Melanie South
Encyclopedia
Melanie Jayne South is an English tennis
player. She is currently the British number 7 and ranked 310 in the world (as of 21 November 2011). So far in her career she has won a total of 6 ITF
singles titles, 18 ITF doubles titles and reached a career-high singles ranking of world number 99 (achieved 2 February 2009).
Her greatest success in a Grand Slam
so far came in the first round of the 2006 Wimbledon Championships
when she came back from one set down to beat the world No.14, Francesca Schiavone
, 3–6 6–3 6–4, in a match witnessed by tennis legend, Martina Navratilova. At the time, South was ranked at 305 in the world and had reached the main draw courtesy of a wild card
. Not since the third round of the 1998 tournament
, when Samantha Smith
beat the world No.7 Conchita Martínez
, had a British woman beaten an opponent of a similar ranking at Wimbledon. She lost in the second round to Shenay Perry
, the world No. 62, 6–7(5) 2–6. Outside of Wimbledon, South reached the first round of the 2009 Australian Open
without needing to qualify and without a wild card. This was the first time in her career that her ranking was high enough to grant her access to a Grand Slam main draw without a wild card. She lost to world No. 17, Marion Bartoli
in round one.
(1964–66) and Brentford
(1966–67). John is now a tennis coach and Sheila was a short tennis
coach. She has two brothers, Andrew and Stephen, who both used to play tennis recreationally. She began playing tennis herself at the age of 6 years old.
South enjoys shopping, spending time with her friends, seeing films at the cinema, swimming and listening to music. Before a match she likes to listen to either Christina Aguilera or her brother, Stephen's, band, the Kicking Pills.
She attended Nonsuch High School
in Cheam
, South London
where she gained 7 GCSEs (one A* grade, four As and two Bs) and two A grades in A-level Psychology and PE as well as a grade C in A-level General Studies. She is currently furthering her education by taking an Open University
course in Understanding Health which she hopes will lead onto another course in Psychology.
against Alona Bondarenko she served a total of 10 aces, 7 double faults and won 68% of the points behind her first serve. She also hit 45 winners and 48 unforced errors during this match, a statistic which demonstrates her aggressive, high-risk attitude to tennis. Renowned tennis coach, Nick Bollettieri
, saw Mel play during her first round match against his charge, Michelle Larcher de Brito
, in the 2008 French Open and commented: "She can serve well and has good ground strokes. She moves well for a big girl but you can see that lateral movement is a problem for her. Whenever she's pushed out wide she can struggle."
junior circuit in June 1999. She saw very little in the way of singles success until July 2002 when she reached her first tournament quarterfinal at The Scottish Junior Championships. Six months later she won the 17th Salik Open (her only singles title at junior level) and then reached the semifinals of her next tournament before losing to Anna Chakvetadze
. Following this she reached the quarterfinals of her next two tournaments. She competed in the Wimbledon girls' tournament
only twice and lost in the first round each time. In singles, her career-high ranking was world No. 266 and her win-loss record was 15–8.
As a junior doubles player she won one title (the Scottish Junior International Championships) as well as losing in the final of two others (the Västerås International Junior Championships and the LTA Junior International Tournament Wrexham). In 2004 she reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon girls' doubles partnering Katie O'Brien
. Her career win-loss record in doubles was 7–7 and her highest ranking was world No. 335.
; a match which she lost in straight sets to Natalia Egorova from Russia.
In 2002
, in only her second match at adult level, she received a wild card
into the qualifying draw at Wimbledon
and lost to Adriana Barna, 6–4 6–4. South spent the rest of 2002 playing in ITF
tournaments in Great Britain, not getting past the second round in any of them. She finished 2002 with her world ranking at No. 931.
During 2003
, she played a total of 10 matches (again all ITF) and won four of them. She again failed to progress further than the second round of any of these tournaments and at the end of the 2003 season she had a world ranking of No. 851.
began well for Mel; in her first 4 tournaments of the year, she managed to reach the quarterfinals, second round, quarterfinal and semifinal respectively before going on to win her fifth tournament of the year. In her sixth tournament she lost in the first round before reaching the final of the next, losing to Elke Clijsters
(sister of former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters
) in three sets, 3–6 6–1 6–2. Later that month she reached the semifinals of the $10,000 event in Antalya
, Turkey. In June she played her first match on the WTA
tour, when she received a wild card into the tier III DFS Classic
in Birmingham. She lost in the first round of the qualifying tournament to Maria Kirilenko
, 7–5 6–1. She immediately received another wild card into the qualifying draw of Wimbledon
but lost in straight sets to Bethanie Mattek
in the first round. After Wimbledon she played three more ITF tournaments and reached the quarterfinals of two of them. At the end of 2004 her world ranking was No. 453.
where she reached the quarterfinals, losing to Katie O'Brien
, 6–1 7–5. In April she won the second ITF tournament of her career beating top-seed Anne Keothavong
, 6–4 4–6 6–4, in the final. Between winning this and losing in the first round of qualifying for Wimbledon
for the third year running she reached the final of one more ITF tournament and the semifinal stage of another. After Wimbledon she played nine more ITF events, reaching the semifinal stage in two of them. Her ranking was world No. 449 at the end of 2005.
tournament of her career in Hull
and reached the semifinals of another ITF, this one in Tenerife
, as a qualifier before losing to Andrea Hlaváčková
. In the run-up to Wimbledon
2006, South played two WTA tournaments courtesy of wild cards
. She lost in the first round of the DFS Classic
in Birmingham
(tier III) to fellow wild card Sarah Borwell
in three sets, 7–6(3) 3–6 6–3 and also lost in the first round of qualifying for the tier II tournament in Eastbourne
. In June, South played for the first time in the Wimbledon
main draw as a wild card and reached the second round by beating No. 11 seed Francesca Schiavone
in the first round. She lost to Shenay Perry
in the second round. South's win over world No. 14 Schiavone was a career-first Top 20 victory, and the best win in terms of ranking for a British player since Sam Smith
beat No. 7 Conchita Martínez
at Wimbledon in 1998. After Wimbledon, Mel won another ITF tournament, reached three semifinals and two more quarterfinals. She participated in the qualifying tournament for the U.S. Open in September but did not progress further than the first round. Her year-end ranking was world No. 176.
started slowly for South, with a loss in the first round of qualifying for the tier IV tournament in Auckland
, New Zealand to Sara Errani
(a future top-40 player) and a loss in the first round of the qualifying tournament for the Australian Open to Timea Bacsinszky
(a future top-50 player). Mel reached the quarterfinals of another ITF
tournament in May before losing to Casey Dellacqua
. In June she lost in the first round of qualifying for the French Open, reached the quarterfinals of another ITF (Surbiton
, Great Britain), lost in the second round of the qualifying tournament for the DFS Classic
and reached the second round of the tier II tournament in Eastbourne, beating Alicia Molik
in the first round before losing to Marion Bartoli
in the second. Immediately after this came another appearance in the main draw of Wimbledon
where she played Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama
but lost, 6–3 6–2. The rest of South's 2007 season saw her reach three more ITF semifinals and four ITF quarterfinals. She failed to qualify for the U.S. Open for the second year in a row. Her year-end world ranking fell to No. 214 at the end of 2007.
by attempting to qualify for the tier IV
tournament in Auckland
. She reached the final round of qualifying before falling to compatriot, Elena Baltacha
, 5–7 3–6. She then went on to lose to Thai veteran, Tamarine Tanasugarn
, in the first round of qualifying for the Australian Open
. Following this she reached the semifinals in the $75,000 ITF
in Midland
before being demolished by Ashley Harkleroad
, 1–6 0–6. March was a good month for Mel; she reached the final round of qualifying for the Bangalore Open before becoming a quarterfinalist in the $25,000 ITF in Kalgoorlie, winning the title in another $25,000 ITF in Sorrento
and then reaching the quarterfinals in the $50,000 ITF in Patras
. Her next noteworthy results came in late April and early May when she reached the semifinals in two back-to-back $50,000 events in Japan. She was beaten in the first round of qualifying for the French Open
by fellow Brit, Katie O'Brien
. Her grass court
season began with a bang when Mel clocked up her best result to date in a WTA tournament by reaching the quarterfinals of the DFS Classic
, a tier III event
. She defeated fellow British wild card
, Anna Fitzpatrick
, in round one before beating No. 4 seed, Sybille Bammer
, in the second round. In the third round she came up against 17th seed, Aiko Nakamura
, and won in three sets, 2–6 6–4 6–4. Unseeded, Yanina Wickmayer
, beat Mel in the quarterfinals, 4–6 3–6. Following this she received another wild card into the International Women's Open
where she lost in to first round to Alisa Kleybanova
. She entered the main draw of the Wimbledon Championships
courtesy of another wild card and gave No. 28 seed, Alona Bondarenko, a battle in round one. Mel was eventually defeated, 3–6 7–6(1) 4–6.
