Ai Sugiyama facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Ai Sugiyama
杉山愛

Country (sports)	Japan
Residence	Kanagawa
Born	(1975-07-05) 5 July 1975 (age 49) Yokohama
Height	1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Turned pro	October 1992
Retired	October 2009
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	$8,128,126
Singles
Career record	492–419 (54.01%)
Career titles	6 WTA, 1 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 8 (9 February 2004)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	QF (2000)
French Open	4R (1995, 2000, 2003)
Wimbledon	QF (2004)
US Open	4R (2003, 2004)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	RR (2003)
Olympic Games	QF (2004)
Doubles
Career record	566–295 (65.74%)
Career titles	38 WTA, 4 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 1 (23 October 2000)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	F (2009)
French Open	W (2003)
Wimbledon	W (2003)
US Open	W (2000)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour Finals	F (2003, 2007)
Olympic Games	SF – 4th (2004)
Mixed doubles
Career record	35–21
Career titles	1
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	2R (1999, 2001, 2003, 2006)
French Open	SF (2000)
Wimbledon	SF (2004)
US Open	W (1999)

Ai Sugiyama (born July 5, 1975) is a famous Japanese former tennis player. She became the world's top-ranked player in women's doubles on the WTA Tour. She also reached a high singles ranking of world No. 8 in February 2004. During her career, Ai Sugiyama won 6 singles titles and 38 doubles titles. This included three major Grand Slam doubles titles and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title. She held a record for playing in 62 Grand Slam main tournaments in a row. This record was later broken by Roger Federer.

Ai Sugiyama's Tennis Journey

Starting Her Career in the 1990s

Ai Sugiyama started her professional tennis journey in 1992. In 1993, at 17, she played against the tennis legend Martina Navratilova. She made her first Grand Slam appearance at Wimbledon that same year. In 1994, she reached her first singles final in Surabaya. She also won her first doubles title at the Japan Open. This helped her break into the top 100 players in the world.

In 1995, Ai Sugiyama won her first Grand Slam match. She reached the fourth round of the Roland Garros tournament. She also defeated a top-20 player for the first time. Later that year, she beat Lindsay Davenport to reach her second career final. This achievement helped her enter the top 50 rankings.

By 1996, she was doing even better. She reached the third round at the Australian Open. She also made it to the fourth round at Wimbledon. There, she defeated Anke Huber, who was ranked No. 5. This was her first win against a top-5 player. She also played for Japan at the Atlanta Olympics. She reached the third round there, beating Martina Hingis.

In 1997, Ai Sugiyama won her first singles title at the Japan Open. She beat Amy Frazier in the final. Towards the end of the year, she reached her first big Tier-I final. This was at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. She defeated several top players before losing to Jana Novotná in the final.

The year 1998 saw her win her second singles title in Gold Coast. She then entered the top 20 rankings. She won her third WTA Tour title at the Japan Open. She also showed great consistency throughout the year. In 1999, she reached another final at the Japan Open. She also won her first Grand Slam title. This was in mixed doubles at the US Open with Mahesh Bhupathi. In 1999, she also received the WTA Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award. This award is given to players who show great sportsmanship.

Success in the 2000s

The year 2000 was a big one for Ai Sugiyama in doubles. She reached the women's doubles final at Wimbledon. She then won the women's doubles title at the US Open. She partnered with Julie Halard-Decugis for this win. On October 23, 2000, she became the first Japanese woman to be ranked No. 1 in the world in doubles. She won seven doubles titles that year.

Her best year was 2003. She won the singles title in Scottsdale. She also won two Grand Slam doubles titles with Kim Clijsters. These were at the French Open and Wimbledon. She finished the year ranked No. 10 in singles. She also won eight doubles titles that year.

In 2005, Ai Sugiyama had more success in doubles than singles. She reached the final in San Diego in singles. In doubles, she reached several finals with different partners. She won a doubles title in Birmingham with Daniela Hantuchová.

Later Years (2006-2009)

In 2006, Ai Sugiyama and Daniela Hantuchová won their biggest doubles title together in Rome. At the French Open, they reached the doubles final. At Wimbledon, Ai Sugiyama reached the fourth round in singles. She beat Martina Hingis in a tough match.

