Player Profiles

ELENA VESNINA
Country: Russia
Birthdate: 15 October, 1981
Birthplace: Lvov, Ukraine (resides Sochi, Russia)
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Tournament Entry Ranking: 23
Highest Singles Ranking: 22, October 2009
Career Singles Titles: 0

After starting the 2009 ASB Classic at no79 in the world, Vesnina worked her way into the final of the tournament where she was finally stopped by her top-10 countrywoman Elena Dementieva.

The 23 year-old is now sitting on a ranking of no22, a career high after some great results during the past 12 months.

Auckland was her career-first final, featuring wins over Aiko Nakamura, Nicole Vaidisova, Caroline Wozniacki and Anne Keothavong.

Shortly after the ASB Classic, she made the quarters of Dubai as a qualifier - beating world no7 Svetlana Kuznetsova. Then there was a semifinal appearance at Ponte Vedra Beach, defeating Dominika Cibulkova. The following tournament, she made the quarters at Charleston.

Vesnina also had her best performance at Wimbledon this year, reaching the fourth round, and secured her second career final at the event in New Haven, defeating Amelie Mauresmo in the semifinals before falling to Wozniacki.

Additional highlights in 2009 included reaching her first Grand Slam final at the French Open doubles, with Victoria Azarenka, and the quarters in the doubles at the US Open, with Maria Kirilenko. There were also nine wins over top-20 players in singles.

Vesnina has been a member of the strong Russian Fed Cup team and represented her country in doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

ARAVANE REZAI
Country: France
Birthdate: 14 March, 1987
Birthplace: St Etienne, France
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Tournament Entry Ranking: 26
Highest Singles Ranking: 26, November 2009
Career Singles Titles: 2

Last year was a marquee 12 months for this popular Frenchwoman. Rezai was a finalist at the ASB Classic the previous year with Lindsay Davenport, and in 2009 made it through to the semifinals, before losing to eventual tournament winner Elena Dementieva.

Rezai gained her first WTA singles title in 2009, winning at Strasbourg with victories over second seed Sybille Bammer in the first round and then Lucie Hradecka in the final.

The WTA’s year-end championships in Bali became her second title as she defeated Melinda Czink, Sabine Lisicki, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and Marion Bartoli in the final. The result pushed her ranking from 44 to a career-high 26.

There were several other top results last year. She made the third round of Toronto, with wins over Alize Cornet and Dinara Safina, and also reached the fourth round of Roland Garros and the quarters at Palermo.

Previously the best result for Rezai was at Istanbul in 2007, where she defeated two former world number ones on her way to the final. She beat Venus Williams in the second round, former top-20 player Meghann Shaughnessy in the quarters and Maria Sharapova, the world no2, in the semis, before having to retire halfway through the final against Elena Dementieva with a patella injury.

Rezai has won two gold medals at the Muslim women’s Olympic games in Iran and wants to pursue astrophysics after she finishes with professional tennis.

ANABEL MEDINA GARRIGUES
Country: Spain
Birthdate: 31 July, 1982
Birthplace: Valencia, Spain
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Tournament Entry Ranking: 28
Highest Singles Ranking: 16, May 2009
Career Singles Titles: 9

Collecting yet another career singles title in 2009, the seventh-seeded Spaniard proved herself around the world on different court surfaces and, midway through the year, broke into the top 20, rising to a career high of 16.

She won her ninth career singles title with a win at Fes (Morocco), dropping just one game in the final against Ekaterina Makarova. There was also runner-up finish at Seoul and a semifinal finish at Marbella. Other top results in 2009 were quarterfinals at Eastbourne and Istanbul and fourth-round appearances at the Australian Open and Miami.

Medina Garrigues is a very accomplished doubles player who has been as high as no3 in the world, with countrywoman Virginia Ruano Pascal, winning the title at Roland Garros for the past two years. She also picked up the silver medal at the Beijing Olympics. All told, Medina Garrigues has 13 WTA doubles titles.

Career singles titles came in Palermo (2001, 2004, 2006), Strasbourg (2005, 2007, 2008) and Canberra (2006). She has also been a finalist on five occasions – in Fes and Portoroz in 2008, Hobart in 2002, Bogota in 2003 and Guangzhou in 2006. Medina Garrigues has played in Auckland on six previous occasions (2002-2004, 2008, 2009) with the quarters in 2002 her best result.