After Wimbledon, Mel attempted to qualify for the tier II
tournament in Los Angeles
but fell in the final round of qualifying. However No. 2 seed, Serena Williams
, withdrew from the tournament before her first round match resulting in South getting into the main draw as a lucky loser
. As Serena was the No. 2 seed, Mel received her bye
into the second round where she capitalised on this good opportunity by beating Petra Kvitová
to reach round three. Yuan Meng
from China beat Mel in the third round, 2–6 3–6. She followed this up with a successful attempt to qualify for the Rogers Cup where No. 10 seed, Marion Bartoli
, beat her in round one, 3–6 7–6(5) 0–6. In August she reached the final round of qualifying for the US Open where she was beaten by China's Zhang Shuai
. In October and November, Mel reached four consecutive $25,000 ITF tournaments in Traralgon, Mount Gambier
, Port Pirie and Pune
. She lost to Jarmila Gajdošová
, Natalie Grandin
, beat Yurika Sema
and then lost to Lu Jing-jing respectively. She finished the year with a run to the quarterfinals of the $75,000 ITF in Toyota
, giving her a year-end ranking of world No. 116.
, an International event. A disappointing performance saw her lose to Ekaterina Bychkova
, 6–3 6–4. She followed this up by entering the qualifying draw for the Medibank International Sydney, a Premier event held in Sydney
, Australia. Mel defeated Akgul Amanmuradova
, Kristina Barrois
and Meng Yuan to successfully qualify for the tournament. South qualified for the main draw of the 2009 Australian Open
when Maria Sharapova
withdrew because of injury. Because Anne Keothavong
had already qualified for the main draw, it was the first time since Jo Durie
and Clare Wood
in the 1993 US Open
, that two British women had gained direct entry into a Grand Slam. South made it the second round at Brisbane after Marion Bartoli
retired due to a left calf strain at 1–1 in the first set. She was defeated in the second round by No. 2 seed, Caroline Wozniacki
, in straight sets, 6–2 6–0. In the first round of the Australian Open, South fell to Bartoli in straight sets, 6–2 6–4. South broke into the Top 100 for the first time on 2 February 2009, achieving a career-high ranking of 99. This marked the first time in nearly 16 years that two British women had been inside the top 100, following Durie and Monique Javer
in March 1993.
Mel spent the week following the Australian Open in Estonia
playing in the Fed Cup
alongside compatriots Anne Keothavong
, Elena Baltacha
and doubles specialist Sarah Borwell
. Great Britain was drawn into the same group as Hungary
, The Netherlands
and Luxembourg
. Against Hungary, South and Borwell teamed up to face Katalin Marosi
and Ágnes Szávay
who they defeated, 6–4 6–3, thus contributing to Britain's 3–0 victory over Hungary. She was not required to participate when Britain defeated the Netherlands, 3–0, but played in both the doubles and singles in the third and final tie against Luxembourg. She beat Fabienne Thill, 6–0 6–2, and followed this victory up with another in doubles, beating Mandy Minella
and Thill, 6–0 6–0, with partner Sarah Borwell. This gave Britain a 9–0 record within their group, making them the group A winner and giving them the opportunity to play another group winner for a chance to participate in the World Group II play-offs. Britain lost 2–1 to Poland in the playoffs. Following this, Mel gained direct entry into the International tournament, the Cellular South Cup
on the merit of her own ranking but was beaten by No. 3 seed, Lucie Šafářová
, 6–2 6–2, in round one.
She then briefly returned to the ITF tour in order to participate in the $50,000 event in Clearwater
where she was the No. 3 seed but was beaten in round one by Japanese Aiko Nakamura
, 0–6 2–6. Her next tournament was the first Premier mandatory
tournament of the WTA calendar, the BNP Paribas Open
, where she competed in qualifying but was defeated by Varvara Lepchenko
, 3–6 6–7(2), in round one. She then immediately went to her next Premier mandatory tournament of the calendar, the Sony Ericsson Open
, where she also lost in the qualifying stages.
Her next breakthrough came at the $50,000 ITF event in Nottingham
where she reached the quarter finals before falling to Stefanie Vögele in three sets. She followed this up with a victory on the WTA Tour at the 2009 AEGON Classic
over fellow Brit Katie O'Brien
before falling to 1st seed Zheng Jie
. She then lost in qualifying at Eastbourne and in the first round of Wimbledon to Vera Dushevina
and Mathilde Johansson
respectively. She had little success on the ITF circuit until a Glasgow
$25,000 event where she reached the final as the second seed. In the final she fell to Johanna Larsson of Sweden in three sets: 6–1, 1–6, 6–3.
She ended the year with a singles record of 20–21 and a year-end ranking of 160.
In doubles, South captured two titles in Helsinki
and Glasgow
partnering Emma Laine
for both titles. She also achieved a first round win over Alona Bondarenko and Kateryna Bondarenko
at Wimbledon, alongside fellow Brit Jocelyn Rae
.
She ended the year with a doubles record of 12–5.
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 is currently the British number 7 and ranked 310 in the world (as of 21 November 2011). So far in her career she has won a total of 6 ITF
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...
singles titles, 18 ITF doubles titles and reached a career-high singles ranking of world number 99 (achieved 2 February 2009).
Her greatest success in a Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
so far came in the first round of the 2006 Wimbledon Championships
2006 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles
Results of the Ladies' Singles at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships.-Schedule:-Seeds:# Amélie Mauresmo # Kim Clijsters # Justine Henin-Hardenne # Maria Sharapova ...
when she came back from one set down to beat the world No.14, 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...
, 3–6 6–3 6–4, in a match witnessed by tennis legend, Martina Navratilova. At the time, South was ranked at 305 in the world and had reached the main draw courtesy of a wild card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
. Not since the third round of the 1998 tournament
1998 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles
Martina Hingis was the defending champion, but she was defeated by Jana Novotná in the semifinals in a rematch of last year's final.Novotná then defeated Nathalie Tauziat in the final, 6–4, 7–6, in the final on 4 July 1998 to win the tournament...
, when Samantha Smith
Samantha Smith (tennis)
Samantha Smith was the number 1 ranked British ladies tennis player from 1996–1999, and now commentates on the game, predominantly for the BBC, Sky Sports and Eurosport, as well as Channel Seven in Australia during the Australian Open.-Early life:Smith was born in Essex, and educated at Bancroft's...
beat the world No.7 Conchita Martínez
Conchita Martínez
Inmaculada Concepción Martínez Bernat is a former professional tennis player from Monzón, Aragón, Spain. She is the only Spanish woman to have won the singles title at Wimbledon, when she beat Martina Navrátilová in the 1994 Women's Singles. She also was the singles runner-up at the 1998...
, had a British woman beaten an opponent of a similar ranking at Wimbledon. She lost in the second round to Shenay Perry
Shenay Perry
Shenay Perry is an American professional tennis player. Her career-high WTA singles ranking is 40, which she reached on August 28, 2006...
, the world No. 62, 6–7(5) 2–6. Outside of Wimbledon, South reached the first round of the 2009 Australian Open
2009 Australian Open - Women's Singles
Maria Sharapova was the defending champion, but chose not to participate this year, due to a shoulder injury.Serena Williams won in the final 6–0, 6–3, against Dinara Safina.-Seeds:# Jelena Janković ...
without needing to qualify and without a wild card. This was the first time in her career that her ranking was high enough to grant her access to a Grand Slam main draw without a wild card. She lost to world No. 17, Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles. She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships....
in round one.
Personal life
Melanie South's mother is called Sheila and her father, John, used to play professional football for FulhamFulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
(1964–66) and Brentford
Brentford F.C.
Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....
(1966–67). John is now a tennis coach and Sheila was a short tennis
Short tennis
Short tennis is a format of the sport tennis. It is designed as a training game for players learning to play tennis. As such it is played on a smaller court - usually a badminton court - using a lower net and larger, softer ball. West Lothian Lesiure] Accessed 24-09-10 Short tennis has been...
coach. She has two brothers, Andrew and Stephen, who both used to play tennis recreationally. She began playing tennis herself at the age of 6 years old.
