Kaia Kanepi
Encyclopedia
Kaia Kanepi is an Estonian
professional tennis
player. Her career-high ranking is world no. 16 reached on 14 February 2011.
Kanepi won her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Title in Palermo
in 2010, becoming the first Estonian female player to win a WTA title. She has also reached three Grand Slam quarterfinals, becoming the first Estonian to achieve this and was the first Estonian to be ranked in the top 20.
) and mother Anne (a homemaker
) played tennis. They also have daughters Kadri, who won a tennis
scholarship
to study in the U.S., and Karin, a dedicated horse rider. Kaia, who always watched her parents and sisters play, discovered her love for tennis at an early age. She started playing at the age of 8. Her family has always supported her desire to play professional tennis. She reached world no. 1 on the International Tennis Federation
(ITF) junior rankings before turning professional in 2000. She has won eight ITF singles titles and is now the top-ranked Estonia
n female tennis player.
She currently lives in Haapsalu
, Estonia
. Until the autumn of 2007, Kaia was coached by Andrei Luzgin
. After Luzgin, Fredrik Loven from Sweden became her coach, but their partnership ended in February 2008. Kaia's next coach (until September 2008) was Pablo Giacopelli. From November 2008, Kanepi was coached by Luca Appino. After November 2009, Kanepi was coached by fellow Estonia pro Mait Künnap
. In February 2010, she broke up with her coach and agent. In April, she started to work with Silver Karjus, and her quality of game has risen again.
in both the women's singles and women's doubles, partnering Maret Ani
, at the 2004 Summer Olympics
, losing in the first round in both events.
tournament in Hasselt
, Belgium. She came through three qualification rounds and beat Anne Kremer
, Nathalie Dechy
, Eleni Daniilidou
, Francesca Schiavone
, and Michaëlla Krajicek
to eventually play the final against Kim Clijsters
, where she lost, 3–6, 6–3, 4–6.
of Italy, 7–5, 7–6, before losing to Alicia Molik
, 6–1, 3–6, 2–6 in the second round. At Indian Wells, she defeated wildcard Kristina Brandi
in the first round, 3–6, 7–5, 6–0, but lost in the second round to 14th-seeded and eventual champion Daniela Hantuchová
, 6–2, 2–6, 1–6. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, she stunned Patty Schnyder
in the second round, before losing to qualifier Vera Dushevina
in the next round.
In late July, Kanepi reached the semifinals of the Bad Gastein
tournament in Austria, where she fell to Francesca Schiavone
, 4–6, 2–6. This was her third career semifinal and first of the year. Afterwards, she made her top 40 debut at world no. 40.
, 6–4, 7–6(2). She then defeated 29th-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues
, 6–1, 6–7, 7–5, for a place in the fourth round. Outplaying unseeded Petra Kvitová
, 6–3, 3–6, 6–1, took her to the quarterfinals, where she was defeated by fourth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova
, 5–7, 2–6.
Kanepi was granted direct entry at Wimbledon, where she lost in the first round to sixth-seeded Serena Williams
, 5–7, 3–6.
At the 2008 Summer Olympics
, Kanepi reached the third round, defeating Flavia Pennetta
and Virginie Razzano
, before losing to Li Na
, 6–4, 2–6, 0–6.
At the U.S. Open, she defeated Monica Niculescu
in the first round 6–0, 6–3, but lost to Amélie Mauresmo
in the second round, 6–2, 4–6, 0–6.
Kanepi in September reached the quarterfinals as a qualifier of the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, where she defeated Vera Dushevina
, world no. 13 Chakvetadze, and Virginie Razzano
, before losing to world no. 5 Dinara Safina
of Russia, 4–6, 7–6(4), 3–6. She then reached the semifinals of the Hansol Women's Open in Seoul, South Korea, where she was beaten by the eventual champion and top-seeded Maria Kirilenko
of Russia, 4–6, 6–3, 4–6.
She then made only her second final at the WTA level at the Tier III Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo. She defeated Lucie Šafářová
, Yanina Wickmayer
, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
, and eighth-seeded Aleksandra Wozniak
, before losing in the final to Danish then world no. 16 and top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki
, 2–6, 6–3, 1–6.
She was named the Best Female Athlete of Estonia 2008 by the Association of Estonian Sports Journalists.
in straight sets. She had an epic match with Kimiko Date
, former world no. 4, in the first round, 4–6 6–4 8–6.
She was a member of the Estonia Fed Cup team
in rounds played in February. She was paired with Maret Ani
, and the Estonian team beat Bulgaria
, Croatia
, and Belarus
. Kanepi won all the singles games that she played (including a win over then world no. 15 Victoria Azarenka
). She set a new personal 196 kilometres per hour (121.8 mph) serve record in the tournament, among the fastest ever served by a woman.
Kanepi continued her year in GDF Suez Open, a WTA premier tournament, but lost in the second round to Emile Loit. Weak serves and health problems were cited as reasons for the loss to a lower-ranked player.
