Viktor Troicki (born 10 February 1986 in Belgrade) is a Serbian professional tennis player. Viktor Troicki has Serb and Russian ethnic roots.

His paternal grandparents emigrated from Tver to Serbia in 1917.

His career high ranking is #24, achieved on 3 August 2009. He won his first ATP singles title at the 2010 Kremlin Cup, beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round and Marcos Baghdatis in the final.

He also won an ATP doubles title with Christopher Kas at the 2010 PTT Thailand Open.

However, his biggest achievement was winning the deciding rubber in Serbia’s Davis Cup final against France in 2010.

2010: Troicki began the year by competing in the 2010 Qatar ExxonMobil Open as the 5th seed. Were he advanced to the semifinals after defeating Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-1 7-5, Olivier Rochus 6-2 6-2, and Łukasz Kubot 4-6 6-4 7-6(1) but lost to Rafael Nadal 6-1 6-3. At the 2010 Medibank International Sydney, he beat Florent Serra 7-6(5) 6-4 in the first round and lost to Marcos Baghdatis in the second round 7-5, 6-3. He then lost in the second round of the 2010 Australian Open to Florian Mayer 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-1. On the 2010 PBZ Zagreb Indoors, he was upset by Michael Berrer 6-4, 6-3 in the Quarterfinals after defeating Rainer Schüttler 6-3, 6-2 and Mikhail Kukushkin 7-5, 7-5. He then retired against Jürgen Melzer in the first round of the 2010 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament due to an elbow injury being 6-3, 3-0 down. He then competed in the 2010 Dubai Tennis Championships where he lost to compatriot Novak Djokovic in the second round. In the 2010 BNP Paribas Open he lost in the 4th round to Tomáš Berdych 6-1, 6-3 having only played and won 1 game in the previous rounds, as he received a bye when his second round opponent Pablo Cuevas retired after 1 game and Nikolay Davydenko withdrew. In the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open he lost to David Nalbandian in a close match 3-6, 6-4, 4-6 in the second round after receiving a bye.

In the start of the clay season Troicki competed in the 2010 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters losing to 12th seed Tommy Robredo in the second round after defeating Łukasz Kubot 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. In October 2010 Viktor won his first ever ATP World Tour title in Moscow, defeating Marcos Baghdatis in final 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. On his road to title, he has also eliminated Dmitry Tursunov, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Horacio Zeballos and Pablo Cuevas.

Troicki was part of Serbia’s Davis Cup team that reached the final for the first time in their history in 2010. He was initially overlooked for the singles rubbers, but after compatriot Janko Tipsarević was beaten by Gael Monfils in straight sets Troicki was chosen to play the final singles rubber, as well as the doubles. With Serbia and France tied at 2-2, Troicki won the deciding match 6-2 6-2 6-3 against Michael Llodra to clinch Serbia’s first Davis Cup, a triumph labeled by national coach Bogdan Obradović as “the greatest sporting triumph in Serbia’s history”.

Williams is the reigning champion in both singles and women’s doubles at the Australian Open, in singles at Wimbledon, and in women’s doubles at the French Open. Her 27 Grand Slam titles places her ninth on the all-time list: 13 in singles, 12 in women’s doubles, and 2 in mixed doubles. She is the most recent player, male or female, to have held all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously and only the fifth woman in history to do so. Her 13 Grand Slam singles titles is sixth on the all-time list. Williams ranks fourth in Grand Slam women’s singles titles won during the open era, behind Steffi Graf (22 titles) and Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova (18 titles each). She has won more Grand Slam titles in singles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles than any other active female player.

Williams has won two Olympic gold medals in women’s doubles. She has won more career prize money than any other female athlete in history. Serena has played younger sister Venus in 23 professional matches since 1998, with Serena winning 13 of these matches. They have met in eight Grand Slam finals, with Serena winning six times. Beginning with the 2002 French Open, they played each other in four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals, which was the first time in the open era that the same two players had contested four consecutive Grand Slam finals. The pair have won 12 Grand Slam doubles titles together.

Halep started playing tennis at age four, in emulation of her older brother. She has self-described her playing style as being “an aggressive baseliner, while New York Times columnist Michael Kimmelman described her as “a scrappy player from Romania, short but with potent ground strokes and a scrambler’s talent.”

2010: In January she entered the Australian Open, but lost to Stéphanie Foretz of France 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the first round of qualifying.

She was as of April 5, 2010 ranked 166th in the world.

Her breakthrough on the WTA tour occurred during the 2010 Andalucia Tennis Experience on the clay courts of Marbella, Spain. As a qualifier, she advanced to the quarterfinals with wins over world #70 Iveta Benešová and world #36 Sorana Cîrstea. She then put up a fight against world No.16 Flavia Pennetta, but was finally beaten by the No. 2 seed 6-4, 7-6(4).

