Meghann Shaughnessy

Meghann Shaughnessy

Meghann Shaughnessy at the 2011 Australian Open
Country (sports)  United States
Residence Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.
Born (1979-04-13) April 13, 1979
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Turned pro 1996
Retired 2014
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money US$ 3,975,223
Singles
Career record 378–343
Career titles 6 WTA, 6 ITF
Highest ranking No. 11 (10 September 2001)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open QF (2003)
French Open 4R (2001)
Wimbledon 4R (2001)
US Open 4R (2003)
Doubles
Career record 315–185
Career titles 17 WTA, 2 ITF
Highest ranking No. 4 (March 21, 2005)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open SF (2006)
French Open SF (2005)
Wimbledon QF (2004, 2005, 2006)
US Open QF (2002, 2007, 2010)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour Finals W (2004)

Meghann Shaughnessy (April 13, 1979 in Richmond, Virginia) is an American former professional tennis player. She achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 in 2001, and won 6 WTA Tour titles. Her best doubles ranking was world No. 4 and won 17 WTA Tour doubles titles, including the WTA Championships. She is best known for her serve, which was one of the most powerful on tour, and has produced as many as 22 aces in a match.

Shaughnessy was coached by Rafael Font de Mora (managed by him since age 13 and coached by him for over 20 years). She is the niece of Dan Shaughnessy, a Boston Globe sports columnist.[1]

Opening serves

Shaughnessy made her debut on the WTA Tour in 1996 at a tournament in Budapest, and broke into the top 100 in 1998. In 2000, Shaughnessy won her first WTA singles title at Beijing, defeating Iroda Tulyaganova in the final, and breaking into the top fifty. In her breakout year of 2001, Shaughnessy achieved a career-high singles ranking of #11, won the second singles title of her career at Quebec City, and reached the finals of Hamburg and her home tournament in Scottsdale.[2] She also recorded wins over world number five Conchita Martínez, world number four Monica Seles,[3] and world number two Venus Williams.[4]

In 2002, Shaughnessy began the season by reaching the final of Sydney, and recaptured her career-high #11 ranking. She also reached the quarterfinals or better of four other tournaments that year,[2] with wins over top five players Jelena Dokić and Serena Williams.[5][6] In 2003, Shaughnessy had another excellent year, featuring the second year end top twenty finish of her career. Shaughnessy captured her third career singles title in Canberra, and also had strong Grand Slam results, reaching her first career Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open, and reaching the Round of 16 at both the US Open and Australian Open.[2] Shaughnessy also scored an upset over world number two Venus Williams in the Round of 16 of the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami. In 2004, Shaughnessy produced sub-par results, finishing just inside of the top 40, with only one top five win, over Anastasia Myskina in Dubai. However, in 2004 Shaughnessy produced the best doubles results of her career, winning seven tournaments with partner Nadia Petrova, including the WTA Year End Championships in Los Angeles.[2] This doubles partnership is now over as Petrova is looking for a new partner for 2006.

Current form

In 2005, Shaughnessy struggled with injuries and consistency. Her year began with a right leg injury, which forced her to withdraw from the Australian Open doubles competition, and from a tournament in Hyderabad. However, Shaughnessy showed signs of recovery in February, reaching the final of Memphis, defeating Nicole Vaidišová in the semifinals. The match featured Shaughnessy serving 22 aces in her 7–6 7–6 win. After Memphis, Shaughnessy struggled with back injuries for the duration of the spring, not reaching another semifinal until June at a grass tournament in 's-Hertogenbosch.

By July, Shaughnessy's ranking had dropped so low that she was forced to qualify for the Palo Alto tournament. She qualified, and then surprised number five seed Vera Zvonareva in the first round,[7] before losing to Daniela Hantuchová in the second round. A back injury forced Shaughnessy to withdraw from tournaments in Carlsbad, California and Los Angeles. As a wildcard in New Haven, she defeated number nine seed Nathalie Dechy for the first time in ten attempts,[8] before losing to doubles partner Anna-Lena Grönefeld in the second round. At the US Open, Shaughnessy led sixteen-year-old Sesil Karatantcheva 6–3 5–2 in the opening round, and held two match points, before losing 3–6 7–5 7–5.

