Ágnes Szávay

Ágnes Szávay (Hungarian: Szávay Ágnes, pronounced [ˈsaːvɒi ˈaːɡnɛʃ]; born 29 December 1988) is a former professional tennis player from Hungary. The 2007 WTA Newcomer of the Year achieved her career-high ranking of world No. 13 in April 2008.[2]

Ágnes Szávay
Szávay at the 2010 US Open
Country (sports) Hungary
ResidenceVienna, Austria
Born (1988-12-29) 29 December 1988
Kiskunhalas, Hungary
Height1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Turned pro2004
Retired6 February 2013[1]
PlaysRight (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$2,120,121
Singles
Career record219–125
Career titles5 WTA, 3 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 13 (14 April 2008)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open2R (2010)
French Open4R (2009)
Wimbledon4R (2008)
US OpenQF (2007)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games1R (2008)
Doubles
Career record101–78
Career titles2 WTA, 3 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 22 (24 September 2007)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open3R (2006, 2009)
French Open3R (2007, 2008)
WimbledonQF (2010)
US OpenSF (2007)

Personal life

Szávay was born in Kiskunhalas and grew up in Soltvadkert. She started to play tennis at the age of six, with her parents acting as her first coaches and managers. She worked with several coaches including Zoltán Újhidy, Levente Barátosi, Miklós Hornok, József Bocskay, Zoltán Kuharszky, Karl-Heinz Wetter and Gábor Köves. Her younger sister Blanka is five years her junior.

Tennis career

2006

In 2006, she made it to the final of the Ashland Challenger tournament, but lost there to Aleksandra Wozniak in straight sets.[3]

2007

Szávay won her first career WTA-level tournament in singles in Palermo in July. The win caused her ranking to rise to world No. 37. She also won one doubles tournament, the Tier III Budapest Grand Prix, with Vladimíra Uhlířová.

In August, Szávay reached the final of the Tier II tournament in New Haven, defeating Daniela Hantuchová, Alona Bondarenko, and Samantha Stosur, then lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. Szávay was leading 6–4, 0–3 when she had to retire from the match because of a back injury.[4]

Szávay reached the quarterfinals of the US Open, defeating 32nd-seeded Michaëlla Krajicek and seventh-seeded Nadia Petrova, then lost to Kuznetsova. She also reached the semifinals in women's doubles, teaming with Uhlířová.

At her first tournament after the US Open, she reached the final of the Tier II China Open. Szávay, the sixth seed, reached the semifinals where she defeated Chinese player Peng Shuai to advance to her second career Tier II final. Szávay then defeated Jelena Janković to claim her first Tier II title. Szávay led 5–0 in the first set tiebreak before losing it 7–9. In the second set, Szávay saved a match point while trailing 5–1 with a second serve ace and then won nine consecutive games.[5] Szávay moved into the top 20 due to this result.

Szávay's year ended prematurely because of a thigh injury. In late September at the Tier IV Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships in Seoul, she was forced to retire from her quarterfinal match with Eleni Daniilidou while tied at one set apiece. She did not play on the tour the remainder of the year.

For her achievements, she was named "2007 Hungarian Sportswoman of the Year".

2008

Ágnes Szávay at Roland Garros, 2008

Szávay began the year at the Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourt in Gold Coast. Szávay and Dinara Safina, the third seeded team, won the doubles title, defeating the first and second seeded teams in the semifinals and final, respectively.[6]

Szávay reached the final of the Tier II Open Gaz de France in Paris. She defeated second-seeded Daniela Hantuchová in the quarterfinals and fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva in the semifinals, then lost to Anna Chakvetadze in the three-set final.

Szávay started the clay court season by reaching the quarterfinals in three consecutive tournaments. At the Tier II Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Szávay lost to Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals. Going into the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, Szávay was ranked world No. 13, her highest singles ranking; she reached the quarterfinals but eventually lost to Alizé Cornet in two sets. At the Tier I Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin, Szávay lost to world No. 2 Ana Ivanovic in three sets.

2009

Szávay at the 2009 French Open

At the 2009 French Open, Szávay was seeded 29th and upset world No. 3 Venus Williams, beating her in the third round. She was defeated in straight sets by Dominika Cibulková in the fourth round. She won the third title of her career in her hometown at GDF Suez Grand Prix defeating top seed Patty Schnyder in the final.

2010

Szávay reached her first quarterfinals of the year at the Open GDF Suez and then reached the quarterfinals at the Abierto Mexicano TELCEL and the Monterrey Open. In the summer, she won back-to-back titles at the GDF Suez Grand Prix and the ECM Prague Open.

2011

Szávay won her first match in nearly five months at the BNP Paribas Open. After the French Open, she took time off to recover from a back injury.

2012

Szávay lost in several first rounds, including the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, the Olympics, the New Haven Open at Yale, and the US Open.

2013

On 6 February 2013, Szávay announced retirement from professional tennis due to ongoing back problems.[7]

WTA career finals

Singles: 7 (5–2)

Legend: Before 2009Legend: Starting in 2009
Grand Slam tournaments (0/0)
WTA Championships (0/0)
Tier I (0/0) Premier Mandatory (0/0)
Tier II (1/2) Premier 5 (0/0)
Tier III (0/0) Premier (0/0)
Tier IV & V (1/0) International (3/0)
Finals by surface
Hard (1/2)
Grass (0/0)
Clay (4/0)
Carpet (0/0)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. 16 July 2007 Palermo, Italy Clay Martina Müller 6–0, 6–1
Runner-up 1. 25 August 2007 New Haven, United States Hard Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–4, 0–3 ret.
Winner 2. 23 September 2007 Beijing, China Hard Jelena Janković 6–7(7–9), 7–5, 6–2
Runner-up 2. 10 February 2008 Paris, France Hard Anna Chakvetadze 3–6, 6–2, 2–6
Winner 3. 12 July 2009 Budapest, Hungary (1) Clay Patty Schnyder 2–6, 6–4, 6–2
Winner 4. 11 July 2010 Budapest, Hungary (2) Clay Patty Schnyder 6–2, 6–4
Winner 5. 18 July 2010 Prague, Czech Republic Clay Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová 6–2, 1–6, 6–2