At the top-level Dubai Tennis Championships (9 out of 10 of the 10 highest-ranked WTA players participated), she advanced to the third round to set up a match with former world no. 1 Jelena Janković
. She defeated Janković in two sets, 6–2 7–5. She was the highest-seeded player Kanepi had by that time defeated. Kanepi commented on her match briefly after her match: "I am really happy at the moment. My game plan was to mix my game up and it worked. My coach Luca Appino has also improved my serve." Janković did not agree in the post-match interview that her loss was due to Kanepi playing well, though: "This was the worst match of my career. It was a horrible day. I kept framing the ball, kept making unforced errors and could not put two balls together on the court. I didn't move properly, and I didn't see the ball properly. She didn't have to do too much. Basically, I beat myself. I don't know what happened out there. I am ashamed of this performance." Kanepi beat Elena Vesnina
in the quarterfinals in straight sets, 6–3, 7–5. She was, however, denied a place in the finals by Virginie Razzano
, 1–6, 2–6.
Kanepi then participated at the Rome Masters
. She defeated Patty Schnyder
in the third round, but lost to Victoria Azarenka
in the quarterfinals. Her next tournament was the 2009 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open
, where she was seeded sixteenth. However, she retired in the first round against Lucie Šafářová
. In the French Open opening round, Kanepi was defeated by Kazakhstan
's Yaroslava Shvedova
in the first surprise of the day. Her first-round loss led to a drop in her ranking, as she fell to world no. 24.
She was then scheduled to play at the 2009 AEGON Classic
in Birmingham
, United Kingdom as the second seed. However, she then withdrew because of a knee injury.
Kanepi was seeded 25th at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships
, but lost to Carla Suárez Navarro
in the first round.
She suffered a first-round loss at the China Open
in Beijing
to Serena Williams
in a match where she had more break points than Serena and lost 5–7, 4–6. This was her 12th straight loss. Kanepi ended her losing streak in Dubai in December, where she won in two sets in the first round
, defeating world no. 15 Li Na
in straight sets, before losing, 2–6, 3–6, to Maria Kirilenko
in the second round. She fell in the first round of the 2010 Moorilla Hobart International
to seventh seed Zheng Jie
in a tight three-setter, 6–4, 3–6, 3–7(4). At the first Grand Slam of the year at the 2010 Australian Open
, Kanepi defeated Chan Yung Jan, 7–6(4), 6–2, in the first round, but fell to 19th seed Nadia Petrova
, 4–6, 4–6, in the second round.
Kanepi was seeded fifth at the Cellular South Cup
in Memphis
. She was in the same half of the draw as Maria Sharapova
. She defeated Arantxa Rus
, 6–0, 6–4, in the first round, and former world no. 7 Nicole Vaidišová
, 4–6, 6–1, 6–3, in the second round. She fell in three sets to fifth seed Petra Kvitová
in the quarterfinals, 6–1, 3–6, 6–7(0). Despite this, Kanepi's ranking fell to world no. 96, due to the fact that she did not defend her points from Dubai from the previous year.
Kanepi reached the second round in Acapulco
, but lost to top seed and defending champion Venus Williams
, 4–6, 4–6. Kanepi also fell in the second round of the 2010 Monterrey Open
to second seed Daniela Hantuchová
, 1–6, 3–6.
Kanepi then competed in two Premier Mandatory tournaments. At the 2010 BNP Paribas Open
and the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open
, she fell in the first rounds, 7–6(1), 3–6, 4–6, to Romanian Sorana Cîrstea
, and to Lucie Šafářová
, 7–6(1), 4–6, 3–6, respectively. Kanepi's ranking fell out of the top 100 following these tournaments.
Kanepi then represented Estonia
in the Fed Cup World Group Play-offs
against Belgium
. She was defeated by world no. 12 Yanina Wickmayer
in her first match, 2–6, 6–4, 1–6. She surprised everyone by defeating former world no. 1 Justine Henin, 6–7(4), 6–4, 6–3, in her second match-up.
In the beginning of May, Kanepi won ten straight matches to claim her seventh and eighth ITF tournaments. Kanepi qualified for the 2010 French Open
, where she defeated Pauline Parmentier
in the first round. She pushed world no. 4 Jelena Janković
to three sets before losing, 2–6, 6–3, 4–6. This allowed her ranking to re-enter the top 100.
At the start of the grass court season, she reached the quarterfinals as a qualifier at 2010 AEGON Classic
in Birmingham
, defeating 12th seed Elena Baltacha
, Jarmila Groth, and Michelle Larcher de Brito
en route, before losing to top seed and eventual champion Li Na
, 4–6, 2–6.
Kanepi then successfully qualified for the 2010 Wimbledon Championships
, defeating Olga Savchuk
, Elena Bovina
, and Ajla Tomljanović
in straight sets. In the first round, Kanepi caused a big upset when she defeated world no. 6 and French Open finalist Samantha Stosur
, 6–4, 6–4. She then defeated Edina Gallovits
, 6–4, 7–5, in the second round, and world no. 31 Alexandra Dulgheru
, 6–1, 6–2, in the third round. Kanepi then reached her second Grand Slam quarterfinal, when she defeated Klára Zakopalová, 6–2, 6–4 in the fourth round. In the quarterfinals, Kanepi lost an extremely tough three-set match to Czech Petra Kvitová
, 4–6, 7–6(8), 6–8, despite having a total of five match points and being a double break up in the final set. With her success at Wimbledon, Kanepi's ranking rose to world no. 38.
