Daniela Hantuchová
Encyclopedia
Daniela Hantuchová (ˈdanɪjɛla ˈɦantuxɔvaː; born April 23, 1983) is a Slovak
professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first Tier I tournament and ended the year in the top 10.
She is currently coached by Larri Passos
. Her WTA
Tour mentor in the "Partners for Success" program was Martina Navrátilová, who was her doubles partner for a brief period in early 2005. As of October 10, 2011, Hantuchová is ranked world no. 25 in singles.
In 2005, she became the fifth female tennis player to have won the mixed doubles title in all four Grand Slam tournaments during her career.
, Czechoslovakia
(now Slovakia
) to father Igor, a computer scientist, and mother Marianna, a toxicologist.
When her parents split up in 2003, Hantuchová's performances temporarily worsened. At Wimbledon
that year, she failed to convert several match points and was seen weeping on court. She also suffered from a weight problem during this period. She was suspected of being anorexic
, but denied this.
Hantuchová speaks three languages (Slovak, English, and German), and was trained as a classical pianist. She is thought to be a perfectionist and puts a lot of pressure on herself during her training. She qualified for university in Slovakia but deferred it to pursue tennis.
She appeared in the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition alongside Maria Kirilenko
and Tatiana Golovin
in a pictoral entitled Volley of the Dolls.
, where she lost to world no. 7 Justine Henin in the second round in a three setter, 6-1, 0-6, 3-6. After reaching the round of 16, after qualifying, in Sydney, Hantuchová went on to play at the 2002 Australian Open
, losing in the third round to second seed Venus Williams
, 6-3, 0-6, 4-6.
After climbing the rankings to world no. 26, having competed in Paris and Antwerp (reaching the round of 16 in both), she went into the prestigious Indian Wells
event, defeating Justine Henin in the fourth round, 6–3, 6–3, and Martina Hingis
in the final, 6–3, 6–4. She was the lowest ranked player (seeded 18th) to ever win the Tier I event. In Miami and Amelia Island, Hantuchová went on to lose surprisingly in the second round. She then played in Charleston, only to be beaten again in the second round by 1995 Australian Open
and 2000 French Open
Champion Mary Pierce
,3-6, 4-6, Pierce being ranked no. 232. Playing in the Fed Cup, she won one of her two singles rubbers against Switzerland. Also in the clay season, Hantuchová reached the quarterfinals in Hamburg and Berlin, losing to Martina Hingis
in straight sets and Anna Smashnova
, 6-1, 2-6, 3-6. Having entered the French Open as the 11th seed and world no. 13 and losing her previous match in Rome in the first round, she beat Cara Black
(after losing to her in Miami earlier in the year), only to lose to former champion Monica Seles
in straight sets in the fourth round.
Hantuchová progressed to the semifinals of Eastbourne
, losing to Myskina. At Wimbledon, she beat no. 7 Jelena Dokić
in the round of 16, only to be beaten by the eventual champion, Serena Williams
.
Her US Open Series season was modest, as she lost in the second rounds of San Diego and Los Angeles, after having first round byes in both tournaments. She reached the semifinals of the Tier I event in Montreal, losing to Amélie Mauresmo
, and New Haven, losing to world no. 2 Venus Williams
. At the final Grand Slam of the year, Hantuchová defeated 1997 French Open
champion Iva Majoli
in round three, and world no. 6 Justine Henin, 6–1, 3–6, 7–6(4), in round four, only to be beaten in her second consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal by Serena Williams
(who again went on to win the title).
Later on that year, Hantuchová also reached the quarterfinal in Leipzig and the final in Filderstadt, losing to Kim Clijsters
, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. The first set was the only set Hantuchová had taken from Clijsters in their nine meetings. She then went on to reach the quarterfinals of Zurich, losing to eventual champion Patty Schnyder
in three tight sets, and the semifinals in Linz, and winning both of her singles rubbers in the Fed Cup final. This impressive season amassed her enough points to compete at the prestigious annual Tour Championships, losing in the first round to 17th ranked Magdalena Maleeva
, 2-6, 5-7. Hantuchová's record for the year was 56–25 and 6–10 against top-10 players; 6–2 in singles Fed Cup play; 10–6 on indoor carpet, 6–2 on grass, 11–7 on clay, and 29–10 on hard courts.
, 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(3), Venus Williams
, 4-6, 3-6, at the Australian Open (her third Grand Slam quarterfinal in a row), and Elena Dementieva
in Paris, 5-7, 3-6. Hantuchová reached her first semifinal of the year at her fourth event in Antwerp, losing to Williams again, 1-6, 4-6. By then, Hantuchová's ranking was at a career-high no. 5. Defending a title for the first time in her career, Hantuchová advanced to the fourth round in Indian Wells, losing to Amanda Coetzer
, 4-6, 4-6. Despite a first round loss to Alicia Molik
in Miami, Hantuchová rebounded in the Tier I Charleston event, making her fifth quarterfinal in seven events, losing to Ashley Harkleroad
, 2-6, 1-6. She made her sixth quarterfinal at her next event in Amelia Island
, losing to eventual champion Dementieva, 0-6, 1-6. Hantuchová went undefeated in first-round Fed Cup play against Germany, winning both of her matches. Following the Fed Cup, she again made it to the quarterfinals for the seventh time of the year at the Tier I Berlin tournament, losing to Kim Clijsters
, 0-6, 3-6.
At the French Open, Hantuchová lost in the second round in a marathon match to Harkleroad again, 6-7(2), 6-4, 7-9, making 101 unforced errors, leading to long-time coach Nigel Sears criticising her attitude publicly. Following the match, her extremely thin physique was noticed for the first time publicly, and some wondered about Hantuchová's health. Kicking off the grass season in Eastbourne, Hantuchová lost in the quarterfinals to Conchita Martínez
, but more famously she lost in the second round of Wimbledon to Shinobu Asagoe
, 6-0, 4-6, 10-12, with Hantuchová breaking down crying during the latter stages of the match and making 57 unforced errors. Some theorized that the media's continued interest regarding her weight and the pressure of success at 19 years of age, in addition to her on-court breakdown and her parents' divorce, as well as her coach's walked out during the middle of the match, led to this breakdown. Following Wimbledon, Hantuchová went 6–8 for the rest of the year, 0–4 against top-10 players She ended the year with an overall record of 28–23, and she fell to no. 17 in the world. Further signs of the pressure and problems she was facing during this period was that, in July, she made herself unavailable for Slovakia in the Fed Cup, in order to concentrate on her singles career, and in November she parted company with Sears.
as well as Anna Kournikova
before re-hiring Sears in March), She reached just three quarterfinals, the first at the first Tier I event in Tokyo was not until halfway through the season. At Tokyo, however, she garnered her thus far only victory over Maria Sharapova
in the second round, falling to Davenport, 2-6, 2-6, in the quarterfinals. The tournament that saved her from a poor 2004 was Eastbourne, in which she defeated Ai Sugiyama
in the quarterfinals, 6–1 7–6(7), and Amélie Mauresmo
in the semifinals, 4–6 6–4 6–4, before losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova
in the third final of her career, 6-2, 6-7(2), 4-6. However, Hantuchová was serving for the championship, up 6–2 6–5, but got broken.
Hantuchová was ranked no. 54 as she entered Eastbourne, but found herself ranked no. 38 as she went into Wimbledon, losing to eventual champion Sharapova in the third round, 3-6, 1-6. Hantuchová would make one more quarterfinal at New Haven, losing to Lisa Raymond
, 4-6, 3-6. At the US Open one week later, Hantuchová lost in three sets to Patty Schnyder
in the third round. She finished the year ranked no. 31, with a 24–24 win-loss record. She finished 1–4 against top-10 players overall, the sole victory over Mauresmo.
, 4-6, 3-6. At Dubai also, in the first round, she garnered her tenth top-10 victory over no. 8 Alicia Molik
, 7–6(8) 6–2. Hantuchová made the third round at the French Open and Wimbledon, losing to Clijsters, 4-6, 2-6, in Paris, and eventual champion Venus Williams
, 5-7, 3-6, in England.
Hantuchová had a successful US Open series run, where she reached the semifinals in Cincinnati, getting upset by no. 74 Akiko Morigami
, 4-6, 4-6. In Stanford, Hantuchová lost to Clijsters in the quarterfinals, 3-6, 1-6. After a second-round loss in San Diego to Sugiyama, Hantuchová reached her fourth final in Los Angeles, getting a walkover in the quarterfinals over Sharapova, and got revenge against Dementieva in the semifinals, defeating her 6–3 6–4. In the final, for the seventh time in their head-to-head, Clijsters defeated Hantuchová, 4-6, 1-6. For the third time at the event, Hantuchová made the quarterfinals in New Haven, losing to Davenport, 2-6, 6-7(5).
Hantuchová lost to eventual quarterfinalist Venus Williams
in the third round at the US Open. In Luxembourg, Hantuchová made her eighth quarterfinal of the season, losing to Nathalie Dechy
, 1-6, 4-6. In Filderstadt the following week, Hantuchová made the semifinals, her third of the year, defeating no. 10 Patty Schnyder
in the second round and Flavia Pennetta
in the quarterfinals. She lost to Davenport in the semifinals. At the final Tier I event of the year, Hantuchová pushed Davenport to three sets and had match points in the second set in Zurich before losing, 6-3, 5-7, 2-6. In her final event of the year, in Linz, Hantuchová made her tenth quarterfinal, losing to Schnyder. 2-6, 1-6. Hantuchová finished 2005 with a 3–10 record against the top 10, 37–25 overall record with 2–1 on indoor carpet, 3–4 on clay, 2–3 on grass, 30–17 on hard courts, reaching 10 quarterfinals, three semifinals, and one final.
Hantuchová reached the quarterfinals of Sydney in 2006 with a win over top-10 player Patty Schnyder
and got to the semifinals of Auckland. She continued this form at the Australian Open with her third round 6–1, 7–6(5) victory over defending champion and seven-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams
, who had entered the tournament with a lack of match practice and questions over her fitness. This victory (the only over Serena in her career) ensured that Daniela would progress to the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in three years. She lost to fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova
in straight sets in the fourth round.
Thereafter, she was unable to find a consistent level of form. She reached the fourth round at the Australian Open, but prior to the clay-court season, she parted company for a second time (and permanently) with Sears. He was replaced by Angel Giminez. After the split with Sears, she played her first Fed Cup matches for Slovakia in almost three years. It was a successful return, with Hantuchová winning both her singles and her doubles matches against Luxembourg
, her singles match against The Netherlands, and the decisive singles rubber in the tie against Great Britain. With the help of Hantuchová's 4–0 record, Slovakia booked a place in the World Group II play-off against Thailand
.
Despite disappointing results in the warm-up tournaments, she reached the fourth round of both the French Open and Wimbledon, before extending her 2006 Fed Cup record to 6–0 by winning both her singles matches in Slovakia's 5–0 rout of Thailand, which ensured their promotion to the World Group II. Her fourth-round streak at Grand Slams ended when she was beaten by a resurgent Serena Williams
at the second round of the US Open, which was the culmination of a very disappointing American hard-court season (her record was 7–6 including the US Open, failing to get past the round of 16 of any of the tournaments she entered).
Daniela showed what she is capable of producing the week before Stuttgart, beating an in-form Tatiana Golovin
in straight sets, before losing to Dinara Safina
. The following week, she reached the quarterfinals of Stuttgart with an easy victory over the now top-10 player Safina in the second round. This was both her first victory over a top-10 player and appearance in a quarterfinal since January. In October 2006, Hantuchová reached the final of the Zurich Open. In the first round, she upset sixth seed Patty Schnyder
. In the second round, she defeated her doubles parter Ai Sugiyama
. Daniela was then scheduled to play world no. 1 Amélie Mauresmo
in the quarterfinals. However, Mauresmo withdrew due to a right shoulder injury. In the semifinals, Daniela upset world no. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova
, 6–4, 6–2, to reach the final of the Tier I event. In the final, Daniela lost in a tight three-setter to second seed Maria Sharapova
, 1-6, 6-4,3-6. The results in this tournament were the culmination of Hantuchová's up-turn of form, which kept her in the world's top 20, as she had arrived in Zurich outside the top group for the first time in over 11 months. The injury she suffered to her right rib after Mary Pierce hit a shot at her in doubles, caused her the most serious injury of her career and also forced her to retire in her match against Vesnina the following week in Linz. Hantuchová finished the year ranked no. 17 in the world, with a 34–25 record. She went 24–17 on hard courts, 5–4 on clay, 3–2 on grass, and 2–2 on carpet. She was 4–6 against top-10 players, beating Schnyder twice, Safina, and Kuznetsova, with losses to Sharapova (twice), Clijsters, Henin-Hardenne, Dementieva, and Nadia Petrova.
Hantuchová's first tournament of the year was at the Tier IV ASB Classic
in Auckland, New Zealand, where she lost in the second round to Virginie Razzano
. Hantuchová then lost to Nicole Vaidišová
in the first round of the Tier II New South Wales Open/Medibank International in Sydney and reached her second consecutive Australian Open fourth round, where she lost to world no. 5 Kim Clijsters
, 1-6,5-7.
Hantuchová was then upset in the first round of the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open
in Tokyo by Roberta Vinci
. Three weeks later at the Tier II Dubai Tennis Championships
, Hantuchová defeated Maria Kirilenko
in the second round, 2–6, 6–4, 7–6(4), before losing her quarterfinal match against Amélie Mauresmo
in three sets. The following week at the Tier II Qatar Total Open
in Doha
, Hantuchová trailed world no. 6 Martina Hingis
in their quarterfinal match 4–1 in the second set, before coming back to win, 1–6, 6–4, 6–4. She then lost her semifinal match against world no. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova
. In her seventh tournament of the year, Hantuchová won six matches, the last four of which were upsets of higher seeded players, to win the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California
. She upset Hingis in the fourth round, Shahar Pe'er
in the quarterfinals, 6–2, 5–7, 7–6(5), Li Na
in the semifinals, and Kuznetsova in the final in straight sets.
Hantuchová, however, struggled in her next four events. She was upset in the third round of the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida
by Vera Zvonareva
. On clay
at the Bausch & Lomb Championships
in Amelia Island, Florida, Hantuchová lost to Sybille Bammer
in the quarterfinals. Two weeks later, Hantuchová lost both of her Fed Cup
matches against the Czech Republic in Bratislava
on clay, losing to Vaidišová and Lucie Šafářová
. Losing her fourth consecutive match, Hantuchová was upset in the first round of the Tier I Qatar Telecom German Open
in Berlin by Zuzana Ondrášková
. Hantuchová then reached her first career clay-court semifinal at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. She upset seventh-seeded Anna Chakvetadze
in the third round, before losing to second-seeded Kuznetsova in the semifinals. At the French Open, Hantuchová was upset in the third round by Anabel Medina Garrigues
, 6-4, 6-7(2), 5-7.
After defeating Eleni Daniilidou
in the third round of the Tier III grass-court DFS Classic
in Birmingham, United Kingdom, Hantuchová was guaranteed a return to the top 10 for the first time since August 2003. She then lost to Marion Bartoli
in the quarterfinals, 7-5, 4-6, 5-7. The following week at the Tier III Ordina Open
in 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, Hantuchová defeated world no. 6 Ana Ivanović
in the quarterfinals, before losing to Chakvetadze in the semifinals. This result caused Hantuchová to drop out of the top 10. Hantuchová was the tenth-seeded player at Wimbledon
and did not lose a set in her first two matches. She then defeated Slovenia
n Katarina Srebotnik
in the third round, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4, before losing to world no. 8 Serena Williams
in the fourth round, 2-6, 7-6(2), 2-6. Immediately after Wimbledon, Hantuchová helped Slovakia
win its Fed Cup World Group II play-off against Serbia
. On an indoor hard court in Košice
, she beat Ana Timotić
and Vojislava Łukić.
