Evgeniya Rodina
Encyclopedia
Evgeniya Sergeyevna Rodina is a Russian professional tennis
player. She achieved her career-high ranking of #74 on February 28, 2011.
, though she lost the match in three.
Further wildcards into two successive $10,000 events at Dubrovnik
, Croatia that October gave her the opportunity to win her first and second main-draw ITF matches without ever having had to qualify for an ITF event, though she lost in the second round on both occasions.
These two results were sufficient to put her onto the tail end of the rankings board at World No. 1138 by the end of the year.
After taking a six-month break from competition, she was granted a further wildcard directly into the main draw of a $10,000 event at Cavtat
, Croatia in late April, 2005, a couple of months after her sixteenth birthday, and this time won two rounds before losing in the quarter-finals.
At the end of that same week, she at last entered a $10,000 qualifying draw on the merit of her ranking alone, and proved her capability by qualifying and then winning four rounds of the main draw without dropping a set, only to lose in the final to a little-known player called Vanja Corovic of Serbia and Montenegro.
Her next significant breakthrough followed in mid-August, as she came through qualifying into a $25,000 draw for the first time at Moscow, and defeated Oxana Lyubtsova
in the main draw on the way to a quarter-final defeat by up-and-coming fellow Russian star Vasilisa Bardina
.
The following week, she was wildcarded directly into a $25,000 draw at Balashikha
, also in Russia, and bettered her career-best result set the previous week by battling through to the semifinals, after knocking out competent Israeli player Yevgenia Savransky in the quarter-finals, before she was once again defeated by Bardina in straight sets.
On her next attempt to qualify for a $25,000 tournament, at Tbilisi
, Georgia
in September, she lost in the qualifying round to Kristina Antoniychuk
of Ukraine
in straight sets, but was allowed into the main draw as a lucky loser, only to face Bardina for a third time in the first round. Despite winning a set from her fellow Russian for the first time, she lost the match in three.
Wildcarded into a $50,000 main draw at Batumi
, also in Georgia, at the end of that month, she reached the second round, then lost to another emerging compatriot Alla Kudryavtseva
.
The next week, in early October, she was favoured with yet another wildcard into a main draw, and this time it was to be her first WTA tour main draw, although she had never even entered qualifying for an event above $25,000 calibre previously. Nonetheless, she rose to the occasion by defeating experienced compatriot Tatiana Panova
in Round One and Hungarian talent Melinda Czink
in Round Two to reach the quarter-final stage at her début WTA event, but then lost a tight three-set clash to her compatriot Ekaterina Bychkova
.
The ranking points accrued by this recent run of results were sufficient to afford her direct entry into the main draw of the next $25,000 contest she entered, which took place at Minsk
in Belarus
, early in November. In this instance, she won through to the quarter-finals, but was stopped a round short of her career-best performance at this level by emerging star Agnieszka Radwańska
of Poland.
In mid-November she was forced to fight through qualifying to enter the popular $25,000 event at Pruhonice
in the Czech Republic, and succeeded in defeating future top-50 star Dominika Cibulková
of Slovakia
and Maša Zec Peškirič
of Slovenia to achieve this end. But in the first round of the main draw she lost in two close sets, 4–6 4–6, to Czech player Michaela Paštiková
.
She did not play another match for the next three months, but ended the year ranked World No. 323, evidencing an auspiciously rapid start after her first full year on the ITF circuit.
, 6–2 4–6 3–6.
In her next two $25,000 tournaments, she endured early losses, but on returning from a month's break early in May to compete in a $25,000 event at Antalya-Manavgat, Turkey
, she reached the quarter-finals after beating Aurélie Védy
of France in a close three-set second-round clash, but then was demolished 1–6 1–6 by on-form Italian star Romina Oprandi
.
The following week, she gained entry into the qualifying draw of her first $75,000 tournament at Jounieh
, Indonesia
, and won through all three qualifying rounds in close three-set matches against little-known opponents to score her career-best qualifying achievement yet, but finally succumbed to compatriot Alla Kudryavtseva
in the first round of the main draw in an even closer contest, 6–7 6–4 4–6.
In July, she suffered another relatively early loss in the main draw of a $25,000 tournament at Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine
, as she was trounced by unheralded Ukrainian Galyna Kosyk in the second round 0–6 2–6.
But in August she returned to form by breezing through into the finals of a $25,000 tournament at Moscow and then vanquishing up-and-coming compatriot Ekaterina Makarova
in a closely fought final, 7–6 6–3, to win the first ITF title of her career at any level.
The following month, she qualified for her second $75,000 draw, and this time came away with two main-draw victories also to extend her winning streak to ten, at the expense of Jorgelina Cravero
of Argentina
and Aleksandra Wozniak
of Canada. In the quarter-finals, she faced experienced Peruvian veteran Kristina Brandi
; and the match went down to the wire with a third-set tiebreak, but it was Brandi who emerged victorious, 6–2 1–6 7–6.
The very next week, she won through qualifying into a $50,000 event at Ashland, Kentucky
, and defeated Varvara Lepchenko
of Uzbekistan
in the second round of the main draw before losing to future Top-20 star Ágnes Szávay
of Hungary in the quarter-finals.
As a direct entrant into the main draw of her next $50,000 tournament the following week, in early October, she was stopped in the second round by Ahsha Rolle
, who this time defeated her easily for the loss of just two games.
Back in action again the week after at a $50,000 event at San Francisco, California, she lost in three sets at the first hurdle to American Neha Uberoi
.
After returning to Russia, she reached another $25,000 quarter-final at Podolsk
at the end of that month before losing to compatriot Eugenia Grebenyuk 2–6 5–7.
But the very next week, at the start of November, she turned the tables on Grebenyuk in the quarter-finals of a $25,000 tournament at Minsk
, dismissing her 6–2 6–2, and then narrowly defeated compatriot Anna Lapushchenkova
7–6 7–5 at the semi-final stage, before sealing a comprehensive straight-sets tournament victory with a 6–4 6–3 win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
in the final, to take her career ITF singles title tally to two.
Later that month at Přerov
in the Czech Republic, she cruised to the semi-finals of another $25,000 event before losing to prominent British player Anne Keothavong
6–7 2–6 in what would be the Russian's last match of the year.
