Anna Lapushchenkova
Encyclopedia
Anna Lapushchenkova (born 24 October 1986) is a Russian professional tennis
player, since 2003.
To date she has won two $50,000 ITF titles and three $10,000 titles, and reached the final of a $100,000 event. Although she has so far struggled to qualify for major WTA Tour main draws, she has beaten several Top 100-calibre players at lesser events and in qualifying rounds for WTA events.
in October 2002, where she won through qualifying and comfortably defeated Oksana Lyubtsova of the Ukraine in the first round proper before bowing out to Ekaterina Dzehalevich
of Belarus
in a close second-round match, 5–7 6–7.
In all, she entered herself for five $10,000 tournaments and two $25,000 tournaments, but did not qualify for either of the latter.
At no point in these years did she crack the WTA Top 1000, and no year-end ranking is recorded for her in either 2002 or 2004, though she finished 2003 ranked at No. 1067.
At first she struggled, but in April she did at least equal her then still career-best feat of qualifying for a $10,000 tournament and winning her first round match, the venue once again being Minsk
. Although claiming as her first round scalp her compatriot and fellow future international star Ekaterina Ivanova
, she narrowly lost a closely fought tie in the second round.
She qualified for three of her next five tournaments but one only one further main-draw match, at Krasnoarmeisk
, Russia, in July.
Regardless, at August she decided to push herself up to the next level, and entered qualifying for a $25,000 tournament for the first time since August 2003. The venue was Moscow, and the experiment was a success, as she won through into the main draw for the first time at this level, and also won her first round match there, before being trounced by compatriot Alla Kudryavtseva
in Round Two.
Encouraged by this result, she entered another $25,000 qualifying draw at Balashikha
, also in Russia, the very next week, and again won through the qualifying draw and won her first round of the main draw before losing to a little-known fellow-Russian player at the second stage.
On the back of the ranking points accrued through these results, she gained direct entry to her next $10,000 event at Tbilisi
, Georgia
in September, and for the third time that year and the fourth in her career won her first round match at this level, but then lost a close three-set battle to a high-quality opponent in the form of compatriot Yevgeniya Rodina in the next round.
At the end of that same week, still at Tbilisi
, she qualified for her third $25,000 main draw; but then she fell to Margalita Chakhnashvili
of Georgia in straight sets in the first round of the main draw.
In late October, she qualified for her fourth $25,000 main draw at the venue where she started her career, Minsk
, and it once again proved a lucky place for her to play tennis, as she won two straight rounds in the main draw to reach her first ever ITF main draw quarterfinal at any level, recording straight-sets wins over familiar opponents Ekaterina Ivanova
and Ekaterina Dzehalevich
. But at the quarter-final stage, she lost a very close three-set tussle to Anastasiya Yakimova
of Belarus.
In December, she qualified for her fifth $25,000 main draw but was cut down by German Gréta Arn
, who allowed her only two games in the match.
Still, the young Russian ended her first full year on the tour with some useful experience, and with her first serious world ranking of 527.
in March, where a $10,000 event afforded her direct entry. After fighting her way past a couple of tricky opponents en route to her career-first semi-final at any level, she dominated Ekaterina Ivanova
to reach her first ever final, only to be denied the title by upcoming Ukrainian Galyna Kosyk, who defeated her 6–1, 7–6.
Buoyed nonetheless by her auspicious recent results, at Lebanon
in May she attempted to qualify for a $75,000 tournament for the first time. Despite winning her first round match for the loss of just five games, she lost the second by an identical margin to an opponent she had previously beaten elsewhere, Olga Panova
.
Later that month, she challenged herself still further by entering qualifying for a WTA Tour event for the first time. This took the shape of the Tier III tournament at Istanbul
, but Lapushchenkova lost a close three-set match in the first round of qualifying to Eva Hrdinová
of the Czech Republic
.
Late in June, the Russian teenager retreated to the $10,000 arena at Kharkiv
, Ukraine
, and for the second time in succession at this level fought her way through to the final, before losing to another little-known Ukrainian, Veronika Kapshay
.
But the very next week, another $10,000 tournament held at Zhukovsky, Russia would bring Lapushchenkova her long-awaited career-first ITF title, although she struggled once more against a little-known opponent in the final, this time a Russian player called Yulia Solonitskaya, before finally taking the match 1–6, 7–5, 7–5.
Lapushchenkova suffered some mixed results over the summer, though she was now able to enjoy direct entry to $25,000 events, and achieved a career-best performance in reaching the semi-final of one of them at Moscow in late August, where she was ultimately defeated by her upcoming compatriot Ekaterina Makarova
, 0–6, 5–7.
Returning to Tbilisi
in September, she entered another $10,000 event there, and this time raced through the draw for the loss of just one set to claim her second career ITF title.
Later that month, she reached the quarter-final stage in another $25,000 tournament at Batumi
, Georgia
, but then lost to an unheralded Romanian called Agnes Szatmari
.
Her second attempt at qualifying for a WTA Tour main draw followed at Moscow in October, but it was a very ambitious move to make since this was a Tier I event. She encountered an improved Oksana Lyubtsova in the first round of qualifying and beat her in three sets despite losing the first 1–6. But she ultimately lost to Czech star Iveta Benešová
in what began as a very evenly matched clash in Round Two, 6–7 2–6.
In November she returned again to Minsk
, which once more proved fortunate for her, as she reached her second career $25,000 semi-final, again beating Ekaterina Dzehalevich
on the way there. But compatriot Yevgeniya Rodina narrowly won their semi-final tie 7–6 7–5.
The following week she entered the $25,000 contest at Opole
, Poland, but this time could only reach the second round, where she came up against an unexpectedly high-ranked opponent for this level of event, Yulia Beygelzimer
of the Ukraine
, and despite putting up a close fight in the second set, lost to her 2–6, 6–7.
Lapushchenkova ended a year of steady gains ranked at World No. 313, up 214 places on her performance in 2005.
, where she was surprised by a British player, Amanda Keen.
But at the end of April, and not for the first time in her career, she responded defiantly to her indifferent recent run of results by challenging herself to step up to a higher level of competition, entering the qualifying draw for the WTA Tier II tournament at Warsaw
. Although she did not quite succeed in qualifying, she achieved a significant personal breakthrough by defeating two highly respected players in succession in the first two rounds of the qualifying draw, taking out Stéphanie Foretz
of France 3–6 6–3 6–0 in Round One and fellow-Russian Yaroslava Shvedova
6–7 6–1 0–0 (RET) in Round Two. And she put up a close fight against Bulgarian star Tsvetana Pironkova
in the qualifying round, but lost by a single break of serve in each of two straight sets.