Kanepi next played at the 2010 Swedish Open
, where she fell in the first round to fifth seed Arantxa Parra Santonja
, 4–6, 5–7. However, Kanepi continued her strong play at the 2010 Internazionali Femminili di Palermo
where, as the fifth seed, she defeated Rossana de los Ríos
, 7–5, 6–2, Ioana Raluca Olaru
, 6–1, 6–2, third seed Sara Errani
, 6–2, 6–2, and Romina Oprandi
, 6–3, 6–2, to reach her third WTA tour final. In the final, Kanepi defeated top seed, world no. 12 and defending champion Flavia Pennetta
, 6–4, 6–3, not dropping a set in the whole tournament to claim her first WTA tour title.
Kanepi was seeded 31st at the 2010 US Open
. She defeated Alizé Cornet
, 3–6, 6–1, 6–0, Akgul Amanmuradova
, 6–2, 6–4, fourth seed Jelena Janković
, 6–2, 7–6(1), and 15th seed Yanina Wickmayer
, 0–6, 7–6(2), 6–1, to advance to her first US Open quarterfinal, where she lost to the seventh seed and eventual runner-up Vera Zvonareva
, 3–6, 5–7.
Kanepi then entered the 2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open
and defeated Melanie Oudin
in the first round, 6–4, 6–4. She then upset 13th seed Shahar Pe'er
and third seed Jelena Janković
winning 6–3, 7–6(5) and 6–4, 6–4, respectively. Her run was ended in the quarterfinals by French Open champion Francesca Schiavone
, who beat Kanepi in a marathon match 5–7, 6–4, 5–7.
, 4–6, 4–6, in the first round of the 2011 Medibank International Sydney
. Her next tournament was the 2011 Australian Open
, where she was the 20th seed. There, she defeated Slovakias Magdaléna Rybáriková
, 2–6, 6–4, 6–3, in the first round, but fell to Julia Görges
, 4–6, 6–3, 4–6, in the second round. Kanepi, as the third seed, reached the semifinal in 2011 Open GDF Suez
, where she beat Anastasija Sevastova
, 7–6(5), 6–2, Sofia Arvidsson
, 6–3, 6–4, and Dominika Cibulková
, 6–2, 2–6, 6–2. In the semifinal, she faced the first seed Kim Clijsters
, who was too strong for Kanepi this time, and Kanepi lost the match, 1–6, 5–7. Kanepi had her chances in the second set, being up 5–4 in her own service game to actually take the second set, but Clijsters battled back to win the second set and the match. Kanepi was the 14th seed at the Indian Wells Masters
. She had a bye in the first round, and in the second round defeated Gisela Dulko
, 3–6, 6–2, 6–2. At the 2011 French Open
, seeded 16th, she beat Sofia Arvidsson
and Britain's Heather Watson
in straight sets, before being upset, 4–6, 5–7, in the third round by unseeded Ekaterina Makarova
.
At the Toray Pan Pacific Open
Kaia beat world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki
, 7–5, 1–6, 6–4, in the third round to reach the quarterfinals.
s. Her serve is considered to be one of the strongest on the WTA tour. Kanepi frequently hits 170 km/h to 180 km/h serves. She generally serves for power and tries to hit the lines but sometimes hits a powerful body serve to push her opponents behind the baseline. But sometimes her serve can break down which affects her game. In 2008 she began to improve her volleying skills and under her current coach Luca Appino has begun to use sliced backhand more often thus making her playing more versatile.
She likes to return serves mainly with her backhand which she hits extremely flat and tries to position herself to receive with backhand but is also capable of hitting good service returns with her forehand as well. She likes to end points early but she is capable of playing long rallies and reducing her unforced error count. Overall, she is an offensive baseliner but depending on the game situation and scoreboard Kanepi can play a more defensive game.
, a major ferry
company in the Baltic Sea
. Their sponsorship ended in February 2010.
Estonians
Estonians are a Finnic people closely related to the Finns and inhabiting, primarily, the country of Estonia. They speak a Finnic language known as Estonian...
professional tennis
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. Her career-high ranking is world no. 16 reached on 14 February 2011.
Kanepi won her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Title in Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
in 2010, becoming the first Estonian female player to win a WTA title. She has also reached three Grand Slam quarterfinals, becoming the first Estonian to achieve this and was the first Estonian to be ranked in the top 20.
Career
Her father, Jaak (a real estate brokerReal estate broker
A real estate broker, real estate agent or realtor is a party who acts as an intermediary between sellers and buyers of real estate/real property and attempts to find sellers who wish to sell and buyers who wish to buy...
) and mother Anne (a homemaker
Homemaker
Homemaking is a mainly American term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping or household management...
) played tennis. They also have daughters Kadri, who won a tennis
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...
scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
to study in the U.S., and Karin, a dedicated horse rider. Kaia, who always watched her parents and sisters play, discovered her love for tennis at an early age. She started playing at the age of 8. Her family has always supported her desire to play professional tennis. She reached world no. 1 on the International Tennis Federation
International Tennis Federation
The International Tennis Federation is the governing body of world tennis, made up of 205 national tennis associations.It was established as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by 12 national associations meeting at a conference in Paris, France on 1 March 1913...
(ITF) junior rankings before turning professional in 2000. She has won eight ITF singles titles and is now the top-ranked 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 female tennis player.
She currently lives in Haapsalu
Haapsalu
Haapsalu is a seaside resort town located on the west coast of Estonia. It's the administrative centre of Lääne County and has a population of 11,618 ....
, 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...
