Barbora Strýcová

Barbora Strýcová

Full name Barbora Strýcová
Country (sports)  Czech Republic
Born (1986-03-28) 28 March 1986
Plzeň, Czechoslovakia
(now Czech Republic)
Height 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)
Turned pro 2003
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money $ 4,327,536
Singles
Career record 435–310 (58.39%)
Career titles 1 WTA, 9 ITF
Highest ranking No. 20 (2 March 2015)
Current ranking No. 37 (29 February 2016)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open 4R (2016)
French Open 2R (2004)
Wimbledon QF (2014)
US Open 3R (2014, 2015)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games 1R (2004)
Doubles
Career record 345–201
Career titles 17 WTA, 10 ITF
Highest ranking 14 (31 January 2011)
Current ranking 36 (8 February 2016)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open SF (2015)
French Open QF (2015)
Wimbledon QF (2013)
US Open SF (2014)
Other doubles tournaments
Olympic Games 1R (2004)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open QF (2010)
French Open 2R (2010, 2011)
Wimbledon QF (2004)
US Open QF (2011)
Team competitions
Fed Cup W (2015), Record 13–8
Last updated on: 8 February 2016.

Barbora Strýcová (Czech pronunciation: [ˈbarbora ˈstriːtsovaː]; born 28 March 1986 in Plzeň), formerly known as Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová, is a professional Czech tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is world number 20, a ranking she achieved on 2 March 2015.

Career

Early years

Strýcová was a strong junior player, winning two Grand Slams in girls' singles: the 2002 Australian Open and then defending that title at the 2003 Australian Open. She also won three Grand Slam girls' doubles titles between 2001 and 2003.

She reached world number 1 in both singles and doubles on the junior rankings, achieving both in 2002, and was named the ITF Junior World Champion that same year.[1] In her junior career, she beat several players who went on to become notable professionals such as Maria Sharapova, Anna-Lena Grönefeld, Tatiana Golovin, Shahar Pe'er and Maria Kirilenko.

Turning professional in 2003, Strýcová had already worked her ranking into the top 300 after some good results in ITF Women's Circuit events over 2002. She continued to play mostly ITF circuit events throughout the year, and made her Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon, qualifying and losing in the first round to Tatiana Perebiynis. She finished the year ranked world number 161.

2004 turned out to be the year that Strýcová stepped up considerably. She began the year by qualifying for the Australian Open and then reached the fourth round at the WTA tournament in Indian Wells, beating seeded player Eleni Daniilidou before losing to Justine Henin, a result that broke her into the top 100 for the first time. She recorded another notable win over Anna Smashnova in Amelia Island, and won her first two Grand Slam main draw matches at the Australian Open and French Open. After hitting a rough patch in the middle part of the season, she finished the year strongly by reaching her first WTA semifinal at an event in Guangzhou and winning an ITF event in Saint-Raphaël, France. She finished the season ranked world number 56.

Strýcová's progress took a step backwards in 2005, dropping out of the top 100 in the world after failing to back up her breakthrough season and winning just 17 matches throughout the season. Despite this, she achieved some notable results in doubles, reaching four WTA doubles finals and winning the title on two of those occasions. 2006 also begun poorly for her in singles, as she struggled to string together wins and subsequently dropped out of the top 200 of the world rankings in April 2006 before recovering slightly after some good results in ITF events. She married her coach between the 2006 and 2007 seasons. In 2007, Záhlavová-Strýcová played mostly on the ITF circuit once more and achieved some good results, reaching several semifinals throughout the season, but still sat outside the top 100.

After a few years seemingly in limbo, Záhlavová-Strýcová's plugging away at ITF events finally managed to bring with it some results by 2008, winning titles in Fort Walton Beach, Redding (both American events) and Szczecin, Poland, and reaching the second round in WTA events in Amelia Island and Charleston. She qualified for Wimbledon and made the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career thus returning to the top 100, where she remained until the end of the season, her second top-100 year-end finish.

2009

Záhlavová-Strýcová failed to make any progress in her first five tournaments of the season, including at the Australian Open where she lost to Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro, but she enjoyed some success in two small tournaments in Mexico, reaching the semifinals in Acapulco and the quarterfinals in Monterrey, beating top 20 player Flavia Pennetta at the latter event.

Following that, she returned to struggling ways, losing her opening match in all but three tournaments up to July. She fell out of the top 100 after Wimbledon, where she was defending third round points, by losing in the first round to Ekaterina Makarova.