Doubles: 8 (2–6)

Legend: Before 2009Legend: Starting in 2009
Grand Slam tournaments (0/0)
WTA Championships (0/0)
Tier I (0–0) Premier Mandatory (0/0)
Tier II (0–1) Premier 5 (0/0)
Tier III (2–3) Premier (0–0)
Tier IV & V (0–1) International (0–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–3)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (1–3)
Carpet (0–0)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1. 8 July 2004 Budapest, Hungary Clay Virág Németh Petra Mandula
Barbara Schett
3–6, 2–6
Runner-up 2. 24 October 2005 Hasselt, Belgium Hard (i) Michaëlla Krajicek Émilie Loit
Katarina Srebotnik
3–6, 4–6
Runner-up 3. 20 February 2006 Bogotá, Colombia Hard Jasmin Wöhr Gisela Dulko
Flavia Pennetta
6–7, 1–6
Runner-up 4. 3 March 2007 Doha, Qatar Hard Vladimíra Uhlířová Martina Hingis
Maria Kirilenko
1–6, 1–6
Winner 1. 23 April 2007 Budapest, Hungary Clay Vladimíra Uhlířová Martina Müller
Gabriela Navrátilová
7–5, 6–2
Runner-up 5. 23 July 2007 Bad Gastein, Austria Clay Vladimíra Uhlířová Lucie Hradecká
Renata Voráčová
3–6, 5–7
Winner 2. 5 January 2008 Gold Coast, Australia Hard Dinara Safina Yan Zi
Zheng Jie
6–1, 6–2
Runner-up 6. 18 July 2010 Prague, Czech Republic Clay Monica Niculescu Timea Bacsinszky
Tathiana Garbin
5–7, 6–7(4–7)

ITF Circuit finals

$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments

Singles: 4 (3–1)

Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. 26 September 2004 Ciampino, Italy Clay Stefania Boffa 6–0, 6–2
Runner-up 1. 1 October 2006 Ashland, United States Hard Aleksandra Wozniak 1–6, 6–7(2–7)
Winner 2. 22 October 2006 Houston, United States Hard Bethanie Mattek 2–6, 6–4, 6–1
Winner 3. 19 May 2007 Zagreb, Croatia Clay Nika Ožegović 6–0, 7–6(7–2)

Doubles: 5 (3-2)

Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1. 5 October 2003 Carcavelos, Portugal Clay Romy Farah Iveta Gerlová
Katarína Kachlíková
4–6, 6–7(6–8)
Winner 1. 10 April 2005 Dinan, France Clay Michaëlla Krajicek Yuliya Beygelzimer
Sandra Klösel
7–5, 7–5
Winner 2. 23 July 2006 Vittel, France Clay Yuliya Beygelzimer Mădălina Gojnea
Ekaterina Makarova
6–2, 7–5
Runner-up 2. 1 October 2006 Ashland, United States Hard Ashley Harkleroad Milagros Sequera
Julie Ditty
3–6, 7–5, 2–6
Winner 3. 18 May 2007 Zagreb Clay Emma Laine Klaudia Jans
Alicja Rosolska
6–1, 6–2

Singles performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# A P Z# PO G F-S SF-B NMS NH
(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (P) postponed; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (F-S) silver or (SF-B) bronze Olympic medal; a (NMS) downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
Tournament2003200420052006200720082009201020112012W-L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A Q1 Q2 1R 1R 2R A A 1–3
French Open A A A Q3 2R 3R 4R 2R 1R A 7–5
Wimbledon A A A A 2R 4R 1R 1R A A 4–4
US Open A A Q1 A QF 2R 1R 2R A 1R 6–5
Win-Loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 6–3 6–4 3–4 3–4 0–1 0–1 18–17
Olympic Games
Summer Olympics NH A Not Held 1R Not Held 1R 0–2
WTA Premier Mandatory tournaments
Indian Wells A A A A A A 4R 3R 2R A 4–3
Miami A A A A A 2R 4R 3R 2R A 4–4
Madrid Not Held QF 1R 2R A 4–2
Beijing NH Not Tier I 1R 1R A A 6–3
WTA Premier 5 tournaments
Dubai Not Tier I 1R A A NP5 0–1
Doha Not Tier I 1R Not Held NP5 A 0–1
Rome A A A A A 2R 1R A A A 1–2
Montreal/Toronto A A A A A A 2R 3R A A 3–2
Cincinnati Not Tier I 2R A A A 1–1
Tokyo A A A A A 1R 1R 1R A A 0–3
Titles 0 1 0 1 3 0 1 2 0 0 5
Year-end ranking 278 181 207 20 28 40 37 256 1025

Grand Slam doubles performance timeline

Tournament2006200720082009201020112012W-L
Australian Open 3R 2R 1R 3R 2R A A 6–5
French Open 1R 3R 3R 2R 2R A A 6–5
Wimbledon A 2R 3R 1R QF A A 6–4
US Open A SF A 2R A A 1R 5–3
Win–Loss 2–2 8–4 4–3 4–4 5–3 0–0 0–1 23–17

References

Awards
Preceded by
Tímea Nagy
Hungarian Sportswoman of The Year
2007
Succeeded by
Ildikó Mincza-Nébald
Preceded by
Agnieszka Radwańska
WTA Newcomer of the Year
2007
Succeeded by
Caroline Wozniacki
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