Ekaterina Alexandrova

Despite starting the year as the World No.291, Alexandrova made a flying start to the season as she clinched her fifth ITF title at the 10k event in Trnava.

Alexandrova then made her WTA Tour singles debut at the 2016 Katowice Open, where she qualified for the main draw after surviving the qualifying rounds as an unseeded player. In her first WTA main draw match, she defeated World No.115 Klára Koukalová[4] before falling to eventual finalist Camila Giorgi in three sets.

In the first grass-court tournament of her career, she qualified for a main draw berth at a Grand Slam for the first time in her career at the Wimbledon Championships. She was only able to enter the qualifying draw after 10 players ahead of her withdrew and it was also her first Grand Slam appearance,[5] prevailing 14-12 and 13-11 against Stephanie Vogt and Harriet Dart respectively to reach the main draw. Overall, she played 108 games in just three matches.[6] In the first round, she defeated former World No.1 Ana Ivanovic in straight sets, causing one of the biggest upsets in the tournament.[7]

Immediately after her Wimbledon run, Alexandrova returned onto clay and reached the final of the ITS Cup, an ITF 50k event, losing to compatriot and top seed Elizaveta Kulichkova in three sets.[8] At the Coupe Banque Nationale, she claimed the biggest win of her career against World No.59 Julia Görges in the first round.[9]

Entering the Open de Limoges, a WTA 125k event, as the World No.133, Alexandrova caused a huge shock by ending the season with the biggest title of her career. En route, she defeated three big local favourites: Fourth-seeded Pauline Parmentier in the second round, second-seeded Alizé Cornet in the semifinals[10] and top-seeded World No.24 Caroline Garcia in the final.[11]

In the 2017 season, Alexandrova continued to be a constant presence on the WTA Tour but not achieving any major success. She received direct entry into the Australian Open main draw for the first time in her career, but lost to compatriot and 30th seed Ekaterina Makarova in the first round.[12]

She made her Top 100 debut with consecutive title runs at ITF 60k events Pingshan Open and Engie Open de Seine-et-Marne.[13] Making her first French Open main draw appearance, she beat Kateřina Siniaková before falling short of eventual semifinalist and World No.2 Karolína Plíšková in three sets.[14] At the Wimbledon Championships, Alexandrova lost to eventual champion Garbiñe Muguruza in the first round.[15]

Alexandrova qualified for a Premier 5 tournament for the first time in her career at the Rogers Cup, but lost to World No.6 and eventual finalist Caroline Wozniacki in the second round.[16] At the Open de Limoges, she lost in the quarterfinals to Antonia Lottner as the defending champion.

Alexandrova enjoyed a breakthrough season on the WTA Tour in the year.

At the Australian Open, she was beaten by fellow hard-hitting Madison Keys in the second round, winning just one game in the process.[17]

After some mediocre results, Alexandrova fell out of the Top 100. However, she managed to make the semifinals of ITF 100k events, the Empire Slovak Open and Ilkley Trophy. Alongside a run to the final of the ITF 100k event, the Hungarian Pro Circuit Ladies Open, she returned to the Top 100 after a brief period.

She made her first WTA quarterfinal at the Korea Open, clinching her first Top 10 victory over World No.10 Jeļena Ostapenko in straight sets.[18] Alexandrova made an astonishing run at another international tournament, now in Linz, Austria, reaching the final of a WTA tournament for the first time. Sailing through the qualifying rounds with the loss of just four games, Alexandrova beat compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets to reach her first WTA semifinal.[19] There, she recovered from a bagel to beat former Top 10 player Andrea Petkovic and booked her spot in the final.[20] However, she was defeated by Camila Giorgi in straight sets, but nonetheless made her return to the Top 100 with her fantastic run after a brief spell outside the Top 100.[21]

She ended the season by tradition at the Open de Limoges, winning the title for the second time in her career after beating Evgeniya Rodina in straight sets.[22] This victory solidified her place in the Top 100, finding herself at the 73rd spot of the rankings after the tournament.[23]

In 2019, Alexandrova continued to earn more success on the WTA Tour.

She began her season at the Shenzhen Open, where she lost in the second round to eventual champion and top seed Aryna Sabalenka.[24] Alexandrova also qualified for the main draw at the Sydney International, but failed to serve out the match against Top 10 player Sloane Stephens in the first round.