In May, she gained direct entry into a $75,000 tournament for the first time at Jounieh
, Lebanon
, but lost in the first round to Anastasiya Yakimova
of Belarus
, 0–6 3–6.
Later that month, she made her fourth attempt to qualify for a WTA Tour main draw, and her second at Istanbul
, but was vanquished in the opening round of the qualifying draw by Romanian Sorana Cîrstea
.
A couple of disappointing though close first-round losses at lower-level ITF tournaments followed, and it was not until July that Lapushchenkova next won back-to-back main draw matches, reaching her career-first semi-final at $50,000 level at Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine
, thanks in part to a second-round gift by Johanna Larsson of Sweden, who withdrew injured without a point being played. Her most hard-fought win came against her compatriot Anastasia Pivovarova
at the quarter-final stage, Pivoravova taking the first set before losing the match. But in the semi-finals Lapushchenkova lost to little-known Stefanie Vögele of Switzerland, 4–6 3–6.
At the end of that month, she found herself in Sweden itself, entering the qualifying draw for the Tier IV WTA event at Stockholm
, her fifth attempt to gain entry to a WTA Tour main draw. She won through to the final round of qualifying with victories over Liana Ungur
of Romania and Anastasija Sevastova
of Latvia, but lost a nail-bitingly close three-setter at the last hurdle to veteran Lina Stančiūtė
of Lithuania
, 6–7 6–2 5–7.
In August, she returned to Moscow to play her first $10,000 level draw of the year, and won it fairly comfortably, losing just one set in her semi-final match, to gain her third career title.
The following week, she easily surpassed her career-best result by emerging victorious from a $50,000 tournament at Penza
, Russia, without dropping a set. She beat Kristina Antoniychuk
of the Ukraine
in the final 6–4 6–2.
The very next week, she extended her winning streak to fourteen matches at a $25,000 event in Moscow, with victories over her familiar opponent Oksana Lyubtsova and emerging fellow-Russian talent Vesna Manasieva
at the quarter-final and semi-final stages respectively, but in the final Anastasia Pivovarova
avenged her recent defeat at the hands of her compatriot by conqueroring her in straight sets, 6–3 6–4.
The following week, however, still in Moscow, Lapushchenkova's run of success was resumed, as she notched up her second career $50,000 tournament title for the loss of just twenty-two games spread over five matches. This was her fourth career ITF singles title to date and her third of the same summer. Her vanquished opponents included Oksana Lyubtsova and Lina Stančiūtė
at the second-round and quarter-final stages respectively, and Galyna Kosyk of the Ukraine
, who had won all three of their previous head-to-heads, in the final.
In September, she gained direct entry to her career-first $100,000 tournament, and defeated capable player Darya Kustova
of Belarus in the first round before losing to Russian veteran Galina Voskoboeva
in the second.
Her run of summer successes having improved her ranking sufficiently to afford her direct entry to a WTA Tour main draw for the first time, despite the fact that she had never succeeded in qualifying for one in five attempts, the young Russian came up against an inspired Nathalie Vierin
in the first round of the Tier IV event at Portorož
, Slovenia
, and could only take one game from her in suffering a fairly comprehensive drubbing at her hands.
In October, she found herself back in the qualifying draw of the next WTA Tour event for which she entered herself, which was the Tier IV event at Tashkent
. She failed to qualify after losing in the second round of the draw to compatriot Yevgeniya Rodina, 5–7 4–6.
A week later she tried for the seventh time to qualify for a WTA event, and for the second time it was the Tier I event at Moscow that she targeted with this ambition. Despite again beating Darya Kustova
in the first round of qualifying, she suffered an uncharacteristic loss to Oksana Lyubtsova in Round Two, 4–6 4–6.
Returning to the ITF circuit later that month to enter a $25,000 event at Podolsk
, Russia, Lapushchenkova had few problems in the first few rounds, but had to battle past a gritty opponent in the form of compatriot Vesna Manasieva
at the semi-final stage, beating her 7–6 2–6, 6–4. In the final, she then came up against Yevgeniya Rodina for the fourth time in her career, and as every time previously, came out the loser, this time by the convincing margin of 1–6 3–6.
In November, she could only reach the second round of a $50,000 event at what was formerly her luckiest venue, Minsk. She defeated upcoming Czech player Petra Kvitová
in three sets in the first round, having previously lost to her at the first round of a $25,000 tournament back in June; but then in the second round she bowed out 6–7 2–6 to fellow-Russian Eugenia Grebenyuk, whom she had beaten comfortably in their only previous tie two weeks previously at the quarter-final in Podolsk
.
Later that month, she came through qualifying into a $100,000 tournament for the first time (although she had previously gained direct entry to another) at Poitiers
, France, beating fellow-Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
in the qualifying round 6–4 6–1. Then she enjoyed her most successful tournament yet in the main draw, racing past Angelique Kerber
of Germany, Sofia Arvidsson
of Sweden, Viktoriya Kutuzova
of the Ukraine and Stéphanie Foretz
en route to the final, without dropping a set. However, she then came up against an on-form Marta Domachowska
of Poland, who snatched the title 7–5 6–0.
In December, after gaining direct entry into the main draw of a $75,000 tournament at Dubai
, she faltered once again at the hands of her nemesis Yevgeniya Rodina, who beat her 6–1 7–5 in the second round.
But after an unpromising start, 2007 had turned into a year of great improvement for Lapushchenkova, who finished up 169 places year-on-year at World No. 144, despite having still been ranked as low as No. 298 as recently as the middle of July that year. Her final win-loss record for the year was 43–21, a ratio of more than two wins for every loss.
of the Ukraine
6–3 6–4. But she lost what began as a close three-setter to Australian Casey Dellacqua
in Round Two, 4–6 6–4 1–6.
This performance nevertheless took her to a career-high ranking of World No. 140 on January 14, 2008.
The following week, Lapushchenkova entered herself for the qualifying draw of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, but lost an evenly fought contest in the first round to Margit Rüütel
of Estonia
, 6–7 6–2 2–6.
She took the next few weeks off from competition, but then entered qualifying for the Tier II event at Paris in early February. For the ninth time in nine of trying, she failed to gain entry to the main draw of a WTA event through the qualifying route, although she did reach the qualifying round with wins over Zuzana Ondrášková
of the Czech Republic
(in straight sets) and Timea Bacsinszky
of Switzerland (in three sets) before being defeated by American Julie Ditty
, 5–7 3–6.
in the second round of the 2010 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
in Stuttgart. She then defeated World No. 38 Lucie Šafářová
in the quarterfinals 7–6(1), 1–6, 6–1. Lapushchenkova's dream run was ended by World No. 10 Sam Stosur in the semifinals when she was defeated 7–5, 6–3, despite being up 5–2 in the first set and 3–1 in the second. However, due to her great performance, she will return to the top 100 at No. 96, 1 place below her career high.