Záhlavová-Strýcová's results improved during the latter part of the year, starting with a quarterfinal appearance at the WTA event in Bad Gastein, as well as reaching the doubles final in Prague. She then played a $25,000 in Trnava, Slovakia, where she reached the semifinals, before qualifying and winning her first round match at the US Open, losing to Victoria Azarenka in the second round. She built on these performances in ITF Women's Circuit events at the end of the season, winning the $100,000+H event in Ortisei, Italy, and the $50,000+H event is Ismaning, Germany, and worked her way back into the top 100 for the end of the season. In doubles, she won two straight events at the WTA tournaments in Quebec City and Luxembourg, her fourth and fifth WTA doubles titles.

2010

Záhlavová-Strýcová at 2010 US Open

At the Australian Open, Záhlavová-Strýcová won her first round against Regina Kulikova in a match that lasted 4 hours and 19 minutes – breaking the record for longest match in women's Grand Slam history (which itself was broken a year later by Francesca Schiavone and Svetlana Kuznetsova). She lost in the second round to Dinara Safina. In February and March, she won three doubles titles in Paris, Acapulco and Monterrey, her sixth, seventh and eighth tournament wins in the doubles discipline.

At the French Open, Záhlavová-Strýcová lost in first round to Rossana de los Ríos, before reaching the third round of a Grand Slam for the second time at Wimbledon, where she beat Elena Vesnina and Daniela Hantuchová and lost to Maria Sharapova. Her Wimbledon performance boosted her confidence and thus at the Prague Open she managed to make the first singles final of her career, dismantling Patty Schnyder with the loss of only two games in the semifinals. In the final, she lost to Ágnes Szávay. As a result of her recent form, she rose into the top 50 for the first time in singles following Prague.

Záhlavová-Strýcová continued to enjoy success in doubles for the rest of the season. With her regular partner Iveta Benešová, she won the biggest title of her career at the Premier 5 tournament in Tokyo, and then partnered Renata Voráčová to win Linz, helping her to finish the season in the top 20 of the doubles ranking. In singles competition, she struggled to build on her strong summer results, failing to advance in six of the ten tournaments she played following Prague, among them a first round loss at the US Open to Maria Kirilenko, thus dropping to world number 69 by the end of the year.

2011

Záhlavová-Strýcová defeated Marina Erakovic in the final of the Bell Challenge to claim her first WTA singles title.

2013

In February Záhlavová-Strýcová was banned for six months, backdated to 16 October 2012 until 15 April 2013, after testing positive for the stimulant sibutramine.[2] The ban disqualified all results during the period of the ban and mandates the return of all prizes won during that period.[3] Záhlavová-Strýcová made her return at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. She lost in first round of qualifying to Mirjana Lučić-Baroni. In the first round of doubles, she and partner Julia Görges lost to the pairing of Liezel Huber and Janette Husárová. In May, she won the 2013 Empire Slovak Open, a $75,000 ITF event, and her first tournament win since coming back from her ban.

2014

At the Wimbledon Championships, she defeated reigning Australian Open champion Na Li in third round, in soon-to-be last professional match for world No. 2. Also, she beat Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round in straight sets after a struggle at the end of the second, during which Wozniacki defended four match points. Advancing to a grand slam singles quarterfinal for the first time, she lost in straight sets to eventual champion, compatriot Petra Kvitová.

2015

Záhlavová-Strýcová started the year strongly, with a semifinal finish at the ASB Classic in Auckland and a quarterfinal showing in Sydney, losing to Caroline Wozniacki and Tsvetana Pironkova respectively.

Seeded 25th in the women's singles draw of the Australian Open, she lost in the third round to former two-time champion Victoria Azarenka. Unseeded in the women´s singles draw of the Diamond Games Antwerp, she lost in semifinal to eventually winner Andrea Petkovic. Unseeded in the women´s singles draw of the Dubai Championships, she lost in the second round to eventual runner-up Karolína Plíšková. She also lost her 2nd round match in Doha to former No.1 Venus Williams after failing to convert a match point.

On 2 March 2015, she achieved a career-high ranking of World no. 20. It is the first time in the Open Era that the World's Top 20 featured four Czech women with Petra Kvitová at no. 4, Lucie Šafářová at no. 11, and Karolína Plíšková at no. 15.

2016

After a couple of early losses at Auckland and Brisbane, Barbora got as far as the last 16 of the Australian Open, where she was beaten by Victoria Azarenka, and in February to the final at Dubai, where she came runner-up to Sara Errani. This latter success took her back to within the top 40.