Hantuchová played five tournaments during the North American summer hard-court season. She began the US Open Series by losing to Chakvetadze in the semifinals of the Tier II Bank of the West Classic
in Stanford, California
. This result put her back in the top 10. At the Tier I Acura Classic in San Diego, she lost to world no. 16 Venus Williams
in the second round. The following week at the Tier II JPMorgan Chase Open
in Los Angeles, Hantuchová retired from her third-round match with Elena Dementieva
while trailing, 3-6, 1-4. Hantuchová once again fell out of the top 10, after losing in the second round of the Tier II Pilot Pen Tennis
tournament in New Haven, Connecticut
to eventual runner-up Ágnes Szávay
. At the US Open, Hantuchová was the ninth-seeded player but lost to Ukraine
's Julia Vakulenko
in the first round, 4-6, 6-3, 1-6. It was Hantuchová's earliest loss at this tournament since her debut in 2001 and her earliest loss at a Grand Slam
tournament since the 2004 French Open
.
Hantuchová then played four consecutive tournaments. She reached her second final of the year at the Tier III Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic in Bali
, losing to Lindsay Davenport
in three sets. At the Tier III Sunfeast Open
in Kolkata, India, Hantuchová lost in the semifinals to Maria Kirilenko
, but re-entered the top 10. Traveling back to Europe, Hantuchová played in the Tier II Fortis Championships Luxembourg
. She defeated Patty Schnyder
in the quarterfinals and Bartoli in the semifinals to advance to her third final of the year for the first time in her career. Hantuchová then lost to world no. 6 Ivanović in the final, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, after leading the match, 6–3, 3–0. At the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
in Stuttgart
, Hantuchová defeated Šafářová in the first round, but lost in the second round to Dementieva. This loss, however, did not prevent Hantuchová from rising to world no. 9, her highest ranking in over four years.
At the Tier I Zurich Open
, Hantuchová defeated Dinara Safina
in the first round, 7–6(2), 7–6(4), before losing to Agnieszka Radwańska
. One week later, Hantuchová won her third career title at the Tier II Generali Ladies Linz
. In the semifinals, she defeated Vaidišová for the first time in her career, 2–6, 6–2, 7–6(3). Hantuchová then defeated Schnyder in the straight-sets final. This title enabled Hantuchová to qualify for the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships
in Madrid. But Hantuchová did not advance past the round-robin stage. She lost to Maria Sharapova
and Ivanović, before beating Kuznetsova to finish third in her group. Hantuchová's win-loss record for 2007 was 52–28. She was 6–11 versus top-10 players, with two victories against Hingis, two against Kuznetsova, one against Ivanović, and one against Chakvetadze. The losses were to Clijsters, Mauresmo, Chakvetadze (twice), Kuznetsova (twice), Vaidišová, Serena Williams
, Ivanović (twice), and Sharapova. Hantuchová finished the year at world no. 9, her first top-10 finish since 2002.
She started the year at the Medibank International in Sydney. She defeated Russian Dinara Safina
in the first round, before eventually losing to world no. 12 Czech Nicole Vaidišová
in the second round. At the Australian Open
, Hantuchová reached her first Grand Slam
semifinal. She won her first three matches without losing a set. In the quarterfinals, she beat Polish teenager Agnieszka Radwańska
, who had defeated second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova
and Nadia Petrova
in earlier rounds. Hantuchová then lost to Ana Ivanović
in the semifinals, 6-0, 3-6, 4-6, despite Hantuchová's leading the match 2–0 in the second set. After the match, Hantuchová claimed that Ivanović had been distracting her by squeaking her shoes on the court before serving, a claim Ivanović disputed. Hantuchová's performance at this tournament caused her ranking to improve one spot to world no. 8.
Hantuchová then played two indoor tournaments in Europe. At the Open Gaz de France
in Paris, she lost to seventh-seeded Ágnes Szávay
of Hungary in the quarterfinals. She was the third-seeded player at the Proximus Diamond Games
in Antwerp, where she again reached the quarterfinals. A blister on her right hand caused Hantuchová to retire during the quarterfinal against Timea Bacsinszky
.
Hantuchová was then scheduled to play at the Qatar Total Open
, the first Tier I event of the year, and the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, a Tier II event, but withdrew from both because of fatigue. Hantuchová played both of the two-week Tier I events in the United States. At the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California
, Hantuchová was the defending champion and fifth seed. She lost to fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova
in the quarterfinals. In doubles, Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama
lost in the semifinals to Safina and Elena Vesnina
, the eventual champions. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida
, Hantuchová failed to reach the fourth round for the ninth consecutive year. She lost to former doubles partner Sugiyama in the third round, 4-6, 7-6(8), 5-7, despite leading 3–0 in the third set. In doubles, Hantuchová partnered with Lindsay Davenport
to reach the quarterfinals, where they lost to Sugiyama and Katarina Srebotnik
, who went on to win the event.
The following week at the Tier II Bausch & Lomb Championships
on clay in Amelia Island, Florida, Hantuchová was the third seed, but lost in the second round to Karolina Šprem
. Hantuchová spent the month of May and most of June recovering from a stress fracture in her right foot, which resulted in her withdrawal from the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, the Tier III Istanbul Cup
, the French Open, and the Tier III Ordina Open
in 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. She recovered in time for Wimbledon, but lost in the second round to unseeded Alisa Kleybanova
, 3-6, 6-4, 1-6.
Hantuchová played four hard-court tournaments between Wimbledon and the US Open. She lost in the second round of the Bank of the West Classic
in Stanford, California
and in the second round of the following week's tournament, the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles. Hantuchová was seeded tenth at the Summer Olympics
in Beijing. She defeated Sugiyama in the first round, before losing in the second round to Caroline Wozniacki
. The following week at the Pilot Pen Tennis
tournament in New Haven, Connecticut
, Hantuchová lost in the quarterfinals to Alizé Cornet
. Hantuchová was seeded eleventh at the US Open, where she was upset in the first round by qualifier Anna-Lena Grönefeld
.
To end the year, Hantuchová played seven tournaments in Asia and Europe. She lost in the semifinals of the Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic in Bali
and in the first round of the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open
in Tokyo to Francesca Schiavone
. In Beijing at the China Open
, she lost to world no. 2 Jelena Janković
in the quarterfinals. After losing in the first round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
in Stuttgart, the second round of the Tier I Kremlin Cup
in Moscow, and the second round of the Tennis.com Zürich Open
, Hantuchová was seeded third at the Fortis Championships Luxembourg
. However, she lost to world no. 39 Sorana Cîrstea
in the quarterfinals. Because she won only 11 of 26 singles matches after the Indian Wells tournament, Hantuchová finished the year ranked world no. 21, her lowest year-end ranking and first finish out of the top 20 since 2004. She was 0–5 during the year versus players ranked in the top 10 at the time the matches were played, with losses to Ivanović, Sharapova, Janković, and Vera Zvonareva
(twice).
by participating in the Brisbane International
as the tournament's fourth-seeded player. She was upset in the first round by Sara Errani
, 7-6(1), 4-6, 2-6. Hantuchová then played the Medibank International in Sydney, where she lost in the second round to sixth-seeded Agnieszka Radwańska
.
At the Australian Open
, Hantuchová was seeded 19th and defeated home favourite Casey Dellacqua
in their first-round match, 7–6(11), 6–4. She then beat Mathilde Johansson
of France in the second round, before losing to 15th-seeded Alizé Cornet
in the third round, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6. In the doubles competition, Hantuchová and her partner Ai Sugiyama
made it to the final, where they lost to Serena Williams
and Venus Williams
.
At the Open GDF SUEZ
in Paris, Hantuchová beat Ekaterina Makarova
in the first round, before losing to Cornet in the second round. This was the third consecutive time she has lost to Cornet. Hantuchová then played in the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships
, where she lost to eventual runner-up Virginie Razzano
in the third round. Because of her results at this tournament, Hantuchová's ranking improved five places to world no. 36. At the BNP Paribas Open
in Indian Wells, California
, Hantuchová was the only two-time singles champion in the draw. Seeded 30th, Hantuchová fell to Sybille Bammer
in the fourth round, 3-6, 2-6. Unseeded for the first time since 2001 at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida
, Hantuchová lost to 22nd-seeded Anna Chakvetadze
in the second round, 3-6, 1-6.
Starting off the spring clay court season as a wildcard at the MPS Group Championships in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
, Hantuchová defeated eighth-seeded Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the second round, 6–3, 7–5. She then lost to eventual champion and second seed Caroline Wozniacki
in the quarterfinals, 2-6, 2-6. Playing in the Fed Cup
World Group play-offs, Hantuchová defeated Alizé Cornet
, 6–7(2), 6–3, 6–4, in the first-round rubber but lost to Amélie Mauresmo
, 5-7, 4-6, in her next match.
Hantuchová played four tournaments before Roland Garros on European clay. She lost in the early rounds of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
, the Rome Masters
and the Madrid Masters
to Dinara Safina
, Svetlana Kuznetsova
, and Jelena Janković
, respectively. In doubles at Rome, Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama
defeated first seeds Cara Black
and Liezel Huber
in the quarterfinals. However, the pair lost to Hsieh Su-Wei
and Peng Shuai
, 5-7, 6-7(5), in the final. Her fourth event was the Warsaw Open
, where she reached her second career clay-court semifinal, but lost to Romanian qualifier and eventual champion Alexandra Dulgheru
, 4-6, 7-6(2), 1-6. Hantuchová was unseeded at the French Open and lost to Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano
in the first round, 3-6, 3-6.
On grass, Hantuchová was seeded sixth at the Ordina Open
in 's-Hertogenbosch. She fell to top seed Safina, 6-1, 4-6, 3-6, in the quarterfinals. Competing at her ninth Wimbledon
, Hantuchová was unseeded in singles for the first time since 2004. She came from behind to defeat local teenager Laura Robson
. 3–6, 6–4, 6–2. in the first round. She then upset 16th seed and the previous year's semifinalist Zheng Jie
, 6–3, 7–5, and doubles partner Sugiyama, 6–4, 6–3. However, Hantuchová fell to second seed and eventual champion Serena Williams
in the fourth round, 3-6, 1-6.
Hantuchová played her first-round match at the Bank of the West Classic
in Stanford, California
, winning in three sets against defending champion Aleksandra Wozniak
, 6–4, 4–6, 7–5. She then defeated seventh seed Agnieszka Radwańska
in the second round, 4–6, 7–6(6), 6–1, but fell to third seed Elena Dementieva
in the quarterfinals, 2-6, 4-6. In the LA Women's Tennis Championships
, she lost to Dinara Safina
, 2-6, 4-6. In the Western & Southern Financial Women's Open
, she lost to Flavia Pennetta
, 3-6, 3-6, after upsetting seventh seed Vera Zvonareva
, 7–6(6), 0–6, 7–6(5). In the Rogers Cup
in Toronto
, she fell to qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova
in the first round, 6-7(1), 6-7(4).
Hantuchová was seeded 22nd at the US Open
. She defeated Meghann Shaughnessy
, Timea Bacsinszky
, and Vania King
, but fell in the fourth round to second seed and defending champion Serena Williams
, 2-6, 0-6.
At the Hansol Korea Open
in Seoul, South Korea, Hantuchová was the top seed, but was upset by eventual chmapion Kimiko Date Krumm in the quarterfinals, 6-7(3), 6-4, 4-6. She then competed in the Toray Pan Pacific Open
and the China Open
, where she reached the second round in both, before losing in three sets to 11th seed Agnieszka Radwańska
and 13th seed Nadia Petrova
, respectively.
Hantuchová finished off the season in Europe at the BGL Luxembourg Open
, where she was upset by unseeded Shahar Pe'er
in the quarterfinals, 2-6, 6-7(4).
Hantuchová finished outside the top 20 for the second consecutive year at no. 24, with a win-loss record of 39–25. She went 25–16 on hard courts, 9–7 on clay, and 5–2 on grass. She was 1–9 versus top-10 players, with losses to Radwańska, Kuznetsova, Janković, Dementieva, Serena Williams
(twice), and Safina (three times), with the sole victory over Zvonareva.
Hantuchová started the 2010 tour
by competing at the Brisbane International. Seeded fourth, Hantuchová was upset by unseeded Andrea Petkovic
in the quarterfinals, 4-6, 2-6. At the Medibank International in Sydney, Hantuchová fell to fifth seed and eventual champion Elena Dementieva
in the second round, 2-6, 6-4, 2-6. Seeded 22nd at the Australian Open, Hantuchová fell to 16th seed and eventual semifinalist Li Na
in the third round, 5-7, 6-3, 2-6.
Hantuchová defeated Zhang Shuai
, 6–0, 6–1, in the Fed Cup
tie against China in Bratislava, Slovakia prior to the Dubai Tennis Championships
. In Dubai, Hantuchová upset fifth seed Dementieva through retirement, after winning the first set 6–4. However, she fell to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
in the third round, 3-6, 4-6.
Hantuchová was seeded second at the Monterrey Open
in Monterrey, Mexico. She became one of the favorites after top seed Jelena Janković
fell in the first round. Hantuchová fought from a set down to beat unseeded Vania King
, 2–6, 6–2, 6–1 in the quarterfinals, and fourth seed Dominika Cibulková
, 4–6, 6–3, 6–0, in the semifinals. However she fell to No. 3 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
in the finals 1–6, 6–1, 6–0. It was Hantuchová's first final since Linz in 2007. Hantuchová was upset at the BNP Paribas Open
by Roberta Vinci
in the second round after injuring her back during training earlier that day. At the Sony Ericsson Open
, she gained a career best in Miami, reaching the fourth round after recording straight-set victories over Patty Schnyder
and 16th seed Nadia Petrova
, but lost a very tight three-set match to third seed and eventual finalist Venus Williams
, 6-1, 5-7, 4-6, in nearly three hours.
Hantuchová began the clay season by competing at the Family Circle Cup
in Charleston, South Carolina
. She upset second seed and world no. 7 Jelena Janković
in the quarterfinals, 1–6, 6–3, 6–3. However, she fell to fourth seed and eventual champion Samantha Stosur
in her third career clay-court semifinal, 3-6, 6-7(2). Following Charleston, Hantuchová helped Slovakia earn a place in the World Group I for the 2011 Fed Cup
by scoring two singles victories and a doubles victory in the World Group play-offs
against Serbia. She again defeated world no. 7 Janković in one of her singles matches for a second week in a row. Despite first-round loses in the Internazionali BNL d'Italia
in Rome, Italy and in the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open
, Hantuchová rebounded at the French Open
. Seeded 23rd, she upset 16th seed Yanina Wickmayer
in the third round, but fell to fourth seed Jelena Janković
in the fourth round.
Hantuchová played two tournaments on grass. She was defeated by Samantha Stosur
at the AEGON International
in Eastbourne
, England and was then upset by Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová at Wimbledon
.
To start off the US Open Series, Daniela suffered a tough opening-round loss to sixth seed Shahar Pe'er
, 6-0, 4-6, 3-6, at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California
. At the Mercury Insurance Open in San Diego, she upset sixth seed Marion Bartoli
, 3–6, 7–6(3), 6–4, in the first round, saving three match points. She then beat Zheng Jie
and Alisa Kleybanova
to advance to the semifinals, where she fell to Agnieszka Radwańska
in straight sets. Hantuchová then fell in the first rounds of the Cincinnati Masters
, and the Rogers Cup
to eventual semifinalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
and 15th seed Flavia Pennetta
, respectively. At the 2010 Pilot Pen Tennis
, she fell to Dinara Safina
, 6-7(4), 6-7(2).