Lapushchenkova then attempted to enter the main draw at the French Open for the first time. In the qualifying draw, she was the No.2 seed but was defeated by Han Xinyun
in the first round 7–5, 6–1.
Lapushchenkova then attempted to qualify for the 2010 AEGON International
at Eastbourne but was defeated in the first round by former top 10 player and fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze
6–4, 6–4.
Anna then competed in her first ever main draw match at a Grand Slam tournament, at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships
. Her experience was short lived though as she was defeated in the first round by eventual semifinalist Tsvetana Pironkova
6–0, 7–6(7).
At the 2010 ECM Prague Open
in the Czech Republic, Lapushchenkova gained direct acceptance into the first round and was going to face 6th Gisela Dulko
in the first round. However shortly before the match, Dulko withdrew from the tournament, and Lapushchenkova faced Lucky Loser Eva Hrdinová
instead, losing 7–5, 6–0.
Lapushchenkova then entered the 2010 Banka Koper Slovenia Open
in Portorož. She will play compatriot Vera Dushevina
in the first round. Although Lapushchenkova took the opening set, her losing streak continued as she lost 6–2, 3–6, 3–6.
Having recently dropped out of the top 100, Lapushchenkova ended her 5 match losing streak by defeating World No.50 Klára Zakopalová 5–7, 6–2, 6–3 in the first round of the 2010 Istanbul Cup
. In the second round, her forehand let her down and she crashed out to Jarmila Groth 2–6, 3–6.
Lapushchenkova then entered a new tournament on the WTA Tour, the 2010 e-Boks Danish Open
in Copenhagen. In the first round she caused a big upset by defeating 4th seed and World No.33 Tsvetana Pironkova
6–4, 6–1. She was defeated by Anna Chakvetadze
in the next round 6–3, 6–4 despite having a double break lead at 4–1 in the second set.
Lapushchenkova then won a $50,000 ITF event in Kazan, Russia, defeating Vitalia Diatchenko
in the final 6–1, 2–6, 7–6(4).
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player, since 2003.
Career Summary
Lapushchenkova began competing occasionally on the ITF women's circuit in October 2002, shortly before her sixteenth birthday. She started to compete regularly early in 2005, enjoying steady improvements over the following two years; and after at first seeming to reach a plateau around World No. 300 in the first half of 2007, she had risen rapidly to a career high of World No. 140 by January 14, 2008.To date she has won two $50,000 ITF titles and three $10,000 titles, and reached the final of a $100,000 event. Although she has so far struggled to qualify for major WTA Tour main draws, she has beaten several Top 100-calibre players at lesser events and in qualifying rounds for WTA events.
2002-4
In her first three years on the ITF circuit, the young Russian competed in only seven tournaments and won just six matches – five of them in qualifying rounds, and just one in a $10,000 main draw, which was in fact her very first tournament, the event at MinskMinsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
in October 2002, where she won through qualifying and comfortably defeated Oksana Lyubtsova of the Ukraine in the first round proper before bowing out to Ekaterina Dzehalevich
Ekaterina Dzehalevich
Ekaterina Dzehalevich is a professional Belarusian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 134th, which she reached on October 6, 2008. Her career high in doubles is 64th, which she reached on September 29, 2008. She has won four ITF and Satellite titles during her career...
of Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
in a close second-round match, 5–7 6–7.
In all, she entered herself for five $10,000 tournaments and two $25,000 tournaments, but did not qualify for either of the latter.
At no point in these years did she crack the WTA Top 1000, and no year-end ranking is recorded for her in either 2002 or 2004, though she finished 2003 ranked at No. 1067.
2005
In 2005, the young Russian, now eighteen, dramatically stepped up her participation on the circuit.At first she struggled, but in April she did at least equal her then still career-best feat of qualifying for a $10,000 tournament and winning her first round match, the venue once again being Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
. Although claiming as her first round scalp her compatriot and fellow future international star Ekaterina Ivanova
Ekaterina Ivanova (tennis)
Ekaterina Ivanova is a professional Russian tennis player.Ivanova's highest WTA singles ranking is No. 142, which she reached on June 8, 2009. Her career high in doubles was at No. 145 set at May 21, 2007...
, she narrowly lost a closely fought tie in the second round.
She qualified for three of her next five tournaments but one only one further main-draw match, at Krasnoarmeisk
Krasnoarmeysk, Moscow Oblast
Krasnoarmeysk is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Vorya River northeast of Moscow. Population: The town grew from the village of Muromtsevo , where a textile factory was established in 1834...
, Russia, in July.
Regardless, at August she decided to push herself up to the next level, and entered qualifying for a $25,000 tournament for the first time since August 2003. The venue was Moscow, and the experiment was a success, as she won through into the main draw for the first time at this level, and also won her first round match there, before being trounced by compatriot Alla Kudryavtseva
Alla Kudryavtseva
Alla Alexandrovna Kudryavtseva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She currently lives in Moscow, where she is coached by Nick Rybakov...
in Round Two.
Encouraged by this result, she entered another $25,000 qualifying draw at Balashikha
Balashikha
Balashikha is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Pekhorka River east of Moscow. It is known for its unique river and waterway system. The Pekhorka River system covers an area of from north to south and from east to west, and many small lakes and ponds were created by damming to...
, also in Russia, the very next week, and again won through the qualifying draw and won her first round of the main draw before losing to a little-known fellow-Russian player at the second stage.
On the back of the ranking points accrued through these results, she gained direct entry to her next $10,000 event at Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
in September, and for the third time that year and the fourth in her career won her first round match at this level, but then lost a close three-set battle to a high-quality opponent in the form of compatriot Yevgeniya Rodina in the next round.
At the end of that same week, still at Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, she qualified for her third $25,000 main draw; but then she fell to Margalita Chakhnashvili
Margalita Chakhnashvili
Margalita Chakhnashvili is a professional Georgian tennis player, who is, as of July 24, 2007, the top-ranked female Georgian tennis player. In her career, she has never won a singles nor doubles title on the WTA Tour, but has won 8 singles titles and 3 doubles titles on the ITF circuit...
of Georgia in straight sets in the first round of the main draw.