However, on March 24, 2006, Shaughnessy beat Number 3 seed Justine Henin 7–5, 6–4 in the second round (Henin's 1st round) of the NASDAQ-100 Tournament in Miami. Shaughnessy then won a WTA-level event in Rabat, beating 8th seeded Martina Suchá in three sets, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3. It was her 4th tour title. She became the first American to win a WTA-level title in 2006 as well as the first to reach a WTA final in 2006. Shaughnessy afterwards reached the second round at Istanbul, beating 3rd seeded Anna Chakvetadze in the first round. Then she fell in the first round in the French Open to top seeded and crowd favorite Amélie Mauresmo, 6–4, 6–4.

The next year, she faced the previous year's runner-up, Svetlana Kuznetsova, in the second round of the French Open. Shaughnessy raced into a 5–0 lead in the first set, and in the sixth game held three set points on Svetlana's serve. However, Kuznetsova saved them all, won the game and recovered dramatically to clinch the set on a tie-break, before winning the second set 6–3 for the match.

Shaughnessy currently concentrates on doubles, and regularly partners with fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands. The pair made it to the doubles finals of the 2011 Indian Wells Masters, by defeating Alisa Kleybanova & Yan Zi (round 1), Raquel Kops-Jones & Abigail Spears (round 2), Liezel Huber & Nadia Petrova (quarter-finals) and Victoria Azarenka & Maria Kirilenko (semi-finals), but lost to Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina in the finals.

Personal life

Her coach had been romantically involved with her since before she turned 18.[9] Their romantic and coaching relationship ended in 2005; however, Shaughnessy re-united with Font De Mora as her coach during the latter part of 2006.[10] Shaughnessy claims she was in an intimate relationship from 2004 to 2005, with Major League Baseball player Roberto Alomar, also claiming that he did not inform her whether or not he was HIV positive, during their relationship. Alomar's former wife's lawyer claims that Alomar paid $4 million in settlements to her and Shaughnessy.[11]

WTA career finals

Singles 10 (6–4)

Legend: Before 2009 Legend: Starting in 2009
Grand Slam tournaments (0/0)
WTA Championships (0/0)
Tier I (0/0) Premier Mandatory (0/0)
Tier II (1/3) Premier 5 (0/0)
Tier III (1/1) Premier (0/0)
Tier IV & V (4/0) International (0/0)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in final Score in final
Winner 1. 22 October 2000 Shanghai, China Hard (i) Uzbekistan Iroda Tulyaganova 7–6, 7–5
Runner-up 1. 4 March 2001 Scottsdale, United States Hard United States Lindsay Davenport 2–6, 3–6
Runner-up 2. 6 May 2001 Hamburg, Germany Clay United States Venus Williams 3–6, 0–6
Winner 2. 23 September 2001 Quebec City, Canada Carpet (i) Croatia Iva Majoli 6–1, 6–3
Runner-up 3. 12 January 2002 Sydney, Australia Hard Switzerland Martina Hingis 2–6, 3–6
Winner 3. 11 January 2003 Canberra, Australia Hard Italy Francesca Schiavone 6–1, 6–1
Runner-up 4. 19 February 2005 Memphis, United States Hard (i) Russia Vera Zvonareva 6–7(3–7), 2–6
Winner 4. 21 May 2006 Rabat, Morocco Clay Slovakia Martina Suchá 6–2, 3–6, 6–3
Winner 5. 26 August 2006 Forest Hills, United States Hard Israel Anna Smashnova 1–6, 6–0, 6–4
Winner 6. 16 June 2007 Barcelona, Spain Clay Romania Edina Gallovits 6–3, 6–2