Halep then qualified for the 2010 Barcelona Ladies Open by winning 3 matches, but was defeated in the first round of the main draw by Carla Suárez Navarro 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Halep’s impressive form continued into the 2010 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem in Fes. Seeded first in the qualifying round, she successfully qualified by defeating Nathalie Vierin 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 and Estrella Cabeza Candela 6-1, 6-1. In the first round she defeated No. 8 seed Lucie Hradecká 7-5, 6-1. In the second round she feated Olga Savchuk 6-3, 6-1 before causing a big upset in the quarter-finals where she defeated No. 2 seed and former top 10 player Patty Schnyder 6-2, 7-6 (3). In the semi-final she defeated Renata Voráčová 7-5, 6-4 to advance to her first WTA Tour Tournament final. But she lost to Voráčová’s Czech compatriot Iveta Benešová 4-6, 2-6 in final.

In May 2010 Halep qualified for the French Open, defeating Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 in the final round of qualifying. She was defeated 7-5, 6-1 in the first round by seventh seed Samantha Stosur.

In August 2010 Halep faced Jelena Janković at the U.S. Open in the first round. Halep had a chance to win an upset victory over Jankovic but was broken while serving for the set at 5-4 in the third. In the end, Jankovic won 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.

Country: Romania
Residence: Constanţa, Romania
Date of birth: September 27, 1991 (1991-09-27) (age 19)
Place of birth: Constanţa, Romania
Height: 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight: 64 kg (140 lb)
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Sania Mirza is current youth icon of India. Sania Mirza created history in tennis by becoming the first ever Indian to break into the top 50 WTA rankings. Sania’s stellar play and winning personality has won her an Arjuna Award, India’s top sports honor. Sania has also appeared on the South Asian cover of TIME magazine where she was included in the publication’s list of “Asia’s 50 heroes.” Sania Mirza recently became the first Indian to be seeded number one in a WTA event. Sania Mirza only 22 has a huge fan base in India and is turning heads all over the world. Sania Mirza is celebrated and adulated for her attitude towards life, her fashion sense and her immense talent.

You will see Sania Mirza as never seen before in our multimedia section featuring all new photos in any variety you need and all Sania Mirza videos including match highlights. Check out all the latest news about Sania Mirza in our news section and also track her down to her early ages in archives. From Sania Mirza’s birthplace to her hobbies, career highlights, achievements all under one roof in Sania Mirza Biography. Get all the latest match results, statistics, match highlights, watch them analyze then and give your own thoughts and comments on her performance or even more. Digg it out with other Sania Mirza fans at the Forum. Don’t miss Sania Mirza’s matches as you can find where is she is heading in tournament draws. In case you missed it every detail is available right here at sania mirza. We got a great treat for all tennis lovers and bollywood lovers in our eye catching Bollywood section and Beauties section.

Sania Mirza is dedicated to Sania Mirza and all her fans. The site is updated regularly so you wont miss anything about your favorite tennis star.

Personal life: In 2009, Sania Mirza got engaged with a childhood friend Sohrab Mirza, however this engagement did not last long. Mirza married Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik on April 12, 2010. The wedding was held in Hyderabad, India while the walima reception was held in Sialkot, Pakistan. The couple plan to settle down in Dubai.

Personal: Started playing tennis at the age of five after watching it on TV (a match of Monica Seles), remembering the phone number to a local tennis school and begging her parents to take her; was given a racquet for fifth birthday and immediately fell in love with the game

Mother, Dragana, is a lawyer; father, Miroslav, is a businessman; brother, Milos, is four years Ana’s junior; the whole family likes sports, but none played tennis before Ana

Best shot is the forehand; likes all surfaces

Has been part of the adidas Player Development Program since 2006 and has consequently worked on and off with coach Sven Groeneveld

Appointed Damian Prasad as fitness trainer in December 2009

Likes watching movies (especially thrillers), reading and listening to music (pop and R&B); also enjoys shopping, fashion; favourite TV shows are 24, Lost and Prison Break

Favourite food is sushi; favourite drinks are water, fresh pineapple juice and mango smoothies

Speaks fluent English, Serbian and some Spanish

Favourite places to visit are Melbourne, where she has some family, Mallorca, Paris and Rome

Self-described as strong-willed, sensitive, determined and extremely competitive

Most admires her family for all the support they give her

Admires Roger Federer for his professionalism on and off the court

Residence Basel, Switzerland
Date of Birth November 6, 1987
Birthplace Belgrade, Serbia
Height 6’1 (1.86 m)
Weight 152 lbs. (69 kg)
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Status Pro (August 2003)

Awards, etc

Junior Wimbledon runner-up 2004

Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Most Improved Player 2005

US Open Series champion 2006

Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Most Improved Player 2007

Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Karen Krantzcke Sportmanship Award 2007

UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia

Nominated for U.S. Secretary of State’s 2007 International Women of Courage Award

AIPS Women’s Tennis Player of the Year 2008

German Tennis Magazine Michael Westphal Award 2008

Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Diamond ACES Award 2008

International Tennis Writer’s Association Ambassador of the Year 2008

Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Humanitarian Award 2009

Has won the tennisreporters.net Sexiest Female Player award for the last five straight years (2005-2009)