The start of 2007 was good for her. She reached the quarterfinals in Tokyo. She also reached the French Open doubles final with Katarina Srebotnik. They also made it to the Wimbledon doubles final. In August, they won the Canadian Open, their first title together. They also qualified for the year-end championships in Madrid.

In 2008, Ai Sugiyama continued to play well in doubles. She and Katarina Srebotnik won titles in Miami and Charleston. She also broke the record for consecutive Grand Slam appearances for women. She played in her 57th Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon. She reached the third round in singles there. She also represented Japan at the Summer Olympics.

In 2009, Ai Sugiyama reached the Australian Open women's doubles final. She partnered with Daniela Hantuchová. They had a very exciting semifinal match where they saved seven match points. She played her 61st consecutive Grand Slam at Wimbledon. She retired from tennis at the end of the 2009 season. Her last tournament was the Pan Pacific Open in Japan. She now plans to teach young players at her tennis academy.

Grand Slam Tournament Finals

Ai Sugiyama played in many Grand Slam finals. Here are her results:

Women's Doubles: 10 Finals (3 Wins, 7 Runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	2000	Wimbledon	Grass	Julie Halard	Serena Williams Venus Williams	6–3, 6–2
Win	2000	US Open	Hard	Julie Halard	Cara Black Elena Likhovtseva	6–0, 1–6, 6–1
Loss	2001	Wimbledon (2)	Grass	Kim Clijsters	Lisa Raymond Rennae Stubbs	4–6, 3–6
Win	2003	French Open	Clay	Kim Clijsters	Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez	6–7(5–7), 6–2, 9–7
Win	2003	Wimbledon	Grass	Kim Clijsters	Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez	6–4, 6–4
Loss	2004	Wimbledon (3)	Grass	Liezel Huber	Cara Black Rennae Stubbs	3–6, 6–7(5–7)
Loss	2006	French Open	Clay	Daniela Hantuchová	Lisa Raymond Samantha Stosur	3–6, 2–6
Loss	2007	French Open (2)	Clay	Katarina Srebotnik	Alicia Molik Mara Santangelo	6–7(5–7), 4–6
Loss	2007	Wimbledon (4)	Grass	Katarina Srebotnik	Cara Black Liezel Huber	6–3, 3–6, 2–6
Loss	2009	Australian Open	Hard	Daniela Hantuchová	Serena Williams Venus Williams	3–6, 3–6

Mixed Doubles: 1 Final (1 Win)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1999	US Open	Hard	Mahesh Bhupathi	Kimberly Po Donald Johnson	6–4, 6–4

Other Important Finals

Year-End Championships: Doubles (2 Runner-ups)

Result	Year	Location	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	2003	Los Angeles	Hard (i)	Kim Clijsters	Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez	4–6, 6–3, 3–6
Loss	2007	Madrid	Hard (i)	Katarina Srebotnik	Cara Black Liezel Huber	7–5, 3–6, [8–10]

Olympic Games: Doubles Medal Match

Result	Year	Location	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
4th place	2004	Athens	Hard	Shinobu Asagoe	Paola Suárez Patricia Tarabini	3–6, 3–6

WTA Tour Finals

Singles: 13 Finals (6 Wins, 7 Runner-ups)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1.	Jul 1994	Surabaya Classic, Indonesia	Hard	Elena Wagner	6–2, 0–6, ret.
Loss	2.	Nov 1995	Silicon Valley Classic, US	Carpet (i)	Magdalena Maleeva	3–6, 4–6
Loss	3.	Jan 1997	Hardcourt Championships, Australia	Hard	Elena Likhovtseva	6–3, 6–7(7–9), 3–6
Win	1.	Apr 1997	Japan Open	Hard	Amy Frazier	4–6, 6–4, 6–4
Loss	4.	Nov 1997	Kremlin Cup, Russia	Carpet (i)	Jana Novotná	3–6, 4–6
Win	2.	Jan 1998	Hardcourt Championships, Australia	Hard	María Vento-Kabchi	7–5, 6–0
Win	3.	Apr 1998	Japan Open	Hard	Corina Morariu	6–3, 6–3
Loss	5.	Oct 1999	Japan Open	Hard	Amy Frazier	2–6, 2–6
Win	4.	Mar 2003	Scottsdale Classic, US	Hard	Kim Clijsters	3–6, 7–5, 6–4
Win	5.	Oct 2003	Linz Open, Austria	Hard	Nadia Petrova	7–5, 6–4
Win	6.	Jan 2004	Hardcourt Championships, Australia	Hard	Nadia Petrova	1–6, 6–1, 6–4
Loss	6.	Aug 2005	Carlsbad Open, US	Hard	Mary Pierce	0–6, 3–6
Loss	7.	Oct 2006	Korea Open	Hard	Eleni Daniilidou	3–6, 6–2, 6–7(3–7)