Despite a few hiccoughs along the route, Rodina had ended the year ranked 90 places higher than she began, at World No. 233, and had compiled an outstanding win-loss record for the year of 34–12.
. In the first round of the qualifying draw she comfortably defeated American star Angela Haynes
6–3 6–0. But then she lost in the second to another American, Bethanie Mattek
, 4–6 1–6.
After taking the next month off from competition, she entered qualifying for the Tier III tournament at Bogotá
, Colombia
in mid-February, and reached the qualifying round with two victories over South American players, before losing a close match to a little-known Spaniard, Estrella Cabeza-Candela.
A week later, she entered qualifying for another Tier III event in the Americas, this time at Acapulco
, Mexico. But she was drawn against strong German player Gréta Arn
in the first round of qualifying, and ceded to her a close three-setter, 5–7 6–4 2–6.
Returning to the ITF circuit in March, she suffered a close first-round loss to Darya Kustova
in the $25,000 event at Minsk
before winning through to the finals at Moscow with victories over fellow-Russians Oxana Lyubtsova
and Alisa Kleybanova
, but then lost a very close final to up-and-coming star Ekaterina Makarova
, who thereby avenged her defeat at the hands of Rodina in the finals of another $25,000 event at Moscow the previous August.
Staying with $25,000 events in April, she lost a very close first round match to Australian Casey Dellacqua
7–6 6–7 3–6 at Biarritz
, France, but the following week won through to the semi-finals at Calvià
, Spain, with a three-set quarter-final victory against Czech star Petra Cetkovská
, 6–4 3–6 6–4, only to lose her semifinal tie to Spanish player María José Martínez Sánchez
in straight sets.
Late that month, she stepped back up to the $50,000 level at Torrent
, Spain, but lost in the second round to Estonia
's Maret Ani
.
Travelling to the Lebanon
in May for the $75,000 tournament at Jounieh
, she was upended in the first round by a little-known player from Slovakia, Zuzana Kučová
, 1–6 4–6.
The following week, she reached the quarter-finals of a $50,000 tournament at Saint-Saint-Gaudens, France with wins over Margalita Chakhnashvili
of Georgia and Joanna Sakowicz
of Poland, but was then demolished by veteran campaigner Tatiana Perebiynis
of Ukraine
, who allowed her only one game in the match.
Towards the end of the month, she entered qualifying for a Grand Slam for the second time in her career, this time at the French Open, and defeated Hana Šromová
of the Czech Republic in the first round, but then lost a very tight three set match to emerging Uzbek star Akgul Amanmuradova
, 6–4 6–7 4–6.
In June, Rodina tried again at Wimbledon
, but despite defeating her experienced compatriot Galina Voskoboeva
in the first round of qualifying, she then lost rather easily to an up-and-coming Belarussian success story in the form of Olga Govortsova
, 1–6 2–6.
After another month's break, she returned to action in late July at the $75,000 ITF tournament at Pétange
, Luxembourg
, and made it through to the quarter-final stage before losing to Carla Suárez Navarro
of Spain 6–7 1–6.
In mid-August, she reached the quarter-finals of another $50,000 event at Bronx, New York with wins over Swedish star Sofia Arvidsson
and Dutch campaigner Elise Tamaela
, but then lost a very close quarter-final to Austrian Yvonne Meusburger
, 6–2 3–6 6–7.
The very next week, she entered qualifying for her fourth straight Grand Slam of the year, and this time won two rounds at the expense of Elena Baltacha
of Great Britain and Hana Šromová
, but was defeated in three sets in the qualifying round by Olivia Sanchez
of France, 6–4 1–6 4–6.
In September, as a direct entrant to the $100,000 tournament at Kharkov, Ukraine
, she reached the quarter-final after notching up a straight-sets victory over another top British player, Katie O'Brien
, in the first round, but then lost to veteran Anne Kremer
from Luxembourg
in the quarter-finals, 4–6 1–6.
At the end of the month, she achieved a career-first at Tashkent
, Uzbekistan
in qualifying for a WTA main draw, by successively defeating both Marta Domachowska
of Poland and her Russian compatriot Anna Lapushchenkova
in straight sets. Although it was only a Tier IV event, these were both strong opponents to encounter in a qualifying draw; and she capitalised on her achievement by ousting up-and-coming Chinese star Zhang Shuai
in the first round of the main draw, 6–3 7–6. But then she faced emerging top-flight player Victoria Azarenka
of Belarus
in Round Two, and ceded the match to her in two close sets, 4–6 3–6, so failing to equal her career best result set at the same event two years previously, although on that past occasion she had entered the tournament thanks to the award of a wildcard and did not encounter such tough second-round opposition.
Later the same week, she entered qualifying for the Tier I event at Moscow, and toughed out three-set victories against compatriots Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
and Anastasia Pivovarova
before ultimately losing a similarly close three-setter to Australian former top-ten star Alicia Molik
, 7–5 3–6 4–6, in the qualifying round.
Towards the end of the month, Rodina returned to the ITF circuit once more at Podolsk
, Russia, and this time fought past Galyna Kosyk in a three-set quarter-final to avenge her crushing defeat at her hands back in July 2006. At the semi-final stage, she ousted Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in another three-set tussle, but in the final she comfortably defeated Anna Lapushchenkova
, against whom she has never yet lost, to earn her third career ITF singles title, and third at $25,000 level.
In early November, she entered a $50,000 tournament at Minsk
, Belarus
, and after edging past a little-known fellow Russian in Round One she successively defeated Viktoriya Kutuzova
of Ukraine
7–6 6–3, Aravane Rezaï
of France 6–4 6–3, and Ekaterina Dzehalevich
of Belarus
6–2 4–6 6–4, to reach her career-first $50,000 final, having never previously made it past the quarter-finals at or above this level of event. Ironically, the final proved to be her easiest match of the tournament, as she virtually bulldozed Romanian Sorana Cîrstea
for the loss of just one game each set, to take home her career-first $50,000 title.