Finished 11th on FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2009 list

Named the best-looking tennis player of all-time by The Age newspaper

In October 2008 won Die Bild newspaper’s reader poll for “most beautiful body” in sport

In December 2008 was named “best looking” female tennis player by The Globe & Mail newspaper

Anna Ivanovic in bikini for Sports Illustrated

Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko (born in Moscow on 25 January 1987) is a Russian professional tennis player. Kirilenko won her first WTA Tour title in 2005, defeating Anna-Lena Grönefeld in the China Open. Kirilenko reached 18, her career-high singles ranking, on the WTA tour in July 2008. She won the junior event at the 2002 Canadian Open, as well as the 2002 US Open junior tournament. She has reached one Grand Slam quarterfinal at the 2010 Australian Open. As of 25 October 2010, Kirilenko is ranked World No. 19.

Country: Russia
Residence: Moscow, Russia
Date of birth: 25 January 1987
Place of birth: Moscow, Soviet Union now Russia
Height: 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight: 57.6 kg (127 lb; 9.07 st)
Turned pro: 2001
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

October 24: Kremlin Cup : Azarenka won the final

Career: The first tennis moves Jelena has learned in Tennis Club “Red star”. Into her original club, for which she oficially plays nowadays, Jelena came when she was 9 advised by her older brother Marko. After only few trainings, Jelena Jankovic started to single out from a number of talented girls for her extra talent. Then a period of hard work in Belgrade, at the time when it was almost impossible to provide all the necessary training conditions to practise tennis at the highest level. However, thanks to her family and club, Jelena has come out of that period as one of the best young tennis players in Eastern Europe. Her great performances in young category competitions were simply the introduction into her extraordinary junior competition matches.

Extrodinary talents are always recognised, even from isolated Serbia. Jelena’s talent was noticed by the most famous and best coach today Nick Bolletieri. Young girl from Belgrade has soon after that become the member of the famous Bolletieri tennis camp on Florida. From that moment her sensational raise to the world’s top, has started that culminated with Jelena’s winning the junior Australian Open in 2001. It was at that very season when the whole world recognized the hairess of Monika Seles. Eventhough she sencerely admires Monika and lesembles former tennis queen’s playing style, Jelena went her own way and started her own career. In 2001 she became second at US Open and was a finalist of prestigious Orange Bowl. That year Jelena ended as the best ranked tennis player in junior world competition and in her country she became the best young sportwoman. At the same time with junior competitions she played senior tournaments. She entered number of ITF tournaments, but her first WTA tournament was at Masters in Indian Wells.

The year of 2002 Jelena Jankovic used to transfer to senior competitions as less painfull as possible. She began that season as 361th and ended as 194th player on the world. That year she played her first ITF final and qualification matches at US Open. She will remember that period for few matches against players from the very top, nevertheless she will remember esspecially the match against number 17 on the WTA list Daja Bedanova, when she won.

In 2003 Jelena menaged to accomplish all three goals she had planned to. She entered the group of first 100 players on the world’s WTA circuit, she played matches at Grand slams and won her first senior trophy. As number 85 on the WTA list Jelena ended this season, which means she had moved towards top of the list for 109 places. At that year’s Australian Open she passed the first round , while in the second round she was defeted by Amanda Kucer. Once again she proved that she played her best at the courts on the Australian Open, which she prefered the best. It was the year she played numerous senior tournaments in Miami, Casablanca, Budapest, Rome, Shangay, Philadelphia, ect. She did well at ITF circuit, sucessfully ending the season with the tournament in Dubai where she won her first title.

Striptease First, Tennis Later Video

Success waited for Jelena in 2004. She moved 57 places on the WTA list and ended that year as 19th European tennis player, 28th on the WTA list with total of 1063 points. Out of first 30 tennis players on the world she had most played matches on the different tournaments. Among first fifty players only Check player Iveta Benesova had played more matches. The best Serbian tennis player played in 2004 at all four Grand Slam tournaments passing first rounds in Paris and London, and second rounds in New York and Melbourn. In the middle of April in 2004, as eight seed player Jelena won her first professional title in Budapest. On her way to title she won matches against Marrero, Vinci, Cervanova, Pennetta and in her final match she defeated Martina Sucha with the resoult 7:6 6:3. Also, in 2004 Jelena played one semi-final and six quarter-final matches. As total she won 39 single matches, including the one in Atens, where she represented Serbia and Montenegro as the only tennis player from our country on the 2004 Olympic Games. At the end of 2004 Jelena Jankovic was presented as the best tennis player in Serbia and Montenegro.

Jelena in the national team

For federation Cup nationl team of Serbia and Montenegro Jelena Jankovic first played when she was 16. Her first official match for national team Jelena played on April 24th 2001 on the tournament in Mursia and won against Polish player Katarina Strazi ( 6:2 6:3 ). For her country ( first Yugoslavia, then SMn ) Jelena has played thirteen matches, so far. She won 8 of those matches and lost 5. In 2004 she played 4 times and remained undefeated at the competition of the first Afro-European group of the Fed Cup.