South enjoys shopping, spending time with her friends, seeing films at the cinema, swimming and listening to music. Before a match she likes to listen to either Christina Aguilera or her brother, Stephen's, band, the Kicking Pills.
She attended Nonsuch High School
Nonsuch High School
Nonsuch High School is an all-girls' grammar school located in Cheam, South London, England, standing in of grounds on the edge of Nonsuch Park. The school holds Specialist Science College and Specialist language status.-Awards:...
in Cheam
Cheam
Cheam is a large suburban village close to Sutton in the London Borough of Sutton, England, and is located close to the southern boundary between Greater London and Surrey. It is divided into two main areas: North Cheam and Cheam Village. North Cheam includes more retail shops and supermarkets,...
, South London
South London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
where she gained 7 GCSEs (one A* grade, four As and two Bs) and two A grades in A-level Psychology and PE as well as a grade C in A-level General Studies. She is currently furthering her education by taking an Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
course in Understanding Health which she hopes will lead onto another course in Psychology.
Playing style
South's style of gameplay centres around her powerful serve and her aggressive ground strokes. She regularly serves aces and gets many more free points from other serves which cannot be returned, making her a difficult player to break when she's playing at her best. However because her serve is so high-risk, at times she serves a large number of double faults and when a couple of these come in the same game it puts her at a sizable disadvantage. In her first round match at Wimbledon 2008The 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...
against Alona Bondarenko she served a total of 10 aces, 7 double faults and won 68% of the points behind her first serve. She also hit 45 winners and 48 unforced errors during this match, a statistic which demonstrates her aggressive, high-risk attitude to tennis. Renowned tennis coach, Nick Bollettieri
Nick Bollettieri
Nicholas James Bollettieri is an American tennis coach who is credited with developing many world-class champions, including Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Monica Seles, and Mary Pierce. Recently, he has worked with 2006 U.S. Open champion Maria Sharapova, Jelena Janković, Nicole Vaidišová and Sabine...
, saw Mel play during her first round match against his charge, 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...
, in the 2008 French Open and commented: "She can serve well and has good ground strokes. She moves well for a big girl but you can see that lateral movement is a problem for her. Whenever she's pushed out wide she can struggle."
Junior (1999–2004)
South debuted on the ITFInternational 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...
junior circuit in June 1999. She saw very little in the way of singles success until July 2002 when she reached her first tournament quarterfinal at The Scottish Junior Championships. Six months later she won the 17th Salik Open (her only singles title at junior level) and then reached the semifinals of her next tournament before losing to Anna Chakvetadze
Anna Chakvetadze
Anna Djambulilovna Chakvetadze is a Russian professional tennis player . On September 10, 2007, she reached her career-high professional singles ranking of World No. 5. She has won eight WTA Singles Titles and appeared in the 2007 US Open semifinals. As of July 4, 2011, Chakvetadze is ranked World...
. Following this she reached the quarterfinals of her next two tournaments. She competed in the Wimbledon girls' tournament
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...
only twice and lost in the first round each time. In singles, her career-high ranking was world No. 266 and her win-loss record was 15–8.
As a junior doubles player she won one title (the Scottish Junior International Championships) as well as losing in the final of two others (the Västerås International Junior Championships and the LTA Junior International Tournament Wrexham). In 2004 she reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon girls' doubles partnering 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...
. Her career win-loss record in doubles was 7–7 and her highest ranking was world No. 335.
2001–2003
Her first professional match (and only match that year) came in October 20012001 WTA Tour
The WTA Tour is the elite tour for professional women's tennis organised by the Women's Tennis Association . The WTA Tour includes the four Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA Tour Championships and the WTA Tier I, Tier II, Tier III, Tier IV and Tier V events...
; a match which she lost in straight sets to Natalia Egorova from Russia.
In 2002
2002 WTA Tour
The 2002 Sanex WTA Tour was the 30th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on December 31, 2001, and concluded on November 11, 2002, after 64 events....
, in only her second match at adult level, she received a wild card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
into the qualifying draw at Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
and lost to Adriana Barna, 6–4 6–4. South spent the rest of 2002 playing in ITF
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...
tournaments in Great Britain, not getting past the second round in any of them. She finished 2002 with her world ranking at No. 931.
During 2003
2003 WTA Tour
The WTA Tour is the elite tour for professional women's tennis organised by the Women's Tennis Association . The WTA Tour includes the four Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA Tour Championships and the WTA Tier I, Tier II, Tier III, Tier IV and Tier V events...
, she played a total of 10 matches (again all ITF) and won four of them. She again failed to progress further than the second round of any of these tournaments and at the end of the 2003 season she had a world ranking of No. 851.
2004
20042004 WTA Tour
The 2004 WTA Tour was the 32nd season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 5, 2004, and concluded on November 13, 2004, after 60 events....
began well for Mel; in her first 4 tournaments of the year, she managed to reach the quarterfinals, second round, quarterfinal and semifinal respectively before going on to win her fifth tournament of the year. In her sixth tournament she lost in the first round before reaching the final of the next, losing to Elke Clijsters
Elke Clijsters
Elke Clijsters is a former professional female tennis player from Belgium.Born in Bilzen, Bree, the daughter of Belgian football player Leo Clijsters and sister of former World No. 1 Kim Clijsters . She won the girls' U.S. Open doubles title in 2002 and reached a highest ranking of 389 on 15...
(sister of former world No. 1 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....
) in three sets, 3–6 6–1 6–2. Later that month she reached the semifinals of the $10,000 event in Antalya
Antalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
, Turkey. In June she played her first match on the WTA
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
tour, when she received a wild card into the tier III DFS Classic
DFS Classic
The AEGON Classic, formerly known as the DFS Classic, is an International series tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Held at this location since 1982, the tournament is played on outdoor grass courts...
in Birmingham. She lost in the first round of the qualifying tournament 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...
, 7–5 6–1. She immediately received another wild card into the qualifying draw of 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 lost in straight sets to 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...
in the first round. After Wimbledon she played three more ITF tournaments and reached the quarterfinals of two of them. At the end of 2004 her world ranking was No. 453.
2005
In January of 2005 she played the $10,000 ITF event in TiptonTipton
Tipton is a town in the Sandwell borough of the West Midlands, England, with a population of around 47,000. Tipton is located about halfway between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is a part of the Black Country....
where she reached the quarterfinals, losing to 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...
, 6–1 7–5. In April she won the second ITF tournament of her career beating top-seed 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...
, 6–4 4–6 6–4, in the final. Between winning this and losing in the first round of qualifying for 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...
for the third year running she reached the final of one more ITF tournament and the semifinal stage of another. After Wimbledon she played nine more ITF events, reaching the semifinal stage in two of them. Her ranking was world No. 449 at the end of 2005.
2006
In the first half of 2006 she won the third ITF2006 ITF Women's Circuit
The ITF Women's Circuit is the second tier tour for women's professional tennis organised by the International Tennis Federation, and is the tier below the WTA Tour...
tournament of her career in Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
and reached the semifinals of another ITF, this one in Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
, as a qualifier before losing to Andrea Hlaváčková
Andrea Hlavácková
Andrea Hlaváčková is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. Her highest singles ranking is World No.87, which she reached on 31 January 2011, and her highest doubles ranking is World No.17, reached on 15 August 2011...
. In the run-up to 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...
2006, South played two WTA tournaments courtesy of wild cards
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
. She lost in the first round of the DFS Classic
DFS Classic
The AEGON Classic, formerly known as the DFS Classic, is an International series tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Held at this location since 1982, the tournament is played on outdoor grass courts...
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...
(tier III) to fellow wild card Sarah Borwell
Sarah Borwell
Sarah Leah Borwell is an English professional tennis player who specialises primarily in doubles. She is currently the British number 1 in doubles, ranked 67 in the world...
in three sets, 7–6(3) 3–6 6–3 and also lost in the first round of qualifying for the tier II tournament in Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
. In June, South played for the first time in the 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...
main draw as a wild card and reached the second round by beating No. 11 seed Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone is an Italian tennis player who turned professional in 1998. She won the 2010 French Open singles title, becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event in singles. She was also runner-up at the 2011 French Open. As of 24 October 2011, Schiavone's ranking is World...
in the first round. She lost to Shenay Perry
Shenay Perry
Shenay Perry is an American professional tennis player. Her career-high WTA singles ranking is 40, which she reached on August 28, 2006...
in the second round. South's win over world No. 14 Schiavone was a career-first Top 20 victory, and the best win in terms of ranking for a British player since Sam Smith
Samantha Smith (tennis)
Samantha Smith was the number 1 ranked British ladies tennis player from 1996–1999, and now commentates on the game, predominantly for the BBC, Sky Sports and Eurosport, as well as Channel Seven in Australia during the Australian Open.-Early life:Smith was born in Essex, and educated at Bancroft's...
beat No. 7 Conchita Martínez
Conchita Martínez
Inmaculada Concepción Martínez Bernat is a former professional tennis player from Monzón, Aragón, Spain. She is the only Spanish woman to have won the singles title at Wimbledon, when she beat Martina Navrátilová in the 1994 Women's Singles. She also was the singles runner-up at the 1998...
at Wimbledon in 1998. After Wimbledon, Mel won another ITF tournament, reached three semifinals and two more quarterfinals. She participated in the qualifying tournament for the U.S. Open in September but did not progress further than the first round. Her year-end ranking was world No. 176.