´
The next two weeks were to prove less successful for Rodina. She first encountered Ekaterina Bychkova
in the first round of the $50,000 event at Deauville
, France, and was edged out by her 6–4 2–6 5–7. Next, after gaining direct entry into the main draw of the $100,000 event at Poitiers
, France, she ran into Stéphanie Foretz
and was defeated by her 3–6 2–6.
In December, however, she entered the $75,000 tournament at Dubai
, United Arab Emirates
, and enjoyed further success, with another victory over Anna Lapushchenkova
in the second round, followed by the avenging of her previous defeat to Alla Kudryavtseva
in the quarter-finals, though it was to be another close three-set match between them, 7–5 5–7 6–3. These victories took her to her career-first $75,000 semi-final, where she met Yuliana Fedak
of Ukraine
, and vanquished her in two close sets, 6–4 6–4. But in the first $75,000 final, she was faced with the challenge of playing erstwhile Top-25 star Maria Kirilenko
; and though the first set was close, it was to be Kirilenko who eventually ran away with the match, 7–5 6–2.
Nonetheless, this performance lifted Rodina to a career-high ranking of World No. 120 on December 17, a position she maintained at the end of the year, which had seen her surge upwards by a further one hundred and thirteen places.
of Germany at Gold Coast
(1–6 5–7), to Yaroslava Shvedova
at Hobart (5–7 6–2 1–6), and to Junri Namigata
of Japan at the Australian Open
(1–6 3–6).
But with few ranking points to defend from that time of year in 2007, she had slipped only three places on the WTA rankings list to World No. 123 by the start of February; and even a further first-round loss to Estonia
n star Kaia Kanepi
(3–6 4–6) at the first tournament she played that month, the Tier III event at Viña del Mar
, Chile
, was enough to drop her ranking only to 127th by the last week of February.
In late February, she reached the second round of the Tier III tournament at Memphis, Tennessee
by defeating former Top 100 player (but then World No. 158) Anastasiya Yakimova
of Belarus
in Round One, before losing heavily to Lindsay Davenport
, 1–6 1–6. The following week, early in March, she reached the second round of a $50,000 ITF event at Las Vegas with a 6–1 6–4 win over Varvara Lepchenko
before losing to Chinese World No. 87 Yuan Meng
2–6 2–6 in the second round.
A reprieve from this disappointing run of finishes was just around the corner, however, as at the annual Tier I event at Indian Wells
held over two weeks in the middle of March she successfully came through two tough rounds of qualifying by defeating resurgent former Top 50 star Sesil Karatantcheva
of Bulgaria (7–5 6–2) and World No. 117 Rossana de los Ríos
of Paraguay
(6–3 6–2), and then went on to defeat wildcarded fellow Russian Anastasia Pivovarova
(6–4 6–3) and French World No. 26 Virginie Razzano
(6–0 6–7 6–2) to reach the third round of the main draw, before losing to Spanish World No. 31 Anabel Medina Garrigues
(3–6 5–7). Her string of four victories at this tournament, albeit two in qualifying, was sufficient to lift her to a new career-high ranking of World No. 102 in the week beginning March 24.
In the French Open, her first direct entry into a Grand Slam Main Draw, she took on the top seed and her compatriot, Maria Sharapova on the Philippe Chatrier Court, the largest court at Roland Garros. Rodina fought gamely and made a good account of herself, before Sharapova won 6–1, 3–6, 8–6.
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player. She achieved her career-high ranking of #74 on February 28, 2011.
Career summary
Rodina has made strong progress up through the world rankings to reach a career high of World No. 120 by the end of 2007, and has won four career ITF singles titles to date, of which one has been at $50,000 level and the other three all at $25,000.2004–5
Rodina began her career on the ITF circuit with the assistance of a wildcard into the first round of the main draw of a $25,000 tournament at Moscow in late August 2004, when she was just fifteen and a half years old, and justified the award by taking a set from up-and-coming fellow Russian star Elena VesninaElena Vesnina
Elena Sergeevna Vesnina is a professional female tennis player from Russia. Her career high rank was #22, achieved on 12 October 2009...
, though she lost the match in three.
Further wildcards into two successive $10,000 events at Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...
, Croatia that October gave her the opportunity to win her first and second main-draw ITF matches without ever having had to qualify for an ITF event, though she lost in the second round on both occasions.
These two results were sufficient to put her onto the tail end of the rankings board at World No. 1138 by the end of the year.
After taking a six-month break from competition, she was granted a further wildcard directly into the main draw of a $10,000 event at Cavtat
Cavtat
Cavtat ) is a town in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia. It is on the Adriatic seacoast 15 km south of Dubrovnik and is the centre of the Konavle municipality.-History:...
, Croatia in late April, 2005, a couple of months after her sixteenth birthday, and this time won two rounds before losing in the quarter-finals.
At the end of that same week, she at last entered a $10,000 qualifying draw on the merit of her ranking alone, and proved her capability by qualifying and then winning four rounds of the main draw without dropping a set, only to lose in the final to a little-known player called Vanja Corovic of Serbia and Montenegro.
Her next significant breakthrough followed in mid-August, as she came through qualifying into a $25,000 draw for the first time at Moscow, and defeated Oxana Lyubtsova
Oxana Lyubtsova
Oksana Lyubtsova is a tennis player from Ukraine who has won four ITF Singles Titles and three ITF Doubles Titles. Lyubtsova played in her first WTA Tour event when she qualified to play in the 2009 Open GDF Suez. She lost in the first round to the 4th seeded Polish teenager Agnieszka Radwańska...
in the main draw on the way to a quarter-final defeat by up-and-coming fellow Russian star Vasilisa Bardina
Vasilisa Bardina
Vasilisa Alekseyevna Bardina is a Russian professional tennis player.As of August 10, 2007, her highest ranking was World Number 48, achieved in early 2007...
.
The following week, she was wildcarded directly into a $25,000 draw at Balashikha
Balashikha
Balashikha is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Pekhorka River east of Moscow. It is known for its unique river and waterway system. The Pekhorka River system covers an area of from north to south and from east to west, and many small lakes and ponds were created by damming to...
, also in Russia, and bettered her career-best result set the previous week by battling through to the semifinals, after knocking out competent Israeli player Yevgenia Savransky in the quarter-finals, before she was once again defeated by Bardina in straight sets.