As the 24th seed, Hantuchová defeated Dinara Safina
and Vania King
at the 2010 US Open
, before falling to 12th seed Elena Dementieva
in the third round.
Hantuchová fell in the early rounds in both the Toray Pan Pacific Open
in Tokyo, Japan and the China Open
. At the Generali Ladies Linz
, Hantuchová was upset by Patty Schnyder
, 4-6, 4-6, in the quarterfinals. At the BGL Luxembourg Open
, she lost again in the early rounds to Angelique Kerber
in three sets. Hantuchová received a wildcard to the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions
in Bali, Indonesia. She upset Yanina Wickmayer
in straight sets, but fell to Alisa Kleybanova
in the semifinals. She also lost the third-place match to Kimiko Date Krumm, 5-7,5-7.
Hantuchová finished outside the top 20 for the third consecutive year at no. 30, with a win-loss record of 35–25. She was 3–5 versus top-10 players, with losses to Dementieva, Venus Williams
, Janković, Stosur, and Radwańska, and with victories over Dementieva and Janković (twice).
due to a left Achilles strain. She competed next at the Medibank International Sydney
, but suffered a loss to María José Martínez Sánchez
in the first round, 2-6, 4-6. At the Australian Open
, she was the 28th seed, but lost in the first round to Regina Kulikova
in three sets, 5-7, 6-3, 7-9. This is the first time Hantuchová lost in the first round of the Australian Open, except her first appearance.
She then played at the PTT Pattaya Open
, where she defeated Kurumi Nara
, Kimiko Date Krumm, and Akgul Amanmuradova
, all in straight sets to reach the semifinals. There she upset top seed, world no. 3 and defending champion Vera Zvonareva
, 7–6(3), 6–4. Hantuchová then won her first title in more than three years by defeating Sara Errani
, 6–0, 6–2, in the final. Despite this, she fell to Anna Chakvetadze
in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships
, 1-6, 3-6, the following week. However, she rebounded at the Qatar Ladies Open
by upsetting sixth seed Victoria Azarenka
in the first round, 4–6, 6–1, 6–2, but fell to second seed and eventual champion Vera Zvonareva
, 5-7, 7-6(5), 5-7, in the quarterfinals, despite serving for the match at 5–4 in the final set.
At the BNP Paribas Open
in Indian Wells, California
and the Sony Ericsson Open
in Miami, Florida
, Hantuchová lost in the early rounds to Dinara Safina
and top seed Caroline Wozniacki
, respectively. Partnering Agnieszka Radwańska
, she reached the semifinals in Indian Wells, falling to the eventual champions, but won the doubles title in Miami, defeating Nadia Petrova
and Liezel Huber
.
On clay, Hantuchová was upset in the third round of the Family Circle Cup
in Charleston, South Carolina
by Christina McHale
. Hantuchová next competed on European red clay at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
in Stuttgart
, Germany, the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open in Madrid, Spain and the Internazionali BNL d'Italia
in Rome, Italy. She fell in the early rounds of all three to Samantha Stosur
in both Stuttgart and Madrid and to second seed Francesca Schiavone
in Rome. However, Hantuchová rebounded at the Internationaux de Strasbourg
, where she upset fourth seed Nadia Petrova
in the quarterfinals, but fell to second seed Andrea Petkovic
in the semifinals, 4-6, 6-3, 4-6. Seeded 28th at the French Open
, Hantuchová defeated Zhang Shuai
and Sara Errani
in the first two rounds, both in straight sets. She then upset top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki
, 6–1, 6–3. This is also her first win over a reigning world no. 1. However, Hantuchová fell to 13th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova
in the fourth round, 7-6(6), 3-6, 2-6.
Hantuchová reached her second career grass-court final at the AEGON Classic
in Birmingham, England, upsetting second seed Ana Ivanović
in the semifinals, 6–7(2), 6–3, 6–2, before falling to unseeded Sabine Lisicki
, 3-6, 2-6. Competing at the AEGON International
in Eastbourne, Hantuchová defeated second seed Li Na
and Venus Williams
, before retiring to fifth seed Petra Kvitová
in the semifinals. Seeded 25th at the Wimbledon
, Hantuchová fell to fourth seed Victoria Azarenka
in the third round, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6.
Hantuchová fell in the early rounds of both the Bank of the West Classic
in Stanford, California
and the Rogers Cup
in Toronto, Canada. She reached her sixth and seventh quarterfinals of the season at the Mercury Insurance Open
in Carlsbad, California
and at the Western & Southern Open
in Cincinnati, Ohio
, but fell to third seed Agnieszka Radwańska
and second seed Vera Zvonareva
, respectively.
She lost in the first round of the US Open
to Pauline Parmentier
. She reached the quarterfinals in Quebec
, but was eliminated in the second round in Beijing
.
, Hantuchová was endorsed by Nike
sportswear and had her own line with them for her tournament wear, similar to players such as Maria Sharapova
and Serena Williams
. From the 2009 US Open
onwards, Hantuchová began endorsing Adidas
sportswear. As of Wimbledon 2010, she shares the same signature line as Ana Ivanović
, therefore being the faces of the Adidas tennis sportswear line (except the Adidas by Stella McCartney
line). In 2006, Hantuchová also appeared on an advertisement for Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot phone with Ivanović.
Hantuchová also has endorsed three racquet brands. She was first endorsed by Babolat
from being a junior until late 2003, then Yonex
until the 2007 Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo when she then used the Prince
Ozone Seven Racquets from the 2007 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. Photos were released from Prince giving the impression that Hantuchová, from the start of the 2011 season, will be using the Prince EXO3 Tour 100. But, she signed a deal with Volkl Tennis and is currently using the Volkl Power Bridge 9. This means that she has endorsed four brands of racquets so far in her career, more than most players. Again however, from the 2011 Fed Cup
she began using the Prince EXO3 Tour Team 100, with which she won her fourth career title.
, Lindsay Davenport
, Venus Williams
and Anna Kournikova
. Some of the titles are Top Spin (both Xbox
and Play Station 2 versions), Smash Court Tennis Pro Tournament 2
, Roland Garros 2005 and Virtua Tennis 3
. Hantuchová is currently ranked third behind Serena Williams
and Ana Ivanović
in a poll for new downloadable players for Top Spin 3
. Hantuchová is also a playable character in Virtua Tennis 2009
.
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first Tier I tournament and ended the year in the top 10.
She is currently coached by Larri Passos
Larri Passos
Larri Passos is a Brazilian tennis coach most recognized for being coach of the tennis player Gustavo Kuerten. Larri had started to play tennis in Novo Hamburgo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. However, since he was teenager, he showed that he had more ability as a coach...
. Her WTA
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
Tour mentor in the "Partners for Success" program was Martina Navrátilová, who was her doubles partner for a brief period in early 2005. As of October 10, 2011, Hantuchová is ranked world no. 25 in singles.
In 2005, she became the fifth female tennis player to have won the mixed doubles title in all four Grand Slam tournaments during her career.
Personal life
Hantuchová was born in PopradPoprad
Poprad is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatra Mountains famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. It is the biggest town of the Spiš region and the tenth largest city in Slovakia with a population of approximately 55,000.The Poprad-Tatry Airport is...
, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
(now Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
) to father Igor, a computer scientist, and mother Marianna, a toxicologist.
When her parents split up in 2003, Hantuchová's performances temporarily worsened. At Wimbledon
2003 Wimbledon Championships
List of the 2003 Wimbledon Champions:-Men's Singles: Roger Federer def. Mark Philippoussis, 7–6, 6–2, 7–6*It was Federer's 5th title of the year, and his 9th overall. It was his 1st career Grand Slam title. He became the first Swiss male player to win a Grand Slam singles...
that year, she failed to convert several match points and was seen weeping on court. She also suffered from a weight problem during this period. She was suspected of being anorexic
Anorexia (symptom)
Anorexia is the decreased sensation of appetite...
, but denied this.
Hantuchová speaks three languages (Slovak, English, and German), and was trained as a classical pianist. She is thought to be a perfectionist and puts a lot of pressure on herself during her training. She qualified for university in Slovakia but deferred it to pursue tennis.
She appeared in the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition alongside Maria Kirilenko
Maria Kirilenko
Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko 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 no. 18, her career-high singles ranking, on the WTA tour in July 2008. She won the junior event at the 2002 Canadian...
and Tatiana Golovin
Tatiana Golovin
Tatiana Golovin is an inactive French professional tennis player. She is best known for her explosive forehand, which was said to be one of the best at the time. She notably won the 2004 French Open mixed doubles event with Richard Gasquet, and reached the singles quarterfinal at the 2006 U.S....
in a pictoral entitled Volley of the Dolls.
2002
Hantuchová started the year as the world no. 38, being known as a new up-and-coming player, in the Gold CoastGold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
, where she lost to world no. 7 Justine Henin in the second round in a three setter, 6-1, 0-6, 3-6. After reaching the round of 16, after qualifying, in Sydney, Hantuchová went on to play at the 2002 Australian Open
2002 Australian Open
List of the 2002 Australian Open champions:-Men's Singles: Thomas Johansson def. Marat Safin, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4, 7–6...
, losing in the third round to second seed Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
, 6-3, 0-6, 4-6.
After climbing the rankings to world no. 26, having competed in Paris and Antwerp (reaching the round of 16 in both), she went into the prestigious Indian Wells
Indian Wells Masters
The Indian Wells Masters is an annual tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California....
event, defeating Justine Henin in the fourth round, 6–3, 6–3, and Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis is a retired Swiss professional tennis player who spent a total of 209 weeks as World No. 1. She won five Grand Slam singles titles...
in the final, 6–3, 6–4. She was the lowest ranked player (seeded 18th) to ever win the Tier I event. In Miami and Amelia Island, Hantuchová went on to lose surprisingly in the second round. She then played in Charleston, only to be beaten again in the second round by 1995 Australian Open
1995 Australian Open
The 1995 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at Flinders Park in Melbourne in Victoria in Australia. It was the 83rd edition of the Australian Open and was held from 16 through 29 January 1995.-Men's Singles:...
and 2000 French Open
2000 French Open
List of the 2000 French Open champions:-Men's Singles:* Men's Singles-Men's singles: Gustavo Kuerten def. Magnus Norman, 6–2, 6–3, 2–6, 7–6...
Champion Mary Pierce
Mary Pierce
Mary Pierce is a French-American tennis professional playing on the Women's Tennis Association tour. She is a citizen of France, Canada, and the United States but plays for France in team competitions and the Olympics.Pierce has won four Grand Slam titles, two in singles and two in doubles...
,3-6, 4-6, Pierce being ranked no. 232. Playing in the Fed Cup, she won one of her two singles rubbers against Switzerland. Also in the clay season, Hantuchová reached the quarterfinals in Hamburg and Berlin, losing to Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis is a retired Swiss professional tennis player who spent a total of 209 weeks as World No. 1. She won five Grand Slam singles titles...
in straight sets and Anna Smashnova
Anna Smashnova
Anna Smashnova is a former professional tennis player from Israel. She retired from professional tennis after Wimbledon 2007.Smashnova, who has been noted as having a great last name for a tennis player, reached her career-high singles ranking of World # 15 in 2003. She was in 13 finals, and won...
, 6-1, 2-6, 3-6. Having entered the French Open as the 11th seed and world no. 13 and losing her previous match in Rome in the first round, she beat Cara Black
Cara Black
Cara Black is a professional female tennis player from Zimbabwe. She has won 7 singles titles and 63 women's doubles titles. She has won all four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles and three of the four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles. She is currently ranked World No. 28 in women's doubles...
(after losing to her in Miami earlier in the year), only to lose to former champion Monica Seles
Monica Seles
Monica Seles is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player and a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She was born in Novi Sad, Serbia, former Yugoslavia to Hungarian parents. She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1994 and also received Hungarian citizenship in June 2007...
in straight sets in the fourth round.
Hantuchová progressed to the semifinals of Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
, losing to Myskina. At Wimbledon, she beat no. 7 Jelena Dokić
Jelena Dokic
Jelena Dokić is an Australian female professional tennis player.During the height of her career, she played for Serbia and Montenegro and reached a career-high ranking of World No. 4 on 19 August 2002. After several family-related difficulties , she slowly slipped down the rankings in 2006...
in the round of 16, only to be beaten by the eventual champion, Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
.
Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Simone Mauresmo ; is a French former professional tennis player, and a former World No. 1. Mauresmo won two Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon....
, and New Haven, losing to world no. 2 Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
. At the final Grand Slam of the year, Hantuchová defeated 1997 French Open
1997 French Open
List of the 1997 French Open champions:-Men's Singles: Gustavo Kuerten def. Sergi Bruguera, 6–3, 6–4, 6–2*It was Kuerten's 1st overall title.-Women's Singles: Iva Majoli def. Martina Hingis, 6–4, 6–2...
champion Iva Majoli
Iva Majoli
Iva Majoli Marić is a former professional tennis player from Croatia. She upset Martina Hingis to win the women's singles title at the French Open in 1997. Majoli also won eight singles titles and one women's doubles title during her career.-Career:Majoli turned professional in 1991 at the age...
in round three, and world no. 6 Justine Henin, 6–1, 3–6, 7–6(4), in round four, only to be beaten in her second consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal by Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
(who again went on to win the title).
Later on that year, Hantuchová also reached the quarterfinal in Leipzig and the final in Filderstadt, losing to Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. The first set was the only set Hantuchová had taken from Clijsters in their nine meetings. She then went on to reach the quarterfinals of Zurich, losing to eventual champion Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder is a retired Swiss professional tennis player. She played on the WTA tour from 1993 to 2011 and is a former World No. 7. She defeated several World No...
in three tight sets, and the semifinals in Linz, and winning both of her singles rubbers in the Fed Cup final. This impressive season amassed her enough points to compete at the prestigious annual Tour Championships, losing in the first round to 17th ranked Magdalena Maleeva
Magdalena Maleeva
Magdalena Maleeva is a Bulgarian former tennis player. She played on the WTA tour competing in singles and doubles, from April 1989 to June 2007. Her best position in the WTA Tour was no. 4 between January 29 to February 4, 1996....
, 2-6, 5-7. Hantuchová's record for the year was 56–25 and 6–10 against top-10 players; 6–2 in singles Fed Cup play; 10–6 on indoor carpet, 6–2 on grass, 11–7 on clay, and 29–10 on hard courts.
2003
Hantuchová started 2003 solidly, reaching the quarterfinals at her first three events in Sydney, losing to Lindsay DavenportLindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her as the 29th-best player of the preceding forty years...
, 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(3), Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
, 4-6, 3-6, at the Australian Open (her third Grand Slam quarterfinal in a row), and Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
in Paris, 5-7, 3-6. Hantuchová reached her first semifinal of the year at her fourth event in Antwerp, losing to Williams again, 1-6, 4-6. By then, Hantuchová's ranking was at a career-high no. 5. Defending a title for the first time in her career, Hantuchová advanced to the fourth round in Indian Wells, losing to Amanda Coetzer
Amanda Coetzer
Amanda Coetzer is a former professional tennis player from South Africa.Coetzer turned professional in 1988 and retired in 2004...
, 4-6, 4-6. Despite a first round loss to Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik is a Australian professional female tennis player. She reached a career high singles rank of number 8 and also won a bronze medal for Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Molik also reached a career high doubles ranking of number 6, and won two grand slam doubles titles, at the...
in Miami, Hantuchová rebounded in the Tier I Charleston event, making her fifth quarterfinal in seven events, losing to Ashley Harkleroad
Ashley Harkleroad
Ashley Harkleroad , is an American tennis player. Born in Rossville, Georgia, Harkleroad reached a career-high ranking of No. 39 on June 9, 2003. Her career prize money to date is $1,022,094...