. Until the autumn of 2007, Kaia was coached by Andrei Luzgin
Andrei Luzgin
Andrei Luzgin is a tennis coach and former Estonian tennis player. He achieved his career high ATP singles ranking in 1996 at No. 1212. The same year he also achieved his career high doubles ranking at No. 844....
. After Luzgin, Fredrik Loven from Sweden became her coach, but their partnership ended in February 2008. Kaia's next coach (until September 2008) was Pablo Giacopelli. From November 2008, Kanepi was coached by Luca Appino. After November 2009, Kanepi was coached by fellow Estonia pro Mait Künnap
Mait Kunnap
Mait Künnap is an Estonian tennis player. His all time world ranking high came on 4 August 2008 when he reached number 705, although his doubles ranking is somewhat better, having reached world number 377 on 4 July 2005....
. In February 2010, she broke up with her coach and agent. In April, she started to work with Silver Karjus, and her quality of game has risen again.
2004
Kanepi represented EstoniaEstonia at the 2004 Summer Olympics
-Medalists:-Results and competitors by event:Men's 110 metre hurdles* Tarmo Jallai – Round 1 Heat 6: 6th 13.77 s Men's marathon* Pavel Loskutov – 2h 18m 09s Women's marathon...
in both the women's singles and women's doubles, partnering 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....
, at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Tennis at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Tennis at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place on ten separate courts at the Olympic Tennis Centre. The surface was hardcourt, specifically DecoTurf....
, losing in the first round in both events.
2006
At the end of 2006, she reached her first WTA-tour final during the Gaz de France StarsGaz de France Stars
Gaz de France Stars was a tennis tournament held in Hasselt, Belgium. Held from 2004 till 2006, this WTA Tour event was a Tier III-tournament and was played on indoor hardcourts.- Singles :- Doubles :- External links :*...
tournament in Hasselt
Hasselt
Hasselt is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital of the Flemish province of Limburg...
, Belgium. She came through three qualification rounds and beat Anne Kremer
Anne Kremer
Anne Kremer is a professional female tennis player from Luxembourg. Her highest WTA Ranking has been World No...
, 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...
, 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...
, 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...
, and Michaëlla Krajicek
Michaëlla Krajicek
Michaëlla Krajicek is a Dutch professional tennis player. Her highest WTA ranking was number 30 on 11 February 2008. She currently is the second best ranked player from the Netherlands behind Arantxa Rus.-Personal life:...
to eventually play the final against 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....
, where she lost, 3–6, 6–3, 4–6.
2007
At the Australian Open, Kaia struggled, but defeated 28th-seeded Flavia PennettaFlavia 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...
of Italy, 7–5, 7–6, before losing 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...
, 6–1, 3–6, 2–6 in the second round. At Indian Wells, she defeated wildcard 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...
in the first round, 3–6, 7–5, 6–0, but lost in the second round to 14th-seeded and eventual champion Daniela Hantuchová
Daniela Hantuchová
Daniela Hantuchová 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...
, 6–2, 2–6, 1–6. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, she stunned 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, before losing to qualifier Vera Dushevina
Vera Dushevina
Vera Yevgenyevna Dushevina is a Russian professional female tennis player. She was born in Moscow but now resides in Khimki, Russia. In 2006, she privately amended the presentation of her surname so as to be more English language friendly, adopting Dushevina in place of Douchevina which is a...
in the next round.
In late July, Kanepi reached the semifinals of the Bad Gastein
Bad Gastein
Bad Gastein is a spa town in the Austrian state of Salzburg, situated at the northern rim of the Hohe Tauern national park. It has 5,838 inhabitants. The name "Bad" means "spa", reflecting the town's history as a health resort. It is located at the head of the Gastein valley, about 1,000 metres ...
tournament in Austria, where she fell 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...
, 4–6, 2–6. This was her third career semifinal and first of the year. Afterwards, she made her top 40 debut at world no. 40.
2008
At the French Open, Kanepi defeated sixth-seeded Anna ChakvetadzeAnna Chakvetadze
Anna Djambulilovna Chakvetadze is a Russian professional tennis player . On September 10, 2007, she reached her career-high professional singles ranking of World No. 5. She has won eight WTA Singles Titles and appeared in the 2007 US Open semifinals. As of July 4, 2011, Chakvetadze is ranked World...
, 6–4, 7–6(2). She then defeated 29th-seeded 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...
, 6–1, 6–7, 7–5, for a place in the fourth round. Outplaying unseeded 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...
, 6–3, 3–6, 6–1, took her to the quarterfinals, where she was defeated by fourth-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...
, 5–7, 2–6.
Kanepi was granted direct entry at Wimbledon, where she lost in the first round to sixth-seeded 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...
, 5–7, 3–6.
At the 2008 Summer Olympics
Tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Tennis competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing were held from August 10 to August 17 at the Olympic Green Tennis Centre. The DecoTurf surface rendered the event a hardcourt tournament....
, Kanepi reached the third round, defeating 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...
and 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...
, before losing to 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.;...
, 6–4, 2–6, 0–6.
At the U.S. Open, she defeated Monica Niculescu
Monica Niculescu
Monica Niculescu is a Romanian tennis player. As of October 24, 2011 she is ranked No. 29 at the WTA Tour Singles Ranking. Her highest WTA ranking is currently her present ranking in singles, reached on 24 Oct 2011, and No. 24 in doubles, reached on June 7, 2010.Niculescu was born in Slatina,...
in the first round 6–0, 6–3, 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....
in the second round, 6–2, 4–6, 0–6.