DOMINIKA CIBULKOVA
Country: Slovakia
Birthdate: 6 May 1989
Birthplace: Bratislava, Slovakia
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Tournament Entry Ranking: 29
Highest Singles Ranking: 12, October 2009
Career Singles Titles: 0

Last year produced a major highlight for this 20-year-old Slovakian as she beat Agnes Szavay and then Maria Sharapova to reach the semifinals of Roland Garros, before eventually losing to Dinara Safina. The success in Paris helped push Cibulkova’s ranking up to a career high of 12 in the world.

Unfortunately her year was halted on a couple of occasions by injuries, which prevented her playing a full season. However, she still managed a fourth-round appearance at the Australian Open, and the quarterfinals at both Ponte Vedra Beach and Charleston.

Cibulkova had also finished the year in the top 20 in 2008 after making the finals at Amelia Island and Montreal, and five quarterfinals.

SHAHAR PEER
Country: Israel
Birthdate: 1 May, 1987
Birthplace: Jerusalem, Israel (resides Macabim, Israel)
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Tournament Entry Ranking: 38
Highest Singles Ranking: 15, January 2007
Career Singles Titles: 5

Twice a quarterfinalist in Grand Slams – the Australian Open and US Open in 2007, the Israeli no1 had a good run in the latter stages of 2009, picking up two titles in successive weeks without dropping a set in either.

The first title, the fourth of her career, came at Guangzhou in China, where she beat Italian Alberta Brianti in the final. She then travelled to Central Asia where she triumphed at Tashkent, beating local player Akgul Amanmuradova for the title.

Another top result late last year saw Peer reach the quarterfinals at Luxembourg with a win over Daniela Hantuchova.

Earlier on in 2009, Peer made the quarters at the ASB Classic before losing to eventual winner Elena Dementieva, as well as working her way into the semifinals at Pattaya and Estoril, the fourth round at Indian Wells, and the quarters at Budapest.

Previous best results included a strong year in 2006, when she won her three career singles titles: Pattaya, Prague and Istanbul.
Peer has also served in the Israeli army.

CARLA SUAREZ NAVARRO
Country: Spain
Birthdate: 3 September 1988
Birthplace: Los Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain (resides Barcelona, Spain)
Plays: Right-handed
Tournament Entry Ranking: 50
Highest Singles Ranking: 47, October 2008
Career Singles Titles: 0

Suarez Navarro had a great start to 2009, showing her versatility with her second Grand Slam quarterfinal (her first was at Roland Garros in 2008) after beating Venus Williams to make the last eight at the Australian Open.

There was also a runner-up finish at Marbella – her first finals finish of her career. At Barcelona, her one-handed backhand also helped Suarez Navarro into the semifinals.

Other top results included three quarterfinals – Bastad, Prague and Linz, as well as some solid results for the Spanish Fed Cup team.

The previous year had been a breakthrough year for the Barcelona resident, the Roland Garros result the best for a number of years as a qualifier. She also represented her nation at the Olympics.

MAGDALENA RYBARIKOVA
Country: Slovakia
Birthdate: 4 October, 1988
Birthplace: Piestany (resides Bratislava)
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Tournament Entry Ranking: 45
Highest Singles Ranking: 40, June 2009
Career Singles Titles: 1

Rybarikova started 2009 with good success, reaching the semis of Hobart - which included a win over top seed Flavia Pennetta. Then she hit a lean patch, until she grabbed form - and a first career title - by winning at Birmingham.

There she defeated top seed Jie Zheng, followed by Li Na in the final, for her first title of any kind.

Unfortunately she had to withdraw from her next tournament with injury, and then fought off another injury just a few weeks later. She made the quarters of the tournament at Bad Gastein and also at New Haven, before winning her way into the third round of the US Open.

There were another two quarterfinals to come in Asia, where she made the last eight at both Seoul and Tokyo, which included a victory against Nadia Petrova.

Previously Rybarikova’s best career result was in 2008 in Tashkent in Uzbekistan, where she easily made the semis before having to withdraw due to illness.

If she weren’t a tennis player, Rybarikova says she would like to study archaeology, as she likes Indiana Jones movies.

She was the junior Wimbledon runner-up to Caroline Wozniaki in 2006 and is part of a strong Fed Cup team, alongside Daniela Hantuchova and Dominika Cibulkova.