On her next attempt to qualify for a $25,000 tournament, at Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
in September, she lost in the qualifying round to Kristina Antoniychuk
Kristina Antoniychuk
Kristina Antoniychuk, is a professional Ukrainian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 172, which she reached on February 22, 2010...
of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
in straight sets, but was allowed into the main draw as a lucky loser, only to face Bardina for a third time in the first round. Despite winning a set from her fellow Russian for the first time, she lost the match in three.
Wildcarded into a $50,000 main draw at Batumi
Batumi
Batumi is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. Sometimes considered Georgia's second capital, with a population of 121,806 , Batumi serves as an important port and a commercial center. It is situated in a subtropical zone, rich in...
, also in Georgia, at the end of that month, she reached the second round, then lost to another emerging compatriot Alla Kudryavtseva
Alla Kudryavtseva
Alla Alexandrovna Kudryavtseva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She currently lives in Moscow, where she is coached by Nick Rybakov...
.
The next week, in early October, she was favoured with yet another wildcard into a main draw, and this time it was to be her first WTA tour main draw, although she had never even entered qualifying for an event above $25,000 calibre previously. Nonetheless, she rose to the occasion by defeating experienced compatriot Tatiana Panova
Tatiana Panova
Tatiana Urayevna Panova is a Russian professional female tennis player. On 23 September 2002 Panova reached her career-high singles ranking: World No. 20....
in Round One and Hungarian talent Melinda Czink
Melinda Czink
Melinda Czink is a Hungarian professional female tennis player. On September 21, 2009 Czink reached her career-high singles ranking of World No. 37....
in Round Two to reach the quarter-final stage at her début WTA event, but then lost a tight three-set clash to her compatriot Ekaterina Bychkova
Ekaterina Bychkova
Ekaterina Andreevna Bychkova is a professional tennis player. She is most famous for defeating defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round of the 2005 US Open. She defeated her by a score of 6–3, 6–2. It was the first time a defending US Open Champion had lost in the first round...
.
The ranking points accrued by this recent run of results were sufficient to afford her direct entry into the main draw of the next $25,000 contest she entered, which took place at Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, early in November. In this instance, she won through to the quarter-finals, but was stopped a round short of her career-best performance at this level by emerging star 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...
of Poland.
In mid-November she was forced to fight through qualifying to enter the popular $25,000 event at Pruhonice
Průhonice
Průhonice is a village and municipality in Prague-West District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. -Notes:*This article was initially translated from the Czech Wikipedia....
in the Czech Republic, and succeeded in defeating future top-50 star 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...
of 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...
and Maša Zec Peškirič
Masa Zec Peskiric
Maša Zec Peškirič is a professional Slovenian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is No. 93, which she reached on June 15, 2009. Her career high in doubles is No...
of Slovenia to achieve this end. But in the first round of the main draw she lost in two close sets, 4–6 4–6, to Czech player Michaela Paštiková
Michaela Paštiková
Michaela Paštiková is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic. On January 31, 2005, Paštiková achieved her career-high singles ranking: World No. 89.-Singles titles :-External links:...
.
She did not play another match for the next three months, but ended the year ranked World No. 323, evidencing an auspiciously rapid start after her first full year on the ITF circuit.
2006
Returning to competition towards the end of February, she gained direct entry into a $50,000 tournament at St. Paul, Minnesota, and won her first-round tie before losing a close three-setter to American Ahsha RolleAhsha Rolle
Ahsha Rolle is a professional American tennis player. She was born on March 21, 1985 in Miami Shores, Florida. She began playing tennis when she was nine years old.-2007:...
, 6–2 4–6 3–6.
In her next two $25,000 tournaments, she endured early losses, but on returning from a month's break early in May to compete in a $25,000 event at Antalya-Manavgat, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, she reached the quarter-finals after beating Aurélie Védy
Aurélie Védy
Aurélie Védy is a French professional tennis player. Her career high WTA doubles ranking is 85, set on May 4, 2009...
of France in a close three-set second-round clash, but then was demolished 1–6 1–6 by on-form Italian star Romina Oprandi
Romina Oprandi
Romina Sarina Oprandi is an Italian female professional tennis player. She turned professional in 2005 and has been ranked as high as 46 in the world .-Tennis career:...
.
The following week, she gained entry into the qualifying draw of her first $75,000 tournament at Jounieh
Jounieh
Jounieh is a Mediterranean coastal city about 16 kilometers north of Beirut, Lebanon. Jounieh is known for its seaside resorts, pubs, restaurants and nightclubs, as well as its old stone souk, ferry, and cablecar , which takes passengers up the mountain to the shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, and won through all three qualifying rounds in close three-set matches against little-known opponents to score her career-best qualifying achievement yet, but finally succumbed to compatriot Alla Kudryavtseva
Alla Kudryavtseva
Alla Alexandrovna Kudryavtseva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She currently lives in Moscow, where she is coached by Nick Rybakov...
in the first round of the main draw in an even closer contest, 6–7 6–4 4–6.
In July, she suffered another relatively early loss in the main draw of a $25,000 tournament at Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, as she was trounced by unheralded Ukrainian Galyna Kosyk in the second round 0–6 2–6.
But in August she returned to form by breezing through into the finals of a $25,000 tournament at Moscow and then vanquishing up-and-coming compatriot Ekaterina Makarova
Ekaterina Makarova
Ekaterina Valeryevna Makarova is a professional Russian tennis player. She achieved her career high ranking of number 29 on June 6, 2011.-Career:...
in a closely fought final, 7–6 6–3, to win the first ITF title of her career at any level.
The following month, she qualified for her second $75,000 draw, and this time came away with two main-draw victories also to extend her winning streak to ten, at the expense of Jorgelina Cravero
Jorgelina Cravero
Jorgelina Cravero is a professional Argentine tennis player. In 2007 Cravero qualified for three of the four Grand Slam tournaments, losing in the opening round every time, including to Justine Henin at Wimbledon 2007. She lost to Martina Müller at the 2007 Australian Open and Aravane Rezaï at the...
of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and 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...
of Canada. In the quarter-finals, she faced experienced Peruvian veteran Kristina Brandi
Kristina Brandi
Kristina Brandi is a Puerto Rican tennis player.-Early years:Brandi was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where she became interested in the sport of tennis at an early age. She made her professional debut in 1995 when she was 17 years old.-USTA Circuit:In 2003, Brandi won the most titles...