Jelena in private

Eventhough Jelena’s biggest love and occupation is tennis she tries to make as much free time as possible to spend it with her family, friends and for her own pleasure.
Through her all career so far her family was always on the top of her priorites ( her father Veselin, brothers Marko and Stefan, and esspecially her mother Snezana, who escorts Jelena on her major world tours ). Jelena’s parents are economists and brothers are students. There are some members of her family who played tennis for pleasure but Jelena is the first one to do it professionally.
Jelena loves to travel, read and watch TV in her free time. The favourite book is “The bridge on the Drina”, ( by famous Serbian Nobel prize winner Ivo Andric ) her favourite film is “Titanic”and actor Robert de Niro.
Jelena speaks English, as well French language since she went to French diplomatic school in Belgrade. Jelena has, also, attended piano lessons. Today, Jelena is a student of a private “Megatrend” colledge in Belgrade.

Family and early life: Janković was born in Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia, as the third child of Veselin and Snežana, two economists. She also has two brothers, Marko and Stefan. She is a student at the Megatrend University in Belgrade, studying economics; however, she has put her course of study on indefinite hold as she continues to pursue her tennis career. Janković learned her first tennis skills at the Tennis Club ‘Red Star’. As a nine-and-a-half year old she was introduced to tennis by her elder brother and fitness coach Marko. She was later trained at the Tennis Academy of Nick Bollettieri. As a junior she won the 2001 Australian Open. In 2001, she started to play on the WTA Tour; she reached the second round at her first tournament at the Indian Wells Masters.

Tennis career

In October 2003, Janković entered the top 100 at No. 90 for the first time after winning her first ITF title in Dubai. Three months later, Janković garnered her first top 10 win against Elena Dementieva 6–1, 6–4 in the first round of the 2004 Australian Open. In May, Janković won her first WTA title, a Tier V event, in Budapest, defeating Martina Suchá in the final 7–6, 6–3. Following her win in Budapest, she reached No. 51 in the world. Elsewhere in her 2004 season, she defeated top 20 players Nadia Petrova (twice), Vera Zvonareva, Patty Schnyder and Paola Suárez. Janković finished 2004 ranked No. 28 in the world.

She was ranked World No. 1 for seventeen consecutive weeks until she was overtaken by Serena Williams on February 2, 2009. She was the year-end World No. 1 in 2008, the second player in the history of the WTA tour to do this without winning a Grand Slam title, after Kim Clijsters.

Janković has reached the singles final of the US Open and the singles semifinals of the Australian Open and the French Open. In 2007, she became the first Serbian player to win a Grand Slam Title when she won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title with British partner Jamie Murray.

She is also known for being one of the most consistent Top 10 players, entering it in early 2007 and never falling out of Top 10 ever since.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands

Bethanie Lynn Mattek-Sands (born March 23, 1985, in Rochester, Minnesota) is an American professional tennis player who competes on the WTA Tour. She lives in Miami, Florida but trains in Phoenix, Arizona. Mattek has won five singles and three doubles titles on the ITF Circuit, and her best results on the WTA Tour to date are reaching the semifinals of the tournaments in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2005 and Birmingham, United Kingdom in 2008 and the finals of the Bell Challenge in 2008 and 2010. In doubles, she has won four WTA Tour titles. Mattek also plays for the New York Sportimes for World Team Tennis.

Tennis career

In 1999, Mattek played her first WTA Tour event in Philadelphia where she received a wildcard into the qualifying. She fell in the first round of qualifying to Nana Miyagi 6–3, 6–2. It was the only match of the year for Mattek. Then in 2000, Mattek received a wildcard into qualifying at the Lipton International Players Championships in Key Biscayne, Florida but fell in the first round to Anca Barna 6–1, 6–2. Later in the year, Mattek played in her first Grand Slam event at the US Open. She was gifted a wildcard into the qualification rounds and fell in the first round to 28th-seeded Gisela Riera 5–7, 6–2, 6–2.

Country: United States
Residence: Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Date of birth: March 23, 1985
Place of birth: Rochester, Minnesota, United States
Height: 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight: 145 lb (66 kg)
Turned pro: 1999
Plays: Right-handed

In 2001, Mattek again received a wildcard into the qualifying at the Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida. She won her first match against 12th-seeded Catalina Castaño 6–4, 7–6(3) but fell in the next round to 14th-seeded Sandra Cacic 7–5, 6–4. Mattek received direct entry into the ITF event Boynton Beach due to a wildcard. She defeated top-seeded Elena Likhovtseva 6–3, 1–6, 6–2 in the first round and Jennifer Hopkins 6–2, 6–0 in the second round. She lost in the quarterfinals against Asa Carlsson 6–1, 6–1. With these successes, she rose to World No. 343 in the rankings. Mattek received direct entry to the tournament in Amelia Island, Florida thanks to a wildcard. She lost first round to lucky loser Jill Craybas 4–6, 6–1, 6–3. Mattek played another ITF event Bronx as a wildcard and lost first round to Sylvia Plischke 6–1, 6–4. Mattek played her first main draw as a wildcard at a Grand Slam tournament at the US Open and lost to Australia’s Alicia Molik 4–6, 6–2, 6–4. Mattek ended the year ranked World No. 338.

