball]. It was not very comfortable. I had to play two meters behind [the baseline]... The spin which Sam puts on the ball is really difficult." postmatch interview. Samantha is also a great doubles player; she reached the # 1 ranking in doubles in 2006, and has won 22 WTA doubles titles, including the 2006 French Open and 2005 US Open titles, both partnered with Lisa Raymond. |
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 Anabel Medina Garrigues is shown after she defeated Katarina Srebotnik 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-0, in the final of the Internationaux de Strasbourg on May 24, 2008, to win her 8th WTA singles title. |
WTA bio page ITF: Anabel Medina career record Medina Garrigues record at The WTA since 1996 Anabel Medina Garrigues Interview Transcripts |
| Winner of 9 WTA Tour singles titles: | Finalist (5): | Semifinalist (11): | |
| 2009 | Fès | Marbella | |
| 2008 | Strasbourg | Fès, Portoroz | Palermo, Zürich |
| 2007 | Strasbourg | ||
| 2006 | Canberra, Palermo | Guangzhou | Strasbourg |
| 2005 | Strasbourg, Palermo | New Haven | |
| 2004 | Palermo | 's-Hertogenbosch, Forest Hills, Luxembourg | |
| 2003 | ITF/Perigueux-FRA, ITF/Denain-FRA | Bogotá | Palermo |
| 2002 | Hobart | ||
| 2001 | Palermo, ITF/Girona-ESP | Antwerp, Madrid | |
| 2000 | ITF/Denain-FRA | ||
| 1999 | ITF/Pontevedra-ESP |
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Anabel Medina Garrigues was born in Valencia, Spain, and still resides there. Anabel started playing tennis when she was 12 years old with her family: her father Manuel, her mother María José, and her brothers David and José Manuel. Anabel also enjoys playing handball. Anabel is coached by Gonzalo López. Her favorite shot is backhand down the line, which she usually delivers with a big smile. Anabel's tailor is adidas, and she the stick she hits the ball with is a Head MicroGEL Extreme. Although she has won 7 of her 8 titles at Strasbourg and Palermo, Anabel's favorite tournament is Acapulco. Anabel has won 12 WTA doubles titles, including the 2008 French Open, at which she was partnered with Virginia Ruano Pascual. Anabel and Vivi also won silver medals in doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. |
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(Jan 5, 2009) The WTA has again raised the ranking point scale above previous years, approximately doubling the points awarded. For example, in 2007 and 2008, Grand Slam champions received 1000 points; in 2009 they will receive 2000 points, and Grand Slam finalists 1400 points. At the lower end of the scale, last year's winner at Auckland (then a "Tier III" tourney) received 115 points; this year's winner at Auckland (now an "International" tourney) will receive 280 points. (Dec 29, 2006) The WTA has substantially raised the ranking points ("round points") scales for 2007 above previous years. For example, in recent years Grand Slam champions have received 650 points; in 2007 they will receive 1000 points, and Grand Slam finalists 700 points. At the lower end of the scale, last year's winner in Gold Coast (a Tier III tourney) received 95 points; this year's winner will receive 115 points. Players' best points from up to 17 tourneys in the past 52 weeks are added to generate the players' rankings. The new scales will mean that tourneys in 2007 will carry more weight in players' rankings than 2006 tourneys, until the end of the season (when all 2006 points are over 52 weeks old and have been dropped). For more info and the full point scales, see the 4-page WTA .pdf, How Rankings Work. Also available: 2007 WTA Tour Official Rules, 391-page 3.3MB .pdf (Jan 1, 2006 revised) From 1996 through 2005, in addition to the "round points" used to determine their rankings, WTA players received "quality points" on sliding scale based on the ranks of players they defeated. In 2006, the WTA Tour eliminated quality points from the rankings. However, tourney entry deadlines are 6 weeks before the tourney begins. Player's 2005 rankings (including all quality points earned in 2005) were used to determine main draw and qualifying tourney entry cutoffs for the first 6 weeks or 2006. The ranking used for seeding at all tournaments in 2006 is the most recent (usually previous week's) ranking, meaning that the seed ranking at these tournaments does not include quality points. As of the seventh week in the 2006 Calendar, players entered with a ranking that did not include quality points. The first such tournaments were Dubai, Memphis, and Bogota (entry deadline January 9, 2006). |
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