Kanepi in September reached the quarterfinals as a qualifier of the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, where she defeated Vera Dushevina
Vera Dushevina
Vera Yevgenyevna Dushevina is a Russian professional female tennis player. She was born in Moscow but now resides in Khimki, Russia. In 2006, she privately amended the presentation of her surname so as to be more English language friendly, adopting Dushevina in place of Douchevina which is a...
, world no. 13 Chakvetadze, and 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...
, before losing to world no. 5 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....
of Russia, 4–6, 7–6(4), 3–6. She then reached the semifinals of the Hansol Women's Open in Seoul, South Korea, where she was beaten by the eventual champion and top-seeded 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...
of Russia, 4–6, 6–3, 4–6.
She then made only her second final at the WTA level at the Tier III Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo. She defeated 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...
, 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...
, 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 eighth-seeded 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...
, before losing in the final to Danish then world no. 16 and top-seeded 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...
, 2–6, 6–3, 1–6.
She was named the Best Female Athlete of Estonia 2008 by the Association of Estonian Sports Journalists.
2009
Kanepi reached her career-best third round at the Australian Open, but lost miserably to then world no. 3 Dinara SafinaDinara 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 straight sets. She had an epic match with Kimiko Date
Kimiko Date
is a Japanese professional tennis player. In her career, she has won over 200 tournament matches. She has won the Japan Open four times. In 1994, she was ranked in the top-ten women players in the world. In 1992, the WTA awarded her the "Most Improved Player of the Year". After playing in her...
, former world no. 4, in the first round, 4–6 6–4 8–6.
She was a member of the Estonia Fed Cup team
Estonia Fed Cup team
The Estonia Fed Cup team represents Estonia in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Estonian Tennis Association.Estonia has competed in Fed Cup since 1992.Estonia currently competes in the World Group II...
in rounds played in February. She was paired with 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....
, and the Estonian team beat Bulgaria
Bulgaria Fed Cup team
The Bulgaria Fed Cup team represents Bulgaria in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Bulgarian Tennis Federation. They currently compete in the Group II of the Europe/Africa Zone after losing the relegation play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina in February 2009.-History:Bulgaria...
, Croatia
Croatia Fed Cup team
The Croatia Fed Cup team represents Croatia in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Croatian Tennis Association. They currently compete in the World Group II.-History:Croatia competed in its first Fed Cup in 1992...
, and Belarus
Belarus Fed Cup team
The Belarus Fed Cup team represents Belarus in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Belarus Tennis Association. They currently compete in the Europe/Africa Zone of Group I.-History:...
. Kanepi won all the singles games that she played (including a win over then world no. 15 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....
). She set a new personal 196 kilometres per hour (121.8 mph) serve record in the tournament, among the fastest ever served by a woman.
Kanepi continued her year in GDF Suez Open, a WTA premier tournament, but lost in the second round to Emile Loit. Weak serves and health problems were cited as reasons for the loss to a lower-ranked player.
At the top-level Dubai Tennis Championships (9 out of 10 of the 10 highest-ranked WTA players participated), she advanced to the third round to set up a match with former world no. 1 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...
. She defeated Janković in two sets, 6–2 7–5. She was the highest-seeded player Kanepi had by that time defeated. Kanepi commented on her match briefly after her match: "I am really happy at the moment. My game plan was to mix my game up and it worked. My coach Luca Appino has also improved my serve." Janković did not agree in the post-match interview that her loss was due to Kanepi playing well, though: "This was the worst match of my career. It was a horrible day. I kept framing the ball, kept making unforced errors and could not put two balls together on the court. I didn't move properly, and I didn't see the ball properly. She didn't have to do too much. Basically, I beat myself. I don't know what happened out there. I am ashamed of this performance." Kanepi beat 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...
in the quarterfinals in straight sets, 6–3, 7–5. She was, however, denied a place in the finals by 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...
, 1–6, 2–6.
Kanepi then participated at 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...
. 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 third round, but lost to 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 quarterfinals. Her next tournament was the 2009 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open
2009 Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open
The 2009 Madrid Masters is a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It is the 8th edition of the event on the ATP and 1st on the WTA. It is classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2009 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the 2009 WTA Tour...
, where she was seeded sixteenth. However, she retired in the first round against Lucie Šafářová
Lucie Šafárová
Lucie Šafářová is a professional Czech tennis player. She was born in Brno.Šafářová has won four WTA tour singles titles and reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 Australian Open, upsetting defending champion Amélie Mauresmo en-route...
. In the French Open opening round, Kanepi was defeated by Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
's 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 surprise of the day. Her first-round loss led to a drop in her ranking, as she fell to world no. 24.
She was then scheduled to play at the 2009 AEGON Classic
2009 AEGON Classic
The 2009 AEGON Classic is a tennis tournament being played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 28th edition of the event, known that year as the AEGON Classic, It is taking place at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham, England, United Kingdom, from June 8 through June 14, 2009.-Seeds:*...
in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, United Kingdom as the second seed. However, she then withdrew because of a knee injury.
Kanepi was seeded 25th at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships
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...
, but lost 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:...
in the first round.