, 2-6, 1-6. She made her sixth quarterfinal at her next event in Amelia Island
Amelia Island
Amelia Island is one of the southernmost of the Sea Islands, a chain of barrier islands that stretches along the east coast of the United States from South Carolina to Florida. It is long and approximately 4 miles wide at its widest point. Amelia Island is situated off the coast in Nassau County,...
, losing to eventual champion Dementieva, 0-6, 1-6. Hantuchová went undefeated in first-round Fed Cup play against Germany, winning both of her matches. Following the Fed Cup, she again made it to the quarterfinals for the seventh time of the year at the Tier I Berlin tournament, losing to Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
, 0-6, 3-6.
At the French Open, Hantuchová lost in the second round in a marathon match to Harkleroad again, 6-7(2), 6-4, 7-9, making 101 unforced errors, leading to long-time coach Nigel Sears criticising her attitude publicly. Following the match, her extremely thin physique was noticed for the first time publicly, and some wondered about Hantuchová's health. Kicking off the grass season in Eastbourne, Hantuchová lost in the quarterfinals to Conchita Martínez
Conchita Martínez
Inmaculada Concepción Martínez Bernat is a former professional tennis player from Monzón, Aragón, Spain. She is the only Spanish woman to have won the singles title at Wimbledon, when she beat Martina Navrátilová in the 1994 Women's Singles. She also was the singles runner-up at the 1998...
, but more famously she lost in the second round of Wimbledon to Shinobu Asagoe
Shinobu Asagoe
Shinobu Asagoe is a Japanese former professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1997, and retired in 2006.-Career:2000 was the first year in which she finished in the WTA top 100 . In the US Open that year, she defeated Patty Schnyder, a top 50 player...
, 6-0, 4-6, 10-12, with Hantuchová breaking down crying during the latter stages of the match and making 57 unforced errors. Some theorized that the media's continued interest regarding her weight and the pressure of success at 19 years of age, in addition to her on-court breakdown and her parents' divorce, as well as her coach's walked out during the middle of the match, led to this breakdown. Following Wimbledon, Hantuchová went 6–8 for the rest of the year, 0–4 against top-10 players She ended the year with an overall record of 28–23, and she fell to no. 17 in the world. Further signs of the pressure and problems she was facing during this period was that, in July, she made herself unavailable for Slovakia in the Fed Cup, in order to concentrate on her singles career, and in November she parted company with Sears.
2004
2004 proved to be a continuation of Hantuchová's poor second half of 2003, with many of the same struggles (she briefly hired Harold Soloman, who had previously coached her friend Jennifer CapriatiJennifer Capriati
Jennifer Marie Capriati is a former world number one ranked professional tennis player, and the winner of three women's singles championships in Grand Slam tournaments. Capriati made her professional debut in 1990 at the age of 14 when she reached the finals of the hard court tournament in Boca...
as well as Anna Kournikova
Anna Kournikova
Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova is a Russian retired professional tennis player. Her beauty and celebrity status made her one of the best known tennis stars worldwide, despite the fact that she never won a WTA singles title. At the peak of her fame, fans looking for images of Kournikova made her name...
before re-hiring Sears in March), She reached just three quarterfinals, the first at the first Tier I event in Tokyo was not until halfway through the season. At Tokyo, however, she garnered her thus far only victory over Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
in the second round, falling to Davenport, 2-6, 2-6, in the quarterfinals. The tournament that saved her from a poor 2004 was Eastbourne, in which she defeated Ai Sugiyama
Ai Sugiyama
is a retired Japanese professional tennis player. She reached No. 1 in women's doubles on the WTA Tour. Her career-high singles ranking was No. 8, achieved on February 9, 2004. She turned professional in 1992...
in the quarterfinals, 6–1 7–6(7), and Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Simone Mauresmo ; is a French former professional tennis player, and a former World No. 1. Mauresmo won two Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon....
in the semifinals, 4–6 6–4 6–4, before losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
in the third final of her career, 6-2, 6-7(2), 4-6. However, Hantuchová was serving for the championship, up 6–2 6–5, but got broken.
Hantuchová was ranked no. 54 as she entered Eastbourne, but found herself ranked no. 38 as she went into Wimbledon, losing to eventual champion Sharapova in the third round, 3-6, 1-6. Hantuchová would make one more quarterfinal at New Haven, losing to Lisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond is an American professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in doubles tennis. On June 12, 2000, she reached the world number one ranking in doubles...
, 4-6, 3-6. At the US Open one week later, Hantuchová lost in three sets to Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder is a retired Swiss professional tennis player. She played on the WTA tour from 1993 to 2011 and is a former World No. 7. She defeated several World No...
in the third round. She finished the year ranked no. 31, with a 24–24 win-loss record. She finished 1–4 against top-10 players overall, the sole victory over Mauresmo.
2005–2006
Hantuchová reached the third round of the Australian Open, losing to Dementieva in a tight three-setter, 5-7, 7-5, 4-6. Following that, she made her first quarterfinal of the year in Tokyo for the second straight year, losing to Kuznetsova, 6-7(4), 6-7(4). At her next event, she reached the semifinals in Doha, losing to Sharapova, 2-6, 4-6. Then, she made another quarterfinal at her next tournament in Dubai, losing to Serena WilliamsSerena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
, 4-6, 3-6. At Dubai also, in the first round, she garnered her tenth top-10 victory over no. 8 Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik is a Australian professional female tennis player. She reached a career high singles rank of number 8 and also won a bronze medal for Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Molik also reached a career high doubles ranking of number 6, and won two grand slam doubles titles, at the...
, 7–6(8) 6–2. Hantuchová made the third round at the French Open and Wimbledon, losing to Clijsters, 4-6, 2-6, in Paris, and eventual champion Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
, 5-7, 3-6, in England.
Hantuchová had a successful US Open series run, where she reached the semifinals in Cincinnati, getting upset by no. 74 Akiko Morigami
Akiko Morigami
Akiko Morigami is a Japanese female tennis player. She turned professional in 1998. On August 15, 2005, Morigami reached her career-high singles ranking: World No. 41....
, 4-6, 4-6. In Stanford, Hantuchová lost to Clijsters in the quarterfinals, 3-6, 1-6. After a second-round loss in San Diego to Sugiyama, Hantuchová reached her fourth final in Los Angeles, getting a walkover in the quarterfinals over Sharapova, and got revenge against Dementieva in the semifinals, defeating her 6–3 6–4. In the final, for the seventh time in their head-to-head, Clijsters defeated Hantuchová, 4-6, 1-6. For the third time at the event, Hantuchová made the quarterfinals in New Haven, losing to Davenport, 2-6, 6-7(5).
Hantuchová lost to eventual quarterfinalist Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
in the third round at the US Open. In Luxembourg, Hantuchová made her eighth quarterfinal of the season, losing to Nathalie Dechy
Nathalie Dechy
Nathalie Dechy is a French former professional tour tennis player.Dechy is a three-time doubles Grand Slam champion, winning the 2006 US Open women's doubles title with Vera Zvonareva, the 2007 French Open mixed doubles title with Andy Ram, and the 2007 US Open women's doubles title with Dinara...
, 1-6, 4-6. In Filderstadt the following week, Hantuchová made the semifinals, her third of the year, defeating no. 10 Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder is a retired Swiss professional tennis player. She played on the WTA tour from 1993 to 2011 and is a former World No. 7. She defeated several World No...
in the second round and Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta is an Italian professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top 10 female singles player on 17 August 2009 and also the first ever Italian Tennis player to be ranked No.1 in Doubles on 28 February 2011. As of 10 October 2011, Pennetta is ranked World No. 18 in singles and...
in the quarterfinals. She lost to Davenport in the semifinals. At the final Tier I event of the year, Hantuchová pushed Davenport to three sets and had match points in the second set in Zurich before losing, 6-3, 5-7, 2-6. In her final event of the year, in Linz, Hantuchová made her tenth quarterfinal, losing to Schnyder. 2-6, 1-6. Hantuchová finished 2005 with a 3–10 record against the top 10, 37–25 overall record with 2–1 on indoor carpet, 3–4 on clay, 2–3 on grass, 30–17 on hard courts, reaching 10 quarterfinals, three semifinals, and one final.
Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder is a retired Swiss professional tennis player. She played on the WTA tour from 1993 to 2011 and is a former World No. 7. She defeated several World No...
and got to the semifinals of Auckland. She continued this form at the Australian Open with her third round 6–1, 7–6(5) victory over defending champion and seven-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
, who had entered the tournament with a lack of match practice and questions over her fitness. This victory (the only over Serena in her career) ensured that Daniela would progress to the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in three years. She lost to fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
in straight sets in the fourth round.
Thereafter, she was unable to find a consistent level of form. She reached the fourth round at the Australian Open, but prior to the clay-court season, she parted company for a second time (and permanently) with Sears. He was replaced by Angel Giminez. After the split with Sears, she played her first Fed Cup matches for Slovakia in almost three years. It was a successful return, with Hantuchová winning both her singles and her doubles matches against Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
, her singles match against The Netherlands, and the decisive singles rubber in the tie against Great Britain. With the help of Hantuchová's 4–0 record, Slovakia booked a place in the World Group II play-off against Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
.
Despite disappointing results in the warm-up tournaments, she reached the fourth round of both the French Open and Wimbledon, before extending her 2006 Fed Cup record to 6–0 by winning both her singles matches in Slovakia's 5–0 rout of Thailand, which ensured their promotion to the World Group II. Her fourth-round streak at Grand Slams ended when she was beaten by a resurgent Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
at the second round of the US Open, which was the culmination of a very disappointing American hard-court season (her record was 7–6 including the US Open, failing to get past the round of 16 of any of the tournaments she entered).
Daniela showed what she is capable of producing the week before Stuttgart, beating an in-form Tatiana Golovin
Tatiana Golovin
Tatiana Golovin is an inactive French professional tennis player. She is best known for her explosive forehand, which was said to be one of the best at the time. She notably won the 2004 French Open mixed doubles event with Richard Gasquet, and reached the singles quarterfinal at the 2006 U.S....
in straight sets, before losing to Dinara Safina
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
. The following week, she reached the quarterfinals of Stuttgart with an easy victory over the now top-10 player Safina in the second round. This was both her first victory over a top-10 player and appearance in a quarterfinal since January. In October 2006, Hantuchová reached the final of the Zurich Open. In the first round, she upset sixth seed Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder is a retired Swiss professional tennis player. She played on the WTA tour from 1993 to 2011 and is a former World No. 7. She defeated several World No...
. In the second round, she defeated her doubles parter Ai Sugiyama
Ai Sugiyama
is a retired Japanese professional tennis player. She reached No. 1 in women's doubles on the WTA Tour. Her career-high singles ranking was No. 8, achieved on February 9, 2004. She turned professional in 1992...
. Daniela was then scheduled to play world no. 1 Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Simone Mauresmo ; is a French former professional tennis player, and a former World No. 1. Mauresmo won two Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon....
in the quarterfinals. However, Mauresmo withdrew due to a right shoulder injury. In the semifinals, Daniela upset world no. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
, 6–4, 6–2, to reach the final of the Tier I event. In the final, Daniela lost in a tight three-setter to second seed Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
, 1-6, 6-4,3-6. The results in this tournament were the culmination of Hantuchová's up-turn of form, which kept her in the world's top 20, as she had arrived in Zurich outside the top group for the first time in over 11 months. The injury she suffered to her right rib after Mary Pierce hit a shot at her in doubles, caused her the most serious injury of her career and also forced her to retire in her match against Vesnina the following week in Linz. Hantuchová finished the year ranked no. 17 in the world, with a 34–25 record. She went 24–17 on hard courts, 5–4 on clay, 3–2 on grass, and 2–2 on carpet. She was 4–6 against top-10 players, beating Schnyder twice, Safina, and Kuznetsova, with losses to Sharapova (twice), Clijsters, Henin-Hardenne, Dementieva, and Nadia Petrova.
2007
ASB Classic
The ASB Classic is a tennis tournament held in Auckland, New Zealand. Held since 1986, this WTA Tour event is an International series tournament and is played on outdoor hardcourts during the first week of the year....
in Auckland, New Zealand, where she lost in the second round to Virginie Razzano
Virginie Razzano
Virginie Razzano , is a French professional tennis player and the current French No. 4. Razzano, who was born in Dijon, has won two WTA singles titles, both in 2007 in Guangzhou and Tokyo. Razzano reached her career high ranking of World No. 16 on September 14, 2009. As of May 2011, she is ranked...
. Hantuchová then lost to Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová is a retired Czech tennis player.Vaidišová was an Australian Open and French Open semifinalist and also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Vaidišová started playing tennis when she was six years old, enrolling to train at Nick Bollettieri's tennis academy in Bradenton,...
in the first round of the Tier II New South Wales Open/Medibank International in Sydney and reached her second consecutive Australian Open fourth round, where she lost to world no. 5 Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
, 1-6,5-7.
Hantuchová was then upset in the first round of the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open
Toray Pan Pacific Open
The is a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1984 on in Tokyo, Japan. It is classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament since 1993. The event has traditionally been played on indoor carpet at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, but the 2008 event...
in Tokyo by Roberta Vinci
Roberta Vinci
Roberta Vinci is an Italian tennis player. As of 29 August 2011, Vinci is ranked World No. 20, on the WTA Tour Rankings. Vinci has won thirteen WTA Tour titles, six in singles and seven in doubles....
. Three weeks later at the Tier II Dubai Tennis Championships
Dubai Tennis Championships
The Dubai Tennis Championships is a professional tennis tournament owned and organized by Dubai Duty Free and held annually in Dubai, United Arab...
, Hantuchová defeated Maria Kirilenko
Maria Kirilenko
Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko 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 no. 18, her career-high singles ranking, on the WTA tour in July 2008. She won the junior event at the 2002 Canadian...
in the second round, 2–6, 6–4, 7–6(4), before losing her quarterfinal match against Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Simone Mauresmo ; is a French former professional tennis player, and a former World No. 1. Mauresmo won two Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon....
in three sets. The following week at the Tier II Qatar Total Open
Qatar Total Open
The Qatar Ladies Open , known as the Qatar Total Open for sponsorship reasons, is tennis tournament held in Doha, Qatar. Held since 2001, this WTA Tour event was a Tier I-tournament in 2008, and was played on outdoor hardcourts. Total S.A. was the main tournament sponsor...
in Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
, Hantuchová trailed world no. 6 Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis is a retired Swiss professional tennis player who spent a total of 209 weeks as World No. 1. She won five Grand Slam singles titles...
in their quarterfinal match 4–1 in the second set, before coming back to win, 1–6, 6–4, 6–4. She then lost her semifinal match against world no. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
. In her seventh tournament of the year, Hantuchová won six matches, the last four of which were upsets of higher seeded players, to win the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley , in between Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,958....
. She upset Hingis in the fourth round, Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er is an Israeli professional tennis player. Her career-high singles ranking is World No. 11, which she achieved on January 31, 2011 ....
in the quarterfinals, 6–2, 5–7, 7–6(5), Li Na
Li Na (tennis)
Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
in the semifinals, and Kuznetsova in the final in straight sets.