Playing in a WTA main draw at home for the first time in her career, Alexandrova successfully prevailed in the qualifying rounds before reaching the quarterfinals of the St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy where she fell to Sabalenka in straight sets once again.[25] She then set a new career-high ranking of No.59 after a semifinal run at the Hungarian Ladies Open where she held five match points against eventual champion Alison Van Uytvanck.[26]

In her best result at a Premier Mandatory event, Alexandrova reached the third round of the Premier Mandatory BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells after beating World No. 13 Caroline Wozniacki in three sets.[27] She did not perform well on clay-court tournaments, except at the French Open, reaching the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career. She beat 30th seed Mihaela Buzărnescu in the first round, before stunning 2010 finalist Samantha Stosur in the second round.[28]

In the grass-court season, Alexandrova made it into the quarterfinals of the Eastbourne International and Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, losing there to eventual champions Karolina Pliskova[29] and Alison Riske respectively. A disappointing first-round exit at the Wimbledon Championships followed, losing to Kateřina Siniaková in three sets.

She achieved her best run in a Premier 5 tournament at the Rogers Cup, reaching the third round as qualifier. After leading throughout the majority of both sets, Alexandrova fell to Serena Williams in straight sets.[30] Alexandrova also led World No.4 Simona Halep by a set and a break in the second round of the Western & Southern Open, but failed to sustain her high level.[31] She was defeated by 33rd seed Zhang Shuai in the second round of the US Open, a player whom she defeated in Cincinnati earlier on. Nonetheless, she became the highest-ranked Russian after this tournament.

Alexandrova reached her second career WTA semifinal at the Korea Open, where she beat Kristie Ahn in the quarterfinals by hitting a personal-record 22 aces.[32] Another strong run came at the Premier Mandatory event, the China Open. There, she stunned World No.5 Halep in straight sets after her disappointment in Cincinnati, claiming the biggest win of her career.[33] However, she was defeated by compatriot Daria Kasatkina in straight sets.[34]

Defending finalist points at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz, Alexandrova rolled into the semifinals but failed to convert her match points against Jeļena Ostapenko and leading in both the second and final sets.[35] Making her main draw debut at the Kremlin Cup, the Russian made the quarterfinals although her run was eventually stopped by the in-form Karolína Muchová.[36] For the third time in her career, Alexandrova closed out her season with a triumph at the Open de Limoges, this time lifting the trophy as the top seed.[37]

Alexandrova started the 2020 WTA Tour by winning the Shenzhen Open. Alexandrova defeated Wang Qiang in three sets,[38] before stunning former World No.1 Garbiñe Muguruza on her way to the final,[39] and then defeated Elena Rybakina in straight sets.[40] As a result, she became the first player to win a WTA tournament in the new decade. At the Australian Open where she was seeded at a Grand Slam for the first time in her career, Alexandrova defeated Jil Teichmann and Barbora Krejčíková, before losing to Petra Kvitová in the third round.[41]

Alexandrova then represented Russia for the first time in her career, leading the team against Romania in the Fed Cup Qualifying Round as the Russian No.1.[42] On her debut, she led Russia to a tight 3-2 win over the home team, defeating Elena-Gabriela Ruse in straight sets[43] and Ana Bogdan in a tight three-setter,[44] helping to book Russia's spot in the inaugural Fed Cup Finals.[45] She next participated at St. Petersburg, where she defeated Daria Kasatkina from a break down in the deciding set[46] and the higher-ranked Donna Vekić in straight sets.[47] After receiving a walkover from an injured Kvitová,[48] before losing in three sets to the defending champion, and eventual champion, Kiki Bertens.[49] Before the WTA Tour was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Alexandrova was ranked No. 27 in the world and suffered a first-round exit in Doha in the hands of Amanda Anisimova.

The Russian suffered mediocre results after the resumption of the tour in July, winning consecutive matches just once in eight tournaments. Alexandrova returned into action at the Palermo Open, where she defeated Kristina Mladenovic in the first round,[50] but lost to eventual champion Fiona Ferro in her next match.[51] At the Western & Southern Open, she claimed a straight-sets victory over Rybakina[52] but was unable to defeat qualifier Christina McHale. The tournament was held at the USTA BJK National Tennis Center for the first time, lowering the risk of the transmission of the virus behind closed doors. At the same competition ground, Alexandrova stunned the returning former World No.1 Kim Clijsters in the first round of the US Open after recovering from a set down.[53] However, she failed to back up her good win as she fell short to Caty McNally in the second round.[54]

Alexandrova managed to replicate her 2019 performance at the French Open, reaching the third round as the 27th seed and winning back-to-back matches for the first time since the tour resumption. There, she was defeated by third seed Elina Svitolina in straight sets.[55]