2007
20072007 WTA Tour
The 2007 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 35th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 1, 2007, and concluded on November 11, 2007 after 61 events. Two new events were added to the schedule for the 2007 season: the Barcelona KIA and Gastein Ladies. It also...
started slowly for South, with a loss in the first round of qualifying for the tier IV tournament in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand to 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...
(a future top-40 player) and a loss in the first round of the qualifying tournament for the Australian Open to Timea Bacsinszky
Timea Bacsinszky
Timea Bacsinszky is a professional female tennis player residing in Belmont-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland. She joined the WTA Tour in 2004 and was ranked World No. 37 on 7 June 2010....
(a future top-50 player). Mel reached the quarterfinals of another ITF
2007 ITF Women's Circuit
The ITF Women's Circuit is the second tier tour for women's professional tennis organised by the International Tennis Federation, and is the tier below the WTA Tour...
tournament in May before losing to Casey Dellacqua
Casey Dellacqua
Casey Dellacqua is an Australian professional tennis player who currently resides in Perth, Western Australia. She was previously coached by former Australian player Nicole Pratt, before the two decided to part ways prior to the 2009 Australian Open...
. In June she lost in the first round of qualifying for the French Open, reached the quarterfinals of another ITF (Surbiton
Surbiton
Surbiton, a suburban area of London in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, is situated next to the River Thames, with a mixture of Art-Deco courts, more recent residential blocks and grand, spacious 19th century townhouses blending into a sea of semi-detached 20th century housing estates...
, Great Britain), lost in the second round of the qualifying tournament for the DFS Classic
DFS Classic
The AEGON Classic, formerly known as the DFS Classic, is an International series tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Held at this location since 1982, the tournament is played on outdoor grass courts...
and reached the second round of the tier II tournament in Eastbourne, beating Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik is a Australian professional female tennis player. She reached a career high singles rank of number 8 and also won a bronze medal for Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Molik also reached a career high doubles ranking of number 6, and won two grand slam doubles titles, at the...
in the first round before losing to Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles. She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships....
in the second. Immediately after this came another appearance in the main draw of 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...
where she played Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama
Ai Sugiyama
is a retired Japanese professional tennis player. She reached No. 1 in women's doubles on the WTA Tour. Her career-high singles ranking was No. 8, achieved on February 9, 2004. She turned professional in 1992...
but lost, 6–3 6–2. The rest of South's 2007 season saw her reach three more ITF semifinals and four ITF quarterfinals. She failed to qualify for the U.S. Open for the second year in a row. Her year-end world ranking fell to No. 214 at the end of 2007.
2008
Mel started her 2008 season2008 WTA Tour
The 2008 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 36th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on December 31, 2007, and concluded on November 9, 2008 after 59 events.The season was characterised by its frequent changes in the No...
by attempting to qualify for the tier IV
WTA Tier IV Events
The WTA Tier IV tournaments were Women's Tennis Association tennis fourth-level tournaments held from 1988 until 2008 season. The line-up of events varied over the years, with tournaments being promoted, demoted or cancelled. The series resulted from a reform of the WTA tour in 1988, offering more...
tournament in Auckland
2008 ASB Classic - Singles
Jelena Janković was the defending champion, but chose not to participate that year.Lindsay Davenport won in the final 6–2, 6–2, against Aravane Rezaï.-Seeds:# Vera Zvonareva # Maria Kirilenko...
. She reached the final round of qualifying before falling to compatriot, 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...
, 5–7 3–6. She then went on to lose to Thai veteran, Tamarine Tanasugarn
Tamarine Tanasugarn
Tamarine Tanasugarn is a professional Thai tennis player. She was born in Los Angeles, United States, and turned professional in 1994. She has been in the top 20 in both singles and doubles....
, in the first round of qualifying for the Australian Open
2008 Australian Open - Women's Singles
Serena Williams was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Jelena Janković.Maria Sharapova won in the final 7–5, 6–3, against Ana Ivanović to win her third Grand Slam title and her first at the Australian Open. She was also the first Russian woman to win this tournament...
. Following this she reached the semifinals in the $75,000 ITF
2008 ITF Women's Circuit
The ITF Women's Circuit is the second tier tour for women's professional tennis organised by the International Tennis Federation, and is a tier below the WTA Tour...
in Midland
Midland, Michigan
Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan in the Tri-Cities region of the state. It is the county seat of Midland County. The city's population was 41,863 as of the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Midland Micropolitan Statistical Area....
before being demolished by Ashley Harkleroad
Ashley Harkleroad
Ashley Harkleroad , is an American tennis player. Born in Rossville, Georgia, Harkleroad reached a career-high ranking of No. 39 on June 9, 2003. Her career prize money to date is $1,022,094...
, 1–6 0–6. March was a good month for Mel; she reached the final round of qualifying for the Bangalore Open before becoming a quarterfinalist in the $25,000 ITF in Kalgoorlie, winning the title in another $25,000 ITF in Sorrento
Sorrento
Sorrento is the name of many cities and towns:*Sorrento, Italy*Sorrento, Florida, United States*Sorrento, Louisiana, United States*Sorrento, Maine, United States*Sorrento, Victoria, a township on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia...
and then reaching the quarterfinals in the $50,000 ITF in Patras
Patras
Patras , ) is Greece's third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens...
. Her next noteworthy results came in late April and early May when she reached the semifinals in two back-to-back $50,000 events in Japan. She was beaten in the first round of qualifying for the French Open
2008 French Open - Women's Singles
Justine Henin was the defending champion, but retired from the sport on May 14, 2008.Ana Ivanović won in the final 6–4, 6–3, against Dinara Safina. This is Ivanovic's Third Grand Slam Final, Second French Open Final, and her First Grand Slam Singles Title...
by fellow Brit, 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...
. Her grass court
Grass court
A grass court is one of the four different types of tennis court. Grass courts are made of rye grass in different compositions depending on the tournament...
season began with a bang when Mel clocked up her best result to date in a WTA tournament by reaching the quarterfinals of the DFS Classic
2008 DFS Classic - Singles
Jelena Janković was the defending champion, but chose not to participate that year.Kateryna Bondarenko won in the final 7–6, 3–6, 7–6, against Yanina Wickmayer.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round....
, a tier III event
WTA Tier III Events
The WTA Tier III tournaments were Women's Tennis Association tennis third-level tournaments held from 1988 to 2008. The line-up of events varied over the years due to tournaments being promoted, demoted or cancelled...
. She defeated fellow British wild card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
, Anna Fitzpatrick
Anna Fitzpatrick
Anna Fitzpatrick is a professional tennis player from the United Kingdom. She is the British number 12 with a world ranking of No.384 . She trains at Hallamshire Tennis and Squash Club and plays right-handed. Her career-high ranking is world no. 318...
, in round one before beating No. 4 seed, Sybille Bammer
Sybille Bammer
Sybille Bammer is a former professional female tennis player from Austria. Her career high ranking is No. 19, achieved on 17 December 2007....
, in the second round. In the third round she came up against 17th seed, Aiko Nakamura
Aiko Nakamura
, is a female Japanese tennis player. She was once the second highest WTA-ranked Japanese singles tennis player, at 107 , after Ai Sugiyama....
, and won in three sets, 2–6 6–4 6–4. Unseeded, 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...
, beat Mel in the quarterfinals, 4–6 3–6. Following this she received another wild card into the International Women's Open
2008 International Women's Open
The 2008 International Women's Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 33rd edition of the International Women's Open, and was part of the Tier II Series of the 2008 WTA Tour. It took place in Eastbourne, England, United Kingdom, from June 16 through June 21,...
where she lost in to first round to Alisa Kleybanova
Alisa Kleybanova
Alisa Mikhaelovna Kleybanova is a Russian professional tennis player. Her highest WTA world ranking to date is No. 20, achieved on February 21, 2010...