Hantuchová, however, struggled in her next four events. She was upset in the third round of the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida
Key Biscayne, Florida
Key Biscayne is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States on the island of Key Biscayne. The population was 10,507 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 10,324....
by Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
. On clay
Clay court
A clay court is one of the four different types of tennis court. Clay courts are made of crushed shale, stone or brick. The red clay is slower than the green, or Har-Tru "American" clay. The French Open uses clay courts, making it unique among the Grand Slam tournaments.Clay courts are more common...
at the Bausch & Lomb Championships
Bausch & Lomb Championships
The MPS Group Championships was a women's tennis tournament held in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, United States. The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event was an International series tournament played on outdoor green clay courts from 1980 to 2010.-History:...
in Amelia Island, Florida, Hantuchová lost to Sybille Bammer
Sybille Bammer
Sybille Bammer is a former professional female tennis player from Austria. Her career high ranking is No. 19, achieved on 17 December 2007....
in the quarterfinals. Two weeks later, Hantuchová lost both of her Fed Cup
Fed Cup
Fed Cup is the premier team competition in women's tennis, launched in 1963 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the International Tennis Federation...
matches against the Czech Republic in Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
on clay, losing to Vaidišová and 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...
. Losing her fourth consecutive match, Hantuchová was upset in the first round of the Tier I Qatar Telecom German Open
Qatar Telecom German Open
The German Open, sponsored from 2006 through 2008 as the Qatar Telecom German Open, was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women played in Berlin, Germany. Held since 1896, it was one of the oldest tournaments for women...
in Berlin by 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...
. Hantuchová then reached her first career clay-court semifinal at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. She upset seventh-seeded 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 third round, before losing to second-seeded Kuznetsova in the semifinals. At the French Open, Hantuchová was upset in the third round by Anabel Medina Garrigues
Anabel Medina Garrigues
Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues , better known as Anabel Medina, is a Spanish female tennis player. She reached a career high WTA Tour ranking of No. 16 on 4 May 2009, and has won 11 singles titles and 14 doubles titles, including the 2008 French Open and 2009 French Open with Virginia Ruano Pascual...
, 6-4, 6-7(2), 5-7.
After defeating Eleni Daniilidou
Eleni Daniilidou
Eleni Daniilidou is a Greek tennis player born in Chania, on the island of Crete.As of 2011, she has won five WTA singles titles and three doubles titles. In 2003, she reached the Australian Open mixed doubles final. Her highest singles ranking has been 14th...
in the third round of the Tier III grass-court DFS Classic
2007 DFS Classic
The 2007 DFS Classic was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham in the United Kingdom that was part of Tier III of the 2007 WTA Tour...
in Birmingham, United Kingdom, Hantuchová was guaranteed a return to the top 10 for the first time since August 2003. She then lost to Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles. She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships....
in the quarterfinals, 7-5, 4-6, 5-7. The following week at the Tier III Ordina Open
Ordina Open
The Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, now sponsored by UNICEF and called the UNICEF Open, is a tennis tournament on the ATP Tour and WTA Tour held in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.-Singles:-Doubles:-Singles:-Doubles:-External links:*...
in 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands, Hantuchová defeated world no. 6 Ana Ivanović
Ana Ivanovic
Ana Ivanović is a former world no. 1 Serbian tennis player. As of November 7, 2011, she is ranked 22th on the WTA rankings. She beat Dinara Safina to win the 2008 French Open and was the runner-up in singles at the 2007 French Open and the 2008 Australian Open...
in the quarterfinals, before losing to Chakvetadze in the semifinals. This result caused Hantuchová to drop out of the top 10. Hantuchová was the tenth-seeded player at Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
and did not lose a set in her first two matches. She then defeated 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...
n Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik is a Slovenian professional tennis player. Srebotnik is right-handed, 1.80 m, weighs 65 kg and lives in Dubai. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 20 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on August 7, 2006.Srebotnik won 4 singles titles on the WTA-tour and was a steady top 30...
in the third round, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4, before losing to world no. 8 Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
in the fourth round, 2-6, 7-6(2), 2-6. Immediately after Wimbledon, Hantuchová helped Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
win its Fed Cup World Group II play-off against Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. On an indoor hard court in Košice
Košice
Košice is a city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary...
, she beat Ana Timotić
Ana Timotic
Ana Timotić is a professional Serbian tennis player, who is, as of 21 September 2009, ranked No. 668. Timotić has won eight ITF singles and two ITF doubles titles, and has also made 19 appearances for Serbia Fed Cup team, previously Serbia and Montenegro, scoring 3–6 in singles and 6–4 in...
and Vojislava Łukić.
Bank of the West Classic
The Bank of the West Classic is a week-long tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, United States. The 2011 event will be held on July 25th to July 31st. Started in 1971, the tournament is the oldest women's-only tournament in the world...
in Stanford, California
Stanford, California
Stanford is a census-designated place in Santa Clara County, California, United States and is the home of Stanford University. The population was 13,809 at the 2010 census....
. This result put her back in the top 10. At the Tier I Acura Classic in San Diego, she lost to world no. 16 Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
in the second round. The following week at the Tier II JPMorgan Chase Open
JPMorgan Chase Open
The LA Women's Tennis Championships presented by Herbalife is a Premier-level tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held in Carson, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. The tournament is played on outdoor hard courts and is a part of the US Open Series....
in Los Angeles, Hantuchová retired from her third-round match with Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
while trailing, 3-6, 1-4. Hantuchová once again fell out of the top 10, after losing in the second round of the Tier II Pilot Pen Tennis
Pilot Pen Tennis
This article is about the former New Haven joint tennis event. It is now a women's-only event. For the New Haven men's tennis event known as Volvo International , click here....
tournament in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
to eventual runner-up Ágnes Szávay
Ágnes Szávay
Ágnes Szávay is a professional tennis player from Hungary. She is the country's highest ranked tennis player. She was the WTA Newcomer of the Year in 2007. She achieved her career high ranking of World No. 13 on April 14, 2008.- Background :...
. At the US Open, Hantuchová was the ninth-seeded player but lost to 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...
's Julia Vakulenko
Julia Vakulenko
Julia Olegovna Vakulenko is a professional Ukraine-born female tennis player. She achieved her career high ranking of No...
in the first round, 4-6, 6-3, 1-6. It was Hantuchová's earliest loss at this tournament since her debut in 2001 and her earliest loss at a Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
tournament since the 2004 French Open
2004 French Open
The 2004 French Open was the 103rd edition of the tournament. Gastón Gaudio became the first men's Open Era Grand Slam title winner to save match points in the final; the last time that had happened was 70 years earlier. Gaudio also became the first Argentine man since Guillermo Vilas to win a...
.
Hantuchová then played four consecutive tournaments. She reached her second final of the year at the Tier III Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic in Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
, losing to Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her as the 29th-best player of the preceding forty years...
in three sets. At the Tier III Sunfeast Open
Sunfeast Open
The Sunfeast Open was an annual WTA Tour tennis tournament that was started in Kolkata in 2005. The event was a Tier III-tournament with a prize money of USD 175,000 and was played on indoors greenset. The fourth edition of the WTA Sunfeast Open, slated to be held in Kolkata from October 6-12,...
in Kolkata, India, Hantuchová lost in the semifinals to Maria Kirilenko
Maria Kirilenko
Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko 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 no. 18, her career-high singles ranking, on the WTA tour in July 2008. She won the junior event at the 2002 Canadian...
, but re-entered the top 10. Traveling back to Europe, Hantuchová played in the Tier II Fortis Championships Luxembourg
Fortis Championships Luxembourg
The BGL Luxembourg Open is a tennis tournament held in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Held since 1991, the tournament was an exhibition event until 1995. After that, it became a WTA Tier III tournament, which it remained until 2004. In 2005, it was promoted to Tier II, marking the first such...
. She defeated Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder is a retired Swiss professional tennis player. She played on the WTA tour from 1993 to 2011 and is a former World No. 7. She defeated several World No...
in the quarterfinals and Bartoli in the semifinals to advance to her third final of the year for the first time in her career. Hantuchová then lost to world no. 6 Ivanović in the final, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, after leading the match, 6–3, 3–0. At the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is a tennis tournament held in Stuttgart, Germany . Held since 1978, the tournament is the oldest women's indoor tournament in Europe. Currently it is a Tier II tournament on the WTA Tour. The singles champion also receives a Porsche 911 Carrera sports car in addition...
in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Hantuchová defeated Šafářová in the first round, but lost in the second round to Dementieva. This loss, however, did not prevent Hantuchová from rising to world no. 9, her highest ranking in over four years.
At the Tier I Zurich Open
Zurich Open
The Zurich Open was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, formerly held every winter in Zurich, Switzerland. It was classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament from 1993 until 2007. In its final year, 2008, it was downgraded to a Tier II event.The Open was held at...
, Hantuchová defeated Dinara Safina
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
in the first round, 7–6(2), 7–6(4), before losing to Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
. One week later, Hantuchová won her third career title at the Tier II Generali Ladies Linz
Generali Ladies Linz
The Generali Ladies Linz is a tennis tournament held in Linz, Austria. Held since 1987, this WTA Tour event is a Tier II-tournament and is played on indoor hardcourts...
. In the semifinals, she defeated Vaidišová for the first time in her career, 2–6, 6–2, 7–6(3). Hantuchová then defeated Schnyder in the straight-sets final. This title enabled Hantuchová to qualify for the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships
WTA Tour Championships
The WTA Tour Championships is a tennis tournament played annually at the end of the season for the top-ranked players on the Women's Tennis Association tour. The month, city and number of players has changed since the first edition in 1972...
in Madrid. But Hantuchová did not advance past the round-robin stage. She lost to Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
and Ivanović, before beating Kuznetsova to finish third in her group. Hantuchová's win-loss record for 2007 was 52–28. She was 6–11 versus top-10 players, with two victories against Hingis, two against Kuznetsova, one against Ivanović, and one against Chakvetadze. The losses were to Clijsters, Mauresmo, Chakvetadze (twice), Kuznetsova (twice), Vaidišová, Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
, Ivanović (twice), and Sharapova. Hantuchová finished the year at world no. 9, her first top-10 finish since 2002.
2008
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
in the first round, before eventually losing to world no. 12 Czech Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová is a retired Czech tennis player.Vaidišová was an Australian Open and French Open semifinalist and also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Vaidišová started playing tennis when she was six years old, enrolling to train at Nick Bollettieri's tennis academy in Bradenton,...
in the second round. At the Australian Open
2008 Australian Open
The 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.After twenty years of playing on...
, Hantuchová reached her first Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
semifinal. She won her first three matches without losing a set. In the quarterfinals, she beat Polish teenager Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
, who had defeated second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
and Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
in earlier rounds. Hantuchová then lost to Ana Ivanović
Ana Ivanovic
Ana Ivanović is a former world no. 1 Serbian tennis player. As of November 7, 2011, she is ranked 22th on the WTA rankings. She beat Dinara Safina to win the 2008 French Open and was the runner-up in singles at the 2007 French Open and the 2008 Australian Open...
in the semifinals, 6-0, 3-6, 4-6, despite Hantuchová's leading the match 2–0 in the second set. After the match, Hantuchová claimed that Ivanović had been distracting her by squeaking her shoes on the court before serving, a claim Ivanović disputed. Hantuchová's performance at this tournament caused her ranking to improve one spot to world no. 8.
Hantuchová then played two indoor tournaments in Europe. At the Open Gaz de France
Open Gaz de France
Open GDF Suez, formerly Open Gaz de France, is a Premier level tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held in Paris, France. Held since 1993, the tournament is played on indoor hardcourts....
in Paris, she lost to seventh-seeded Ágnes Szávay
Ágnes Szávay
Ágnes Szávay is a professional tennis player from Hungary. She is the country's highest ranked tennis player. She was the WTA Newcomer of the Year in 2007. She achieved her career high ranking of World No. 13 on April 14, 2008.- Background :...
of Hungary in the quarterfinals. She was the third-seeded player at the Proximus Diamond Games
Proximus Diamond Games
The Proximus Diamond Games was a professional tennis tournament held in Antwerp, Belgium. Held since 2002, the tournament takes place in the Sportpaleis, and was played at the beginning of February...
in Antwerp, where she again reached the quarterfinals. A blister on her right hand caused Hantuchová to retire during the quarterfinal against 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....
.
Qatar Total Open
The Qatar Ladies Open , known as the Qatar Total Open for sponsorship reasons, is tennis tournament held in Doha, Qatar. Held since 2001, this WTA Tour event was a Tier I-tournament in 2008, and was played on outdoor hardcourts. Total S.A. was the main tournament sponsor...
, the first Tier I event of the year, and the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, a Tier II event, but withdrew from both because of fatigue. Hantuchová played both of the two-week Tier I events in the United States. At the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley , in between Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,958....
, Hantuchová was the defending champion and fifth seed. She lost to fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
in the quarterfinals. In doubles, Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama
Ai Sugiyama
is a retired Japanese professional tennis player. She reached No. 1 in women's doubles on the WTA Tour. Her career-high singles ranking was No. 8, achieved on February 9, 2004. She turned professional in 1992...
lost in the semifinals to Safina and Elena Vesnina
Elena Vesnina
Elena Sergeevna Vesnina is a professional female tennis player from Russia. Her career high rank was #22, achieved on 12 October 2009...
, the eventual champions. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida
Key Biscayne, Florida
Key Biscayne is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States on the island of Key Biscayne. The population was 10,507 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 10,324....
, Hantuchová failed to reach the fourth round for the ninth consecutive year. She lost to former doubles partner Sugiyama in the third round, 4-6, 7-6(8), 5-7, despite leading 3–0 in the third set. In doubles, Hantuchová partnered with Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her as the 29th-best player of the preceding forty years...
to reach the quarterfinals, where they lost to Sugiyama and Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik is a Slovenian professional tennis player. Srebotnik is right-handed, 1.80 m, weighs 65 kg and lives in Dubai. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 20 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on August 7, 2006.Srebotnik won 4 singles titles on the WTA-tour and was a steady top 30...
, who went on to win the event.
The following week at the Tier II Bausch & Lomb Championships
Bausch & Lomb Championships
The MPS Group Championships was a women's tennis tournament held in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, United States. The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event was an International series tournament played on outdoor green clay courts from 1980 to 2010.-History:...
on clay in Amelia Island, Florida, Hantuchová was the third seed, but lost in the second round to Karolina Šprem
Karolina Šprem
Karolina Šprem was a Croatian tennis player.She has won eight titles all at the ITF level. She has not won any titles on the WTA Tour. Career highlight is a quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon in 2004 where she defeated two-time champion, four-time finalist and then-world No...
. Hantuchová spent the month of May and most of June recovering from a stress fracture in her right foot, which resulted in her withdrawal from the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, the Tier III Istanbul Cup
Istanbul Cup
The İstanbul Cup is a tennis tournament held in İstanbul, Turkey. Held since 2005, this WTA Tour event is a WTA International Tournaments and is played on outdoor clay courts. From 2009, it switched to outdoor hard courts...
, the French Open, and the Tier III Ordina Open
Ordina Open
The Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, now sponsored by UNICEF and called the UNICEF Open, is a tennis tournament on the ATP Tour and WTA Tour held in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.-Singles:-Doubles:-Singles:-Doubles:-External links:*...
in 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands. She recovered in time for Wimbledon, but lost in the second round to unseeded Alisa Kleybanova
Alisa Kleybanova
Alisa Mikhaelovna Kleybanova is a Russian professional tennis player. Her highest WTA world ranking to date is No. 20, achieved on February 21, 2010...
, 3-6, 6-4, 1-6.