ALIZE CORNET
Country: France
Birthdate: 22 January 1990
Birthplace: Nice, France
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Tournament Entry Ranking: 50
Highest Singles Ranking: 11, February 2009
Career Singles Titles: 1

Cornet is still only 19 and has wowed crowds around the world with her particular style of play.

She owns a title at Budapest in 2008, and has been a finalist twice in her career. Her best results in 2009 included the semifinals at Bad Gastein and the quarters at both Sydney and Paris, as well as the fourth round at the Australian Open, where she was defeated by Dinara Safina 7-5 in the third set.

Individual wins in 2009 included victories over Nadia Petrova, Daniela Hantuchova, Flavia Pennetta and Sam Stosur.

Two years ago Cornet had her breakthrough season, highlighted by phenomenal results on clay. Having never passed the quarters before, she reached the semis or better six times, with a runner-up finish at Acapulco, back-to-back semis at Amelia Island  and Charleston another runner-up finish at Rome. Then came her first singles title at Budapest and finally a hardcourt semi at New Haven.

ALEXANDRA DULGHERU
Country: Romania
Birthdate: 30, May, 1989
Birthplace: Bucharest, Romaniaos Palmas de Gran
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Tournament Entry Ranking: 51
Highest Singles Ranking: 51, November 2009
Career Singles Titles: 1

One result stands out in the career of this Romanian player: a successful tournament in Warsaw.

First, Dulgheru had to win her way through the qualifying rounds in the Polish capital. Then - having never before beaten a player ranked higher than no138 (Olivia Sanchez, two years ago), Dulgheru defeated no205 Greta Arn in the first round, no36 Sara Errani in the second round, no95 Galina Voskoboeva in the quarterfinals, no36 Daniela Hantuchova in the semis and then, to take the title, no39 Alona Bondarenko in the final, in three sets. Errani, Hantuchova and Bondarenko were seeded fifth, sixth and eighth respectively.
After Warsaw, she leapt from a ranking of 201 to 83, transforming her career in the space of eight days.
Dulgheru was the fifth non-top-200 player ever to win a Tour singles title, after no579 Widjaja at Bali in 2001, no285 Zuluaga at Bogotá in 2002, no259 Paszek at Portoroz in 2006 and no234 Davenport at Bali in 2007 - since joined by the unranked Kim Clijsters in 2009 at the US Open.
Before her title run, Dulgheru, who was runner-up in the 2006 Wimbledon junior doubles, was playing mainly on the ITF circuit, with a finals appearance at the US$75,000 tournament in Monzon and a win at the US$25,000 event in Bari.
Since Warsaw, she has gained some solid results in top ITF tournaments, winning at Sofia (US$100,000) and at a US$75,000 tournament in Jounieh (Lebanon), as well as being a finalist at the US$100,000 tournament in St Malo.
SANIA MIRZA
Country: India
Birthdate: 15 November 1986
Birthplace: Hyderabad, India (resides Mumbai, India)
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Tournament Entry Ranking: 58
Highest Singles Ranking: 27, August 2007
Career Singles Titles: 1

Mirza is a huge star in her nation and is on her way back up the rankings after several niggling injuries.

She won the Hyderabad title in 2005, the result that made her the most popular female sports star in India. Her big results in 2009 featured a finals appearance at Pattaya (losing to Vera Zvonareva), as well as the semifinals at Birmingham and Osaka, where she beat Shahar Peer and Marion Bartoli.

There was also a win in the US$50,000 ITF tournament at Lexington and a finals finish at the US$75,000 tournament at Vancouver. 

By virtue of winning the 2009 Australian Open mixed doubles title with Mahesh Bhupathi, she was also the third Indian player - and first female - to win a Grand Slam title.

Mirza also won the WTA Newcomer of the Year Award in 2006, for her 2005 achievements.

KAIA KANEPI
Country: Estonia
Birthdate: 10 June, 1985
Birthplace: Tallinn, Estonia (resides Haapsalu, Estonia)
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Tournament Entry Ranking: 61
Highest Singles Ranking: 18, May 2009
Career Singles Title: 0

Kanepi was the world no1 junior in 2000, but 2009 was a mixed year for her, with some top results and some she would, by her own admission, rather forget.