. She entered the main draw of the Wimbledon Championships
2008 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles
Venus Williams was the defending champion, and won in the final 7–5, 6–4, against her sister Serena Williams.-Seeds:# Ana Ivanović # Jelena Janković # Maria Sharapova ...
courtesy of another wild card and gave No. 28 seed, Alona Bondarenko, a battle in round one. Mel was eventually defeated, 3–6 7–6(1) 4–6.
After Wimbledon, Mel attempted to qualify for the tier II
WTA Tier II Events
The WTA Tier II tournaments were Women's Tennis Association tennis second-level tournaments held from 1988 until 2008 season. The line-up of events varied over the years, with tournaments being promoted, demoted or cancelled...
tournament in Los Angeles
2008 East West Bank Classic - Singles
Ana Ivanović was the defending champion, but chose not to participate that year.Dinara Safina won in the final 6–4, 6–2, against Flavia Pennetta.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Jelena Janković ...
but fell in the final round of qualifying. However No. 2 seed, 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...
, withdrew from the tournament before her first round match resulting in South getting into the main draw as a lucky loser
Lucky Loser
Lucky Loser is a 2006 Thai sports-comedy about a small, fictional Southeast Asian country's bid to play in the World Cup...
. As Serena was the No. 2 seed, Mel received her bye
Bye (sports)
A bye, in sports and other competitive activities, most commonly refers to the practice of allowing a player or team to advance to the next round of a playoff tournament without playing...
into the second round where she capitalised on this good opportunity by beating 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...
to reach round three. 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....
from China beat Mel in the third round, 2–6 3–6. She followed this up with a successful attempt to qualify for the Rogers Cup where No. 10 seed, Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles. She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships....
, beat her in round one, 3–6 7–6(5) 0–6. In August she reached the final round of qualifying for the US Open where she was beaten by China's 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 October and November, Mel reached four consecutive $25,000 ITF tournaments in Traralgon, Mount Gambier
Mount Gambier, South Australia
Mount Gambier is the largest regional city in South Australia located approximately 450 kilometres south of the capital Adelaide and just 17 kilometres from the Victorian border....
, Port Pirie and Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
. She lost to Jarmila Gajdošová
Jarmila Gajdošová
Jarmila Gajdošová , known as Jarmila Groth from 2009 to 2011, is an Australian tennis player...
, Natalie Grandin
Natalie Grandin
Natalie Grandin is a professional tennis player from South Africa. Grandin has yet to compete outside of the qualifying rounds of a Grand Slam singles event. She is known for her variety of play, and volleying ability....
, beat Yurika Sema
Yurika Sema
is a Japanese female tennis player. Her father is French, and mother is Japanese. She is the older sister of Erika Sema.Sema's highest Women's Tennis Association ranking was 142 on November 30, 2009.- Singles 13 :- Doubles 13 :...
and then lost to Lu Jing-jing respectively. She finished the year with a run to the quarterfinals of the $75,000 ITF in Toyota
Toyota, Aichi
is a city located in the Mikawa region of Aichi Prefecture, Japan, east of Nagoya.Toyota's main plant, the Tsutsumi plant, is located here. The longstanding ties between the Toyota Motor Corporation and the town of Toyota-shi, formerly known as Koromo, gave the town its current...
, giving her a year-end ranking of world No. 116.
2009
In early January Mel attempted to qualify for the Brisbane InternationalBrisbane International
The Brisbane International is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour and of the WTA Premier tournaments of the Women's Tennis Association Tour...
, an International event. A disappointing performance saw her lose to 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...
, 6–3 6–4. She followed this up by entering the qualifying draw for the Medibank International Sydney, a Premier event held in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia. Mel defeated 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...
, Kristina Barrois
Kristina Barrois
Kristina Barrois is a professional German tennis player who has won two German Tennis Championships and reached the second round of all four Grand Slam events, as well as the final of two WTA tournaments. She lives in Urexweiler, Marpingen. Her career high rank is World No...
and Meng Yuan to successfully qualify for the tournament. South qualified for the main draw of the 2009 Australian Open
2009 Australian Open
The 2009 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 97th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 19 January through 1 February 2009. The 2009 men's...
when 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...
withdrew because of injury. Because 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...
had already qualified for the main draw, it was the first time since Jo Durie
Jo Durie
Jo Durie is a former world number 5 professional tennis player from the United Kingdom. During her career, she won two Grand Slam titles, both in the mixed doubles.-Singles career:...
and Clare Wood
Clare Wood
Clare Jacqueline Wood is a former British number 1 tennis player from Great Britain who began playing professionally in 1984 and retired in 1998...
in the 1993 US Open
1993 U.S. Open - Women's Singles
Steffi Graf defeated Helena Suková 6-3 6-3 in the final to win the Women's Singles title at the 1993 U.S. Open.See also:-Seeds:The seeded players are listed below. Steffi Graf is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.-Key:...
, that two British women had gained direct entry into a Grand Slam. South made it the second round at Brisbane after Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles. She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships....
retired due to a left calf strain at 1–1 in the first set. She was defeated in the second round by No. 2 seed, Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
, in straight sets, 6–2 6–0. In the first round of the Australian Open, South fell to Bartoli in straight sets, 6–2 6–4. South broke into the Top 100 for the first time on 2 February 2009, achieving a career-high ranking of 99. This marked the first time in nearly 16 years that two British women had been inside the top 100, following Durie and Monique Javer
Monique Javer
Monique Alicia Javer is an ex-professional tennis player who represented Great Britain and was at one time the British number 1. She turned professional in 1985 and played her final professional match in 2000...
in March 1993.
Mel spent the week following the Australian Open in 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...
playing in the Fed Cup
2009 Fed Cup
The 2009 Fed Cup was the 47th edition of the most important tournament between national teams in women's tennis...
alongside compatriots 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...
, 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...
and doubles specialist Sarah Borwell
Sarah Borwell
Sarah Leah Borwell is an English professional tennis player who specialises primarily in doubles. She is currently the British number 1 in doubles, ranked 67 in the world...
. Great Britain was drawn into the same group as Hungary
Hungary Fed Cup team
The Hungary Fed Cup team represents Hungary in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Magyar Tenisz Szovetseg. They currently compete in the Europe/Africa Zone of Group I.-History:Hungary competed in its first Fed Cup in 1963...
, The Netherlands
Netherlands Fed Cup team
The Netherlands Fed Cup team represents the Netherlands in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Koninklijke Nederlandse Lawn Tennis Bond. They currently compete in the Europe/Africa Zone of Group I.-History:...
and Luxembourg
Luxembourg Fed Cup team
The "Luxembourg Fed Cup team" represents Luxembourg in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Tennis. They currently compete in the Europe/Africa Zone of Group I.-History:...
. Against Hungary, South and Borwell teamed up to face Katalin Marosi
Katalin Marosi
Katalin Marosi is a professional tennis player from Hungary. Marosi has won 16 ITF Circuit Singles titles and 27 doubles titles...
and 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 :...
who they defeated, 6–4 6–3, thus contributing to Britain's 3–0 victory over Hungary. She was not required to participate when Britain defeated the Netherlands, 3–0, but played in both the doubles and singles in the third and final tie against Luxembourg. She beat Fabienne Thill, 6–0 6–2, and followed this victory up with another in doubles, beating Mandy Minella
Mandy Minella
Mandy Minella is a professional Luxembourgian tennis player. Her highest singles ranking to date is World Number 125 on July 25, 2011, and World Number 250 for doubles on July 17, 2006...
and Thill, 6–0 6–0, with partner Sarah Borwell. This gave Britain a 9–0 record within their group, making them the group A winner and giving them the opportunity to play another group winner for a chance to participate in the World Group II play-offs. Britain lost 2–1 to Poland in the playoffs. Following this, Mel gained direct entry into the International tournament, the Cellular South Cup
2009 Cellular South Cup - Singles
Lindsay Davenport was the defending champion, but was off the Tour indefinitely due to pregnancy.-Seeds:# Caroline Wozniacki # Victoria Azarenka # Lucie Šafářová # Anne Keothavong ...
on the merit of her own ranking but was beaten by No. 3 seed, 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...
, 6–2 6–2, in round one.