Petrova vs Mattek-Sands Quiz Challenge Video

Mattek reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 38 on November 3, 2008 and career-high ranking of World No. 24 in doubles. At Grand Slam tournaments, she has reached the second round of the 2008 French Open, extending World No. 1 Maria Sharapova, who had beaten her on their only meeting till that day 6–0, 6–0 on green clay, to three sets, and the second round of the 2007 US Open; her best result was at Wimbledon in 2008 where she reached the fourth round, claiming her first top 10 win over 2007 Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli. She reached the last sixteen, losing to Serena Williams 6–3, 6–3.

Wilson Tennis On Tour with Bethanie Mattek-Sands Video

At the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles, Mattek defeated Abigail Spears in the first round 6–2, 6–4 and 11th-seeded Nicole Vaidišová in the second round 6–4, 6–0. In both victories over Vaidišová this year, Mattek managed to take a love set. She went on to defeat Olga Govortsova 7–5, 6–2 in the third round and Meng Yuan in the quarterfinals 6–2, 7–5 having recovered from a 2–5 deficit in the second set. In the semifinals, Mattek was defeated by tenth-seeded Flavia Pennetta 3–6, 6–2, 7–5. Mattek reached her first ever WTA tour final in November 2008 at the Bell Challenge in Canada losing to the top seed Nadia Petrova 4–6, 6–4, 6–1.

She pulled out of the Australian Open in January 2009 with a hip injury. She made her season debut at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, CA reaching the second round, defeating Tathiana Garbin in the first, before losing to Gisela Dulko. She also entered the doubles event with Mashona Washington, where she reached the third round. At the 2009 Wimbledon Championships, she lost in the first round to the 18th seed from Australia, Samantha Stosur.

Fashion: Mattek has achieved extensive publicity as a result of her eccentric fashion sense on the court. Notable outfits include leopard print outfits at the 2004 US Open and 2007 US Open, a striped cowboy hat that garnered her a fine at the 2005 US Open, a “soccer theme” at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships that included £10 football socks, chandelier earrings, a tube top worn over a strappy vest top, tiny running shorts and a headband, pink knee-high socks at the 2006 JPMorgan Chase Open , and a loosely draped beige top, with a crocheted waist and split sleeves that resembled a toga and beige knee-high socks at the 2006 US Open . She has since toned down her tennis outfits, but still wears knee-high socks.

Bio of Web Site: Bethanie Mattek-Sands is one of the brightest tennis stars on the WTA Tour and at the perfect age of just 25, she is the future of American tennis.

Mattek-Sands has been playing some of the best tennis of her career having reached an all time high singles ranking of #37 by the start of her 2009 season. Despite battling some injuries throughout 2009, Mattek-Sands was able to improve her doubles ranking all the way to #12 and is looking to break into the top 10 in doubles for 2010.

These impressive rankings however pale to Mattek-Sands’s place in American tennis. She is currently one of the top players not only for the USA, but around the world in both singles and doubles. Over the past two years Mattek-Sands has had some impressive finishes in both singles and doubles having amassed a 26-6 singles record in 2008. In order to achieve a record like that, Mattek-Sands made the Round of 16 at Wimbledon, Finals of Quebec City, Semi Finals of The Bank of the West in Los Angeles and Semi Finals in Birmingham, England and an ITF Title in Dothan, AL. To accompany these stats in 2008 Mattek-Sands also won a doubles title at Amelia Island, FL.

Then in 2009 despite a tough singles season, Mattek-Sands was able to add three doubles titles having won Charleston, SC, Stuttgart, Germany, and Warsaw, Poland. Along with winning two doubles titles, she and partner Nadia Petrova made the SemiFinals of Ponte Vedra, FL, QuarterFinals of US Open and the QuarterFinals of the French Open but not before beating the Williams Sisters in a 3hr 18min battle in the 3rd Round of Roland Garros. Mattek-Sands and Petrova were one of only two teams to beat the Williams Sisters in all of 2009. These captivating performances allowed her to climb to a career high #17. Throughout her career, Mattek has accumulated seven (8) Sony Ericcson WTA Tour Doubles Titles; five (5) ITF Women’s Circuit Singles Titles; and three (3) ITF Women’s Circuit Doubles Titles.