; and the match went down to the wire with a third-set tiebreak, but it was Brandi who emerged victorious, 6–2 1–6 7–6.
The very next week, she won through qualifying into a $50,000 event at Ashland, Kentucky
Ashland, Kentucky
Ashland, formerly known as Poage Settlement, is a city in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States, nestled along the banks of the Ohio River. The population was 21,981 at the 2000 census. Ashland is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of the 2000 census, the...
, and defeated Varvara Lepchenko
Varvara Lepchenko
Varvara Lepchenko is an American female professional tennis player. She reached her singles career high of no. 74 on November 15, 2010. She has won six ITF titles during her career.-Early life and junior career:...
of Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
in the second round of the main draw before losing to future Top-20 star 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 quarter-finals.
As a direct entrant into the main draw of her next $50,000 tournament the following week, in early October, she was stopped in the second round by Ahsha Rolle
Ahsha Rolle
Ahsha Rolle is a professional American tennis player. She was born on March 21, 1985 in Miami Shores, Florida. She began playing tennis when she was nine years old.-2007:...
, who this time defeated her easily for the loss of just two games.
Back in action again the week after at a $50,000 event at San Francisco, California, she lost in three sets at the first hurdle to American Neha Uberoi
Neha Uberoi
Neha Uberoi is a former professional tennis player. She is the sister of fellow tennis professional Shikha Uberoi....
.
After returning to Russia, she reached another $25,000 quarter-final at Podolsk
Podolsk
Podolsk is an industrial city and the administrative center of Podolsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Pakhra River...
at the end of that month before losing to compatriot Eugenia Grebenyuk 2–6 5–7.
But the very next week, at the start of November, she turned the tables on Grebenyuk in the quarter-finals of a $25,000 tournament at Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, dismissing her 6–2 6–2, and then narrowly defeated compatriot Anna Lapushchenkova
Anna Lapushchenkova
Anna Lapushchenkova is a Russian professional tennis player, since 2003.-Career Summary:Lapushchenkova began competing occasionally on the ITF women's circuit in October 2002, shortly before her sixteenth birthday...
7–6 7–5 at the semi-final stage, before sealing a comprehensive straight-sets tournament victory with a 6–4 6–3 win over 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 final, to take her career ITF singles title tally to two.
Later that month at Přerov
Prerov
Přerov is a town in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic where the Bečva river flows through. Přerov is a statute town . It has population of about 47,373 to January 2, 2008. Přerov is about 22 km south west of Olomouc. In the past it was a major crossroad in the heart of Moravia in the...
in the Czech Republic, she cruised to the semi-finals of another $25,000 event before losing to prominent British player Anne Keothavong
Anne Keothavong
Anne Viensouk Keothavong is a British professional tennis player. She is a former long-standing British number 1, however she is the current British number 2, behind Elena Baltacha and is ranked 71st in the world...
6–7 2–6 in what would be the Russian's last match of the year.
Despite a few hiccoughs along the route, Rodina had ended the year ranked 90 places higher than she began, at World No. 233, and had compiled an outstanding win-loss record for the year of 34–12.
2007
In January she entered qualifying for a WTA Tour event for the first time in her career, her only previous WTA appearance having been thanks to a main draw wildcard. But far from being a minor-level WTA event, it was a Grand Slam that she chose to tackle first at WTA qualifying level, and more specifically the Australian OpenAustralian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
. In the first round of the qualifying draw she comfortably defeated American star Angela Haynes
Angela Haynes
Angela Haynes is a professional tennis player from the United States. Haynes's top WTA singles ranking is World No. 95 which she attained in August, 2005. Angela is currently ranked World No. 158, race-singles World No. 260 and World No...
6–3 6–0. But then she lost in the second to another American, Bethanie Mattek
Bethanie Mattek
Bethanie Lynn Mattek-Sands is an American professional tennis player who competes on the WTA Tour. She lives in Miami, Florida, but trains in Phoenix, Arizona...
, 4–6 1–6.
After taking the next month off from competition, she entered qualifying for the Tier III tournament at Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
in mid-February, and reached the qualifying round with two victories over South American players, before losing a close match to a little-known Spaniard, Estrella Cabeza-Candela.
A week later, she entered qualifying for another Tier III event in the Americas, this time at Acapulco
Acapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
, Mexico. But she was drawn against strong German player Gréta Arn
Gréta Arn
Gréta Arn is a professional tennis player from Hungary, and the current Hungarian No. 1. Arn turned professional in 1997....
in the first round of qualifying, and ceded to her a close three-setter, 5–7 6–4 2–6.
Returning to the ITF circuit in March, she suffered a close first-round loss to Darya Kustova
Darya Kustova
Darya Kustova is a professional Belarusian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 117, which she reached on January 18, 2010. Her career high in doubles was 66, set at July 7, 2008.-External links:...
in the $25,000 event at Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
before winning through to the finals at Moscow with victories over fellow-Russians Oxana Lyubtsova
Oxana Lyubtsova
Oksana Lyubtsova is a tennis player from Ukraine who has won four ITF Singles Titles and three ITF Doubles Titles. Lyubtsova played in her first WTA Tour event when she qualified to play in the 2009 Open GDF Suez. She lost in the first round to the 4th seeded Polish teenager Agnieszka Radwańska...
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...
, but then lost a very close final to up-and-coming star 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:...
, who thereby avenged her defeat at the hands of Rodina in the finals of another $25,000 event at Moscow the previous August.
Staying with $25,000 events in April, she lost a very close first round match to Australian Casey Dellacqua
Casey Dellacqua
Casey Dellacqua is an Australian professional tennis player who currently resides in Perth, Western Australia. She was previously coached by former Australian player Nicole Pratt, before the two decided to part ways prior to the 2009 Australian Open...
7–6 6–7 3–6 at Biarritz
Biarritz
Biarritz is a city which lies on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast, in south-western France. It is a luxurious seaside town and is popular with tourists and surfers....