She suffered a first-round loss 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...
in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
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...
in a match where she had more break points than Serena and lost 5–7, 4–6. This was her 12th straight loss. Kanepi ended her losing streak in Dubai in December, where she won in two sets in the first round
2010
By the start of the new season, Kanepi seemed to be in better physical shape than in 2009. Kanepi reached the second round at the ASB ClassicASB 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....
, defeating world no. 15 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 straight sets, before losing, 2–6, 3–6, 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...
in the second round. She fell in the first round of the 2010 Moorilla Hobart International
2010 Moorilla Hobart International
The 2010 Moorilla Hobart International was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 17th edition of the event and is part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour...
to seventh seed 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....
in a tight three-setter, 6–4, 3–6, 3–7(4). At the first Grand Slam of the year at the 2010 Australian Open
2010 Australian Open
The 2010 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 18 to 31 January. It was the 98th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year....
, Kanepi defeated Chan Yung Jan, 7–6(4), 6–2, in the first round, but fell to 19th 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...
, 4–6, 4–6, in the second round.
Kanepi was seeded fifth at the Cellular South Cup
Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup
The Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup are tennis tournaments held in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The Regions Morgan Keegan Championships is a men's ATP Tour event that has been held since 1976. In previous years it has been known as the U.S. Indoor Championships, the...
in Memphis
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....
. She was in the same half of the draw 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...
. She defeated Arantxa Rus
Arantxa Rus
Arantxa Rus is a Dutch female tennis player. In 2008 she won the Australian Open for juniors, defeating Jessica Moore from Australia. Because of this win she went from 35th to 2nd place on the junior tennis list, but soon she became new junior No.1 player...
, 6–0, 6–4, in the first round, and former world no. 7 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,...
, 4–6, 6–1, 6–3, in the second round. She fell in three sets 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 quarterfinals, 6–1, 3–6, 6–7(0). Despite this, Kanepi's ranking fell to world no. 96, due to the fact that she did not defend her points from Dubai from the previous year.
Kanepi reached the second round in Acapulco
2010 Abierto Mexicano Telcel
The 2010 Abierto Mexicano Telcel was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 17th edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, and was part of the 500 series of the 2010 ATP World Tour, and was in the International category of tournaments on the 2010 WTA Tour...
, but lost to top seed and defending 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...
, 4–6, 4–6. Kanepi also fell in the second round of the 2010 Monterrey Open
2010 Monterrey Open
The 2010 Monterrey Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the second edition of the Monterrey Open and was categorized as an International tournament on the 2009 WTA Tour. It took place at the Sierra Madre Tennis Club in Monterrey, Mexico, from March 1 through March 7,...
to second seed Daniela Hantuchová
Daniela Hantuchová
Daniela Hantuchová 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...
, 1–6, 3–6.
Kanepi then competed in two Premier Mandatory tournaments. At the 2010 BNP Paribas Open
2010 BNP Paribas Open
The 2010 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2010. It was the 36th edition of the event, known this year as the BNP Paribas Open, and is classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2010 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on...
and the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open
2010 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2010 Sony Ericsson Open , was a tennis tournament for men and women held from March 22 to April 4, 2010. It was the 26th edition of the Miami Masters event and is played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Florida, located near Miami...
, she fell in the first rounds, 7–6(1), 3–6, 4–6, to 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 :...
, and to 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...
, 7–6(1), 4–6, 3–6, respectively. Kanepi's ranking fell out of the top 100 following these tournaments.
Kanepi then represented Estonia
Estonia Fed Cup team
The Estonia Fed Cup team represents Estonia in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Estonian Tennis Association.Estonia has competed in Fed Cup since 1992.Estonia currently competes in the World Group II...
in the Fed Cup 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 Belgium
Belgium Fed Cup team
The Belgian Fed Cup team has been competing in the International Tennis Federation sanctioned Fed Cup since the very beginning: 1963. It has won the competition once, in 2001...
. She was defeated by world no. 12 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 her first match, 2–6, 6–4, 1–6. She surprised everyone by defeating former world no. 1 Justine Henin, 6–7(4), 6–4, 6–3, in her second match-up.
In the beginning of May, Kanepi won ten straight matches to claim her seventh and eighth ITF tournaments. Kanepi qualified for the 2010 French Open
2010 French Open
The 2010 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 109th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
, where she defeated 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:...
in the first round. She pushed world no. 4 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...
to three sets before losing, 2–6, 6–3, 4–6. This allowed her ranking to re-enter the top 100.
At the start of the grass court season, she reached the quarterfinals as a qualifier at 2010 AEGON Classic
2010 AEGON Classic
The 2010 AEGON Classic was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 29th edition of the event. It took place at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham, England, United Kingdom, from June 7 through June 13, 2010.-Seeds:...
in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, defeating 12th seed 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...
, Jarmila Groth, and Michelle Larcher de Brito
Michelle Larcher de Brito
Michelle Caroline Larcher de Brito, born Micaela Carolina Larcher de Brito, also known as Michelle Larcher de Brito or Michelle Brito is a Portuguese tennis player. Larcher de Brito's family moved to the United States when she was nine years old so she could attend the Nick Bollettieri Tennis...
en route, before losing to top seed and eventual champion 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.;...
, 4–6, 2–6.
Kanepi then successfully qualified for the 2010 Wimbledon Championships
2010 Wimbledon Championships
The 2010 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament ran from Monday 21 June until Sunday 4 July 2010. It was the 124th staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand...