In late October, she qualified for her fourth $25,000 main draw at the venue where she started her career, Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, and it once again proved a lucky place for her to play tennis, as she won two straight rounds in the main draw to reach her first ever ITF main draw quarterfinal at any level, recording straight-sets wins over familiar opponents Ekaterina Ivanova
Ekaterina Ivanova (tennis)
Ekaterina Ivanova is a professional Russian tennis player.Ivanova's highest WTA singles ranking is No. 142, which she reached on June 8, 2009. Her career high in doubles was at No. 145 set at May 21, 2007...
and Ekaterina Dzehalevich
Ekaterina Dzehalevich
Ekaterina Dzehalevich is a professional Belarusian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 134th, which she reached on October 6, 2008. Her career high in doubles is 64th, which she reached on September 29, 2008. She has won four ITF and Satellite titles during her career...
. But at the quarter-final stage, she lost a very close three-set tussle to Anastasiya Yakimova
Anastasiya Yakimova
Anastasiya Yakimova is a female tennis player from Belarus. She made it to the third round of the 2007 Australian Open, defeating Ai Sugiyama of Japan, a seeded player, on the way in the second round.-2009:...
of Belarus.
In December, she qualified for her fifth $25,000 main draw but was cut down by German Gréta Arn
Gréta Arn
Gréta Arn is a professional tennis player from Hungary, and the current Hungarian No. 1. Arn turned professional in 1997....
, who allowed her only two games in the match.
Still, the young Russian ended her first full year on the tour with some useful experience, and with her first serious world ranking of 527.
2006
After taking a few months' break at the beginning of 2006, she returned to MinskMinsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
in March, where a $10,000 event afforded her direct entry. After fighting her way past a couple of tricky opponents en route to her career-first semi-final at any level, she dominated Ekaterina Ivanova
Ekaterina Ivanova (tennis)
Ekaterina Ivanova is a professional Russian tennis player.Ivanova's highest WTA singles ranking is No. 142, which she reached on June 8, 2009. Her career high in doubles was at No. 145 set at May 21, 2007...
to reach her first ever final, only to be denied the title by upcoming Ukrainian Galyna Kosyk, who defeated her 6–1, 7–6.
Buoyed nonetheless by her auspicious recent results, at Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
in May she attempted to qualify for a $75,000 tournament for the first time. Despite winning her first round match for the loss of just five games, she lost the second by an identical margin to an opponent she had previously beaten elsewhere, Olga Panova
Olga Panova
Olga Panova is a Russian professional tennis player. She was born on the 7th of January, 1987 in Krasnodar. She resides in Moscow. Panova has numerous ITF Women's Circuit titles both in singles and doubles. She was also the finalist of the 2007 Dubai ITF Open, partnering Ekaterina Makarova. Her...
.
Later that month, she challenged herself still further by entering qualifying for a WTA Tour event for the first time. This took the shape of the Tier III tournament at Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, but Lapushchenkova lost a close three-set match in the first round of qualifying to Eva Hrdinová
Eva Hrdinová
Eva Hrdinová is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. Hrdinova is now the tallest player on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour standing at 1.91m. This beats the previous record of Akgul Amanmuradova, who stands just one centimetre shorter.Hrdinová's highest singles ranking yet has been...
of the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
.
Late in June, the Russian teenager retreated to the $10,000 arena at Kharkiv
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, and for the second time in succession at this level fought her way through to the final, before losing to another little-known Ukrainian, Veronika Kapshay
Veronika Kapshay
Veronika Kapshay is a professional Ukrainian tennis player. On August 1, 2011, she reached her highest WTA singles ranking of 271 whilst her best doubles ranking was 114 on April 20, 2009.-External links:...
.
But the very next week, another $10,000 tournament held at Zhukovsky, Russia would bring Lapushchenkova her long-awaited career-first ITF title, although she struggled once more against a little-known opponent in the final, this time a Russian player called Yulia Solonitskaya, before finally taking the match 1–6, 7–5, 7–5.
Lapushchenkova suffered some mixed results over the summer, though she was now able to enjoy direct entry to $25,000 events, and achieved a career-best performance in reaching the semi-final of one of them at Moscow in late August, where she was ultimately defeated by her upcoming compatriot Ekaterina Makarova
Ekaterina Makarova
Ekaterina Valeryevna Makarova is a professional Russian tennis player. She achieved her career high ranking of number 29 on June 6, 2011.-Career:...
, 0–6, 5–7.
Returning to Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
in September, she entered another $10,000 event there, and this time raced through the draw for the loss of just one set to claim her second career ITF title.
Later that month, she reached the quarter-final stage in another $25,000 tournament at Batumi
Batumi
Batumi is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. Sometimes considered Georgia's second capital, with a population of 121,806 , Batumi serves as an important port and a commercial center. It is situated in a subtropical zone, rich in...
, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, but then lost to an unheralded Romanian called Agnes Szatmari
Agnes Szatmari
Agnes Szatmari is a professional Romanian tennis player. On March 24, 2008, she reached her highest WTA singles ranking of 187. She is coached by Portik Endre.-ITF Circuit finals:-Singles finals: 8 :-Doubles finals: 27 :...
.
Her second attempt at qualifying for a WTA Tour main draw followed at Moscow in October, but it was a very ambitious move to make since this was a Tier I event. She encountered an improved Oksana Lyubtsova in the first round of qualifying and beat her in three sets despite losing the first 1–6. But she ultimately lost to Czech star Iveta Benešová
Iveta Benešová
Iveta Benešová is a professional tennis player. She began playing tennis at age of 7 and turned professional in 1998 in Prague. She has won two WTA Tour events and one Grand Slam in mixed doubles partnering with Jürgen Melzer at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships.-2006–2008:In the 2006 Australian...
in what began as a very evenly matched clash in Round Two, 6–7 2–6.
In November she returned again to Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, which once more proved fortunate for her, as she reached her second career $25,000 semi-final, again beating Ekaterina Dzehalevich
Ekaterina Dzehalevich
Ekaterina Dzehalevich is a professional Belarusian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 134th, which she reached on October 6, 2008. Her career high in doubles is 64th, which she reached on September 29, 2008. She has won four ITF and Satellite titles during her career...
on the way there. But compatriot Yevgeniya Rodina narrowly won their semi-final tie 7–6 7–5.
The following week she entered the $25,000 contest at Opole
Opole
Opole is a city in southern Poland on the Oder River . It has a population of 125,992 and is the capital of the Upper Silesia, Opole Voivodeship and, also the seat of Opole County...
, Poland, but this time could only reach the second round, where she came up against an unexpectedly high-ranked opponent for this level of event, Yulia Beygelzimer
Yulia Beygelzimer
Yulia Beygelzimer is a professional female tennis player from Ukraine.Beygelzimer has competed for Ukraine both at the Olympics and the Fed Cup, finally reaching the Top 100, at number 83 in September 2006....
of the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, and despite putting up a close fight in the second set, lost to her 2–6, 6–7.