Hantuchová played four hard-court tournaments between Wimbledon and the US Open. She lost in the second round of the Bank of the West Classic
Bank of the West Classic
The Bank of the West Classic is a week-long tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, United States. The 2011 event will be held on July 25th to July 31st. Started in 1971, the tournament is the oldest women's-only tournament in the world...
in Stanford, California
Stanford, California
Stanford is a census-designated place in Santa Clara County, California, United States and is the home of Stanford University. The population was 13,809 at the 2010 census....
and in the second round of the following week's tournament, the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles. Hantuchová was seeded tenth at the Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
in Beijing. She defeated Sugiyama in the first round, before losing in the second round to Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
. The following week at the Pilot Pen Tennis
Pilot Pen Tennis
This article is about the former New Haven joint tennis event. It is now a women's-only event. For the New Haven men's tennis event known as Volvo International , click here....
tournament in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, Hantuchová lost in the quarterfinals to Alizé Cornet
Alizé Cornet
Alizé Cornet is a French professional tennis player and the current French number three . She was born in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, and has a career-high ranking of No. 11, achieved on 16 February 2009; as of 4 July 2011 she is ranked World No. 69...
. Hantuchová was seeded eleventh at the US Open, where she was upset in the first round by qualifier Anna-Lena Grönefeld
Anna-Lena Grönefeld
Anna-Lena Grönefeld is a professional tennis player from Germany. She turned professional in April 2003.As of September 2011, Grönefeld is the No. 12 tennis player from Germany. She was coached and trained by Rafael Font de Mora in Scottsdale, Arizona until 2006...
.
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
and in the first round of the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open
Toray Pan Pacific Open
The is a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1984 on in Tokyo, Japan. It is classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament since 1993. The event has traditionally been played on indoor carpet at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, but the 2008 event...
in Tokyo to Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone is an Italian tennis player who turned professional in 1998. She won the 2010 French Open singles title, becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event in singles. She was also runner-up at the 2011 French Open. As of 24 October 2011, Schiavone's ranking is World...
. In Beijing at the China Open
China Open (tennis)
The China Open is an annual professional tennis tournament held in Beijing, China. The men's singles and doubles events were first held in 1993, the year in which the Qatar Open and Dubai Tennis Championships were also introduced to the men's tour, as the ATP opened a series of new tournaments in...
, she lost to world no. 2 Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
in the quarterfinals. After losing in the first round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is a tennis tournament held in Stuttgart, Germany . Held since 1978, the tournament is the oldest women's indoor tournament in Europe. Currently it is a Tier II tournament on the WTA Tour. The singles champion also receives a Porsche 911 Carrera sports car in addition...
in Stuttgart, the second round of the Tier I Kremlin Cup
Kremlin Cup
The Kremlin Cup is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the ATP Tour and is a Premier Tournament on the WTA Tour...
in Moscow, and the second round of the Tennis.com Zürich Open
Zurich Open
The Zurich Open was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, formerly held every winter in Zurich, Switzerland. It was classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament from 1993 until 2007. In its final year, 2008, it was downgraded to a Tier II event.The Open was held at...
, Hantuchová was seeded third at the Fortis Championships Luxembourg
Fortis Championships Luxembourg
The BGL Luxembourg Open is a tennis tournament held in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Held since 1991, the tournament was an exhibition event until 1995. After that, it became a WTA Tier III tournament, which it remained until 2004. In 2005, it was promoted to Tier II, marking the first such...
. However, she lost to world no. 39 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 :...
in the quarterfinals. Because she won only 11 of 26 singles matches after the Indian Wells tournament, Hantuchová finished the year ranked world no. 21, her lowest year-end ranking and first finish out of the top 20 since 2004. She was 0–5 during the year versus players ranked in the top 10 at the time the matches were played, with losses to Ivanović, Sharapova, Janković, and Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
(twice).
2009–2010
Hantuchová began the 2009 tour2009 WTA Tour
The 2009 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 37th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 5, 2009, and concluded on November 8, 2009 after 56 events....
by participating in the Brisbane International
2009 Brisbane International
The 2009 Brisbane International was a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the first edition of the event known as the Brisbane International and resulted from the merger of the Next Generation Adelaide International on the men's tour with the Mondial Australian...
as the tournament's fourth-seeded player. She was upset in the first round by Sara Errani
Sara Errani
Sara Errani , nicknamed "Poco Gigante", is a professional female tennis player from Italy. On February 23, 2009, she reached a new career high of No. 31 on the Tour rankings...
, 7-6(1), 4-6, 2-6. Hantuchová then played the Medibank International in Sydney, where she lost in the second round to sixth-seeded Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
.
2009 Australian Open
The 2009 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 97th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 19 January through 1 February 2009. The 2009 men's...
, Hantuchová was seeded 19th and defeated home favourite 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 their first-round match, 7–6(11), 6–4. She then beat Mathilde Johansson
Mathilde Johansson
Mathilde Johansson is a Swedish-born female tennis player who lives in and competes for France.She made her WTA Tour main draw debut at the 2005 French Open, losing to sixth-seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round...
of France in the second round, before losing to 15th-seeded Alizé Cornet
Alizé Cornet
Alizé Cornet is a French professional tennis player and the current French number three . She was born in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, and has a career-high ranking of No. 11, achieved on 16 February 2009; as of 4 July 2011 she is ranked World No. 69...
in the third round, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6. In the doubles competition, Hantuchová and her partner Ai Sugiyama
Ai Sugiyama
is a retired Japanese professional tennis player. She reached No. 1 in women's doubles on the WTA Tour. Her career-high singles ranking was No. 8, achieved on February 9, 2004. She turned professional in 1992...
made it to the final, where they lost to Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
and Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
.
At the Open GDF SUEZ
2009 Open GDF Suez - Singles
Anna Chakvetadze was the defending champion, but chose not to participate that year.-Seeds:# Serena Williams # Jelena Janković # Elena Dementieva # Agnieszka Radwańska ...
in Paris, Hantuchová beat 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:...
in the first round, before losing to Cornet in the second round. This was the third consecutive time she has lost to Cornet. Hantuchová then played in the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships
2009 Dubai Tennis Championships
The 2009 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships was a 500 Series event on the 2009 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2009 WTA Tour. Both of the events took place at The Aviation Club Tennis Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates...
, where she lost to eventual runner-up Virginie Razzano
Virginie Razzano
Virginie Razzano , is a French professional tennis player and the current French No. 4. Razzano, who was born in Dijon, has won two WTA singles titles, both in 2007 in Guangzhou and Tokyo. Razzano reached her career high ranking of World No. 16 on September 14, 2009. As of May 2011, she is ranked...
in the third round. Because of her results at this tournament, Hantuchová's ranking improved five places to world no. 36. At the BNP Paribas Open
2009 BNP Paribas Open - Women's Singles
Ana Ivanović was the defending champion, but lost to Vera Zvonareva in the final.-Seeds:All seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Dinara Safina # Jelena Janković # Elena Dementieva ...
in Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley , in between Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,958....
, Hantuchová was the only two-time singles champion in the draw. Seeded 30th, Hantuchová fell to Sybille Bammer
Sybille Bammer
Sybille Bammer is a former professional female tennis player from Austria. Her career high ranking is No. 19, achieved on 17 December 2007....
in the fourth round, 3-6, 2-6. Unseeded for the first time since 2001 at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida
Key Biscayne, Florida
Key Biscayne is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States on the island of Key Biscayne. The population was 10,507 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 10,324....
, Hantuchová lost to 22nd-seeded 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 second round, 3-6, 1-6.
Starting off the spring clay court season as a wildcard at the MPS Group Championships in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Ponte Vedra Beach is an unincorporated seaside community in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located eighteen miles southeast of downtown Jacksonville and north of St. Augustine, it is part of the Jacksonville Beaches area. It is an upmarket tourist resort area best known for its...
, Hantuchová defeated eighth-seeded Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the second round, 6–3, 7–5. She then lost to eventual champion and second seed Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
in the quarterfinals, 2-6, 2-6. Playing in the Fed Cup
Fed Cup
Fed Cup is the premier team competition in women's tennis, launched in 1963 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the International Tennis Federation...
World Group play-offs, Hantuchová defeated Alizé Cornet
Alizé Cornet
Alizé Cornet is a French professional tennis player and the current French number three . She was born in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, and has a career-high ranking of No. 11, achieved on 16 February 2009; as of 4 July 2011 she is ranked World No. 69...
, 6–7(2), 6–3, 6–4, in the first-round rubber but lost to Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Simone Mauresmo ; is a French former professional tennis player, and a former World No. 1. Mauresmo won two Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon....
, 5-7, 4-6, in her next match.
Hantuchová played four tournaments before Roland Garros on European clay. She lost in the early rounds of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is a tennis tournament held in Stuttgart, Germany . Held since 1978, the tournament is the oldest women's indoor tournament in Europe. Currently it is a Tier II tournament on the WTA Tour. The singles champion also receives a Porsche 911 Carrera sports car in addition...
, the Rome Masters
Rome Masters
The Italian Open is an annual tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is the most prestigious red clay tennis tournament in the world after the French Open, with the men's competition being an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, and the women's...
and the Madrid Masters
Madrid Masters
There are two sporting events named the Madrid Masters:*Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open — a men's and women's tennis tournament*Madrid Masters...
to Dinara Safina
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
, Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
, and Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
, respectively. In doubles at Rome, Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama
Ai Sugiyama
is a retired Japanese professional tennis player. She reached No. 1 in women's doubles on the WTA Tour. Her career-high singles ranking was No. 8, achieved on February 9, 2004. She turned professional in 1992...
defeated first seeds Cara Black
Cara Black
Cara Black is a professional female tennis player from Zimbabwe. She has won 7 singles titles and 63 women's doubles titles. She has won all four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles and three of the four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles. She is currently ranked World No. 28 in women's doubles...
and Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,...
in the quarterfinals. However, the pair lost to Hsieh Su-Wei
Hsieh Su-wei
Hsieh Su-wei is a Taiwanese professional female tennis player. As of July 12, 2010 she is ranked 322nd in the WTA Tour singles rankings and is the fourth-highest ranked Taiwanese women's singles player. -2006–2007:...
and Peng Shuai
Peng Shuai
Peng Shuai is a Chinese professional female tennis player. She won a gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games, defeating Akgul Amanmuradova in the final...
, 5-7, 6-7(5), in the final. Her fourth event was the Warsaw Open
Warsaw Open
The Warsaw Open, formerly the J&S Cup, is a tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held in Warsaw, Poland. Held since 1995, the tournament is played on outdoor clay courts. The event returned to the WTA Tour in 2009 after a year's hiatus.-Singles:...
, where she reached her second career clay-court semifinal, but lost to Romanian qualifier and eventual champion Alexandra Dulgheru
Alexandra Dulgheru
Alexandra Dulgheru is a Romanian professional tennis player. She achieved a singles career high of World No. 26 on April 11, 2011. Her career high in doubles was World No. 47 on March 21, 2011.She is coached by Gabriel Urpi.-Biography:...
, 4-6, 7-6(2), 1-6. Hantuchová was unseeded at the French Open and lost to Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano
Virginie Razzano
Virginie Razzano , is a French professional tennis player and the current French No. 4. Razzano, who was born in Dijon, has won two WTA singles titles, both in 2007 in Guangzhou and Tokyo. Razzano reached her career high ranking of World No. 16 on September 14, 2009. As of May 2011, she is ranked...
in the first round, 3-6, 3-6.
On grass, Hantuchová was seeded sixth at the Ordina Open
2009 Ordina Open - Women's Singles
Tamarine Tanasugarn successfully defended her title, by defeating Yanina Wickmayer 6–3, 7–5 in the final.-Seeds:# Dinara Safina # Dominika Cibulková # Flavia Pennetta ...
in 's-Hertogenbosch. She fell to top seed Safina, 6-1, 4-6, 3-6, in the quarterfinals. Competing at her ninth Wimbledon
2009 Wimbledon Championships
The 2009 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, from Monday 22 June through to Sunday 5 July 2009...
, Hantuchová was unseeded in singles for the first time since 2004. She came from behind to defeat local teenager Laura Robson
Laura Robson
Laura Robson is a British tennis player. She debuted on the International Tennis Federation junior tour in 2007, and a year later won the Wimbledon Junior Girls' Championship at the age of 14. As a junior, she also twice reached the final of the Australian Open, in 2009 and 2010. She won her...
. 3–6, 6–4, 6–2. in the first round. She then upset 16th seed and the previous year's semifinalist Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie is a Chinese professional tennis player. Her career high ranking is World No. 15 which she achieved on May 18, 2009. As of August 15, 2011, Zheng is ranked World No. 65 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles....
, 6–3, 7–5, and doubles partner Sugiyama, 6–4, 6–3. However, Hantuchová fell to second seed and eventual champion Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
in the fourth round, 3-6, 1-6.
Hantuchová played her first-round match at the Bank of the West Classic
2009 Bank of the West Classic - Singles
Aleksandra Wozniak was the defending champion, but lost to Daniela Hantuchová in the first round.Marion Bartoli won in the final 6–2, 5–7, 6–4 against Venus Williams.-Seeds:# Serena Williams # Venus Williams ...
in Stanford, California
Stanford, California
Stanford is a census-designated place in Santa Clara County, California, United States and is the home of Stanford University. The population was 13,809 at the 2010 census....
, winning in three sets against defending champion Aleksandra Wozniak
Aleksandra Wozniak
Aleksandra Wozniak is a Canadian professional tennis player. She turned professional in November 2005. Wozniak achieved a career-best ranking of no. 21 on June 22, 2009, making her the fourth-highest ranked Canadian singles player of all time. She has won one WTA and eight ITF tournaments...
, 6–4, 4–6, 7–5. She then defeated seventh seed Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
in the second round, 4–6, 7–6(6), 6–1, but fell to third seed Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
in the quarterfinals, 2-6, 4-6. In the LA Women's Tennis Championships
2009 LA Women's Tennis Championships - Singles
Dinara Safina was the defending champion, but she lost in the third round against Zheng Jie.Flavia Pennetta won in the final 6–4, 6–3 against Samantha Stosur.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round....
, she lost to Dinara Safina
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
, 2-6, 4-6. In the Western & Southern Financial Women's Open
2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open - Singles
Nadia Petrova, the defending champion, lost in the first round to Alyona Bondarenko.Jelena Janković won in the final 6–4, 6–2 against Dinara Safina.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Dinara Safina ...
, she lost to Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta is an Italian professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top 10 female singles player on 17 August 2009 and also the first ever Italian Tennis player to be ranked No.1 in Doubles on 28 February 2011. As of 10 October 2011, Pennetta is ranked World No. 18 in singles and...
, 3-6, 3-6, after upsetting seventh seed Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
, 7–6(6), 0–6, 7–6(5). In the Rogers Cup
2009 Rogers Cup - Singles
Dinara Safina was the defending champion, but lost in the second round to Aravane Rezaï.Elena Dementieva won in the final, 6–4, 6–3, against Maria Sharapova.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round....
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, she fell to qualifier 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...
in the first round, 6-7(1), 6-7(4).
Hantuchová was seeded 22nd at the US Open
2009 US Open - Women's Singles
Serena Williams was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to Kim Clijsters.Clijsters won in the final, defeating Caroline Wozniacki to win her 2nd US Open title...
. She defeated Meghann Shaughnessy
Meghann Shaughnessy
Meghann Shaughnessy is an American professional tennis player. She achieved a career-high singles ranking of #11 in 2001, and has won six WTA Tour singles titles...
, 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....
, and Vania King
Vania King
Vania King is a Taiwanese American female tennis player. King won both the 2010 Wimbledon Women's Doubles and 2010 US Open Women's Doubles titles with Kazakh partner Yaroslava Shvedova....
, but fell in the fourth round to second seed and defending champion Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
, 2-6, 0-6.