, France, but the following week won through to the semi-finals at Calvià
Calvià
Calvià is a municipality on the island of Majorca, part of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is located in the southwestern part of the island of Majorca, between the Serra de Tramuntana and the Serra de Na Burguesa. The municipal seat is the town of Vila Calvia.Calvià...
, Spain, with a three-set quarter-final victory against Czech star Petra Cetkovská
Petra Cetkovská
Petra Cetkovská is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic and is of ethnic Macedonian origin. She reached her career high singles ranking No.30 on 24 October 2011.-Career:...
, 6–4 3–6 6–4, only to lose her semifinal tie to Spanish player 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 straight sets.
Late that month, she stepped back up to the $50,000 level at Torrent
Torrent, Valencia
Torrent is a city located within the metropolitan area of the city of Valencia, Spain. It is the largest municipality of the Horta Sud comarca, with 79,843 inhabitants . It is situated some 7 km from Valencia city proper, to which it is connected via the...
, Spain, but lost in the second round to Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
's Maret Ani
Maret Ani
Maret Ani is an Estonian tennis player. At the start of 2006, she was the top-ranked player in Estonia, before losing that spot to Kaia Kanepi....
.
Travelling to the Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
in May for the $75,000 tournament at Jounieh
Jounieh
Jounieh is a Mediterranean coastal city about 16 kilometers north of Beirut, Lebanon. Jounieh is known for its seaside resorts, pubs, restaurants and nightclubs, as well as its old stone souk, ferry, and cablecar , which takes passengers up the mountain to the shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in...
, she was upended in the first round by a little-known player from Slovakia, Zuzana Kučová
Zuzana Kučová
Zuzana Kučová , is a professional tennis player from Slovakia. Her career high singles ranking is No. 101, achieved on June 7, 2010. She is the sister of Kristína Kučová.-Tennis career:...
, 1–6 4–6.
The following week, she reached the quarter-finals of a $50,000 tournament at Saint-Saint-Gaudens, France with wins over Margalita Chakhnashvili
Margalita Chakhnashvili
Margalita Chakhnashvili is a professional Georgian tennis player, who is, as of July 24, 2007, the top-ranked female Georgian tennis player. In her career, she has never won a singles nor doubles title on the WTA Tour, but has won 8 singles titles and 3 doubles titles on the ITF circuit...
of Georgia and Joanna Sakowicz
Joanna Sakowicz
Joanna Sakowicz is a female Polish tennis player from Kraków. She has earned a total of $116,884 in prize money. Her highest rank was 138 in 2006.- References :* http://www.wtatennis.com/player/joanna-sakowicz-kostecka_2257889_7971...
of Poland, but was then demolished by veteran campaigner Tatiana Perebiynis
Tatiana Perebiynis
Tetyana Yurevna Perebiynis , born on December 15, 1982 is a Top 100 female professional tennis player born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, where she lives. She is an only child. She reached the Wimbledon junior girls' singles final in 2000, and won the Wimbledon juniors doubles final that year...
of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, who allowed her only one game in the match.
Towards the end of the month, she entered qualifying for a Grand Slam for the second time in her career, this time at the French Open, and defeated Hana Šromová
Hana Šromová
Hana Šromová is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic. On Jun 19, 2006, Šromová achieved her career-high singles ranking: World No. 87.- External links :...
of the Czech Republic in the first round, but then lost a very tight three set match to emerging Uzbek star 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...
, 6–4 6–7 4–6.
In June, Rodina tried again 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...
, but despite defeating her experienced compatriot Galina Voskoboeva
Galina Voskoboeva
Galina Olegovna Voskoboeva is a professional Russian-born Kazakhstani tennis player. She reached her career-high singles rank of World No. 56 on October 10, 2011. Her career high in doubles is 31st, set at January 29, 2007.-Early life:...
in the first round of qualifying, she then lost rather easily to an up-and-coming Belarussian success story in the form of Olga Govortsova
Olga Govortsova
Olga Govortsova is a professional Belarusian tennis player. As of May 10, 2010 her highest singles ranking on the WTA is World Number 35, which she achieved on June 23, 2008.-Career:...
, 1–6 2–6.
After another month's break, she returned to action in late July at the $75,000 ITF tournament at Pétange
Pétange
Pétange is a commune and town in south-western Luxembourg. It is part of the canton of Esch-sur-Alzette, which is part of the district of Luxembourg. Pétange lies on the borders with both Belgium and France....
, 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...
, and made it through to the quarter-final stage before losing to Carla Suárez Navarro
Carla Suarez Navarro
Carla Suárez Navarro is a Spanish tennis player. She began playing for Spain in the 2008 Fed Cup. On May 18, 2009, she reached her career high ranking at World No. 22.-2008:...
of Spain 6–7 1–6.
In mid-August, she reached the quarter-finals of another $50,000 event at Bronx, New York with wins over Swedish star Sofia Arvidsson
Sofia Arvidsson
Lena Sofia Alexandra Arvidsson is a Swedish tennis player. As of May 9, 2011, she is ranked World No. 77. Her highest career ranking is World No. 29.-Biography:...
and Dutch campaigner Elise Tamaela
Elise Tamaëla
Elise Tamaëla is a professional Dutch tennis player playing in the ITF Women's Circuit. On February 17, 2007, she reached her highest WTA singles ranking of 129. On April 9, 2007, she reached her highest WTA doubles ranking of 228. She is coached by Stephan Ehritt.-External links:...
, but then lost a very close quarter-final to Austrian Yvonne Meusburger
Yvonne Meusburger
Yvonne Meusburger is a tennis player from Austria. She is currently the country's third highest ranked female player. Her career high ranking is No. 60, a ranking she achieved on 19 November 2007.-Tennis career:...
, 6–2 3–6 6–7.
The very next week, she entered qualifying for her fourth straight Grand Slam of the year, and this time won two rounds at the expense of Elena Baltacha
Elena Baltacha
Elena Baltacha is a British professional tennis player of Ukrainian background. Being a four-time winner of the AEGON Award, she is also the long standing British number 1, a position she has held intermittently since 2002. As of 24 November 2011 she holds a current world ranking of No. 50. Her...
of Great Britain and Hana Šromová
Hana Šromová
Hana Šromová is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic. On Jun 19, 2006, Šromová achieved her career-high singles ranking: World No. 87.- External links :...