Lapushchenkova ended a year of steady gains ranked at World No. 313, up 214 places on her performance in 2005.
2007
The new year began poorly for the young Russian as she lost in the first round of three of her first four draws, all of them at $25,000 level, and reached only the second round at the fourth. This string of disappointments for her included an uncharacteristically early first-round loss at MinskMinsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, where she was surprised by a British player, Amanda Keen.
But at the end of April, and not for the first time in her career, she responded defiantly to her indifferent recent run of results by challenging herself to step up to a higher level of competition, entering the qualifying draw for the WTA Tier II tournament at Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
. Although she did not quite succeed in qualifying, she achieved a significant personal breakthrough by defeating two highly respected players in succession in the first two rounds of the qualifying draw, taking out Stéphanie Foretz
Stéphanie Foretz
Stéphanie Foretz Gacon is a professional female tennis player from France...
of France 3–6 6–3 6–0 in Round One and fellow-Russian Yaroslava Shvedova
Yaroslava Shvedova
Yaroslava Vyacheslavovna Shvedova is a Kazakhstani professional tennis player of Russian descent. She has achieved a career high ranking of No. 29 as of 21 June 2010. She has won 1 WTA singles title, 3 ITF Women's Circuit singles titles and 3 doubles titles, including the 2010 Wimbledon and US...
6–7 6–1 0–0 (RET) in Round Two. And she put up a close fight against Bulgarian star Tsvetana Pironkova
Tsvetana Pironkova
Tsvetana Kirilova Pironkova is a female Bulgarian tennis player. She was born and lives in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Pironkova is right-handed and plays with a two-handed backhand....
in the qualifying round, but lost by a single break of serve in each of two straight sets.
In May, she gained direct entry into a $75,000 tournament for the first time at Jounieh
Jounieh
Jounieh is a Mediterranean coastal city about 16 kilometers north of Beirut, Lebanon. Jounieh is known for its seaside resorts, pubs, restaurants and nightclubs, as well as its old stone souk, ferry, and cablecar , which takes passengers up the mountain to the shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, but lost in the first round to Anastasiya Yakimova
Anastasiya Yakimova
Anastasiya Yakimova is a female tennis player from Belarus. She made it to the third round of the 2007 Australian Open, defeating Ai Sugiyama of Japan, a seeded player, on the way in the second round.-2009:...
of Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, 0–6 3–6.
Later that month, she made her fourth attempt to qualify for a WTA Tour main draw, and her second at Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, but was vanquished in the opening round of the qualifying draw by Romanian Sorana Cîrstea
Sorana Cîrstea
Sorana Mihaela Cîrstea, is a Romanian tennis player. Her career high rank was World No. 23, achieved on 17 August 2009, after she reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 French Open and the semifinals of the 2009 Los Angeles Open.- Playing style :...
.
A couple of disappointing though close first-round losses at lower-level ITF tournaments followed, and it was not until July that Lapushchenkova next won back-to-back main draw matches, reaching her career-first semi-final at $50,000 level at Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, thanks in part to a second-round gift by Johanna Larsson of Sweden, who withdrew injured without a point being played. Her most hard-fought win came against her compatriot Anastasia Pivovarova
Anastasia Pivovarova
Anastasia Olegovna Pivovarova is a professional tennis player from Russia.Pivovarova was born in Moscow, Russia and is a right-handed player. She reached a career high of 115 in July 2010. During a successful junior career Pivovarova was ranked as high as number 2.- Biography :Anastasia Pivovarova...
at the quarter-final stage, Pivoravova taking the first set before losing the match. But in the semi-finals Lapushchenkova lost to little-known Stefanie Vögele of Switzerland, 4–6 3–6.
At the end of that month, she found herself in Sweden itself, entering the qualifying draw for the Tier IV WTA event at Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, her fifth attempt to gain entry to a WTA Tour main draw. She won through to the final round of qualifying with victories over Liana Ungur
Liana Ungur
Liana-Gabriela Ungur is a professional Romanian tennis player. On December 13, 2010, she reached her highest WTA singles ranking of 157.-Personal life:...
of Romania and Anastasija Sevastova
Anastasija Sevastova
Anastasija Sevastova is a Latvian tennis player. On January 31, 2011, she achieved her career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 36. On August 31, 2009, she claimed her highest Doubles rank of No. 195...
of Latvia, but lost a nail-bitingly close three-setter at the last hurdle to veteran Lina Stančiūtė
Lina Stanciute
Lina Stančiūtė is a Lithuanian professional tennis player, who achieved her highest ranking on September 28, 2009 .-External links:...
of Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, 6–7 6–2 5–7.
In August, she returned to Moscow to play her first $10,000 level draw of the year, and won it fairly comfortably, losing just one set in her semi-final match, to gain her third career title.
The following week, she easily surpassed her career-best result by emerging victorious from a $50,000 tournament at Penza
Penza
-Honors:A minor planet, 3189 Penza, discovered by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh in 1978, is named after the city.-Notable residents:...
, Russia, without dropping a set. She beat Kristina Antoniychuk
Kristina Antoniychuk
Kristina Antoniychuk, is a professional Ukrainian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 172, which she reached on February 22, 2010...
of the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
in the final 6–4 6–2.
The very next week, she extended her winning streak to fourteen matches at a $25,000 event in Moscow, with victories over her familiar opponent Oksana Lyubtsova and emerging fellow-Russian talent Vesna Manasieva
Vesna Manasieva
Vesna Ratkovna Dolonts is a Russian professional tennis player, born to a Serbian father and Russian mother.-ITF Tournament career:Dolonts began competing on the ITF women's circuit in September 2005, soon after her sixteenth birthday, and had risen to World No...
at the quarter-final and semi-final stages respectively, but in the final Anastasia Pivovarova
Anastasia Pivovarova
Anastasia Olegovna Pivovarova is a professional tennis player from Russia.Pivovarova was born in Moscow, Russia and is a right-handed player. She reached a career high of 115 in July 2010. During a successful junior career Pivovarova was ranked as high as number 2.- Biography :Anastasia Pivovarova...
avenged her recent defeat at the hands of her compatriot by conqueroring her in straight sets, 6–3 6–4.