At the Hansol Korea Open
2009 Hansol Korea Open
The 2009 Hansol Korea Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 6th edition of the event known that year as the Hansol Korea Open, and was part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2009 WTA Tour...
in Seoul, South Korea, Hantuchová was the top seed, but was upset by eventual chmapion Kimiko Date Krumm in the quarterfinals, 6-7(3), 6-4, 4-6. She then competed in the Toray Pan Pacific Open
2009 Toray Pan Pacific Open
The 2009 Toray Pan Pacific Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 26th edition of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, and was part of the Premier Series of the 2009 WTA Tour...
and the China Open
2009 China Open (tennis)
The 2009 China Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 11th edition of the China Open, and was part of the ATP 500 Series of the 2009 ATP Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2009 WTA Tour...
, where she reached the second round in both, before losing in three sets to 11th seed Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
and 13th seed Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
, respectively.
Hantuchová finished off the season in Europe at the BGL Luxembourg Open
2009 BGL Luxembourg Open
The 2009 BGL Luxembourg Open was a tennis tournament on indoor hard courts. It was the 14th edition of the Fortis Championships Luxembourg, and was part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2009 WTA Tour...
, where she was upset by unseeded Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er is an Israeli professional tennis player. Her career-high singles ranking is World No. 11, which she achieved on January 31, 2011 ....
in the quarterfinals, 2-6, 6-7(4).
Hantuchová finished outside the top 20 for the second consecutive year at no. 24, with a win-loss record of 39–25. She went 25–16 on hard courts, 9–7 on clay, and 5–2 on grass. She was 1–9 versus top-10 players, with losses to Radwańska, Kuznetsova, Janković, Dementieva, Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
(twice), and Safina (three times), with the sole victory over Zvonareva.
Hantuchová started the 2010 tour
2010 WTA Tour
The Women's Tennis Association Tour is the elite professional tennis circuit organized by the WTA. The 2010 WTA Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments , the WTA Premier tournaments , the WTA International tournaments, the Fed Cup , and the year-end...
by competing at the Brisbane International. Seeded fourth, Hantuchová was upset by unseeded Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic is a professional German tennis player of Serbian origin. She is the highest ranked German tennis player. She lives in Griesheim near Darmstadt, Germany....
in the quarterfinals, 4-6, 2-6. At the Medibank International in Sydney, Hantuchová fell to fifth seed and eventual champion Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
in the second round, 2-6, 6-4, 2-6. Seeded 22nd at the Australian Open, Hantuchová fell to 16th seed and eventual semifinalist Li Na
Li Na (tennis)
Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
in the third round, 5-7, 6-3, 2-6.
Hantuchová defeated Zhang Shuai
Zhang Shuai (tennis)
Zhang Shuai is a Chinese professional female tennis player. , she is the fourth-highest ranked women's singles player from China, at World number 90.-Career Summary:...
, 6–0, 6–1, in the Fed Cup
2010 Fed Cup World Group II
The World Group II is the second highest level of Fed Cup competition in 2010. Australia, Belgium, Estonia and Slovakia advanced to the World Group I Play-offs, and losing nations advancing to the World Group II Play-offs.-Spain vs. Australia:...
tie against China in Bratislava, Slovakia prior to the Dubai Tennis Championships
2010 Dubai Tennis Championships – Women's Singles
Venus Williams was the defending champion and defended her title by defeating Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 7-5 in the finals.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Caroline Wozniacki # Svetlana Kuznetsova ...
. In Dubai, Hantuchová upset fifth seed Dementieva through retirement, after winning the first set 6–4. However, she fell to 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 third round, 3-6, 4-6.
Hantuchová was seeded second at the Monterrey Open
2010 Monterrey Open – Singles
Marion Bartoli was the defending champion, however she didn't take part in these championships this year.Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova won in the final 1–6, 6–1, 6–0 against Daniela Hantuchová.-Seeds:# Jelena Janković ...
in Monterrey, Mexico. She became one of the favorites after top seed Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
fell in the first round. Hantuchová fought from a set down to beat unseeded Vania King
Vania King
Vania King is a Taiwanese American female tennis player. King won both the 2010 Wimbledon Women's Doubles and 2010 US Open Women's Doubles titles with Kazakh partner Yaroslava Shvedova....
, 2–6, 6–2, 6–1 in the quarterfinals, and fourth seed Dominika Cibulková
Dominika Cibulková
Dominika Cibulková is a Slovak professional tennis player. She is also a former World Junior No. 3, achieving that ranking in May 2005. Her career-high ranking of World No. 12 was achieved on 6 July 2009...
, 4–6, 6–3, 6–0, in the semifinals. However she fell to No. 3 seed 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 finals 1–6, 6–1, 6–0. It was Hantuchová's first final since Linz in 2007. Hantuchová was upset at the BNP Paribas Open
2010 BNP Paribas Open – Women's Singles
Vera Zvonareva was the defending champion, but lost in the fourth round to Samantha Stosur.Jelena Janković won in the final against Caroline Wozniacki, 6–2, 6–4.-Seeds:All seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Svetlana Kuznetsova ...
by Roberta Vinci
Roberta Vinci
Roberta Vinci is an Italian tennis player. As of 29 August 2011, Vinci is ranked World No. 20, on the WTA Tour Rankings. Vinci has won thirteen WTA Tour titles, six in singles and seven in doubles....
in the second round after injuring her back during training earlier that day. At the Sony Ericsson Open
2010 Sony Ericsson Open – Women's Singles
Victoria Azarenka was the defending champion, but lost to Kim Clijsters in the fourth round.Clijsters defeated Venus Williams 6–2, 6–1 in the final.-Seeds:All seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Svetlana Kuznetsova ...
, she gained a career best in Miami, reaching the fourth round after recording straight-set victories over Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder is a retired Swiss professional tennis player. She played on the WTA tour from 1993 to 2011 and is a former World No. 7. She defeated several World No...
and 16th seed Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
, but lost a very tight three-set match to third seed and eventual finalist Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
, 6-1, 5-7, 4-6, in nearly three hours.
Hantuchová began the clay season by competing at the Family Circle Cup
2010 Family Circle Cup – Singles
Sabine Lisicki was the defending champion but chose not to compete due to a left ankle injury.Samantha Stosur defeated Vera Zvonareva in the final .-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round....
in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. She upset second seed and world no. 7 Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
in the quarterfinals, 1–6, 6–3, 6–3. However, she fell to fourth seed and eventual champion Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
in her third career clay-court semifinal, 3-6, 6-7(2). Following Charleston, Hantuchová helped Slovakia earn a place in the World Group I for the 2011 Fed Cup
Fed Cup
Fed Cup is the premier team competition in women's tennis, launched in 1963 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the International Tennis Federation...
by scoring two singles victories and a doubles victory in the World Group play-offs
2010 Fed Cup World Group Play-offs
The World Group Play-offs are the main play-offs of 2010 Fed Cup. Australia, Belgium, France and Slovakia won their ties and will play in the World Group I in 2011. The losing countries will play in the World Group II in 2011.-Belgium vs. Estonia:...
against Serbia. She again defeated world no. 7 Janković in one of her singles matches for a second week in a row. Despite first-round loses in the Internazionali BNL d'Italia
2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia – Women's Singles
Dinara Safina was the defending champion, but lost in the second round to Alexandra Dulgheru.Unseeded María José Martínez Sánchez won in the final 7–6, 7–5, against Jelena Janković....
in Rome, Italy and in the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open
2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open – Women's Singles
Dinara Safina was the defending champion, but she lost against Klára Zakopalová in the first round.Aravane Rezaï won in the final 6–2, 7–5 against Venus Williams.-Seeds:# Serena Williams # Caroline Wozniacki ...
, Hantuchová rebounded at the French Open
2010 French Open – Women's Singles
Svetlana Kuznetsova was the defending champion, but lost in the third round to Maria Kirilenko.Francesca Schiavone defeated Samantha Stosur 6–4, 7–6 in the final and became the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam tournament.-Seeds:...
. Seeded 23rd, she upset 16th seed Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer is a Belgian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world no. 22 and is the second-highest ranked female Belgian tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of world no. 12 on 19 April 2010...
in the third round, but fell to fourth seed Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
in the fourth round.
Hantuchová played two tournaments on grass. She was defeated by Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
at the AEGON International
2010 AEGON International – Women's Singles
Caroline Wozniacki was the defending champion but lost to Aravane Rezaï in the first round.Ekaterina Makarova won the final 7–6, 6–4 against Victoria Azarenka.-Seeds:# Caroline Wozniacki # Francesca Schiavone ...
in Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
, England and was then upset by Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová at Wimbledon
2010 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles
The Women's Singles event at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships saw defending champion and top seed Serena Williams successfully defend her title with a 6–3, 6–2 win over Vera Zvonareva in the final, whilst failing to lose a set throughout the entire tournament...
.
To start off the US Open Series, Daniela suffered a tough opening-round loss to sixth seed Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er is an Israeli professional tennis player. Her career-high singles ranking is World No. 11, which she achieved on January 31, 2011 ....
, 6-0, 4-6, 3-6, at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California
Stanford, California
Stanford is a census-designated place in Santa Clara County, California, United States and is the home of Stanford University. The population was 13,809 at the 2010 census....
. At the Mercury Insurance Open in San Diego, she upset sixth seed Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles. She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships....
, 3–6, 7–6(3), 6–4, in the first round, saving three match points. She then beat Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie is a Chinese professional tennis player. Her career high ranking is World No. 15 which she achieved on May 18, 2009. As of August 15, 2011, Zheng is ranked World No. 65 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles....
and Alisa Kleybanova
Alisa Kleybanova
Alisa Mikhaelovna Kleybanova is a Russian professional tennis player. Her highest WTA world ranking to date is No. 20, achieved on February 21, 2010...
to advance to the semifinals, where she fell to Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
in straight sets. Hantuchová then fell in the first rounds of the Cincinnati Masters
2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open – Singles
Jelena Janković was the defending champion, but lost in the third round to Akgul Amanmuradova.Kim Clijsters defeated Maria Sharapova in the final, 2–6, 7–6, 6–2, despite Sharapova having 3 match points.-Seeds:...
, and the Rogers Cup
2010 Rogers Cup – Women's Singles
Elena Dementieva was the defending champion, but lost in the third round to Zheng Jie, 7–6, 6–4.Caroline Wozniacki won the tournament, by defeating Vera Zvonareva 6–3, 6–2 in the final.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round....
to eventual semifinalist 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...
and 15th seed Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta is an Italian professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top 10 female singles player on 17 August 2009 and also the first ever Italian Tennis player to be ranked No.1 in Doubles on 28 February 2011. As of 10 October 2011, Pennetta is ranked World No. 18 in singles and...
, respectively. At the 2010 Pilot Pen Tennis
2010 Pilot Pen Tennis – Women's Singles
Caroline Wozniacki was the defending champion for the second year running, and once again won in the final 6–3, 3–6, 6–3 against Nadia Petrova to clinch her third straight New Haven crown.-Seeds:...
, she fell to Dinara Safina
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
, 6-7(4), 6-7(2).
As the 24th seed, Hantuchová defeated Dinara Safina
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
and Vania King
Vania King
Vania King is a Taiwanese American female tennis player. King won both the 2010 Wimbledon Women's Doubles and 2010 US Open Women's Doubles titles with Kazakh partner Yaroslava Shvedova....
at the 2010 US Open
2010 US Open – Women's Singles
Kim Clijsters was the defending champion, and successfully defended her 2009 title, after she won 6–2, 6–1, against Vera Zvonareva in the final. This match lasted only one hour.-Seeds:# Caroline Wozniacki # Kim Clijsters ...
, before falling to 12th seed Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
in the third round.
Hantuchová fell in the early rounds in both the Toray Pan Pacific Open
2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open – Singles
Maria Sharapova was the defending champion, but lost in the first round to Japanese veteran Kimiko Date Krumm.Caroline Wozniacki won this event, after winning against Elena Dementieva 1–6, 6–2, 6–3 in the final.-Seeds:...
in Tokyo, Japan and the China Open
2010 China Open – Women's Singles
This event is the last of the WTA Premier Mandatory Tournaments in 2010. Caroline Wozniacki is this edition's top seed, followed by Vera Zvonareva....
. At the Generali Ladies Linz
2010 Generali Ladies Linz
The 2010 Generali Ladies Linz was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 24th edition of the Generali Ladies Linz, and part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour...
, Hantuchová was upset by Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder is a retired Swiss professional tennis player. She played on the WTA tour from 1993 to 2011 and is a former World No. 7. She defeated several World No...
, 4-6, 4-6, in the quarterfinals. At the BGL Luxembourg Open
2010 BGL Luxembourg Open – Singles
Timea Bacsinszky was the defending champion but she lost in the first round against Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová.Italian player Roberta Vinci defeated 8th seed Julia Görges 6–3, 6–4 in the final.-Seeds:...
, she lost again in the early rounds to 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...
in three sets. Hantuchová received a wildcard to the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions
2010 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions
The 2010 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions was a singles-only tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the second edition of the tournament and was part of the 2010 WTA Tour...
in Bali, Indonesia. She upset Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer is a Belgian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world no. 22 and is the second-highest ranked female Belgian tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of world no. 12 on 19 April 2010...
in straight sets, but fell to Alisa Kleybanova
Alisa Kleybanova
Alisa Mikhaelovna Kleybanova is a Russian professional tennis player. Her highest WTA world ranking to date is No. 20, achieved on February 21, 2010...
in the semifinals. She also lost the third-place match to Kimiko Date Krumm, 5-7,5-7.
Hantuchová finished outside the top 20 for the third consecutive year at no. 30, with a win-loss record of 35–25. She was 3–5 versus top-10 players, with losses to Dementieva, Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
, Janković, Stosur, and Radwańska, and with victories over Dementieva and Janković (twice).
2011
Hantuchová withdrew from her first tournament of the year at the Brisbane International2011 Brisbane International – Women's Singles
Kim Clijsters was the defending champion, after defeating Justine Henin in a final set tie break to take the 2010 title, but decided not to compete this year.Petra Kvitová took the title...
due to a left Achilles strain. She competed next at the Medibank International Sydney
2011 Medibank International Sydney – Women's Singles
Elena Dementieva was the defending champion after defeating Serena Williams in the 2010 final, however she didn't defend her title after retiring from the sport at the end of the 2010 season....
, but suffered a loss to María José Martínez Sánchez
María José Martínez Sánchez
María José Martínez Sánchez is a Spanish professional tennis player. In singles, she has won five WTA singles titles, the 2009 Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas, the 2009 Swedish Open, the Premier 5 event, 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, the 2011 Gastein Ladies and the 2011 Hansol Korea Open. She...
in the first round, 2-6, 4-6. At the Australian Open
2011 Australian Open – Women's Singles
Serena Williams was the defending champion, but could not defend her title due to a foot injury sustained in the middle of the 2010 season.Kim Clijsters won her first Australian Open title and fourth Grand Slam overall by beating Li Na 3–6, 6–3, 6–3 in the final match...
, she was the 28th seed, but lost in the first round to Regina Kulikova
Regina Kulikova
Regina Kulikova is a professional Russian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 65th, which she reached on May 3, 2010. Her career high in doubles is 417th, which she reached on September 28, 2009...
in three sets, 5-7, 6-3, 7-9. This is the first time Hantuchová lost in the first round of the Australian Open, except her first appearance.
She then played at the PTT Pattaya Open
2011 PTT Pattaya Open – Singles
Vera Zvonareva was the two-time defending champion, but lost to Daniela Hantuchová in the semifinals. Daniela Hantuchová won the title, defeating Sara Errani 6-0, 6-2 in the final.-Seeds:# Vera Zvonareva # Ana Ivanović ...
, where she defeated Kurumi Nara
Kurumi Nara
Kurumi Nara is a tennis player. She reached the third round of the 2008 US Open Girls singles tournament, where she lost to Kristina Mladenovic 2–6, 6–4, 7–6. She advanced to the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time at the 2010 French Open with a 4–6, 7–6, 10–8 win over Monica...
