Anke Huber

Anke Huber
Country (sports)  Germany
Residence Ludwigshafen, Germany
Born (1974-12-04) 4 December 1974
Bruchsal, West Germany
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Turned pro 1989
Retired 31 October 2001
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money US$ 4,768,292
Singles
Career record 447–225
Career titles 12
Highest ranking No. 4 (14 October 1996)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open F (1996)
French Open SF (1993)
Wimbledon 4R (1991, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2001)
US Open QF (1999, 2000)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games QF (1992)
Doubles
Career record 130–129
Career titles 1
Highest ranking No. 30 (10 July 2000)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open 3R (1996, 1997, 1998)
French Open SF (1992)
Wimbledon 3R (1992, 2000)
US Open QF (2000)
Team competitions
Fed Cup W (1992)
Hopman Cup W (1995 with Boris Becker)
Last updated on: 19 February 2009.

Anke Huber (born 4 December 1974) is a German retired professional tennis player. She was the runner-up in women's singles at the 1996 Australian Open. Her career-high singles ranking was World No. 4, also in 1996.

Early life

Huber was born in Bruchsal, Baden-Württemberg. She started playing tennis at the age of seven, after being introduced to the game by her father, Edgar. In junior competition, she won the under-12 German Championships in 1986, the under-14s in 1987, the under-16s in 1988, and the European Championships in 1989. She was also a semifinalist at Wimbledon's junior tournament in 1990.

Career

Huber made her Grand Slam tournament debut at the 1990 Australian Open, a year before she graduated from high school. After defeating Maider Leval and Elise Burgin, she was defeated in the third round by 13th-seeded Raffaella Reggi. In August 1990, she defeated Marianne Werdel Witmeyer to win the Schenectady tournament, a warm-up for the US Open. Jennifer Capriati then defeated Huber in the first round of that tournament 7–5, 7–5. Huber was the runner-up in her next event, losing in Bayonne to Nathalie Tauziat in straight sets. She finished 1990 ranked World No. 34.

Huber became Germany's top female tennis player upon Steffi Graf's retirement in 1999. Only two years later, however, it was Huber's turn to hang up her racquet. She cited a persistent ankle injury and the desire for a "normal life" as the reasons for her retirement. She originally planned to quit after the 2002 Australian Open, her favorite tournament, but changed her mind when she unexpectedly qualified for the year-ending Sanex Championships in Germany. "I thought there's nothing better than to celebrate saying goodbye in front of the home fans in your own country", said Huber. Huber's final match took place on 31 October 2001, against Justine Henin, in which she lost 6–1, 6–2.

During her twelve-year professional career, Huber reached 23 singles finals (winning twelve of them), 29 singles semifinals, and 50 singles quarterfinals. Her career record in singles was 447–225, and she amassed US$4,768,292 in career prize money.

Huber represented her country at three levels: the Olympic Games in 1992 in Barcelona and in 1996 in Atlanta; the Fed Cup from 1990 through 1998 and in 2000 and 2001, helping Germany to victory in 1992 by beating Spain's Conchita Martínez in the final; and the Hopman Cup, which she won with Boris Becker in 1995.

Although she did not win a Grand Slam title, Huber felt proud of her accomplishments, especially because she had to walk in Graf's footsteps. "I recognised pretty early on that I would never have her success, but I was still always measured against her", she says. "So, whenever I got into the quarterfinals or the semis of a Grand Slam tournament, it counted for nothing. Sometimes it was good to have her, because she drew the attention away from me", Huber continued. "On the other side, there was always the pressure to be the second Steffi Graf."

In 2002, Huber accepted a role with the German Tennis Federation and became the co-tournament director for the annual Porsche Tennis Grand Prix WTA tournament in Filderstadt, Germany.

Personal life

In April 2005, Huber gave birth to her first child, a boy (Moritz Luca), to her partner Roger Wittmann. A second, a girl (Laura Sophie), followed in October 2006.[1][2]

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner–up)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1996 Australian Open Hard United States Monica Seles 4–6, 1–6

Year-End Championships finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner–up)

Outcome Year Location Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1995 New York City Carpet (I) Germany Steffi Graf 1–6, 6–2, 1–6, 6–4, 3–6

WTA Tour finals

Singles: 23 (12–11)