, defeating Olga Savchuk
Olga Savchuk
Olga Savchuk is a female tennis player. Her best accomplishment to date was reaching the third round of the 2006 Australian Open. Her career high ranking was #79, achieved on May 19, 2008....
, Elena Bovina
Elena Bovina
Elena Olegovna Bovina is a Russian professional female tennis player. On April 4, 2005 Bovina reached her career-high singles ranking: World No. 14....
, and Ajla Tomljanović
Ajla Tomljanović
Ajla Tomljanović is a Croatian professional tennis player. She is former junior World No. 4. Partnering with Christina McHale, she won the 2009 Australian Open in Girls' Doubles. Tomljanović won her first ITF singles event in January 2010....
in straight sets. In the first round, Kanepi caused a big upset when she defeated world no. 6 and French Open finalist 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...
, 6–4, 6–4. She then defeated Edina Gallovits
Edina Gallovits
Klaudia Edina Gallovits-Hall is a Romanian female tennis player of Hungarian descent on her father's side. She is currently ranked 75th in the world and her career highest ranking of No. 54 was achieved on April 28, 2008...
, 6–4, 7–5, in the second round, and world no. 31 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:...
, 6–1, 6–2, in the third round. Kanepi then reached her second Grand Slam quarterfinal, when she defeated Klára Zakopalová, 6–2, 6–4 in the fourth round. In the quarterfinals, Kanepi lost an extremely tough three-set match to Czech 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...
, 4–6, 7–6(8), 6–8, despite having a total of five match points and being a double break up in the final set. With her success at Wimbledon, Kanepi's ranking rose to world no. 38.
Kanepi next played at the 2010 Swedish Open
2010 Swedish Open
The 2010 Swedish Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts part of the ATP World Tour 250 Series of the 2010 ATP World Tour and 2010 WTA Tour. It took place in Båstad, Sweden, from July 5 through July 11, 2010 for Women's and from July 12 through July 18, 2010 for Men's...
, where she fell in the first round to fifth seed Arantxa Parra Santonja
Arantxa Parra Santonja
Arantxa Parra Santonja is a professional female tennis player from Spain. She turned pro in 2000.On 12 July 2010, Parra Santonja reached her career-high singles ranking: World No...
, 4–6, 5–7. However, Kanepi continued her strong play at the 2010 Internazionali Femminili di Palermo
2010 Internazionali Femminili di Palermo
The 2010 Internazionali Femminili di Palermo is a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It is the 23rd edition of the Internazionali Femminili di Palermo, and is part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour...
where, as the fifth seed, she defeated 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...
, 7–5, 6–2, Ioana Raluca Olaru
Ioana Raluca Olaru
Ioana Raluca Olaru is a Romanian tennis player. As of 2 August 2010, she is ranked World No. 158 in singles and No. 104 in doubles. The winner of nine singles and six doubles ITF Circuit titles, Olaru reached one WTA Tour singles final, at the 2009 Gastein Ladies, losing to Andrea Petkovic 6–2, 6–3...
, 6–1, 6–2, third seed 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...
, 6–2, 6–2, and 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:...
, 6–3, 6–2, to reach her third WTA tour final. In the final, Kanepi defeated top seed, world no. 12 and defending champion 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...
, 6–4, 6–3, not dropping a set in the whole tournament to claim her first WTA tour title.
Kanepi was seeded 31st at the 2010 US Open
2010 US Open (tennis)
The 2010 US Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts, held from August 30 to September 13, 2010 in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York City, United States....
. She 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...
, 3–6, 6–1, 6–0, 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...
, 6–2, 6–4, 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...
, 6–2, 7–6(1), and 15th 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...
, 0–6, 7–6(2), 6–1, to advance to her first US Open quarterfinal, where she lost to the seventh seed and eventual runner-up 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...
, 3–6, 5–7.
Kanepi then entered the 2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open
2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open
The 2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 27th edition of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, and was part of the Premier Series of the 2010 WTA Tour...
and defeated Melanie Oudin
Melanie Oudin
Melanie Oudin is an American tennis player and former World Junior No. 2. Her career high rank is World No. 31, which she achieved on April 19, 2010...
in the first round, 6–4, 6–4. She then upset 13th 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 ....
and third 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...
winning 6–3, 7–6(5) and 6–4, 6–4, respectively. Her run was ended in the quarterfinals by French Open champion 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...
, who beat Kanepi in a marathon match 5–7, 6–4, 5–7.
2011
Kanepi started her season with a loss to Bojana JovanovskiBojana Jovanovski
Bojana Jovanovski is a Serbian tennis player. As of 24 October 2011, Jovanovski is ranked World No. 56 and is the third highest ranked Serbian player, after World No. 14 Jelena Janković and No. 26 Ana Ivanović...
, 4–6, 4–6, in the first round of the 2011 Medibank International Sydney
2011 Medibank International Sydney
The 2011 Medibank International Sydney was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 119th edition of the Medibank International Sydney, and part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the WTA Premier tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
. Her next tournament was the 2011 Australian Open
2011 Australian Open
The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players were held...
, where she was the 20th seed. There, she defeated Slovakias Magdaléna Rybáriková
Magdaléna Rybáriková
Magdaléna Rybáriková is a Slovak professional tennis player. On June 22, 2009, she achieved her career-high WTA singles ranking of 40th.-Biography:...