Doubles: 33 (17–16)

Legend: Before 2009 Legend: Starting in 2009
Grand Slam tournaments (0/0)
WTA Championships (1/0)
Tier I (5/4) Premier Mandatory (0/1)
Tier II (4/5) Premier 5 (0/0)
Tier III (5/1) Premier (2/2)
Tier IV & V (0/2) International (0/1)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents in final Score in final
Runner-up 1. 2 May 1999 Bol, Croatia Clay Romania Andreea Vanc Croatia Jelena Kostanić
Czech Republic Michaela Paštiková
5–7, 7–6(7–1), 2–6
Runner-up 2. 16 May 1999 Antwerp, Belgium Clay Australia Louise Pleming Italy Laura Golarsa
Slovenia Katarina Srebotnik
4–6, 2–6
Runner-up 3. 22 October 2000 Shanghai, China Hard (i) Italy Rita Grande United States Lilia Osterloh
Thailand Tamarine Tanasugarn
5–7, 1–6
Winner 1. 5 November 2000 Quebec City, Canada Hard (i) Australia Nicole Pratt Belgium Els Callens
United States Kimberly Po
6–3, 6–4
Runner-up 4. 6 January 2001 Gold Coast, Australia Hard United States Katie Schlukebir Italy Giulia Casoni
Slovakia Janette Husárová
6–7, 5–7
Runner-up 5. 4 March 2001 Scottsdale, United States Hard Belgium Kim Clijsters United States Lisa Raymond
Australia Rennae Stubbs
w/o
Winner 2. 13 May 2001 Berlin, Germany Clay Belgium Els Callens Zimbabwe Cara Black
Russia Elena Likhovtseva
6–4, 6–3
Runner-up 6. 14 October 2001 Filderstadt, Germany Hard (i) Belgium Justine Henin United States Lindsay Davenport
United States Lisa Raymond
4–6, 7–6(7–4), 5–7
Winner 3. 5 January 2002 Gold Coast, Australia Hard Belgium Justine Henin Sweden Åsa Carlsson
Netherlands Miriam Oremans
6–1, 7–6(8–6)
Runner-up 7. 13 October 2002 Filderstadt, Germany Hard (i) Argentina Paola Suárez United States Lindsay Davenport
United States Lisa Raymond
2–6, 4–6
Winner 4. 5 October 2003 Moscow, Russia Carpet (i) Russia Nadia Petrova Russia Anastasia Myskina
Russia Vera Zvonareva
6–3, 6–4
Runner-up 8. 17 January 2004 Sydney, Australia Hard Russia Dinara Safina Zimbabwe Cara Black
Australia Rennae Stubbs
5–7, 6–3, 4–6
Winner 5. 4 April 2004 Key Biscayne, United States Hard Russia Nadia Petrova Russia Svetlana Kuznetsova
Russia Elena Likhovtseva
6–2, 6–3
Winner 6. 11 April 2004 Amelia Island, United States Clay Russia Nadia Petrova Switzerland Myriam Casanova
Australia Alicia Molik
3–6, 6–2, 7–5
Winner 7. 9 May 2004 Berlin, Germany Clay Russia Nadia Petrova Slovakia Janette Husárová
Spain Conchita Martínez
6–2, 2–6, 6–1
Winner 8. 16 May 2004 Rome, Italy Clay Russia Nadia Petrova Spain Virginia Ruano Pascual
Argentina Paola Suárez
2–6, 6–3, 6–3
Winner 9. 25 July 2004 Los Angeles, United States Hard Russia Nadia Petrova Spain Conchita Martínez
Spain Virginia Ruano Pascual
6–7(2–7), 6–4, 6–3
Winner 10. 28 August 2004 New Haven, United States Hard Russia Nadia Petrova United States Martina Navratilova
United States Lisa Raymond
6–1, 1–6, 7–6(7–4)
Winner 11. 15 November 2004 Los Angeles, United States Hard Russia Nadia Petrova Zimbabwe Cara Black
Australia Rennae Stubbs
7–5, 6–2
Runner-up 9. 19 March 2005 Indian Wells, United States Hard Russia Nadia Petrova Spain Virginia Ruano Pascual
Argentina Paola Suárez
6–7(3–7), 1–6
Winner 12. 18 September 2005 Bali, Indonesia Hard Germany Anna-Lena Grönefeld China Yan Zi