She then briefly returned to the ITF tour in order to participate in the $50,000 event in Clearwater
Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, US, nearly due west of Tampa and northwest of St. Petersburg. In the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and in the east lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 108,787. It is the county seat of...
where she was the No. 3 seed but was beaten in round one by Japanese Aiko Nakamura
Aiko Nakamura
, is a female Japanese tennis player. She was once the second highest WTA-ranked Japanese singles tennis player, at 107 , after Ai Sugiyama....
, 0–6 2–6. Her next tournament was the first Premier mandatory
WTA Premier tournaments
Premier Tournaments is a category of tennis tournaments in the Women's Tennis Association tour.Premier events include:*Four "Premier Mandatory" events in Indian Wells, Key Biscayne, Madrid, and Beijing with prize money of $4.5 million....
tournament of the WTA calendar, the BNP Paribas Open
2009 BNP Paribas Open - Women's Singles
Ana Ivanović was the defending champion, but lost to Vera Zvonareva in the final.-Seeds:All seeds receive a bye into the second round.# Dinara Safina # Jelena Janković # Elena Dementieva ...
, where she competed in qualifying but was defeated by 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:...
, 3–6 6–7(2), in round one. She then immediately went to her next Premier mandatory tournament of the calendar, the Sony Ericsson Open
2009 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2009 Sony Ericsson Open was a men's and women's tennis tournament held from March 23 to April 5, 2009. It was the 25th edition of the Miami Masters event and was played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Florida, located near Miami...
, where she also lost in the qualifying stages.
Her next breakthrough came at the $50,000 ITF event in Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
where she reached the quarter finals before falling to Stefanie Vögele in three sets. She followed this up with a victory on the WTA Tour 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:*...
over fellow Brit 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...
before falling to 1st 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....
. She then lost in qualifying at Eastbourne and in the first round of Wimbledon to 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...
and Mathilde Johansson
Mathilde Johansson
Mathilde Johansson is a Swedish-born female tennis player who lives in and competes for France.She made her WTA Tour main draw debut at the 2005 French Open, losing to sixth-seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round...
respectively. She had little success on the ITF circuit until a Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
$25,000 event where she reached the final as the second seed. In the final she fell to Johanna Larsson of Sweden in three sets: 6–1, 1–6, 6–3.
She ended the year with a singles record of 20–21 and a year-end ranking of 160.
In doubles, South captured two titles in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
and Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
partnering Emma Laine
Emma Laine
Emma Johanna Laine is a professional tennis player from Finland.The left-handed Laine turned professional in 2004. Her highest career singles ranking has been World No. 50 on August 7, 2006....
for both titles. She also achieved a first round win over Alona Bondarenko and Kateryna Bondarenko
Kateryna Bondarenko
Kateryna Volodymyrivna Bondarenko is a professional female tennis player from Ukraine and a doubles champion at Australian Open 2008.The younger sister of professional tennis players Valeria and Alona Bondarenko, she was born in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. She was...
at Wimbledon, alongside fellow Brit Jocelyn Rae
Jocelyn Rae
Jocelyn Rae is a Scottish tennis player with a career-high singles ranking of 450 and a doubles high of world 209. Thus far in her career she has won one International Tennis Federation title in singles and six in doubles. Together with Colin Fleming, she won the gold medal in the mixed doubles at...
.
She ended the year with a doubles record of 12–5.
WTA tour and ITF circuit titles (24)
|
|
Singles (6)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| 1. | 3 March 2004 | Mumbai Mumbai Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million... $10,000 |
Hard |  Chen YanchongChen Yanchong Chen Yanchong , is a WTA professional women's tennis player from the People's Republic of China. She was born in Hengyang, Hunan province in China.... |
6–4 6–4 |
| 2. | 10 April 2005 | Bath $10,000 | Hard |  Anne KeothavongAnne 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... |
6–4 4–6 6–4 |
| 3. | 29 January 2006 | Hull Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of... $10,000 |
Hard |  Irena PavlovicIrena Pavlovic Irena Pavlovic is a French female tennis player of Serbian descent. Born in Serbian capital Belgrade, she moved to Paris when she was three. Pavlovic won three singles and 13 doubles events organized by the International Tennis Federation, and is currently ranked World No. 202... |
6–4 6–1 |
| 4. | 30 July 2006 | Chengdu Chengdu Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status... $25,000 |
Hard | Lu Jing-Jing |
7–5 7–6(5) |
| 5. | 23 March 2008 | Sorrento Sorrento Sorrento is the name of many cities and towns:*Sorrento, Italy*Sorrento, Florida, United States*Sorrento, Louisiana, United States*Sorrento, Maine, United States*Sorrento, Victoria, a township on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia... $25,000 |
Hard |  Christina WheelerChristina Wheeler Christina Wheeler is an Australian professional tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 147, which she reached on 26 May 2003. Her career high in doubles is 91 set at 8 July 2002... |
7–5 6–7(6) 6–4 |
| 6. | 26 October 2008 | Port Pirie $25,000 | Hard |  Yurika SemaYurika Sema is a Japanese female tennis player. Her father is French, and mother is Japanese. She is the older sister of Erika Sema.Sema's highest Women's Tennis Association ranking was 142 on November 30, 2009.- Singles 13 :- Doubles 13 :... |
6–3 6–4 |
Doubles (18)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | 1 February 2004 | Tipton Tipton Tipton is a town in the Sandwell borough of the West Midlands, England, with a population of around 47,000. Tipton is located about halfway between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is a part of the Black Country.... $10,000 |
Hard | Rebecca Llewellyn Rebecca Llewellyn Rebecca Llewellyn is a retired British tennis player. During her career, she won one International Tennis Federation title in singles and seven in doubles. She reached career-high rankings of world No.280 in singles and world No.309 in doubles... |
 Klaudia JansKlaudia Jans Klaudia Jans-Ignacik is a professional tennis player from Poland. While Jans hasn't won a WTA title, she has won one ITF singles title, eleven ITF doubles titles and one WTA doubles title.... Alicja RosolskaAlicja Rosolska Alicja Rosolska is a Polish professional tennis player. Rosolska made her bow as a professional at the 2002 J&S Cup.She is primarily a doubles player, partnering countrywoman Klaudia Jans. She and Jans have reached five finals on the WTA... |
2–6 6–1 6–4 |
| 2. | 3 April 2005 | Bath $10,000 | Hard |  Surina De Beer |
 Ekaterina Kozhokina Trudi MusgraveTrudi Musgrave Trudi Musgrave is a left-handed Australian professional tennis player, based in Newcastle, Australia.- Biography :Musgrave was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia... |
6–2 7–5 |
| 3. | 1 May 2005 | Bournemouth Bournemouth Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth... $10,000 |
Clay | Claire Peterzan |
Anna Hawkins Holly Richards |
5–7 6–4 6–3 |
| 4. | 8 May 2005 | Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area... $10,000 |
Clay | Rebecca Llewellyn Rebecca Llewellyn Rebecca Llewellyn is a retired British tennis player. During her career, she won one International Tennis Federation title in singles and seven in doubles. She reached career-high rankings of world No.280 in singles and world No.309 in doubles... |
 Leonie Mekel Bibiane Schoofs |
6–0 3–6 6–3 |
| 5. | 1 October 2006 | Nottingham Nottingham Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group... $25,000 |
Hard | Karen Paterson Karen Paterson Karen Paterson is a Scottish ex-professional tennis player who was active between the years 1998 and 2007. She won a total of 2 ITF singles titles and 5 ITF doubles titles, reaching a career-high ranking of world no. 369 in singles and world no. 220 as a doubles 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...  Margit RüütelMargit Rüütel Margit Rüütel is an Estonian tennis player. On 21 April 2008, she achieved her career-high WTA singles ranking of World No. 162. She has ranked as high as 192 in doubles as well, achieving the rank on 9 April 2007.- External links :... |
6–2 2–6 7–6(1) |
| 6. | 8 October 2006 | Nantes Nantes Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants.... $25,000 |
Hard | Rebecca Llewellyn Rebecca Llewellyn Rebecca Llewellyn is a retired British tennis player. During her career, she won one International Tennis Federation title in singles and seven in doubles. She reached career-high rankings of world No.280 in singles and world No.309 in doubles... |