Winner — Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–1)
WTA Tour Championships (0–1)
Tier I (1–1)
Tier II (4–6)
Tier III (4–1)
Tier IV (2–0)
Tier V (1–1)
Titles by Surface
Hard (2–6)
Grass (1–0)
Clay (4–1)
Carpet (5–4)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. 20 August 1990 Schenectady Hard United States Marianne Werdel 6–1, 5–7, 6–4
Runner-up 1. 24 September 1990 Bayonne Hard (I) France Nathalie Tauziat 3–6, 6–7(8–10)
Winner 2. 14 October 1991 Filderstadt Carpet (I) United States Martina Navratilova 2–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–4)
Runner-up 2. 11 January 1993 Sydney Hard United States Jennifer Capriati 1–6, 4–6
Winner 3. 12 July 1993 Kitzbühel Clay Austria Judith Wiesner 6–4, 6–1
Runner-up 3. 18 October 1993 Brighton Carpet (I) Czech Republic Jana Novotná 2–6, 4–6
Winner 4. 25 July 1994 Styria Clay Austria Judith Wiesner 6–3, 6–3
Winner 5. 10 October 1994 Filderstadt Hard (I) France Mary Pierce 6–4, 6–2
Winner 6. 7 November 1994 Philadelphia Carpet (I) France Mary Pierce 6–0, 6–7(4–7), 7–5
Winner 7. 25 September 1995 Leipzig Carpet (I) Bulgaria Magdalena Maleeva w/o
Runner-up 4. 13 November 1995 WTA Tour Championships Carpet (I) Germany Steffi Graf 1–6, 6–2, 1–6, 6–4, 3–6
Runner-up 5. 15 January 1996 Australian Open Hard United States Monica Seles 4–6, 1–6
Winner 8. 17 June 1996 's-Hertogenbosch Grass Czech Republic Helena Suková 6–4, 7–6(7–2)
Runner-up 6. 12 August 1996 Los Angeles Hard United States Lindsay Davenport 2–6, 3–6
Winner 9. 30 September 1996 Leipzig Carpet (I) Croatia Iva Majoli 5–7, 6–3, 6–1
Runner-up 7. 7 October 1996 Filderstadt Hard (I) Switzerland Martina Hingis 2–6, 6–3, 3–6
Winner 10. 21 October 1996 Luxembourg Carpet (I) Slovakia Karina Habšudová 6–3, 6–0
Runner-up 8. 10 February 1997 Paris Carpet (I) Switzerland Martina Hingis 3–6, 6–3, 3–6
Runner-up 9. 11 August 1997 Toronto Hard United States Monica Seles 2–6, 4–6
Winner 11. 10 April 2000 Estoril Clay France Nathalie Dechy 6–2, 1–6, 7–5
Winner 12. 17 July 2000 Sopot Clay Spain Gala León García 7–6(7–4), 6–3
Runner-up 10. 5 February 2001 Paris Carpet (I) France Amélie Mauresmo 6–7(2–7), 1–6
Runner-up 11. 21 May 2001 Strasbourg Clay Italy Silvia Farina Elia 5–7, 6–0, 4–6

Doubles: 4 (1–3)

Winner — Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Tier I (0–1)
Tier II (1–2)
Tier III (0–0)
Tier IV (0–0)
Tier V (0–0)
Titles by Surface
Hard (0–2)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (1–0)
Carpet (0–1)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1. 18 October 1993 Brighton Carpet (I) Latvia Larisa Neiland Italy Laura Golarsa
Ukraine Natalia Medvedeva		 3–6, 6–1, 4–6
Winner 1. 28 April 1997 Hamburg Clay France Mary Pierce Romania Ruxandra Dragomir
Croatia Iva Majoli		 2–6, 7–6(1), 6–2
Runner-up 2. 11 January 1999 Sydney Hard United States Mary Joe Fernández Russia Elena Likhovtseva
Japan Ai Sugiyama		 3–6, 6–2, 0–6
Runner-up 3. 18 October 1999 Moscow Carpet (I) France Julie Halard-Decugis United States Lisa Raymond
Australia Rennae Stubbs		 1–6, 0–6

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Tournament 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Career SR
Australian Open A 3R QF QF 4R 3R 4R F 4R SF 2R 1R A 0 / 11
French Open A A 3R 2R SF 4R 4R 4R 1R A A 4R 2R 0 / 9
Wimbledon A 2R 4R 3R 4R 2R 4R 3R 3R A 1R 4R 4R 0 / 11
US Open A 1R 2R 1R 3R 2R 4R 1R 3R 1R QF QF 3R 0 / 12
SR 0 / 0 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 2 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 43
Career Statistics
Year End Ranking 203 37 14 11 10 12 10 7 14 21 16 19 18

Head-to-head record against other players in the top 10

Players who have been ranked World No. 1 are in boldface.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://de.news.yahoo.com/12072006/336/laquo-meine-familie-steht-absolut-mittelpunkt-raquo.html (in German)
  2. ↑ http://www.bild.t-online.de/BTO/sport/aktuell/2006/10/04/anke-huber-mutter/anke-huber-mutter.html (in German)

External links

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