Mattek-Sands began playing tennis at age 5 having trained at the world famous Evert Academy and played her first pro event at just 14yrs old (1999.) Over the course of Bethanie’s career, she has amassed an impressive cumulative earning of over One million dollars. Mattek-Sands’s outgoing, fun and carefree personality has won her fans worldwide both on and off the court. She is also known for an adventurous sense of fashion having had many stories published about her on court attire and the unique personality she has brought to the game of tennis. Along with being a fashionista on and off the courts, Mattek-Sands can also be found cooking it up at home in her kitchen and spending some of her down time enjoying the outdoors.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands was born March 23, 1985 in Rochester, Minnesota to Tim and Heidi Mattek who currently reside in Boca Raton, FL along with their three other children Alison, Andrew and Chad. Alison is currently attending the University of Miami, Chad is attending Florida State University and Andrew is a Junior at Boca West High School. Bethanie recently married former college athlete and Phoenix businessman, Justin Sands, in a private beach ceremony in November 2008. She currently trains and resides in Phoenix, Arizona, with Justin and their Boerboel Mastiff “Ruger”.

Mattek-Sands is represented by CMPR which is run by Steve Webster. Webster is married to UCLA Women’s Tennis Head Coach Stella Sampras and also represents Stella’s brother, tennis legend Pete Sampras.

Career: Harkleroad turned pro on June 12, 2000, and was quickly billed as the next American tennis superstar. Her debut was at the ITF tournament in Largo, Florida, in 1999. The following year she played her first WTA qualifying event in Miami, Florida and her first Grand Slam at the U.S. Open. In 2001, she returned to the same events while improving her status on the ITF Circuit. In 2002 she won her first tour matches, reaching the second round at San Diego, Hawaii, and Bratislava, where she made her first doubles semi-final with partner María Emilia Salerni. She ended 2002 in the top 200 for the first time.

Her breakthrough year was in 2003, when at Charleston she defeated three top 20 players at the time (No. 16 Elena Bovina, No. 19 Meghann Shaughnessy, and No.9 Daniela Hantuchová), losing just 11 games along the way to reach her first tour semifinal before losing to Justine Henin-Hardenne. She became the lowest-ranked semifinalist (No. 101) in the event’s history since unranked Jennifer Capriati reached the finals in 1990.

After that performance, on April 14, 2003 she broke out from No. 101 to climb to a No. 56 ranking. Subsequently she reached the semifinals again at Strasbourg and scored her second Top 10 win and second over Daniela Hantuchová at Roland Garros while reaching the 3rd round and for the second time winning past the first round at a grand slam. On June 9, 2003 she soared into the Top 50 at No. 39 and reached the final in doubles at the Japan Open in Tokyo.

In 2004, she made her career first Tour final (at Auckland) before losing to defending champion Eleni Daniilidou. For most of the 2005 season, Harkleroad sat out due to various injuries and an illness in the family, but the time she was on court was spent on the ITF Women’s circuit winning 2 titles. She did however reach a tour doubles final at Quebec City.

Ashley Harkleroad Profile

Country: United States – Los Angeles
Residence: Wesley Chapel, Florida, United States
Date of birth: May 2, 1985
Place of birth: Rossville, Georgia, United States
Height: 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight: 54.8 kg (121 lb; 8.63 st)
Turned pro: (June 12, 2000)
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money: $1,009,244 (Update 2010)

2006: Harkleroad played her first main tour event since 2005 at Auckland, successfully qualifying for the main draw only to fall in the opening round. She failed to qualify at Sydney before reaching the second round of the Australian Open (as a qualifier) where she pushed world number 4 Maria Sharapova in a tough match. On her way she upset a higher ranked opponent- Shuai Peng of China. This performance saw Harkleroad break back into the top 100 at number 83. Harkleroad ended 2006 at #86 in Singles and #55 in Doubles.

2007: Harkleroad was selected for the USA in the Hopman Cup after Venus Williams withdrew. She and partner Mardy Fish went 0–3 in the event. Harkleroad pushed Tatiana Golovin to 3 sets before losing 3–6,6–4,3–6. Harkleroad lost 3–6,0–6 to Nadia Petrova and 6–3,4–6,4–6 to Alicia Molik. Harkleroad started out the main WTA season in Hobart, Tasmania. She lost in the first round to Austrian Sybille Bammer 7–6(2),6–1. Bammer eventually defeated Serena Williams in the quarterfinals. She lost to Daniela Hantuchová in the third round of the Australian Open 7–6 (6),5–7,3–6. In the previous rounds, she beat Meng Yuan of China 6–3,6–0 and upset 17th seeded German Anna-Lena Grönefeld 6–2,6–2. Harkleroad struggled in the clay court season and finished at Roland Garros in the second round losing to Venus Williams 1–6,6–7(8–10). Harkleroad was down 1–6, 1–5 before rebounding and holding set points. During this match, Williams hit the fastest recorded women’s main draw serve, a record which Venus broke again in the U.S. Open on August 28, 2007. In the grass court season, Harkleroad’s worst, Harkleroad played the Liverpool International Tennis Tournament for the second straight year as her Wimbledon warm-up. In 2006, she lost in the final to Caroline Wozniacki. This year, she defeated Wozniacki in the final to win the event. Harkleroad lost to Roberta Vinci, a good grass-court player in the first round of Wimbledon. In the U.S. Open Series, Harkleroad failed to qualify at the Acura Classic but qualified in Los Angeles and reached the second round before falling to Roland Garros runner-up Ana Ivanović 4–6,2–6. At the U.S. Open (tennis), Harkleroad fell to Ioana Raluca Olaru 5–7,6–1,4–6. Harkleroad will be playing for the first time since the U.S. Open in San Francisco, where she won $50,000 at the ITF challenger for the second consecutive year. Harkleroad ended the year by winning a $75,000 challenger in Pittsburgh and a $50,000 challenger in La Quinta back to back. She also ended the year ranked 67, her second highest year end to date. Harkleroad also won the doubles title in la Quinta with Christina Fusano. Harkleroad finished with a 29–20 record in singles and a 13–11 record in doubles for the 2007 season.