 Sabine LisickiSabine Lisicki Sabine Lisicki is a German professional tennis player of Polish background.Lisicki has won three WTA singles tournaments in her career and one doubles tournament . She reached the semifinals of the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and also reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 Wimbledon Championships... Irena PavlovicIrena Pavlovic Irena Pavlovic is a French female tennis player of Serbian descent. Born in Serbian capital Belgrade, she moved to Paris when she was three. Pavlovic won three singles and 13 doubles events organized by the International Tennis Federation, and is currently ranked World No. 202... |
6–2 6–0 |
| 7. | 8 June 2007 | Surbiton Surbiton Surbiton, a suburban area of London in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, is situated next to the River Thames, with a mixture of Art-Deco courts, more recent residential blocks and grand, spacious 19th century townhouses blending into a sea of semi-detached 20th century housing estates... £25,000 |
Grass | Karen Paterson Karen Paterson Karen Paterson is a Scottish ex-professional tennis player who was active between the years 1998 and 2007. She won a total of 2 ITF singles titles and 5 ITF doubles titles, reaching a career-high ranking of world no. 369 in singles and world no. 220 as a doubles player... |
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... Naomi CavadayNaomi Cavaday Naomi Kathleen Cavaday is an English former tennis player from Sidcup, Kent. She retired in April 2011 to take up a coaching role with the Lawn Tennis Association. At the time of her retirement she was the British No.6, with a world ranking of No. 231. Her career high ranking was No. 174,... |
6–1 6–4 |
| 8. | 14 July 2007 | Felixstowe Felixstowe Felixstowe is a seaside town on the North Sea coast of Suffolk, England. The town gives its name to the nearby Port of Felixstowe, which is the largest container port in the United Kingdom and is owned by Hutchinson Ports UK... $25,000 |
Grass | Karen Paterson Karen Paterson Karen Paterson is a Scottish ex-professional tennis player who was active between the years 1998 and 2007. She won a total of 2 ITF singles titles and 5 ITF doubles titles, reaching a career-high ranking of world no. 369 in singles and world no. 220 as a doubles player... |
Jade Curtis Rebecca Llewellyn Rebecca Llewellyn Rebecca Llewellyn is a retired British tennis player. During her career, she won one International Tennis Federation title in singles and seven in doubles. She reached career-high rankings of world No.280 in singles and world No.309 in doubles... |
6–3 6–3 |
| 9. | 28 July 2007 | La Coruña $25,000 | Hard |  Marina ErakovicMarina Erakovic Marina Erakovic is a New Zealand professional tennis player of Croatian background. Her career high in Women's Tennis Association doubles ranking is World No. 43, achieved on 27 October 2008, and in singles it is No. 49, achieved on 7 July 2008. As of 21 November 2011, she is World No... |
 Andrea HlaváčkováAndrea Hlavácková Andrea Hlaváčková is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. Her highest singles ranking is World No.87, which she reached on 31 January 2011, and her highest doubles ranking is World No.17, reached on 15 August 2011... Justine Ozga |
6–1 4–6 [10–4] |
| 10. | 21 March 2008 | Sorrento Sorrento Sorrento is the name of many cities and towns:*Sorrento, Italy*Sorrento, Florida, United States*Sorrento, Louisiana, United States*Sorrento, Maine, United States*Sorrento, Victoria, a township on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia... $25,000 |
Hard | Monique Adamczak Monique Adamczak Monique Adamczak is an Australian professional tennis player. She is coached by Roger Federer's former coach, Tony Roche. Adamczak's favourite surface is grass.... |
 Chang Kai-Chen Hwang I-hsuan |
6–2 6–4 |
| 11. | 11 May 2008 | Fukuoka Fukuoka, Fukuoka is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by... $50,000 |
Carpet | Nicole Thyssen |
Maya Kato Julia Moriarty |
4–6 6–3 [14–12] |
| 12. | 29 November 2008 | Toyota Toyota, Aichi is a city located in the Mikawa region of Aichi Prefecture, Japan, east of Nagoya.Toyota's main plant, the Tsutsumi plant, is located here. The longstanding ties between the Toyota Motor Corporation and the town of Toyota-shi, formerly known as Koromo, gave the town its current... $75,000 |
Carpet |  Emma LaineEmma Laine Emma Johanna Laine is a professional tennis player from Finland.The left-handed Laine turned professional in 2004. Her highest career singles ranking has been World No. 50 on August 7, 2006.... |
Kimiko Date Krumm 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... Han XinyunHan Xinyun Han Xinyun is a Chinese tennis player. Her career highest ranking is 165th in the world, which she achieved on February 1, 2010. Han had reached a WTA tour doubles final before in China were she and her partner Xu Yifan lost to the pairing of Caroline Wozniacki and Anabel Medina Garrigues. Han has... |
6–1 7–5 |
| 13. | 3 October 2009 | Helsinki Helsinki Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is... $25,000 |
Hard | Emma Laine Emma Laine Emma Johanna Laine is a professional tennis player from Finland.The left-handed Laine turned professional in 2004. Her highest career singles ranking has been World No. 50 on August 7, 2006.... |
Anna Smith Anna Smith (tennis) Anna Smith is a professional tennis player who represents the United Kingdom. She has won three International Tennis Federation singles titles, 12 ITF doubles titles and reached a career high singles ranking of world no. 262 on 9 August 2010. Smith is currently the British number 9 with a ranking...  Johanna Larsson |
6–3 6–3 |
| 14. | 25 October 2009 | Glasgow Glasgow Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands... $25,000 |
Hard | Emma Laine Emma Laine Emma Johanna Laine is a professional tennis player from Finland.The left-handed Laine turned professional in 2004. Her highest career singles ranking has been World No. 50 on August 7, 2006.... |
 Evelyn Mayr Julia MayrJulia Mayr Julia Mayr is an Italian tennis player. She is the younger sister of tennis player Evelyn Mayr. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 215, which she reached on September 20, 2010.- ITF Circuit singles finals :... |
6–3 6–2 |
| 15. | 14 August 2010 | Tallinn Tallinn Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list... $25,000 |
Hard | Emma Laine Emma Laine Emma Johanna Laine is a professional tennis player from Finland.The left-handed Laine turned professional in 2004. Her highest career singles ranking has been World No. 50 on August 7, 2006.... |
Lu Jing-jing Sun Sheng-Nan |
6–3 6–4 |
| 16. | 28 November 2010 | Traralgon $25,000 | Hard |  Tímea BabosTímea Babos Tímea Babos is a professional Hungarian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 176, which she reached on 11 July 2011. Her career high in doubles is 175, which she achieved on 18 July 2011. To date, Babos has won nine singles and nine doubles professional tennis titles.Babos is a member... |
Jarmila Groth Jade Hopper Jade Hopper Jade Hopper is a professional Australian tennis player playing in the ITF Women's Circuit. On 21 June 2010 she reached her highest WTA singles ranking of 622. On 2 August 2010 she reached her highest WTA doubles ranking of 252.... |
6–3 6–2 |
| 17. | 3 December 2010 | Bendigo $25,000 | Hard | Tímea Babos Tímea Babos Tímea Babos is a professional Hungarian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 176, which she reached on 11 July 2011. Her career high in doubles is 175, which she achieved on 18 July 2011. To date, Babos has won nine singles and nine doubles professional tennis titles.Babos is a member... |
Jarmila Groth Jade Hopper Jade Hopper Jade Hopper is a professional Australian tennis player playing in the ITF Women's Circuit. On 21 June 2010 she reached her highest WTA singles ranking of 622. On 2 August 2010 she reached her highest WTA doubles ranking of 252.... |
6–3 6–2 |
| 18. | 4 February 2011 | Sutton Sutton -Places:Sutton, meaning 'south settlement' in Old English, is a very common place name. Places named Sutton include:-United Kingdom:In London:* London Borough of Sutton** which includes Sutton, London** historically Sutton Urban District... $25,000 |
Hard | Emma Laine Emma Laine Emma Johanna Laine is a professional tennis player from Finland.The left-handed Laine turned professional in 2004. Her highest career singles ranking has been World No. 50 on August 7, 2006.... |
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...  Darija JurakDarija Jurak Darija Jurak is a Croatian professional tennis player. Her career high WTA doubles ranking is 74, set on July 5, 2010... |
6–3, 5–7, [10–8] |
WTA tour and ITF circuit runner-up (16)
|
|
Singles (6)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | 1 May 2004 | $10,000 Bournemouth | Clay |  Elke ClijstersElke Clijsters Elke Clijsters is a former professional female tennis player from Belgium.Born in Bilzen, Bree, the daughter of Belgian football player Leo Clijsters and sister of former World No. 1 Kim Clijsters . She won the girls' U.S. Open doubles title in 2002 and reached a highest ranking of 389 on 15... |
6–3 1–6 2–6 |
| 2. | 8 May 2005 | Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area... $10,000 |
Clay | Ekaterina Kozhokina |
4–6 3–6 |
| 3. | 12 October 2008 | Traralgon $25,000 | Hard |  Jarmila GajdošováJarmila Gajdošová Jarmila Gajdošová , known as Jarmila Groth from 2009 to 2011, is an Australian tennis player... |
3–6 6–3 1–6 |