The highlight was reaching the semifinals at the big Dubai tournament, where she beat Sania Mirza, Jelena Jankovic and Elena Vesnina in succession before losing to Virginie Razzano. The win over Jankovic was her second career top-10 victory (the first was Anna Chakvetadze at Roland Garros in 2008).

Last year also featured a quarterfinals result at Rome, with a win over Patty Schnyder along the way, as well as the quarters at Marbella.

She has made the semifinals of six events in her career and seven quarterfinals, including Roland Garros in 2008.

Kanepi has represented her country at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, and was named Estonia’s best female athlete of 2008. She has her own website: www.kaiakanepi.com

PETRA KVITOVA
Country: Czech Republic
Birthdate: 8 March 1990
Birthplace: Bilovec, Czech Republic (resides Fulnek, Czech Republic)
Plays: Left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Tournament Entry Ranking: 62
Highest Singles Ranking: 40, January 2009
Career Singles Titles: 1

Last year was a highlight for this tall Czech teenager who sensationally knocked out top seed and world no1 Dinara Safina in the US Open to make the fourth round of the tournament.

She also won her first WTA title, at Hobart, beating Alona Bondarenko and then Iveta Benesova in the final. There was also a finals finish at Linz, with victories over Carla Suarez Navarro and Agnieska Radwanska (her third top 10 career win). Eventually Yanina Wickmayer stopped her in the final.

Elbow and ankle injuries disrupted her year, however, and prevented consistent results.

Kvitova ended 2008 as a top 100 player for the first time in her career, having twice been a quarterfinalist in WTA events and having made the fourth round of Roland Garros. However, it was at Memphis that she caused another sensation. As a qualifier ranked 143 in the world, she defeated Venus Williams in the first round - the lowest-ranked player to ever beat Williams.

MARIA KIRILENKO
Country: Russia
Birthdate: 27 January, 1987
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Tournament Entry Ranking: 63
Highest Singles Ranking: 18, July 2008
Career Singles Titles: 5

Kirilenko has just finished another super-consistent year, one which saw her come close to adding to her career title tally.

She made her way through the draw at Barcelona, but fell to Roberta Vinci in the final, and also made the semis at Seoul before losing to eventual champion Kimiko Date-Krumm.

There were three quarterfinals at tournaments in Estoril, Bastad and Moscow, but only a couple of top-20 wins, which was down on her regular efforts.

In doubles, she made three finals in 2009 – winning in Moscow with Nadia Petrova and finishing as a beaten finalist in Dubai with Agnieszka Radwanksa and in Fes with Sorana Cristea. Her efforts helped her reach a ranking high in doubles of 16 midway through the year, and to end 2009 with a doubles ranking of 21.

The best year for Kirilenko was 2008, when she won three titles, at Estoril, Barcelona and Seoul. Previously there was a title in Kolkata in 2007, and a title in 2005 as a teenager in Beijing.

Kirilenko has played at the ASB Classic on two previous occasions – 2006 and 2008, reaching the quarterfinals each time.

She featured as one of three WTA players in a photo shoot for Sports Illustrated last year. The other two players were Tatiana Golovin and Daniela Hantuchova.

TATIJANA MALEK
Country: Germany
Birthdate: 8 August, 1987
Birthplace: Bad Saulgau, Germany
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Tournament Entry Ranking: 68
Highest Singles Ranking: 64, September 2009
Career Singles Titles: 0

2009 proved to be a good, solid year for the German Fed Cup player. She reached her first WTA singles quarterfinal at Barcelona by beating three top-100-ranked players on her way through qualifying, until halted in the last eight by no5 seed Carla Suarez Navarro.

Strong results at ITF level meant Malek finished last year inside the top 100 for the second time in her career.

She also won the US$100,000 event at the Bronx, beating three top-100 players, as well as taking ITF titles in Stockholm and Makarska.

At Wimbledon she qualified and beat former semifinalist Jelena Dokic, but lost to seed Sam Stosur in the second round.

ANNA CHAKVETADZE
Country: Russia
Birthdate: 5 March 1987
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Tournament Entry Ranking: 69
Highest Singles Ranking: 5, September 2007
Career Singles Titles: 7

Although only 22, Chakvetadze has seven singles titles to her name and at 20 was ranked as high as no5 in the world. She made the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, as well as the semis at the US Open, all in 2007.