2008: Starting the year off as usual in Auckland, Harkleroad reached the second round, defeating 8th seed Émilie Loit before losing to home-crowd wild card Marina Erakovic. Jetting to Hobart, Harkleroad had a banner tournament. Staying in Australia, Harkleroad played in Hobart after winning three matches to qualify. She defeated three top-100 players before bowing out in the Semi-Finals to top seed Vera Zvonareva. In the Australian Open, Harkleroad lost to 30th seed Virginie Razzano.

Harkleroad debuted with the Fed Cup team for the United States just two weeks later. Facing Germany, Harkleroad, Lindsay Davenport, Laura Granville, and Lisa Raymond made up the United States team. Davenport was upset in a tie, giving the Germans a 1–0 lead. Harkleroad crushed Tatjana Malek and Sabine Lisicki, both in straight sets to help the U.S. win 4–1 and becoming the tie’s hero.

She then reached the final of the $75,000 ITF event in Midland where she was defeated by compatriot Laura Granville.

Her next tournament was the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells. She upset Lucie Šafářová and eighth seed Dinara Safina. She then lost to Agnieszka Radwańska in the fourth round in three sets 6–2 4–6 6–4. At the Sony Ericsson Open, she reached the third round after taking out the 23rd seed Virginie Razzano impressively 6–4 6–4, but lost to Elena Vesnina 4–6 7–5 4–6. While at the Sony Ericsson Open, a large cyst on one of her ovaries burst and she was sent to the hospital. She made it through the ordeal but had to lose one of her ovaries.

At the 2008 French Open, she lost 6–2 6–1 against tournament favorite Serena Williams in the first round.

At the 2008 Wimbledon Championships, she lost 6–4 6–3 against 2006 winner Amélie Mauresmo in the first round.

After losing early in the U.S. Open Series, Harkleroad withdrew from the U.S. Open due to a pregnancy. She took an indefinite break from tennis as a result. She gave birth on March 30, 2009 to a boy.

2010 comeback: Harkleroad planned on originally coming back at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, but decided to wait for the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Florida. She used her special protection rank of 72 to enter the main draw. She played Alicia Molik in the first round. She lost 6–1, 6–1 after only practicing like a player for a month. She plans on training and being a parent at the same time. Her next event will be World Team Tennis in the summer.

US Playboy’s first professional tennis player: After losing a tennis match to Serena Williams on May 25, 2008 at the French Open, Harkleroad told reporters she would appear in the August 2008 issue of Playboy, a decision she made while convalescing from ovarian cyst surgery in March, 2008. She appeared as the cover girl of the magazine, as well as in a four page full frontal nude pictorial, thus becoming the first professional tennis player to pose for Playboy.

AN INTERVIEW WITH ASHLEY HARKLEROAD

Ashley Harkleroad is currently ranked 65th in the world, although she has been as high as No. 39 in June 2003. Considering she’s 23 and pushed Maria Sharapova in a tough match at the 2006 Australian Open, her best days could still be ahead of her (currently, she hasn’t advanced past the third round of a major). While her career winnings to date total nearly a million dollars, there’s one thing every tennis fan (and non-fan) wants to discuss: she’s the August 2008 cover girl for Playboy (on newsstands Friday). We caught up with Harkleroad via phone to talk career, posing nude, the reaction and to settle this Federer vs. Nadal thing once and for all. Bonus: for a look at the cover of the August 2008 issue, go right here.

The Mag: We’ll get to Playboy in a second. What’s the toughest match you’ve ever been in?

Harkleroad: Probably against Dinara Safina a few months ago.

Overall, who’s the toughest opponent and why?

Either of the Williams sisters at this point. They’re like 6-3, 170. I’m out there like 5-6, 130. It’s pretty tough.

What do you love about tennis; what keeps you going during the weekly grind?

That’s a good question, since I lost last night. So right now? Not a whole lot. (laughs) I enjoy competing, but I like to win; there’s no better feeling than winning. Also, I have to think it’s better than having a “real job.”

We’ll turn to Playboy now. What happened with the offer? How did you decide to pose?

My boyfriend and my agents negotiated the deal for me. It’s something entirely different than playing tennis, and I enjoy being in front of a camera. It’s just a different avenue and I wanted to see where it could take me, so I accepted it.

What do you think are the advantages of it?