| 4. | 19 October 2008 | Mount Gambier Mount Gambier, South Australia Mount Gambier is the largest regional city in South Australia located approximately 450 kilometres south of the capital Adelaide and just 17 kilometres from the Victorian border.... $25,000 |
Hard | Natalie Grandin Natalie Grandin Natalie Grandin is a professional tennis player from South Africa. Grandin has yet to compete outside of the qualifying rounds of a Grand Slam singles event. She is known for her variety of play, and volleying ability.... |
6–7(2) 4–6 |
| 5. | 15 November 2008 | Pune Pune Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ... $25,000 |
Hard | Lu Jing-Jing |
3–6 2–6 |
| 6. | 25 October 2009 | Glasgow Glasgow Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands... $25,000 |
Hard | Johanna Larsson |
1–6 6–1 3–6 |
Doubles (10)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| 1. | 23 January 2005 | Tipton Tipton Tipton is a town in the Sandwell borough of the West Midlands, England, with a population of around 47,000. Tipton is located about halfway between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is a part of the Black Country.... $10,000 |
Hard | 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... |
Surina De Beer Rebecca Llewellyn Rebecca Llewellyn Rebecca Llewellyn is a retired British tennis player. During her career, she won one International Tennis Federation title in singles and seven in doubles. She reached career-high rankings of world No.280 in singles and world No.309 in doubles... |
4–6 2–6 |
| 2. | 30 January 2005 | Hull Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of... $10,000 |
Hard | 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... |
Irena Bulykina Vasilisa Davydova |
6–4 3–6 [5–10] |
| 3. | 5 February 2006 | Jersey Jersey Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and... $25,000 |
Hard | 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... |
Andrea Hlaváčková Andrea Hlavácková Andrea Hlaváčková is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. Her highest singles ranking is World No.87, which she reached on 31 January 2011, and her highest doubles ranking is World No.17, reached on 15 August 2011... Matea Mezak |
3–6 1–6 |
| 4. | 16 February 2007 | Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area... $25,000 |
Hard |  Sorana CîrsteaSorana 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 :... |
 Danica KrstajićDanica Krstajic Danica Krstajić is a professional tennis player from Montenegro. She started a professional tennis career on August 10, 2003, playing for Serbia and Montenegro; and from June 2006, she's playing for Montenegro.... Olga Panova |
2–6 6–0 2–6 |
| 5. | 17 March 2007 | Gran Canaria Gran Canaria Gran Canaria is the second most populous island of the Canary Islands, with a population of 838,397 which constitutes approximately 40% of the population of the archipelago... $25,000 |
Hard | Claire Curran Claire Curran Claire Curran is an ex-professional female tennis player.Curran represented both Great Britain and Ireland in the Fed Cup during her career. She has a Fed Cup win-loss record of 20–7. She specialised primarily in doubles and reached a career-high doubles ranking of world No.89... |
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 :... Mădălina GojneaMădălina Gojnea Mădălina-Victorița Gojnea is a professional Romanian tennis player playing in the ITF Women's Circuit. On July 4, 2011, she reached her highest WTA singles ranking of 149 whilst her best doubles ranking was 191 on July 9, 2007... |
6–4 6–7(5) 4–6 |
| 6. | 30 March 2007 | La Palma La Palma La Palma is the most north-westerly of the Canary Islands. La Palma has an area of 706 km2 making it the fifth largest of the seven main Canary Islands... $25,000 |
Hard |  Arantxa Parra SantonjaArantxa 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... |
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:... Andrea HlaváčkováAndrea Hlavácková Andrea Hlaváčková is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. Her highest singles ranking is World No.87, which she reached on 31 January 2011, and her highest doubles ranking is World No.17, reached on 15 August 2011... |
3–6 2–6 |
| 7. | 7 October 2007 | Nantes Nantes Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants.... $25,000 |
Hard | Caroline Maes Caroline Maes Caroline Maes is a Belgian tennis player.Maes is active in the singles game since 1997 and doubles since 1999. The highest place she ever achieved on the WTA-ranking in singles is 151st on 28 May 2007. In doubles she got to the 143rd place on 9 July 2007... |
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:... Johanna Larsson |
6–4 5–7 [7–10] |
| 8. | 4 May 2008 | Gifu Gifu, Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku period, various warlords, including Oda Nobunaga, used... $50,000 |
Carpet | Nicole Thyssen |
Kimiko Date Krumm 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... Kurumi NaraKurumi Nara Kurumi Nara is a tennis player. She reached the third round of the 2008 US Open Girls singles tournament, where she lost to Kristina Mladenovic 2–6, 6–4, 7–6. She advanced to the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time at the 2010 French Open with a 4–6, 7–6, 10–8 win over Monica... |
1–6 7–6(8) [7–10] |
| 9. | 9 August 2008 | Monterrey Monterrey Monterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the... $100,000 |
Hard | Monique Adamczak Monique Adamczak Monique Adamczak is an Australian professional tennis player. She is coached by Roger Federer's former coach, Tony Roche. Adamczak's favourite surface is grass.... |
Jelena Pandžić Jelena Pandžic Jelena Pandžić is a professional tennis player from Croatia.-Tennis career:She began playing tennis aged 7 and as a junior she was considered a hot prospect for the future, being ranked as the world number one in the under 14 age bracket... Magdaléna RybárikováMagdaléna Rybáriková Magdaléna Rybáriková is a Slovak professional tennis player. On June 22, 2009, she achieved her career-high WTA singles ranking of 40th.-Biography:... |
6–4 4–6 [8–10] |
| 10. | 22 March 2010 | Jersey Jersey Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and... $25,000 |
Hard | Jarmila Groth |
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.... & Anna SmithAnna Smith (tennis) Anna Smith is a professional tennis player who represents the United Kingdom. She has won three International Tennis Federation singles titles, 12 ITF doubles titles and reached a career high singles ranking of world no. 262 on 9 August 2010. Smith is currently the British number 9 with a ranking... |
7–5 6–4 |
Grand Slam performance timeline
| Tournament | 2002 2002 WTA Tour The 2002 Sanex WTA Tour was the 30th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on December 31, 2001, and concluded on November 11, 2002, after 64 events.... | 2003 2003 WTA Tour The WTA Tour is the elite tour for professional women's tennis organised by the Women's Tennis Association . The WTA Tour includes the four Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA Tour Championships and the WTA Tier I, Tier II, Tier III, Tier IV and Tier V events... | 2004 2004 WTA Tour The 2004 WTA Tour was the 32nd season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 5, 2004, and concluded on November 13, 2004, after 60 events.... | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 2007 WTA Tour The 2007 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 35th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 1, 2007, and concluded on November 11, 2007 after 61 events. Two new events were added to the schedule for the 2007 season: the Barcelona KIA and Gastein Ladies. It also... | 2008 2008 WTA Tour The 2008 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 36th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on December 31, 2007, and concluded on November 9, 2008 after 59 events.The season was characterised by its frequent changes in the No... | 2009 2009 WTA Tour The 2009 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 37th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 5, 2009, and concluded on November 8, 2009 after 56 events.... | 2010 2010 WTA Tour The Women's Tennis Association Tour is the elite professional tennis circuit organized by the WTA. The 2010 WTA Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments , the WTA Premier tournaments , the WTA International tournaments, the Fed Cup , and the year-end... | 2011 2011 WTA Tour The WTA Tour is the elite tour for women's professional tennis organized by the Women's Tennis Association . The 2011 WTA Tour includes the Grand Slam tournaments , the WTA Premier tournaments, the WTA International tournaments, the Fed Cup , the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, and the WTA... | Career Win-Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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... |
- | - | - | - | - | Q1 | Q1 | 1R | Q1 | - | 0–1 |
| French Open | - | - | - | - | - | Q1 | Q1 | 1R | - | - | 0–1 |
| Wimbledon | Q1 | - | Q1 | Q1 | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | Q2 | 1–5 |
| U.S. Open U.S. Open (tennis) The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881... |
- | - | - | - | Q1 | Q1 | Q3 | Q2 | - | - | 0–0 |
| Year End Ranking | 931 | 851 | 453 | 449 | 176 | 212 | 116 | 160 | 292 | N/A |
- "-" stands for any tournament the player did not participate in.
- "Q" followed by a number 1-3 denotes which round of the qualifying tournament was reached.
- The career record is only for the players main draw participation.