, but was defeated in three sets in the qualifying round by Olivia Sanchez
Olivia Sanchez
Olivia Sanchez is a professional tennis player from France. She received a wildcard into the main draw of the 2007 French Open, but lost in 6–3, 4–6, 3–6, to Shenay Perry in the first round. As of June 9, 2008, Sanchez reached her highest singles ranking of World Number 90 on June 9, 2008, and is...
of France, 6–4 1–6 4–6.
In September, as a direct entrant to the $100,000 tournament at Kharkov, 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...
, she reached the quarter-final after notching up a straight-sets victory over another top British player, Katie O'Brien
Katie O'Brien
Katie Jill O'Brien is an English former professional tennis player from Beverley, Yorkshire. She was briefly the British No. 1 tennis player...
, in the first round, but then lost to veteran Anne Kremer
Anne Kremer
Anne Kremer is a professional female tennis player from Luxembourg. Her highest WTA Ranking has been World No...
from 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...
in the quarter-finals, 4–6 1–6.
At the end of the month, she achieved a career-first at Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
in qualifying for a WTA main draw, by successively defeating both Marta Domachowska
Marta Domachowska
Marta Domachowska is a Polish professional tennis player. She began playing at age 7. She reached the semi finals of Australian Open Junior Championships in 2003. Her racquet brand is Wilson. She speaks four languages: Polish, English, Spanish and Russian. Other than tennis, she enjoys sports such...
of Poland and her Russian compatriot Anna Lapushchenkova
Anna Lapushchenkova
Anna Lapushchenkova is a Russian professional tennis player, since 2003.-Career Summary:Lapushchenkova began competing occasionally on the ITF women's circuit in October 2002, shortly before her sixteenth birthday...
in straight sets. Although it was only a Tier IV event, these were both strong opponents to encounter in a qualifying draw; and she capitalised on her achievement by ousting up-and-coming Chinese star 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:...
in the first round of the main draw, 6–3 7–6. But then she faced emerging top-flight player 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....
of Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
in Round Two, and ceded the match to her in two close sets, 4–6 3–6, so failing to equal her career best result set at the same event two years previously, although on that past occasion she had entered the tournament thanks to the award of a wildcard and did not encounter such tough second-round opposition.
Later the same week, she entered qualifying for the Tier I event at Moscow, and toughed out three-set victories against compatriots 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 Anastasia Pivovarova
Anastasia Pivovarova
Anastasia Olegovna Pivovarova is a professional tennis player from Russia.Pivovarova was born in Moscow, Russia and is a right-handed player. She reached a career high of 115 in July 2010. During a successful junior career Pivovarova was ranked as high as number 2.- Biography :Anastasia Pivovarova...
before ultimately losing a similarly close three-setter to Australian former top-ten star 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...
, 7–5 3–6 4–6, in the qualifying round.
Towards the end of the month, Rodina returned to the ITF circuit once more at Podolsk
Podolsk
Podolsk is an industrial city and the administrative center of Podolsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Pakhra River...
, Russia, and this time fought past Galyna Kosyk in a three-set quarter-final to avenge her crushing defeat at her hands back in July 2006. At the semi-final stage, she ousted Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in another three-set tussle, but in the final she comfortably defeated Anna Lapushchenkova
Anna Lapushchenkova
Anna Lapushchenkova is a Russian professional tennis player, since 2003.-Career Summary:Lapushchenkova began competing occasionally on the ITF women's circuit in October 2002, shortly before her sixteenth birthday...
, against whom she has never yet lost, to earn her third career ITF singles title, and third at $25,000 level.
In early November, she entered a $50,000 tournament at Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, and after edging past a little-known fellow Russian in Round One she successively defeated Viktoriya Kutuzova
Viktoriya Kutuzova
Viktoriya Kutuzova is a female tennis player from Ukraine.On November 28, 2005, Kutuzova reached her highest singles ranking, World No. 76.Kutuzova remains most notable for her results as a 14 year old...
of 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...
7–6 6–3, Aravane Rezaï
Aravane Rezaï
Aravane Rezaï is an Iranian-French tennis player born in Saint-Étienne, France to Iranian parents. She is the current French No. 5 in women's tennis. Rezaï took up tennis after a childhood stint as her older brother's ball girl...
of France 6–4 6–3, and Ekaterina Dzehalevich
Ekaterina Dzehalevich
Ekaterina Dzehalevich is a professional Belarusian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 134th, which she reached on October 6, 2008. Her career high in doubles is 64th, which she reached on September 29, 2008. She has won four ITF and Satellite titles during her career...
of Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
6–2 4–6 6–4, to reach her career-first $50,000 final, having never previously made it past the quarter-finals at or above this level of event. Ironically, the final proved to be her easiest match of the tournament, as she virtually bulldozed Romanian Sorana Cîrstea
Sorana Cîrstea
Sorana Mihaela Cîrstea, is a Romanian tennis player. Her career high rank was World No. 23, achieved on 17 August 2009, after she reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 French Open and the semifinals of the 2009 Los Angeles Open.- Playing style :...
for the loss of just one game each set, to take home her career-first $50,000 title.
´
The next two weeks were to prove less successful for Rodina. She first encountered Ekaterina Bychkova
Ekaterina Bychkova
Ekaterina Andreevna Bychkova is a professional tennis player. She is most famous for defeating defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round of the 2005 US Open. She defeated her by a score of 6–3, 6–2. It was the first time a defending US Open Champion had lost in the first round...
in the first round of the $50,000 event at Deauville
Deauville
Deauville is a commune in the Calvados département in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.With its racecourse, harbour, international film festival, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino and sumptuous hotels, Deauville is regarded as the "queen of the Norman beaches" and...
, France, and was edged out by her 6–4 2–6 5–7. Next, after gaining direct entry into the main draw of the $100,000 event at Poitiers
Poitiers
Poitiers is a city on the Clain river in west central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and of the Poitou-Charentes region. The centre is picturesque and its streets are interesting for predominant remains of historical architecture, especially from the Romanesque...