At the BNP Paribas Open, Barbora won her 1st round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich in straight sets and came back from 5-7, 1-3 down to defeat 22nd seed Andrea Petkovic, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5. Barbora then came from a set down to defeat Kurumi Nara, who had just upset Venus Williams. She played 5th seed Simona Halep in the 4th round but had to retire from the match in the second set due to a respiratory infection.

Court demeanor

She has been known to be vocal with her dissatisfaction during changeovers, and is noted for racket abuse.[4] In a match against Maria Sharapova at the 2008 Bausch & Lomb Championships she threw her tennis racket and yelled at the chair umpire.[4] In 2010 at Wimbledon, in another match against Sharapova, she twice slammed her racket on the ground.[5]

Personal life

She was related to tennis player Sandra Záhlavová by marriage, being married to Záhlavová's cousin, former tennis player, Jakub Herm-Záhlava. He was also her coach, having been in that position since 2007.[6] In 2015, the couple divorced and her name reverted to Barbora Strýcová.[7]

Significant finals

Premier Mandatory/Premier 5 finals

Doubles (1–0)

Outcome Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 2010 Tokyo Hard Czech Republic Iveta Benešová Israel Shahar Pe'er
China Peng Shuai
6–4, 4–6, [10–8]

WTA career finals

Singles: 6 (1 title, 5 runners-up)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (0–0)
Premier (0–2)
International (1–3)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–2)
Clay (0–2)
Grass (0–1)
Carpet (0–0)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. 18 July 2010 Prague Open, Prague, Czech Republic Clay Hungary Ágnes Szávay 2–6, 6–1, 2–6
Winner 1. 18 September 2011 Bell Challenge, Quebec City, Canada Hard New Zealand Marina Erakovic 4–6, 6–1, 6–0
Runner-up 2. 9 July 2012 Internazionali Femminili di Palermo, Palermo, Italy Clay Italy Sara Errani 1–6, 3–6
Runner-up 3. 15 June 2014 Aegon Classic, Birmingham, United Kingdom Grass Serbia Ana Ivanovic 3–6, 2–6
Runner-up 4. 18 October 2014 Luxembourg Open, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Hard (i) Germany Annika Beck 2–6, 1–6
Runner-up 5. 20 February 2016 Dubai Tennis Championships, Dubai, UAE Hard Italy Sara Errani 0–6, 2–6