Fighting through a spate of injuries, the Moscow native still managed some solid, but not spectacular, results in 2009. She reached the quarters at New Haven with a win over Nadia Petrova and the third round at Rome, Madrid and Los Angeles.

Additionally there were wins against Jelena Jankovic, Virginie Razzano and Daniela Hantuchova.

She won the first of her career titles as a teenager in 2006, at Guangzhou and then Moscow. Chakvetadze is playing in Auckland for the first time.

POLONA HERCOG
Country: Slovenia
Birthdate: 20 January, 1991
Birthplace: Maribar, Slovenia
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Tournament Entry Ranking: 70
Highest Singles Ranking: 70, November 2009
Career Singles Titles: 0

Last year was a breakthrough year for the teenage Slovenian. She netted her best result in a WTA tournament when she entered via the qualifying at Fes and then beat seventh seed Roberta Vinci to reach the quarterfinals, where she was eventually defeated by Alisa Kleybanova.

At Roland Garros, she defeated 23rd seed Alisa Kleybanova 6-2 4-6 6-1, but then lost to Aravane Rezai in three sets.

There was plenty of success in 2009 at ITF events where she picked up titles at four tournaments, including the US$100,000 event at Cuneo, Italy, and US$50,000 titles at Zagreb and Zlin.

Hercog also made the doubles final at the WTA tournament in Istanbul by teaming with Kiwi Marina Erakovic.

She was a top 10 junior player in 2008, scoring junior doubles titles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, making the quarters of the singles at the same events.

IOANA RALUCA OLARU
Country: Romania
Birthdate: 3 March, 1989
Birthplace: Bucharest, Romania
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Tournament Entry Ranking: 72
Highest Singles Ranking: 53, July 2009
Career Singles Titles: 0

One of a handful of young Romanians making serious inroads on the WTA Tour, Olaru reached her first singles final at Bad Gastein, beating third seed Sybille Bammer, sixth seed Magdalena Rybarikova and top seed Alize Cornet en route to the final which she lost to Andrea Petkovic.
There were quarterfinal appearances in 2009 at Bogota, Linz too, and also at Warsaw as a qualifier.
Previous best results were semifinal finishes at Memphis and Fes in 2007.
ALBERTA BRIANTI
Country: Italy
Birthdate: 5 April 1980
Birthplace: San Secondo Parmense, Italy (resides Rontanello, Italy)
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Tournament Entry Ranking: 73
Highest Singles Ranking: 67, September 2009
Career Singles Titles: 0

A solid 2009 for this Italian veteran meant another top-100 year-end finish. Her successes came at Portoroz in Slovenia, where she won through to the semis, but was beaten by top seed and eventual champion Dinara Safina.

In September she reached her first WTA singles final with a win over Japan’s Ayumi Morita in the semis for a title playoff against Shahar Peer, losing the final 6-3 6-4.

Additionally Brianti won her way into the main draw at the 2009 ASB Classic, but was beaten by second seed Caroline Wozniacki in the first round. She also qualified at the Australian Open, only to lose to Ana Ivanovic in the second round. She has eight ITF singles titles to her credit, too.

JULIE COIN
Country: France
Birthdate: 2 December, 1982
Birthplace: Amiens, France
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Tournament Entry Ranking: 74
Highest Singles Ranking: 60, July 2009
Career Singles Titles: 0

Coin had a quiet 2009 in WTA events, reaching the second round of Brisbane after three matches in qualifying, but excelled in ITF tournaments, winning a US$100,000 event in Tokyo and a US$50,000 tournament at Clearwater in the United States, along with making the final at a US$50,000 ITF event in Lexington.

Coin is probably best known for reaching the third round of the US Open in 2008, in her main draw debut where, as the no188 qualifier, she defeated Australian Casey Dellacqua and then world no1 and top seed Ana Ivanovic in the second round.  Coin became the lowest-ranked player at the time ever to beat a reigning world no1 with that win over Ivanovic.

What made her story even more fascinating was that she actually had a college degree and hadn’t turned professional early in her life.

She graduated from Clemson University with a degree in mathematics and played tennis at Clemson from 2002-05, leading them to back-to-back NCAA semifinals in 2004, 2005. She also reached singles semifinals in 2004 and was three-time ITF All-American at Clemson and ACC Player of the Year in 2004.