I’m not sure yet. I’m just going to have to see where it can take me. I really do enjoy being in front of a camera, though, so I’d like to do more photo shoots and the like.

You’re from Georgia. What are people back there saying about this?

You know the South—it’s the Bible Belt. People were definitely a little shocked, but the reaction has been positive overall. That’s good for me, because I didn’t want to deal with disappointing anyone (laughs).

What about the girls on the tour?

I think they understand what I was doing; I haven’t heard any negative feedback from them.

You’ve talked about enjoying being in front of the camera. How was the shoot itself?

I’m not a very modest person, so I was really feeling it. I was having a good time and trying to feel sexy in my own body; I think it worked. The pictures and the layout came out very classy. Playboy is a very classy operation all around. It was important to me, because I’m representing an athlete and her body, so I wanted it to come out showcasing that.

Gotta ask: if you saw your boyfriend with a Playboy, would that annoy you? They have tremendous articles, you know.

He doesn’t read it. If he did, though, I wouldn’t be bothered by it. I don’t tend to get jealous in that way. If you need to have fun, go have fun, you know? (laughs)

Quick hitters now. Who’s the most attractive girl in WTA?

ME!

Serious?

(laughs) No, no. It’s a tough question. I’d have to say Ana Ivanovic, though.

What song do you listen to right before a match?

I don’t always listen to music before, but I like everything. You can’t go wrong with Jay Z or Akon; I’m obsessed with Akon right now, because I just saw a TV special on him. I also really love Taylor Swift.

Who’s the best female tennis player ever?

Right now, I’d have to say Serena if I was picking one. You go back 10-15 years, you’d probably say Steffi Graf. It’s hard to say all-time because it depends on the era you’re discussing; the game changes a lot.

And finally, who’s hotter: Federer or Nadal?

That’s another tough one. I’ve never been a huge fan of Nadal looks-wise; I’d probably go with Federer. The other thing with Federer is, he’s so nice. He always—OK, maybe not always—talks to me when we’re at an event. Last spring I had ovarian cyst surgery, and he was so sweet to me when he saw me, asking me how everything was. He’s a great guy and yea, a little better looking than Nadal.

Elena Vesnina in Miami 2008 Video

Country: Russia
Residence: Sochi, Russia
Date of birth: August 1, 1986 (1986-08-01) (age 24)
Place of birth: Lviv, Soviet Union (now Ukraine)
Height: 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Turned pro: 2002
Plays: Right

Career 2010: Vesnina’s first tournament of the year is the 2010 ASB Classic where she is seeded #6. In the first round she beat Alberta Brianti 6-1 6-4. In the second round she was defeated by Alizé Cornet 6-1 6-1.

Tennis Stars Elena Vesnina & Alona Bondarenko Video

Her next tournament was the Medibank International Sydney. In the first round she faced #7 Vera Zvonareva but at 3-3 Zvonareva retired due to a right ankle injury. In the second round she was defeated by Vera Dushevina 6-3 6-4.

Vesnina was seeded #28 at the Australian Open but was defeated in the first round by Tathiana Garbin 7-6 6-4. In the doubles she partnered with Zheng Jie of China where they were seeded #9. In the first round they beat Alizé Cornet and Sharon Fichman 7-5 6-3 and in the second round they won in a walkover. In the third round they lost to the #8 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Yan Zi 6-4 6-4. Vesnina also entered mixed doubles with Andy Ram and were the #8 seeds. In the first round they defeated Alicia Molik and Matthew Ebden 6-0 6-3. In the second round they beat Anna-Lena Grönefeld and Christopher Kas but then fell to the top seeded Cara Black and Leander Paes in the quarterfinals.

Her next tournament was the 2010 Open GDF Suez where she was seeded #8. She was knocked out in the second round by Tathiana Garbin.

At the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, Vesnina fell in three sets to World No. 14 Vera Zvonareva in the first round.

At the 2010 MPS Group Championships she made it to the semifinal losing 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 to world no.2 Caroline Wozniacki after leading 6-1, 5-3 serving for the match.

She then lost 7 back-to-back matches falling in the third round of 2010 Family Circle Cup and the first rounds of 2010 Internazionali BNL d’Italia, 2010 Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, 2010 Internationaux de Strasbourg, 2010 French Open, 2010 UNICEF Open, and 2010 Wimbledon Championships.

At the Wimbledon Championships Vesnina made it to her second grand slam final in doubles while partnering Vera Zvonareva. The pair scored some impressive wins over the top seeded Williams Sisters in the Quarter finals (which ended the Americans 27 match winning streak in grand slam doubles matches) and over 4th seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta in the Semifinals. In the final they fell to fellow unseeded pairing Yaroslava Shvedova and Vania King 7-6 6-2.

She was able to break her 7 losing streak at the 2010 İstanbul Cup defeating Bojana Jovanovski, Stefanie Vögele and Anastasia Rodionova in straight sets. She then upset 6th seed Andrea Petkovic 1-6, 6-0, 7-6(2) recoring from a break down to reach the finals. She is now set to face 3rd seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.