Doubles: 71 Finals (38 Wins, 33 Runner-ups)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1.	Apr 1994	Japan Open	Hard	Mami Donoshiro	Yayuk Basuki Nana Miyagi	6–4, 6–1
Loss	1.	Nov 1994	Surabaya Classic, Indonesia	Hard	Kyōko Nagatsuka	Yayuk Basuki Romana Tedjakusuma	w/o
Win	2.	Jan 1995	Hobart International, Australia	Hard	Kyōko Nagatsuka	Manon Bollegraf Larisa Neiland	2–6, 6–4, 6–2
Loss	2.	Apr 1995	Japan Open	Hard	Kyōko Nagatsuka	Yuka Yoshida Miho Saeki	7–6, 4–6, 6–7
Win	3.	Apr 1996	Japan Open	Hard	Kimiko Date	Amy Frazier Kimberly Po	7–6, 6–7, 6–3
Loss	3.	May 1997	Internationaux de Strasbourg, France	Clay	Elena Likhovtseva	Helena Suková Natasha Zvereva	1–6, 1–6
Win	4.	Sep 1997	Princess Cup, Japan	Hard	Monica Seles	Julie Halard-Decugis Chanda Rubin	6–1, 6–0
Win	5.	Jan 1998	Hardcourt Championships, Australia	Hard	Elena Likhovtseva	Park Sung-hee Wang Shi-ting	1–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win	6.	Oct 1998	Luxembourg Open	Carpet (i)	Elena Likhovtseva	Larisa Neiland Elena Tatarkova	6–7, 6–3, 2–0 ret.
Win	7.	Nov 1998	Leipzig Cup, Germany	Carpet (i)	Elena Likhovtseva	Manon Bollegraf Irina Spîrlea	6–3, 6–7, 6–2
Win	8.	Nov 1998	Philadelphia Championships, US	Carpet (i)	Elena Likhovtseva	Monica Seles Natasha Zvereva	7–5, 4–6, 6–2
Win	9.	Jan 1999	Sydney International, Australia	Hard	Elena Likhovtseva	Mary Joe Fernández Anke Huber	6–3, 2–6, 6–0
Loss	4.	Feb 1999	Paris Indoors, France	Carpet (i)	Elena Likhovtseva	Irina Spîrlea Caroline Vis	5–7, 6–3, 3–6
Win	10.	May 1999	Internationaux de Strasbourg, France	Clay	Elena Likhovtseva	Alexandra Fusai Nathalie Tauziat	2–6, 7–6, 6–1
Loss	5.	Nov 1999	Leipzig Cup, Germany	Carpet (i)	Elena Likhovtseva	Larisa Neiland Mary Pierce	4–6, 3–6
Win	11.	Jan 2000	Sydney International, Australia	Hard	Julie Halard-Decugis	Martina Hingis Mary Pierce	6–0, 6–3
Win	12.	Apr 2000	Miami Open, United States	Hard	Julie Halard-Decugis	Nicole Arendt Manon Bollegraf	4–6, 7–5, 6–4
Win	13.	Jun 2000	Eastbourne International, UK	Grass	Nathalie Tauziat	Lisa Raymond Rennae Stubbs	2–6, 6–3, 7–6(3)
Loss	6.	Jul 2000	Wimbledon, UK	Grass	Julie Halard-Decugis	Serena Williams Venus Williams	3–6, 2–6
Loss	7.	Aug 2000	Canadian Open	Hard	Julie Halard-Decugis	Martina Hingis Nathalie Tauziat	3–6, 6–3, 4–6
Win	14.	Aug 2000	New Haven Open, US	Hard	Julie Halard-Decugis	Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez	6–4, 5–7, 6–2
Win	15.	Sep 2000	US Open	Hard	Julie Halard-Decugis	Cara Black Elena Likhovtseva	6–0, 1–6, 6–1
Win	16.	Oct 2000	Princess Cup, Japan	Hard	Julie Halard-Decugis	Nana Miyagi Paola Suárez	6–0, 6–2
Loss	8.	Oct 2000	Linz Open, Austria	Carpet (i)	Nathalie Tauziat	Amélie Mauresmo Chanda Rubin	4–6, 4–6
Win	17.	Oct 2000	Kremlin Cup, Russia	Carpet (i)	Julie Halard-Decugis	Martina Hingis Anna Kournikova	4–6, 6–4, 7–6(5)