STEFANIE VOEGELE
Country: Switzerland
Birthdate: 10 March 1990
Birthplace: Leuggern, Switzerland
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Tournament Entry Ranking: 76
Highest Singles Ranking: 72, October 2009
Career Singles Titles: 0

Voegele had her first top-100 year-end finish in 2009 after some solid results in ITF and WTA events. Her best efforts were in Potoroz, where she beat Lucie Safarova before losing to Sarra Erani in semifinals.

There was also a quarterfinal appearance on grass at Birmingham, where she was stopped only by top 20 player Li Na in the quarters, and another quarterfinals finish at Tashkent.

In ITF tournaments, she reached the final at a US$100,000 tournament in Bucharest and the finals at the US$50,000 event in Nottingham.

Has been a member of the Swiss Fed Cup team, in 2005-06 and 2009.

SACHA JONES
Country: New Zealand
Birthdate: 8 November 1990
Birthplace: Auckland, New Zealand
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Tournament Entry Ranking: 167
Highest Singles Ranking: 167, November 2009
Career Singles Titles: 0

Jones, who turned 19 only in November, had a 2009 which improved dramatically after injuries had hampered her first part of the year.

Starting small, in June she won her first ITF senior title – the US$10,000 Brownsville event in the United States, followed by a semifinal finish at the US$50,000 Grapevine tournament, also in the United States.

The time for a big rankings jump came in mid-September when she played a series four US$25,000 Challenger tournament in Australia and a US$50,000 event in the United States.

Jones reached the semis of the first tournament in Darwin, losing to former top-10 player Alicia Molik. However, in the second event she beat Molik in the semis and won the title.

At Mt Gambier she beat Molik in the final and then did the same at the next event, this time at Port Pirie.

A trip to the United States didn’t slow Jones down as she won another US$25,000 tournament, this time at Rock Hill. She then played the bigger tournament at Phoenix and was eventually beaten by American Varvara Lepchenko in the final, ending a run of 25 successive match wins.

Jones always showed plenty of promise as a younger player, whether in juniors or seniors. As a 14-year-old in 2005 she qualified for three US$25,000 tournaments in Australia and, a year later, reached the quarters at the US$25,000 Traralgon tournament in Australia, the next week qualifying and making the second round at the US$25,000 tournament in Melbourne.

Jones made the quarters at the US Open juniors for the second year running in 2007 and was ranked just outside the top 10 juniors in the world. Her brother GD is a professional player as well and member of the New Zealand Davis Cup team.

MARINA ERAKOVIC
Country: New Zealand
Birthdate: 6 March, 1988
Birthplace: Split, Croatia (resides Auckland, New Zealand)
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Tournament Entry Ranking: 235
Highest Singles Ranking: 49, July 2008
Career Singles Titles: 0

Last year was a battle against injuries for Erakovic, with few events played by the then Kiwi No1.

She had started the year well at the ASB Classic by winning in the first round, however, she was then defeated by world no4 and the eventual tournament winner, Elena Dementieva.

There was a second round effort at the Australian Open and a quarterfinals finish at Memphis. However, from the end of March until October, there were no tournaments played as a result of a left hip injury.

The best result for Erakovic since her lengthy injury layoff was winning the doubles title with Thai Tamarine Tanasugarn at the US$75,000 tournament in Tokyo, in November.

Previously Erakovic had reached the world top 50 rankings, peaking at 49 in 2008 after making the semis at three events and performing well at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. She also managed a quarterfinal in doubles with Jelena Kostanic at the US Open.

Erakovic has a good history at the ASB Classic, having won a match every time she has played. In 2005 she beat Marie Eve Pelletier in the first round, before falling to Janette Husarova.

After missing 2006 with injury, she came back in 2007, defeating former champ Meilen Tu before losing to another former champ in Eleni Daniilidou in the second round.

In 2008 at the ASB Classic she won through to the semifinals with the highlight being a win over top seed and then world No22 Vera Zvonareva in three sets in the quarters before being stopped by hard-hitting Frenchwoman, Aravane Rezai.

As a highly-regarded junior, Erakovic won the junior doubles title at the US Open with Michaella Krajicek in 2004, as well as at the Australian Open with Victoria Azarenka in 2005.

She was a junior Wimbledon doubles finalist (with Monica Niculescu) in 2004 and 2005 and reached the singles quarterfinals at the US Open in 2004/05 and at the 2005 Australian Open.