, Kimiko Date Krumm, and Akgul Amanmuradova
Akgul Amanmuradova
Akgul Amanmuradova is a professional female tennis player from Uzbekistan.In 2005, she reached her first ever WTA singles final in Tashkent, the capital of her home country. In the final she lost to 16-year old Michaëlla Krajicek of the Netherlands...
, all in straight sets to reach the semifinals. There she upset top seed, world no. 3 and defending champion Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
, 7–6(3), 6–4. Hantuchová then won her first title in more than three years by defeating Sara Errani
Sara Errani
Sara Errani , nicknamed "Poco Gigante", is a professional female tennis player from Italy. On February 23, 2009, she reached a new career high of No. 31 on the Tour rankings...
, 6–0, 6–2, in the final. Despite this, she fell to 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 first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships
2011 Dubai Tennis Championships – Women's Singles
Venus Williams was the defending champion, but withdrew before the tournament started due to injury.1st seed Caroline Wozniacki won this tournament...
, 1-6, 3-6, the following week. However, she rebounded at the Qatar Ladies Open
2011 Qatar Ladies Open – Singles
Maria Sharapova was the last champion of the event in 2008, but chose not to compete.Vera Zvonareva won the final against Caroline Wozniacki 6–4, 6–4.-Seeds:The top four seeds received a bye into the second round.# Caroline Wozniacki ...
by upsetting sixth seed Victoria Azarenka
Victoria 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 first round, 4–6, 6–1, 6–2, but fell to second seed and eventual champion Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
, 5-7, 7-6(5), 5-7, in the quarterfinals, despite serving for the match at 5–4 in the final set.
At the BNP Paribas Open
2011 BNP Paribas Open – Women's Singles
The 2011 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2011. It was the 37th edition of the event, known as the BNP Paribas Open, and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the 2011...
in Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley , in between Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,958....
and the Sony Ericsson Open
2011 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2011 Sony Ericsson Open , a men's and women's tennis tournament, was held from March 21 to April 3, 2011. It was the 27th edition of the Miami Masters event and played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Miami...
in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, Hantuchová lost in the early rounds to Dinara Safina
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
and top seed Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
, respectively. Partnering Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
, she reached the semifinals in Indian Wells, falling to the eventual champions, but won the doubles title in Miami, defeating Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
and Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,...
.
On clay, Hantuchová was upset in the third round of the Family Circle Cup
2011 Family Circle Cup – Singles
Samantha Stosur was the defending champion, but lost to Elena Vesnina in the third round.Top seed and World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki defeated Vesnina 6–2, 6–3 in the final.-Seeds:The top eight seeds received a bye into the second round....
in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
by Christina McHale
Christina McHale
Christina McHale is a professional American tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is No. 45, and in doubles it is No. 171. McHale has beaten numerous top WTA tour players, including current world no...
. Hantuchová next competed on European red clay at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
2011 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix – Singles
Justine Henin was the defending champion, but didn't defend her title due to her retirement after the Australian Open.Julia Görges defeated 1st seed Caroline Wozniacki 7–6, 6–3 in the final match.-Seeds:...
in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Germany, the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open in Madrid, Spain and the Internazionali BNL d'Italia
2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia – Women's Singles
María José Martínez Sánchez was the defending champion, but lost in the first round to Ekaterina Makarova.Maria Sharapova defeated No. 6 seed Samantha Stosur in the final 6–2, 6–4...
in Rome, Italy. She fell in the early rounds of all three to Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
in both Stuttgart and Madrid and to second seed Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone is an Italian tennis player who turned professional in 1998. She won the 2010 French Open singles title, becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event in singles. She was also runner-up at the 2011 French Open. As of 24 October 2011, Schiavone's ranking is World...
in Rome. However, Hantuchová rebounded at the Internationaux de Strasbourg
2011 Internationaux de Strasbourg – Singles
Maria Sharapova was the defending champion, but chose not to participate.2nd seed Andrea Petkovic won the title, after 1st seed Marion Bartoli retired at 4–6, 0–1.-Seeds:# Marion Bartoli ...
, where she upset fourth seed Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
in the quarterfinals, but fell to second seed Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic is a professional German tennis player of Serbian origin. She is the highest ranked German tennis player. She lives in Griesheim near Darmstadt, Germany....
in the semifinals, 4-6, 6-3, 4-6. Seeded 28th at the French Open
2011 French Open – Women's Singles
Francesca Schiavone was the defending champion, but lost in the final to Li Na, 6–4, 7–6, making Li the first Asian and Chinese Grand Slam singles champion.-Seeds:# Caroline Wozniacki # Kim Clijsters ...
, Hantuchová defeated Zhang Shuai
Zhang Shuai (tennis)
Zhang Shuai is a Chinese professional female tennis player. , she is the fourth-highest ranked women's singles player from China, at World number 90.-Career Summary:...
and Sara Errani
Sara Errani
Sara Errani , nicknamed "Poco Gigante", is a professional female tennis player from Italy. On February 23, 2009, she reached a new career high of No. 31 on the Tour rankings...
in the first two rounds, both in straight sets. She then upset top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
, 6–1, 6–3. This is also her first win over a reigning world no. 1. However, Hantuchová fell to 13th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
in the fourth round, 7-6(6), 3-6, 2-6.
Hantuchová reached her second career grass-court final at the AEGON Classic
2011 AEGON Classic
The 2011 AEGON Classic was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 30th edition of the event. It took place at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham, England, United Kingdom, originally scheduled between 6 and 12 June 2011, but the final was rescheduled to 13 June 2011 due...
in Birmingham, England, upsetting second seed Ana Ivanović
Ana Ivanovic
Ana Ivanović is a former world no. 1 Serbian tennis player. As of November 7, 2011, she is ranked 22th on the WTA rankings. She beat Dinara Safina to win the 2008 French Open and was the runner-up in singles at the 2007 French Open and the 2008 Australian Open...
in the semifinals, 6–7(2), 6–3, 6–2, before falling to unseeded Sabine Lisicki
Sabine Lisicki
Sabine Lisicki is a German professional tennis player of Polish background.Lisicki has won three WTA singles tournaments in her career and one doubles tournament . She reached the semifinals of the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and also reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 Wimbledon Championships...
, 3-6, 2-6. Competing at the AEGON International
2011 AEGON International – Women's Singles
Ekaterina Makarova was the defending champion, but lost to Petra Kvitová in the second round. Kvitová eventually lost the final 1–6, 6–4, 5–7 to Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli. It was Bartoli's first title of the year and sixth of her career...
in Eastbourne, Hantuchová defeated second seed Li Na
Li Na (tennis)
Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
and Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
, before retiring to fifth seed 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 the semifinals. Seeded 25th at the Wimbledon
2011 Wimbledon Championships
The 2011 Wimbledon Championships took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, England, from 20 June to 3 July 2011. It was the 125th edition of the championships, and the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. It was played on grass courts and was part of the...
, Hantuchová fell to fourth seed Victoria Azarenka
Victoria 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 third round, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6.
Hantuchová fell in the early rounds of both the Bank of the West Classic
2011 Bank of the West Classic – Singles
Victoria Azarenka was the defending champion, but lost to qualifier Marina Erakovic in the second round.In just her third tournament back after a year of injuries, Serena Williams won the title, defeating Marion Bartoli 7–5, 6–1 in the final.-Seeds:...
in Stanford, California
Stanford, California
Stanford is a census-designated place in Santa Clara County, California, United States and is the home of Stanford University. The population was 13,809 at the 2010 census....
and the Rogers Cup
2011 Rogers Cup – Women's Singles
Caroline Wozniacki was the defending champion, but lost to Roberta Vinci in the second round. Serena Williams won the title by beating Samantha Stosur 6–4, 6–2 in the final.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round....
in Toronto, Canada. She reached her sixth and seventh quarterfinals of the season at the Mercury Insurance Open
2011 Mercury Insurance Open – Singles
Svetlana Kuznetsova was the defending champion, but withdrew due to a groin strain.Agnieszka Radwańska won the title, defeating Vera Zvonareva 6–3, 6–4 in the final.-Seeds:The top eight seeds received a bye into the second round....
in Carlsbad, California
Carlsbad, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Carlsbad had a population of 105,328. The population density was 2,693.1 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Carlsbad was 87,205 White, 1,379 African American, 514 Native American, 7,460 Asian, 198 Pacific Islander, 4,189 from other...
and at the Western & Southern Open
2011 Western & Southern Open – Women's Singles
Kim Clijsters was the defending champion, but withdrew due to an abdominal injury.Maria Sharapova won the tournament, defeating Jelena Janković 4–6, 7–6, 6–3 in the final.-Seeds:The top eight seeds received a bye into the second round....
in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, but fell to third seed Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
and second seed Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
, respectively.
She lost in the first round of the US Open
2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
to Pauline Parmentier
Pauline Parmentier
Pauline Parmentier is a professional tennis player from France. Her career high was #40, achieved on 21 July 2008 and her highest ranking in doubles was World Number 146 on 15 June 2009.-Background:...
. She reached the quarterfinals in Quebec
Bell Challenge
The Bell Challenge is a WTA Tour Tier III tennis tournament held in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada since 1993. The tournament is played on indoor hardcourts....
, but was eliminated in the second round in Beijing
China Open (tennis)
The China Open is an annual professional tennis tournament held in Beijing, China. The men's singles and doubles events were first held in 1993, the year in which the Qatar Open and Dubai Tennis Championships were also introduced to the men's tour, as the ATP opened a series of new tournaments in...
.
Product endorsement and equipment
Until the 2009 US Open2009 US Open (tennis)
The 2009 US Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts, held from August 31 to September 14, 2009 in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, New York City, United States. Originally, it was scheduled to end with the mens' singles final match on Sunday,...
, Hantuchová was endorsed by Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
sportswear and had her own line with them for her tournament wear, similar to players such as Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
and Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
. From the 2009 US Open
2009 US Open (tennis)
The 2009 US Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts, held from August 31 to September 14, 2009 in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, New York City, United States. Originally, it was scheduled to end with the mens' singles final match on Sunday,...
onwards, Hantuchová began endorsing Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
sportswear. As of Wimbledon 2010, she shares the same signature line as Ana Ivanović
Ana Ivanovic
Ana Ivanović is a former world no. 1 Serbian tennis player. As of November 7, 2011, she is ranked 22th on the WTA rankings. She beat Dinara Safina to win the 2008 French Open and was the runner-up in singles at the 2007 French Open and the 2008 Australian Open...
, therefore being the faces of the Adidas tennis sportswear line (except the Adidas by Stella McCartney
Stella McCartney
Stella Nina McCartney is an English fashion designer. She is the daughter of former Beatles member Sir Paul McCartney and the late photographer and animal rights activist, Linda McCartney.-Early life:...
line). In 2006, Hantuchová also appeared on an advertisement for Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot phone with Ivanović.
Hantuchová also has endorsed three racquet brands. She was first endorsed by Babolat
Babolat
Babolat is a French tennis, badminton and squash equipment company, best known for its strings and tennis racquets which are used by several top players such as Li Na, Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters, Andy Roddick, Fernando González, Igor Andreev, Fabio Fognini, Leander Paes, Nicolás Lapentti,...
from being a junior until late 2003, then Yonex
Yonex
is a Japanese manufacturer of sporting equipment for badminton, golf and tennis, producing racquets, clubs, shoes, shuttlecocks, and other equipment for those sports.-History:...
until the 2007 Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo when she then used the Prince
Prince Sports
Prince Sports, Inc., based in Bordentown, New Jersey, is a manufacturer of equipment for racquet sports, primarily for tennis, badminton, and squash....
Ozone Seven Racquets from the 2007 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. Photos were released from Prince giving the impression that Hantuchová, from the start of the 2011 season, will be using the Prince EXO3 Tour 100. But, she signed a deal with Volkl Tennis and is currently using the Volkl Power Bridge 9. This means that she has endorsed four brands of racquets so far in her career, more than most players. Again however, from the 2011 Fed Cup
2011 Fed Cup
The 2011 Fed Cup is the 49th edition of the most important tournament between national teams in women's tennis...
she began using the Prince EXO3 Tour Team 100, with which she won her fourth career title.
Video games
Hantuchová has been in many sports/tennis related video games with such players as Maria SharapovaMaria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
, Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her as the 29th-best player of the preceding forty years...
, Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
and Anna Kournikova
Anna Kournikova
Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova is a Russian retired professional tennis player. Her beauty and celebrity status made her one of the best known tennis stars worldwide, despite the fact that she never won a WTA singles title. At the peak of her fame, fans looking for images of Kournikova made her name...
. Some of the titles are Top Spin (both Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
and Play Station 2 versions), Smash Court Tennis Pro Tournament 2
Smash Court Tennis Pro Tournament 2
Smash Court Tennis Pro Tournament 2 is a tennis game created by Namco for the PlayStation 2.-Game modes:The game features many playable modes including Arcade mode and the in depth Pro Tour mode in which you create a player and try to become a tennis champion. Other modes include Exhibition,...
, Roland Garros 2005 and Virtua Tennis 3
Virtua Tennis 3
Virtua Tennis 3 is the second arcade game sequel to Sega's tennis game franchise, Virtua Tennis. The arcade version of Virtua Tennis 3 is powered by the PC-based Sega Lindbergh arcade system board...
. Hantuchová is currently ranked third behind Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
and Ana Ivanović
Ana Ivanovic
Ana Ivanović is a former world no. 1 Serbian tennis player. As of November 7, 2011, she is ranked 22th on the WTA rankings. She beat Dinara Safina to win the 2008 French Open and was the runner-up in singles at the 2007 French Open and the 2008 Australian Open...
in a poll for new downloadable players for Top Spin 3
Top Spin 3
Top Spin 3 is the third title in the Top Spin series of video games. The game was developed by PAM Development and published by 2K Sports. New game elements include real-time weather effects, more options of professional tennis players, an in-depth character creation tool and new unparalleled...
. Hantuchová is also a playable character in Virtua Tennis 2009
Virtua Tennis 2009
Virtua Tennis 2009 is a 2009 video game developed by Sumo Digital and published by Sega. It is part of the Virtua Tennis series, following Virtua Tennis 3.-Overview:...
.
Team achievements
- 2000 Eurotel Doubles Champion
- 2002 Fed CupFed CupFed Cup is the premier team competition in women's tennis, launched in 1963 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the International Tennis Federation...
Champion (Slovakia) - 2004 Hopman CupHopman CupThe Hopman Cup is an annual international team tennis tournament held in Perth, Western Australia in early January each year, which plays mixed teams on a country by country basis...
Finalist (with Karol KučeraKarol KuceraKarol Kučera is a retired ATP professional male tennis player from Slovakia. He is a former top 10 player and has been ranked as high as World No. 6.-Tennis career:...
) - 2004 Athens Olympic Games
- 2005 Hopman Cup Champion (with Dominik HrbatýDominik HrbatýDominik Hrbatý is a retired professional tennis player from Slovakia.-Personal life:Hrbatý was born on 4 January 1978 in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. His father was an architecture engineer and his younger brother is an umpire...
) - 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
Special achievements
- 2001 WTA Newcomer of the YearWTA AwardsThis is a list with all the WTA Awards given by the Women's Tennis Association to players who have done or achieved something remarkable during the season or their career.-Player of the Year:-Doubles Team of the Year:-Most Improved Player:...
Award - 2002 WTA Most Improved Player of the YearWTA AwardsThis is a list with all the WTA Awards given by the Women's Tennis Association to players who have done or achieved something remarkable during the season or their career.-Player of the Year:-Doubles Team of the Year:-Most Improved Player:...
Award - 2003 Laureus World Sports Academy Award nominee for World Newcomer of the Year Award