Win	18.	Jan 2001	Canberra International, Australia	Hard	Nicole Arendt	Esmé de Villiers Annabel Ellwood	6–4, 7–6(2)
Win	19.	Mar 2001	Indian Wells Masters, US	Hard	Nicole Arendt	Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez	6–4, 6–4
Loss	9.	Jul 2001	Wimbledon, UK	Grass	Kim Clijsters	Lisa Raymond Rennae Stubbs	4–6, 3–6
Loss	10.	Sep 2001	Princess Cup, Japan	Hard	Kim Clijsters	Cara Black Liezel Huber	1–6, 3–6
Win	20.	Feb 2002	U.S. National Indoors	Hard	Elena Tatarkova	Melissa Middleton Brie Rippner	6–4, 2–6, 6–0
Loss	11.	Aug 2002	San Diego Open, US	Hard	Daniela Hantuchová	Elena Dementieva Janette Husárová	2–6, 4–6
Loss	12.	Aug 2002	LA Championships, US	Hard	Daniela Hantuchová	Kim Clijsters Jelena Dokić	3–6, 3–6
Loss	13.	Aug 2002	Canadian Open	Hard	Rika Fujiwara	Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez	4–6, 6–7(4)
Loss	14.	Sep 2002	China Open	Hard	Rika Fujiwara	Anna Kournikova Janet Lee	5–7, 3–6
Loss	15.	Oct 2002	Linz Open, Austria	Carpet (i)	Rika Fujiwara	Jelena Dokic Nadia Petrova	3–6, 2–6
Win	21.	Jan 2003	Sydney International, Australia	Hard	Kim Clijsters	Conchita Martínez Rennae Stubbs	6–3, 6–3
Win	22.	Feb 2003	Antwerp Games, Belgium	Carpet (i)	Kim Clijsters	Nathalie Dechy Émilie Loit	6–2, 6–0
Win	23.	Mar 2003	Scottsdale Classic, US	Hard	Kim Clijsters	Lindsay Davenport Lisa Raymond	6–1, 6–4
Loss	16.	Mar 2003	Indian Wells Open, US	Hard	Kim Clijsters	Lindsay Davenport Lisa Raymond	6–3, 4–6, 1–6
Loss	17.	May 2003	German Open	Clay	Kim Clijsters	Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez	3–6, 6–4, 4–6
Win	24.	Jun 2003	French Open	Clay	Kim Clijsters	Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez	6–7(5), 6–2, 9–7
Win	25.	Jul 2003	Wimbledon, UK	Grass	Kim Clijsters	Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez	6–4, 6–4
Win	26.	Aug 2003	San Diego Open, U.S.	Hard	Kim Clijsters	Lindsay Davenport Lisa Raymond	6–4, 7–5
Loss	18.	Sep 2003	China Open	Hard	Tamarine Tanasugarn	Émilie Loit Nicole Pratt	3–6, 3–6
Win	27.	Oct 2003	Zurich Open, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Kim Clijsters	Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez	7–6(3), 6–2
Win	28.	Oct 2003	Linz Open, Austria	Hard (i)	Liezel Huber	Marion Bartoli Silvia Farina Elia	6–1, 7–6(6)
Loss	19.	Nov 2003	WTA Finals, New York	Hard (i)	Kim Clijsters	Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez	4–6, 6–3, 3–6
Loss	20.	Jul 2004	Wimbledon, UK	Grass	Liezel Huber	Cara Black Rennae Stubbs	3–6, 6–7(5)
Win	29.	Aug 2004	Canadian Open	Hard	Shinobu Asagoe	Liezel Huber Tamarine Tanasugarn	6–0, 6–3
Win	30.	Sep 2004	Bali Classic, Indonesia	Hard	Anastasia Myskina	Svetlana Kuznetsova Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	6–3, 7–5
Loss	21.	Jan 2005	Sydney International, Australia	Hard	Elena Dementieva	Bryanne Stewart Samantha Stosur	w/o