, 2–6, 6–4, 6–3, in the first round, but fell to Julia Görges
Julia Görges
Julia Görges is a professional tennis player from Germany. Görges reached career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 16 on 6 June 2011 and a doubles ranking of 31 on 6 June 2011...
, 4–6, 6–3, 4–6, in the second round. Kanepi, as the third seed, reached the semifinal in 2011 Open GDF Suez
2011 Open GDF Suez
The 2011 Open GDF Suez was a women's professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 19th edition of the Open GDF Suez and was a Premier tournament on the 2011 WTA Tour...
, where she beat Anastasija Sevastova
Anastasija Sevastova
Anastasija Sevastova is a Latvian tennis player. On January 31, 2011, she achieved her career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 36. On August 31, 2009, she claimed her highest Doubles rank of No. 195...
, 7–6(5), 6–2, 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:...
, 6–3, 6–4, and 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...
, 6–2, 2–6, 6–2. In the semifinal, she faced the first seed 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....
, who was too strong for Kanepi this time, and Kanepi lost the match, 1–6, 5–7. Kanepi had her chances in the second set, being up 5–4 in her own service game to actually take the second set, but Clijsters battled back to win the second set and the match. Kanepi was the 14th seed at the Indian Wells Masters
Indian Wells Masters
The Indian Wells Masters is an annual tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California....
. She had a bye in the first round, and in the second round defeated Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko is an Argentine female tennis player, who will, as of 4 July 2011, be ranked World No. 51 in singles and No. 4 in doubles. Although she enjoyed a modest success in singles, reaching No. 26 on November 21, 2005, and winning four WTA Tour titles, her speciality has been doubles, where...
, 3–6, 6–2, 6–2. At the 2011 French Open
2011 French Open
The 2011 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 110th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
, seeded 16th, she beat 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 Britain's Heather Watson
Heather Watson
Heather Miriam Watson is a British female tennis player. Born in Guernsey, she trains and resides at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida, USA. Watson has won one major title at the 2009 US Open Juniors, two senior ITF titles and won gold at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games. She has...
in straight sets, before being upset, 4–6, 5–7, in the third round by unseeded 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:...
.
At the Toray Pan Pacific Open
2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open – Singles
World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki was the defending champion, but lost to Kaia Kanepi in the third round.Agnieszka Radwańska won the title, defeating Vera Zvonareva 6–3, 6–2 in the final.-Seeds:...
Kaia beat world no. 1 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...
, 7–5, 1–6, 6–4, in the third round to reach the quarterfinals.
Playing style
Kanepi builds up her game around her powerful groundstrokeGroundstroke
A groundstroke in tennis is a forehand or backhand shot that is executed after the ball bounces once on the court. It is usually hit from the back of the tennis court, around the baseline....
s. Her serve is considered to be one of the strongest on the WTA tour. Kanepi frequently hits 170 km/h to 180 km/h serves. She generally serves for power and tries to hit the lines but sometimes hits a powerful body serve to push her opponents behind the baseline. But sometimes her serve can break down which affects her game. In 2008 she began to improve her volleying skills and under her current coach Luca Appino has begun to use sliced backhand more often thus making her playing more versatile.
She likes to return serves mainly with her backhand which she hits extremely flat and tries to position herself to receive with backhand but is also capable of hitting good service returns with her forehand as well. She likes to end points early but she is capable of playing long rallies and reducing her unforced error count. Overall, she is an offensive baseliner but depending on the game situation and scoreboard Kanepi can play a more defensive game.
Other
For a long time Kanepi was sponsored by Infortar, the largest shareholder of TallinkTallink
Tallink is an Estonian shipping company currently operating Baltic Sea cruiseferries and ropax ships from Estonia to Finland, Estonia to Sweden, Latvia to Sweden and Finland to Germany. They also own Silja Line and a part of SeaRail...
, a major ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
company in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. Their sponsorship ended in February 2010.
Singles: 4 (1-3)
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| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| Runner-up | 1. | 5 November 2006 |  HasseltGaz de France Stars Gaz de France Stars was a tennis tournament held in Hasselt, Belgium. Held from 2004 till 2006, this WTA Tour event was a Tier III-tournament and was played on indoor hardcourts.- Singles :- Doubles :- External links :*... , Belgium |
Hard | 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.... |
3–6, 6–3, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 5 October 2008 |  Tokyo, Japan |
Hard |  Caroline WozniackiCaroline 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... |
2–6, 6–3, 1–6 |
| Winner | 1. | 18 July 2010 |  PalermoInternazionali Femminili di Palermo The Internazionali Femminili di Palermo is a tennis tournament held in Palermo, Italy. Held since 1988, this WTA Tour event is a Tier IV-tournament and is played on outdoor clay courts. It was lowered to a Tier V event in 2001 but returned to Tier IV in 2005.... , Italy |
Clay | 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... |
6–4, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 23 October 2011 |  MoscowKremlin 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... , Russia |
Hard (i) |  Dominika CibulkováDominika 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... |
6–3, 6–7(1–7), 5–7 |
Grand Slam singles performance timeline
| Tournament | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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... |
A | 2R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 2R |
| French Open | 2R | 1R | QF | 1R | 2R | 3R |
| Wimbledon | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R |
| US Open | 3R | 1R | 2R | 1R | QF | 2R |
External links
- Official website
- Kaia Kanepi profile on the 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...
official site