The following week, however, still in Moscow, Lapushchenkova's run of success was resumed, as she notched up her second career $50,000 tournament title for the loss of just twenty-two games spread over five matches. This was her fourth career ITF singles title to date and her third of the same summer. Her vanquished opponents included Oksana Lyubtsova and Lina Stančiūtė
Lina Stanciute
Lina Stančiūtė is a Lithuanian professional tennis player, who achieved her highest ranking on September 28, 2009 .-External links:...
at the second-round and quarter-final stages respectively, and Galyna Kosyk of the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, who had won all three of their previous head-to-heads, in the final.
In September, she gained direct entry to her career-first $100,000 tournament, and defeated capable player Darya Kustova
Darya Kustova
Darya Kustova is a professional Belarusian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 117, which she reached on January 18, 2010. Her career high in doubles was 66, set at July 7, 2008.-External links:...
of Belarus in the first round before losing to Russian veteran Galina Voskoboeva
Galina Voskoboeva
Galina Olegovna Voskoboeva is a professional Russian-born Kazakhstani tennis player. She reached her career-high singles rank of World No. 56 on October 10, 2011. Her career high in doubles is 31st, set at January 29, 2007.-Early life:...
in the second.
Her run of summer successes having improved her ranking sufficiently to afford her direct entry to a WTA Tour main draw for the first time, despite the fact that she had never succeeded in qualifying for one in five attempts, the young Russian came up against an inspired Nathalie Vierin
Nathalie Vierin
Nathalie Vierin is an Italian professional tennis player. Her career high WTA singles ranking is 103, which she reached on May 15, 2006...
in the first round of the Tier IV event at Portorož
Portorož
- External links :**...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, and could only take one game from her in suffering a fairly comprehensive drubbing at her hands.
In October, she found herself back in the qualifying draw of the next WTA Tour event for which she entered herself, which was the Tier IV event at Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
. She failed to qualify after losing in the second round of the draw to compatriot Yevgeniya Rodina, 5–7 4–6.
A week later she tried for the seventh time to qualify for a WTA event, and for the second time it was the Tier I event at Moscow that she targeted with this ambition. Despite again beating Darya Kustova
Darya Kustova
Darya Kustova is a professional Belarusian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 117, which she reached on January 18, 2010. Her career high in doubles was 66, set at July 7, 2008.-External links:...
in the first round of qualifying, she suffered an uncharacteristic loss to Oksana Lyubtsova in Round Two, 4–6 4–6.
Returning to the ITF circuit later that month to enter a $25,000 event at Podolsk
Podolsk
Podolsk is an industrial city and the administrative center of Podolsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Pakhra River...
, Russia, Lapushchenkova had few problems in the first few rounds, but had to battle past a gritty opponent in the form of compatriot Vesna Manasieva
Vesna Manasieva
Vesna Ratkovna Dolonts is a Russian professional tennis player, born to a Serbian father and Russian mother.-ITF Tournament career:Dolonts began competing on the ITF women's circuit in September 2005, soon after her sixteenth birthday, and had risen to World No...
at the semi-final stage, beating her 7–6 2–6, 6–4. In the final, she then came up against Yevgeniya Rodina for the fourth time in her career, and as every time previously, came out the loser, this time by the convincing margin of 1–6 3–6.
In November, she could only reach the second round of a $50,000 event at what was formerly her luckiest venue, Minsk. She defeated upcoming Czech player Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová
Petra Kvitová is a Czech professional tennis player. She has won seven WTA singles titles. As of 31 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 2. Kvitová won the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and the 2011 WTA Tour Championships singles titles...
in three sets in the first round, having previously lost to her at the first round of a $25,000 tournament back in June; but then in the second round she bowed out 6–7 2–6 to fellow-Russian Eugenia Grebenyuk, whom she had beaten comfortably in their only previous tie two weeks previously at the quarter-final in Podolsk
Podolsk
Podolsk is an industrial city and the administrative center of Podolsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Pakhra River...
.
Later that month, she came through qualifying into a $100,000 tournament for the first time (although she had previously gained direct entry to another) at Poitiers
Poitiers
Poitiers is a city on the Clain river in west central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and of the Poitou-Charentes region. The centre is picturesque and its streets are interesting for predominant remains of historical architecture, especially from the Romanesque...
, France, beating fellow-Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Sergeyevna Pavlyuchenkova is a Russian professional tennis player and a multiple junior Grand Slam champion. Her career-high rank of World No. 13 was achieved on 4 July 2011. From July 2007 to September 2009 she was coached at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France...
in the qualifying round 6–4 6–1. Then she enjoyed her most successful tournament yet in the main draw, racing past Angelique Kerber
Angelique Kerber
Angelique Kerber is a professional German tennis player of Polish descent, who has considered representing Poland. She began playing tennis aged five. Kerber has a career high ranking of World No. 30 achieved on 3 October 2011...
of Germany, Sofia Arvidsson
Sofia Arvidsson
Lena Sofia Alexandra Arvidsson is a Swedish tennis player. As of May 9, 2011, she is ranked World No. 77. Her highest career ranking is World No. 29.-Biography:...
of Sweden, Viktoriya Kutuzova
Viktoriya Kutuzova
Viktoriya Kutuzova is a female tennis player from Ukraine.On November 28, 2005, Kutuzova reached her highest singles ranking, World No. 76.Kutuzova remains most notable for her results as a 14 year old...
of the Ukraine and Stéphanie Foretz
Stéphanie Foretz
Stéphanie Foretz Gacon is a professional female tennis player from France...
en route to the final, without dropping a set. However, she then came up against an on-form Marta Domachowska
Marta Domachowska
Marta Domachowska is a Polish professional tennis player. She began playing at age 7. She reached the semi finals of Australian Open Junior Championships in 2003. Her racquet brand is Wilson. She speaks four languages: Polish, English, Spanish and Russian. Other than tennis, she enjoys sports such...
of Poland, who snatched the title 7–5 6–0.
In December, after gaining direct entry into the main draw of a $75,000 tournament at Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, she faltered once again at the hands of her nemesis Yevgeniya Rodina, who beat her 6–1 7–5 in the second round.
But after an unpromising start, 2007 had turned into a year of great improvement for Lapushchenkova, who finished up 169 places year-on-year at World No. 144, despite having still been ranked as low as No. 298 as recently as the middle of July that year. Her final win-loss record for the year was 43–21, a ratio of more than two wins for every loss.
2008
Early in January 2008, the young Russian, now 21, gained direct entry into a WTA Tour main draw for the second time in her career. And this time, unlike the last, she succeeded in winning her first round match, dispatching Kateryna BondarenkoKateryna Bondarenko
Kateryna Volodymyrivna Bondarenko is a professional female tennis player from Ukraine and a doubles champion at Australian Open 2008.The younger sister of professional tennis players Valeria and Alona Bondarenko, she was born in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. She was...
of the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
6–3 6–4. But she lost what began as a close three-setter to Australian Casey Dellacqua
Casey Dellacqua
Casey Dellacqua is an Australian professional tennis player who currently resides in Perth, Western Australia. She was previously coached by former Australian player Nicole Pratt, before the two decided to part ways prior to the 2009 Australian Open...
in Round Two, 4–6 6–4 1–6.