Doubles: 28 (17 titles, 11 runners-up)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Tier I / Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (1–0)
Tier II / Premier (4–0)
Tier III, IV & V / International (12–11)
Finals by surface
Hard (10–7)
Clay (6–4)
Grass (1–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1. 20 February 2005 Copa Colsanitas, Bogotá, Colombia Clay Slovakia Ľubomíra Kurhajcová Switzerland Emmanuelle Gagliardi
Slovenia Tina Pisnik
4–6, 3–6
Winner 1. 1 May 2005 Warsaw Open, Warsaw, Poland Clay Ukraine Tatiana Perebiynis Poland Klaudia Jans
Poland Alicja Rosolska
6–1, 6–4
Winner 2. 8 May 2005 Marrakech Grand Prix, Rabat, Morocco Clay France Émilie Loit Spain Lourdes Domínguez Lino
Spain Nuria Llagostera Vives
3–6, 7–6(8–6), 7–5
Runner-up 2. 15 May 2005 Prague Open, Prague, Czech Republic Clay Croatia Jelena Kostanić Australia Nicole Pratt
France Émilie Loit
7–6(8–6), 4–6, 4–6
Runner-up 3. 2 January 2006 ASB Classic, Auckland, New Zealand Hard France Émilie Loit Russia Elena Likhovtseva
Russia Vera Zvonareva
3–6, 4–6
Runner-up 4. 6 January 2008 ASB Classic, Auckland, New Zealand Hard Germany Martina Müller United States Lilia Osterloh
Russia Mariya Koryttseva
3–6, 4–6
Winner 3. 3 August 2008 Nordea Nordic Light Open, Stockholm, Sweden Hard Czech Republic Iveta Benešová Czech Republic Petra Cetkovská
Czech Republic Lucie Šafářová
7–5, 6–4
Runner-up 5. 2 March 2009 Monterrey Open, Monterrey, Mexico Hard Czech Republic Iveta Benešová France Nathalie Dechy
Italy Mara Santangelo
3–6, 4–6
Runner-up 6. 13 July 2009 Prague Open, Prague, Czech Republic Clay Czech Republic Iveta Benešová Ukraine Kateryna Bondarenko
Ukraine Alona Bondarenko
1–6, 2–6
Winner 4. 14 September 2009 Bell Challenge, Quebec City, Canada Hard United States Vania King Sweden Sofia Arvidsson
France Séverine Beltrame
6–1, 6–3
Winner 5. 25 October 2009 Luxembourg Open, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Hard (i) Czech Republic Iveta Benešová Czech Republic Vladimíra Uhlířová
Czech Republic Renata Voráčová
6–1, 0–6, [10–7]
Winner 6. 14 February 2010 Open Gaz de France, Paris, France Hard (i) Czech Republic Iveta Benešová Zimbabwe Cara Black
United States Liezel Huber
w/o
Winner 7. 28 February 2010 Abierto Mexicano TELCEL, Acapulco, Mexico Clay Slovenia Polona Hercog Italy Sara Errani
Italy Roberta Vinci
2–6, 6–1, [10–2]
Winner 8. 7 March 2010 Monterrey Open, Monterrey, Mexico Hard Czech Republic Iveta Benešová Germany Anna-Lena Grönefeld
United States Vania King
3–6, 6–4, [10–8]
Runner-up 7. 10 July 2010 Swedish Open, Båstad, Sweden Clay Czech Republic Renata Voráčová Argentina Gisela Dulko
Italy Flavia Pennetta
6–7(0–7), 0–6
Runner-up 8. 19 September 2010 Bell Challenge, Quebec City, Canada Hard United States Bethanie Mattek-Sands Sweden Sofia Arvidsson
Sweden Johanna Larsson
1–6, 6–2, 6–10
Winner 9. 2 October 2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open, Tokyo, Japan Hard Czech Republic Iveta Benešová Israel Shahar Pe'er
China Peng Shuai
6–4, 4–6, [10–8]
Winner 10. 7 October 2010 Generali Ladies Linz, Linz, Austria Hard (i) Czech Republic Renata Voráčová Czech Republic Květa Peschke
Slovenia Katarina Srebotnik
7–5, 7–6(8–6)
Runner-up 9. 24 October 2010 Luxembourg Open, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Hard (i) Czech Republic Iveta Benešová Switzerland Timea Bacsinszky
Italy Tathiana Garbin
4–6, 4–6
Winner 11. 14 January 2011 Sydney International, Sydney, Australia Hard Czech Republic Iveta Benešová Czech Republic Květa Peschke
Slovenia Katarina Srebotnik
4–6, 6–4, [10–7]
Winner 12. 6 March 2011 Monterrey Open, Monterrey, Mexico Hard Czech Republic Iveta Benešová Germany Anna-Lena Grönefeld
United States Vania King
6–7(8–10), 6–2, [10–6]
Winner 13. 1 May 2011 Barcelona Ladies Open, Barcelona, Spain Clay Czech Republic Iveta Benešová South Africa Natalie Grandin
Czech Republic Vladimíra Uhlířová
5–7, 6–4, [11–9]
Winner 14. 18 June 2011 UNICEF Open, 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands Grass Czech Republic Klára Zakopalová Slovakia Dominika Cibulková
Italy Flavia Pennetta
1–6, 6–4, [10–7]
Winner 15. 25 October 2011 Luxembourg Open, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Hard (i) Czech Republic Iveta Benešová Czech Republic Lucie Hradecká
Russia Ekaterina Makarova
7–5, 6–3
Winner 16. 29 April 2012 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Stuttgart, Germany Clay Czech Republic Iveta Benešová Germany Julia Görges
Germany Anna-Lena Grönefeld
6–4, 7–5
Winner 17. 14 July 2012 Internazionali Femminili di Palermo, Palermo, Italy Clay Czech Republic Renata Voráčová Croatia Darija Jurak
Hungary Katalin Marosi
7–6(7–5), 6–4
Runner-up 10. 14 October 2012 Generali Ladies Linz, Linz, Austria Hard (i) Germany Julia Görges Germany Anna-Lena Grönefeld
Czech Republic Květa Peschke
3–6, 4–6
Runner-up 11. 9 January 2016 ASB Classic, Auckland, New Zealand Hard Montenegro Danka Kovinić Belgium An-Sophie Mestach
Belgium Elise Mertens
6–2, 3–6, [5–10]

Junior Grand Slam finals

Singles: 3 finals (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Winner2002Australian OpenHardRussia Maria Sharapova6–0, 7–5
Runner-up2002US OpenHardRussia Maria Kirilenko4–6, 4–6
Winner2003Australian Open (2)HardUkraine Viktoriya Kutuzova0–6, 6–2, 6–2

Doubles: 4 finals (3 titles, 1 runner-up)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponent Score
Winner2001Australian OpenHardCzech Republic Petra CetkovskáRussia Anna Bastrikova
Russia Svetlana Kuznetsova
7–6(7–3), 1–6, 6–4
Winner2002French OpenClayGermany Anna-Lena GrönefeldChinese Taipei Su-Wei Hsieh
Russia Svetlana Kuznetsova
7–5, 7–5
Winner2002WimbledonGrassBelgium Elke ClijstersUnited States Ally Baker
Germany Anna-Lena Grönefeld
6–4, 5–7, 8–6
Runner-up2003Australian OpenHardCzech Republic Petra CetkovskáAustralia Casey Dellacqua
Australia Adriana Szili
3–6, 4–4, ret.