, France, she ran into Stéphanie Foretz
Stéphanie Foretz
Stéphanie Foretz Gacon is a professional female tennis player from France...
and was defeated by her 3–6 2–6.
In December, however, she entered the $75,000 tournament at Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
, and enjoyed further success, with another victory over Anna Lapushchenkova
Anna Lapushchenkova
Anna Lapushchenkova is a Russian professional tennis player, since 2003.-Career Summary:Lapushchenkova began competing occasionally on the ITF women's circuit in October 2002, shortly before her sixteenth birthday...
in the second round, followed by the avenging of her previous defeat to Alla Kudryavtseva
Alla Kudryavtseva
Alla Alexandrovna Kudryavtseva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She currently lives in Moscow, where she is coached by Nick Rybakov...
in the quarter-finals, though it was to be another close three-set match between them, 7–5 5–7 6–3. These victories took her to her career-first $75,000 semi-final, where she met Yuliana Fedak
Yuliana Fedak
Yuliana Leonidivna Fedak is a female tennis player from Ukraine.On September 18, 2006, Fedak reached her highest singles ranking, World No. 63.-WTA Tour Titles :-Performance timeline:-External links:...
of Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, and vanquished her in two close sets, 6–4 6–4. But in the first $75,000 final, she was faced with the challenge of playing erstwhile Top-25 star 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 though the first set was close, it was to be Kirilenko who eventually ran away with the match, 7–5 6–2.
Nonetheless, this performance lifted Rodina to a career-high ranking of World No. 120 on December 17, a position she maintained at the end of the year, which had seen her surge upwards by a further one hundred and thirteen places.
2008
Back in Australia a couple of days before the start of January 2008, she again tried her luck at qualifying for events on the WTA Tour, but suffered a rare bleak run of results as she lost in the first rounds of qualifying in all three tournaments she entered, falling to Julia SchruffJulia Schruff
Julia Schruff is a professional German tennis player.Her career high WTA-ranking was attained on 17 April 2006, when she reached No. 52. Her highest doubles ranking was reached on 2 October 2006, when she reached No...
of Germany at Gold Coast
Gold 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...
(1–6 5–7), to 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...
at Hobart (5–7 6–2 1–6), and to Junri Namigata
Junri Namigata
Junri Namigata is a Japanese professional tennis player. Her career high WTA singles ranking is 105, which she reached on February 28, 2011. Her career high doubles ranking is 109, set on April 14, 2008. U- Singles 12 :- Doubles 22 :...
of Japan at the Australian Open
Australian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
(1–6 3–6).
But with few ranking points to defend from that time of year in 2007, she had slipped only three places on the WTA rankings list to World No. 123 by the start of February; and even a further first-round loss to Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
n star Kaia Kanepi
Kaia Kanepi
Kaia Kanepi is an Estonian professional tennis player. Her career-high ranking is world no. 16 reached on 14 February 2011....
(3–6 4–6) at the first tournament she played that month, the Tier III event at Viña del Mar
Viña del Mar
Viña del Mar , is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Its long stretches of white sandy beaches are a major attraction for national and international tourists. The city is Chile's main tourist attraction. Known as "La Ciudad Jardín" , Viña del Mar is a Chilean Municipality located...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, was enough to drop her ranking only to 127th by the last week of February.
In late February, she reached the second round of the Tier III tournament at Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
by defeating former Top 100 player (but then World No. 158) Anastasiya Yakimova
Anastasiya Yakimova
Anastasiya Yakimova is a female tennis player from Belarus. She made it to the third round of the 2007 Australian Open, defeating Ai Sugiyama of Japan, a seeded player, on the way in the second round.-2009:...
of Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
in Round One, before losing heavily 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...
, 1–6 1–6. The following week, early in March, she reached the second round of a $50,000 ITF event at Las Vegas with a 6–1 6–4 win over Varvara Lepchenko
Varvara Lepchenko
Varvara Lepchenko is an American female professional tennis player. She reached her singles career high of no. 74 on November 15, 2010. She has won six ITF titles during her career.-Early life and junior career:...
before losing to Chinese World No. 87 Yuan Meng
Yuan Meng
Yuan Meng is a Chinese female professional tennis player. She is China's fifth-highest ranked women's singles player after Zheng Jie, Li Na, Peng Shuai, and Yan Zi. Yuan has won four ITF singles titles and one ITF doubles title....
2–6 2–6 in the second round.
A reprieve from this disappointing run of finishes was just around the corner, however, as at the annual Tier I event at Indian Wells
Indian Wells Masters
The Indian Wells Masters is an annual tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California....
held over two weeks in the middle of March she successfully came through two tough rounds of qualifying by defeating resurgent former Top 50 star Sesil Karatantcheva
Sesil Karatantcheva
Sesil Karatantcheva is a Bulgarian-born Kazakhstani tennis player. Karatantcheva played for Bulgaria until February 2, 2009, when she changed nationality. She will play for Kazakhstan until at least 2012....
of Bulgaria (7–5 6–2) and World No. 117 Rossana de los Ríos
Rossana de los Rios
Rossana de los Ríos born September 16, 1975 is a professional tennis player from Paraguay. As of June 14, 2010, she is ranked World No. 92 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour...
of Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
(6–3 6–2), and then went on to defeat wildcarded fellow Russian Anastasia Pivovarova
Anastasia Pivovarova
Anastasia Olegovna Pivovarova is a professional tennis player from Russia.Pivovarova was born in Moscow, Russia and is a right-handed player. She reached a career high of 115 in July 2010. During a successful junior career Pivovarova was ranked as high as number 2.- Biography :Anastasia Pivovarova...
(6–4 6–3) and French World No. 26 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...
(6–0 6–7 6–2) to reach the third round of the main draw, before losing to Spanish World No. 31 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...
(3–6 5–7). Her string of four victories at this tournament, albeit two in qualifying, was sufficient to lift her to a new career-high ranking of World No. 102 in the week beginning March 24.
In the French Open, her first direct entry into a Grand Slam Main Draw, she took on the top seed and her compatriot, Maria Sharapova on the Philippe Chatrier Court, the largest court at Roland Garros. Rodina fought gamely and made a good account of herself, before Sharapova won 6–1, 3–6, 8–6.