This performance nevertheless took her to a career-high ranking of World No. 140 on January 14, 2008.
The following week, Lapushchenkova entered herself for the qualifying draw of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, but lost an evenly fought contest in the first round to Margit Rüütel
Margit Rüütel
Margit Rüütel is an Estonian tennis player. On 21 April 2008, she achieved her career-high WTA singles ranking of World No. 162. She has ranked as high as 192 in doubles as well, achieving the rank on 9 April 2007.- External links :...
of Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, 6–7 6–2 2–6.
She took the next few weeks off from competition, but then entered qualifying for the Tier II event at Paris in early February. For the ninth time in nine of trying, she failed to gain entry to the main draw of a WTA event through the qualifying route, although she did reach the qualifying round with wins over Zuzana Ondrášková
Zuzana Ondrášková
Zuzana Ondrášková is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic. On 9 February 2004 she reached her career-high singles ranking of World No...
of the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
(in straight sets) and Timea Bacsinszky
Timea Bacsinszky
Timea Bacsinszky is a professional female tennis player residing in Belmont-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland. She joined the WTA Tour in 2004 and was ranked World No. 37 on 7 June 2010....
of Switzerland (in three sets) before being defeated by American Julie Ditty
Julie Ditty
Julie Ditty is an American professional tennis player. Ditty did not have her true WTA breakthrough until 2007, when she reached the semifinals of the Bell Challenge, a result that took her into the top 100 for the first time in her career on November 5, 2007, at No. 91...
, 5–7 3–6.
2010
As a qualifier ranked 138 in the world, Lapushchenkova got the biggest win of her career with a 6–3, 6–3 win over World No. 9 Victoria AzarenkaVictoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
in the second round of the 2010 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
2010 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
The 2010 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix was a tennis tournament played on indoor clay courts. It was the 33rd edition of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, and was part of the Premier tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour. It took place at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Germany, from April 24 through May 2, 2010...
in Stuttgart. She then defeated World No. 38 Lucie Šafářová
Lucie Šafárová
Lucie Šafářová is a professional Czech tennis player. She was born in Brno.Šafářová has won four WTA tour singles titles and reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 Australian Open, upsetting defending champion Amélie Mauresmo en-route...
in the quarterfinals 7–6(1), 1–6, 6–1. Lapushchenkova's dream run was ended by World No. 10 Sam Stosur in the semifinals when she was defeated 7–5, 6–3, despite being up 5–2 in the first set and 3–1 in the second. However, due to her great performance, she will return to the top 100 at No. 96, 1 place below her career high.
Lapushchenkova then attempted to enter the main draw at the French Open for the first time. In the qualifying draw, she was the No.2 seed but was defeated by Han Xinyun
Han Xinyun
Han Xinyun is a Chinese tennis player. Her career highest ranking is 165th in the world, which she achieved on February 1, 2010. Han had reached a WTA tour doubles final before in China were she and her partner Xu Yifan lost to the pairing of Caroline Wozniacki and Anabel Medina Garrigues. Han has...
in the first round 7–5, 6–1.
Lapushchenkova then attempted to qualify for the 2010 AEGON International
2010 AEGON International
The 2010 AEGON International was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 35th edition of the event for the women and the 2nd edition for the men. It was classified as a WTA Premier tournament on the 2010 WTA Tour and as an ATP World Tour 250 series...
at Eastbourne but was defeated in the first round by former top 10 player and fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze
Anna Chakvetadze
Anna Djambulilovna Chakvetadze is a Russian professional tennis player . On September 10, 2007, she reached her career-high professional singles ranking of World No. 5. She has won eight WTA Singles Titles and appeared in the 2007 US Open semifinals. As of July 4, 2011, Chakvetadze is ranked World...
6–4, 6–4.
Anna then competed in her first ever main draw match at a Grand Slam tournament, at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships
2010 Wimbledon Championships
The 2010 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament ran from Monday 21 June until Sunday 4 July 2010. It was the 124th staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand...
. Her experience was short lived though as she was defeated in the first round by eventual semifinalist Tsvetana Pironkova
Tsvetana Pironkova
Tsvetana Kirilova Pironkova is a female Bulgarian tennis player. She was born and lives in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Pironkova is right-handed and plays with a two-handed backhand....
6–0, 7–6(7).
At the 2010 ECM Prague Open
2010 ECM Prague Open
The 2010 ECM Prague Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 14th edition of the ECM Prague Open, and was part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour...
in the Czech Republic, Lapushchenkova gained direct acceptance into the first round and was going to face 6th Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko is an Argentine female tennis player, who will, as of 4 July 2011, be ranked World No. 51 in singles and No. 4 in doubles. Although she enjoyed a modest success in singles, reaching No. 26 on November 21, 2005, and winning four WTA Tour titles, her speciality has been doubles, where...
in the first round. However shortly before the match, Dulko withdrew from the tournament, and Lapushchenkova faced Lucky Loser Eva Hrdinová
Eva Hrdinová
Eva Hrdinová is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. Hrdinova is now the tallest player on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour standing at 1.91m. This beats the previous record of Akgul Amanmuradova, who stands just one centimetre shorter.Hrdinová's highest singles ranking yet has been...
instead, losing 7–5, 6–0.
Lapushchenkova then entered the 2010 Banka Koper Slovenia Open
2010 Banka Koper Slovenia Open
The 2010 Banka Koper Slovenia Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 5th edition of the Banka Koper Slovenia Open, and was part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour...
in Portorož. She will play compatriot Vera Dushevina
Vera Dushevina
Vera Yevgenyevna Dushevina is a Russian professional female tennis player. She was born in Moscow but now resides in Khimki, Russia. In 2006, she privately amended the presentation of her surname so as to be more English language friendly, adopting Dushevina in place of Douchevina which is a...
in the first round. Although Lapushchenkova took the opening set, her losing streak continued as she lost 6–2, 3–6, 3–6.
Having recently dropped out of the top 100, Lapushchenkova ended her 5 match losing streak by defeating World No.50 Klára Zakopalová 5–7, 6–2, 6–3 in the first round of the 2010 Istanbul Cup
2010 İstanbul Cup – Singles
Vera Dushevina was the defending champion but lost to Jarmila Groth in the quarterfinal. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova won in the final 5–7, 7–5, 6–4, against Elena Vesnina.-Seeds:# Francesca Schiavone ...