China Zheng Jie
6–3, 6–3
Winner 13. 7 January 2006 Gold Coast, Australia Hard Russia Dinara Safina Zimbabwe Cara Black
Australia Rennae Stubbs
6–2, 6–3
Winner 14. 5 March 2006 Acapulco, Mexico Clay Germany Anna-Lena Grönefeld Japan Shinobu Asagoe
France Émilie Loit
6–1, 6–3
Runner-up 10. 18 March 2006 Indian Wells, United States Hard Spain Virginia Ruano Pascual United States Lisa Raymond
Australia Samantha Stosur
2–6, 5–7
Runner-up 11. 16 April 2006 Charleston, United States Hard Spain Virginia Ruano Pascual United States Lisa Raymond
Australia Samantha Stosur
6–3, 1–6, 1–6
Runner-up 12. 6 August 2006 San Diego, United States Hard Germany Anna-Lena Grönefeld Zimbabwe Cara Black
Australia Rennae Stubbs
2–6, 2–6
Winner 15. 12 January 2007 Sydney, Australia Hard Germany Anna-Lena Grönefeld France Marion Bartoli
United States Meilen Tu
6–3, 3–6, 7–6(7–2)
Runner-up 13. 20 February 2010 Memphis, United States Hard (i) United States Bethanie Mattek-Sands United States Vania King
Netherlands Michaëlla Krajicek
5–7, 2–6
Winner 16. 23 May 2010 Warsaw, Poland Clay Spain Virginia Ruano Pascual Zimbabwe Cara Black
China Yan Zi
6–3, 6–4
Runner-up 14. 28 August 2010 New Haven, United States Hard United States Bethanie Mattek-Sands Czech Republic Květa Peschke
Slovenia Katarina Srebotnik
5–7, 0–6
Winner 17. 13 February 2011 Paris, France Hard (i) United States Bethanie Mattek-Sands Russia Vera Dushevina
Russia Ekaterina Makarova
6–4, 6–2
Runner-up 15. 19 March 2011 Indian Wells, United States Hard United States Bethanie Mattek-Sands India Sania Mirza
Russia Elena Vesnina
0–6, 5–7
Runner-up 16. 10 April 2011 Charleston, United States Clay United States Bethanie Mattek-Sands India Sania Mirza
Russia Elena Vesnina
4–6, 4–6

References

  1. Wilstein, Steve (2000-09-02). "Williams survives scare in U.S. Open". Ellensburg Daily Record. Associated Press. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Meghann Shaughnessy". WTA Tour. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  3. Tokarz, Wally (2001-03-04). "Shaughnessy Upsets Seles". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  4. "Tennis: Roundup; Venus Williams Falls to Shaughnessy". The New York Times. 2001-07-28. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  5. "Shaughnessy upsets Dokic in Leipzig". CNN Sports Illustrated. 2002-09-25. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  6. Dillman, Lisa (2002-01-14). "Two Cruel Twists of Fate". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  7. Curtis, Jake (2005-07-27). "No. 1,008 loses, but improves". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  8. Ulman, Howard (2005-08-23). "Shaughnessy ends winless streak against Dechy". USA Today. Associated Press. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  9. Bricker, Charles (2003-03-26). "Shaughnessy Frank About Capriati, More". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  10. http://www.tennisreporters.net/blog_wimbledon_062607.html
  11. Mike Fish, "Drama follows retired baseball all-star", "ESPN Outside the Lines", August 10, 2011

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