Grand Slam performance timeline

Singles

Tournament20032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A 2R 1R A A A 1R 2R 3R 2R A 2R 3R 4R 11–9
French Open A 2R 1R A A A 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1–9
Wimbledon 1R 1R 2R A 1R 3R 1R 3R 2R 1R 2R QF 1R 11–12
US Open A 1R 1R A A 1R 2R 1R 1R 1R Q1 3R 3R 5–9
Win–Loss 0–1 2–4 1–4 0–0 0–1 2–2 1–4 3–4 3–4 1–4 1–2 7–4 4–4 3–1 28–39

Doubles

Tournament200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015SRW–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A 1R 1R 3R 2R 2R 3R 2R A 2R SF 0 / 9 12–9
French Open A 2R 3R 1R 1R 2R 3R 1R 1R 1R 2R QF 0 / 11 10–11
Wimbledon A 3R 2R 2R A 3R 3R 3R 2R QF 2R 3R 0 / 10 17–10
US Open A 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R 3R QF 2R 2R SF 0 / 10 12–10
Win–Loss 0–0 3–3 3–4 1–4 2–3 5–4 7–4 7–4 3–4 4–3 7–4 9–3 0 / 40 51–40
WTA Premier Mandatory tournaments
Indian Wells A A SF 2R 1R QF QF 2R SF A 3R 0 / 8 14–8
Miami A A 2R A 2R 1R 1R 2R 1R A 2R 0 / 7 4–7
Madrid Not held A 1R 1R 1R A A 0 / 3 0–3
Beijing Tier II A QF 2R QF 2R A 0 / 4 6–4
WTA Premier 5 Tournaments
Dubai Tier II A A A Premier 0 / 0 0–0
Doha Tier II A Not held P 2R A A 0 / 1 1–1
Rome A A A A A A A 2R A A A 0 / 1 1–1
Montreal/Toronto 1R A A A A QF QF 1R 1R QF QF 0 / 7 8–7
Cincinnati Tier III A A 1R 1R SF 2R 0 / 4 4–4
Tokyo A A A A A A W 1R SF 2R Premier 1 / 4 7–3
Wuhan Not held 2R 0 / 1 1–1

Wins against top 10 players

Season 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Total
Wins 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 2 6
# Player Rank Event Surface Round Score BS Rank
2014
1. China Li Na No. 2 Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom Grass 3rd Round 7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–5) 43
2015
2. Denmark Caroline Wozniacki No. 8 Sydney, Australia Hard 1st Round 6–4, 1–1 ret. 25
3. Canada Eugenie Bouchard No. 6 Madrid, Spain Clay 1st Round 0–6, 6–3, 6–3 22
4. Russia Maria Sharapova No. 3 Wuhan, China Hard 2nd Round 6–7(1–7), 7–6(7–4), 1–2 ret. 41
2016
5. Spain Garbiñe Muguruza No. 3 Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia Hard 3rd Round 6–3, 6–2 48
6. Germany Angelique Kerber No. 3 Madrid, Spain Clay 1st Round 6–4, 6–2 33

References

  1. "ITF Junior World Champions". International Tennis Federation. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
  2. Courtney Nguyen (14 February 2013). "Barbora Zahlavova Strycova docked with 6-month doping ban for testing positive". Sports Illustrated.
  3. "Decision in the case of Barbora Zahlavova Strýcová". International Tennis Federation. 14 February 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  4. 1 2 Lindsay Davenport wins opener; Maria Sharapova into 3rd round. New York Times. 9 April 2008
  5. Sharapova to face Serena: Sport: Tennis: Wimbledon. Sport24.co.za. Retrieved on 13 October 2011.
  6. "Q&A: Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová". tennishead.net.
  7. "Rozpad tenisového manželství! Strýcová poslala manžela Záhlavu k vodě". sportstory.cz (in Czech). 9 April 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Barbora Strýcová.
Awards
Preceded by
Svetlana Kuznetsova
ITF Junior World Champion
2002
Succeeded by
Kirsten Flipkens
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