. In the second round, her forehand let her down and she crashed out to Jarmila Groth 2–6, 3–6.
Lapushchenkova then entered a new tournament on the WTA Tour, the 2010 e-Boks Danish Open
2010 e-Boks Danish Open
The 2010 e-Boks Sony Ericsson Open was the first edition of the tennis tournament e-Boks Danish Open, an International-level tournament on the 2010 WTA Tour. It took place on indoor hard courts in Farum, Denmark from August 2 to August 8, 2010...
in Copenhagen. In the first round she caused a big upset by defeating 4th seed and World No.33 Tsvetana Pironkova
Tsvetana Pironkova
Tsvetana Kirilova Pironkova is a female Bulgarian tennis player. She was born and lives in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Pironkova is right-handed and plays with a two-handed backhand....
6–4, 6–1. She was defeated by Anna Chakvetadze
Anna Chakvetadze
Anna Djambulilovna Chakvetadze is a Russian professional tennis player . On September 10, 2007, she reached her career-high professional singles ranking of World No. 5. She has won eight WTA Singles Titles and appeared in the 2007 US Open semifinals. As of July 4, 2011, Chakvetadze is ranked World...
in the next round 6–3, 6–4 despite having a double break lead at 4–1 in the second set.
Lapushchenkova then won a $50,000 ITF event in Kazan, Russia, defeating Vitalia Diatchenko
Vitalia Diatchenko
Vitalia Diatchenko is a professional Russian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is No. 105, which she reached on July 27, 2009. Her career high in doubles is No. 60, which she reached on February 21, 2011.-Career highlights:...
in the final 6–1, 2–6, 7–6(4).
Singles
| Legend (Singles) |
| Grand Slam (0) |
| Tour Championships (0) |
| Tier I Event (0) |
| Tier II Event (0) |
| Tier III Event (0) |
| Tier IV Event (0) |
| ITF Circuit (11) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | July 15, 2006 |  Zhukovsky |
Clay | Yulia Solonitskaya |
1–6 7–5 7–5 |
| 2. | September 30, 2006 |  TbilisiTbilisi Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936... |
Clay |  Amina RakhimAmina Rakhim Amina Rakhim is a Kazakh professional tennis player. She was born on 22 Ferbruary 1989. She took part in the 2007 Bangalore Open but lost in the Final Qualifying Round to Shengnan Sun.-References:... |
7–6(0) 6–2 |
| 3. | August 18, 2007 | Moscow |
Clay |  Ksenia PalkinaKsenia Palkina Ksenia Palkina is a Kyrgyz female tennis player. She has primarily played in ITF tournaments and lower-level WTA tournaments.- Personal life :... |
6–4 6–3 |
| 4. | August 25, 2007 | Penza Penza -Honors:A minor planet, 3189 Penza, discovered by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh in 1978, is named after the city.-Notable residents:... |
Clay |  Kristina AntoniychukKristina Antoniychuk Kristina Antoniychuk, is a professional Ukrainian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 172, which she reached on February 22, 2010... |
6–4 6–2 |
| 5. | September 8, 2007 | Moscow |
Clay | Galyna Kosyk |
6–3 6–1 |
| 6. | August 10, 2008 | Moscow |
Clay |  Anikó KaprosAniko Kapros Anikó Kapros is a former professional tennis player from Hungary. Kapros won the Junior's singles title at the Australian Open in 2000... |
5–1 ret. |
| 7. | November 15, 2009 |  MinskMinsk - Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened... |
Hard (I) | Lyudmyla Kichenok Lyudmyla Kichenok Lyudmyla Kichenok is a professional Ukrainian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 232, which she reached on 18 October 2010. Her career high in doubles is 143, which she reached on 12 July 2010. She is the twin sister of Nadiya Kichenok.-Doubles: 1 :- Singles 5 :- Doubles 18 ... |
5–7 7–6(3) 6–2 |
| 8. | March 7, 2010 | Minsk Minsk - Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened... |
Hard (I) | Lesya Tsurenko Lesya Tsurenko Lesia Tsurenko is a professional Ukrainian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is World No. 115, which she reached on October 24, 2011. Her career high in doubles is 116, which she achieved on August 16, 2010. To date, Lesia has won four singles and eight doubles tennis titles.Lesia is... |
6–1 3–6 7–6(2) |
| 9. | March 28, 2010 | Moscow |
Hard (I) | Elena Kulikova |
6–4 6–2 |
| 10. | April 4, 2010 | Khanty-Mansiysk Khanty-Mansiysk Khanty-Mansiysk experiences a subarctic climate . The climate is extreme, with temperatures as low as -49 C° and as high as 34.5 C°. On average, however, the region is very cold, with an average tempurature of -1.1 C°... |
Carpet | Lyudmyla Kichenok Lyudmyla Kichenok Lyudmyla Kichenok is a professional Ukrainian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 232, which she reached on 18 October 2010. Her career high in doubles is 143, which she reached on 12 July 2010. She is the twin sister of Nadiya Kichenok.-Doubles: 1 :- Singles 5 :- Doubles 18 ... |
6–2 6–2 |
| 11. | August 15, 2010 | Kazan Kazan Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the... |
Hard | Vitalia Diatchenko Vitalia Diatchenko Vitalia Diatchenko is a professional Russian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is No. 105, which she reached on July 27, 2009. Her career high in doubles is No. 60, which she reached on February 21, 2011.-Career highlights:... |
6–1 2–6 7–6(4) |
Doubles titles
| Legend (Doubles) |
| Grand Slam (0) |
| Tour Championships (0) |
| Tier I Event (0) |
| Tier II Event (0) |
| Tier III Event (0) |
| Tier IV Event (0) |
| ITF Circuit (1) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partnering | Opponents in Final | Score in Final |
| 1. | March 19, 2008 | Minsk Minsk - Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened... |
Carpet | Yulia Beygelzimer Yulia Beygelzimer Yulia Beygelzimer is a professional female tennis player from Ukraine.Beygelzimer has competed for Ukraine both at the Olympics and the Fed Cup, finally reaching the Top 100, at number 83 in September 2006.... |
Ima Bohush Ksenia Milevskaya Ksenia Milevskaya Ksenia Milevskaya is a professional tennis player from Belarus. On June 9, 2007, Milevskaya and Urszula Radwańska won the 2007 French Open - Girls' Doubles title, beating Sorana Cîrstea and Alexa Glatch 6–1, 6–4 in the final, and on September 8, 2007 they continued their unbeaten match streak as a... |
6–4 7–5 |