Win	31.	Jun 2005	Birmingham Classic, UK	Grass	Daniela Hantuchová	Eleni Daniilidou Jennifer Russell	6–2, 6–3
Loss	22.	Aug 2005	San Diego Open, US	Hard	Daniela Hantuchová	Conchita Martínez Virginia Ruano Pascual	7–6(7), 1–6, 5–7
Loss	23.	Oct 2005	Zurich Open, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Daniela Hantuchová	Cara Black Rennae Stubbs	7–6(6), 6–7(4), 3–6
Win	32.	Mar 2006	Qatar Ladies Open	Hard	Daniela Hantuchová	Li Ting Sun Tiantian	6–4, 6–4
Win	33.	May 2006	Italian Open	Clay	Daniela Hantuchová	Květa Peschke Francesca Schiavone	3–6, 6–3, 6–1
Loss	24.	Jun 2006	French Open	Clay	Daniela Hantuchová	Lisa Raymond Samantha Stosur	3–6, 2–6
Loss	25.	Aug 2006	LA Championships, US	Hard	Daniela Hantuchová	Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez	3–6, 4–6
Loss	26.	May 2007	French Open	Clay	Katarina Srebotnik	Alicia Molik Mara Santangelo	6–7, 4–6
Loss	27.	Jun 2007	Wimbledon, UK	Grass	Katarina Srebotnik	Cara Black Liezel Huber	6–3, 3–6, 2–6
Win	34.	Aug 2007	Canadian Open	Hard	Katarina Srebotnik	Cara Black Liezel Huber	6–4, 2–6, [10–5]
Loss	28.	Oct 2007	Linz Open, Austria	Hard	Katarina Srebotnik	Cara Black Liezel Huber	2–6, 6–3, [8–10]
Loss	29.	Nov 2007	WTA Tour Championships, Madrid	Hard (i)	Katarina Srebotnik	Cara Black Liezel Huber	7–5, 3–6, [8–10]
Loss	30.	Feb 2008	Antwerp Games, Belgium	Hard (i)	Květa Peschke	Cara Black Liezel Huber	1–6, 3–6
Win	35.	Apr 2008	Miami Open, US	Hard	Katarina Srebotnik	Cara Black Liezel Huber	7–5, 4–6, [10–3]
Win	36.	Apr 2008	Charleston Open, US	Clay	Katarina Srebotnik	Edina Gallovits Olga Govortsova	6–2, 6–2
Win	37.	Oct 2008	Linz Open, Austria	Hard (i)	Katarina Srebotnik	Cara Black Liezel Huber	6–4, 7–5
Loss	31.	Jan 2009	Australian Open	Hard	Daniela Hantuchová	Serena Williams Venus Williams	3–6, 3–6
Loss	32.	May 2009	Italian Open	Clay	Daniela Hantuchová	Hsieh Su-wei Peng Shuai	5–7, 6–7(5)
Win	38.	Jun 2009	Eastbourne International, UK	Grass	Akgul Amanmuradova	Samantha Stosur Rennae Stubbs	6–4, 6–3
Loss	33.	Oct 2009	Pan Pacific Open, Japan	Hard (i)	Daniela Hantuchová	Alisa Kleybanova Francesca Schiavone	4–6, 2–6

ITF Finals

Singles (1 Win, 2 Runner-ups)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1.	19 July 1992	ITF Evansville, United States	Hard	Iva Majoli	3–6, 1–6
Win	2.	20 July 1992	ITF Roanoke, United States	Hard	Tatiana Ignatieva	6–2, 3–2 ret.
Loss	3.	19 July 1993	ITF St. Simons, United States	Clay	Hiromi Nagano	1–6, 1–6

Doubles (4 Wins, 1 Runner-up)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1.	10 February 1992	ITF Bangkok, Thailand	Hard	Mami Donoshiro	Huang Qian Yang Li-hua	6–4, 3–6, 6–4
Loss	2.	17 February 1992	ITF Bandung, Indonesia	Hard	Mami Donoshiro	Chen Li Yi Jingqian	6–4, 3–6, 4–6
Win	3.	26 June 1993	ITF Roanoke, United States	Hard	Yoshiko Sasano	Mareze Joubert Vanessa Webb	6–4, 6–3
Win	4.	21 August 1994	ITF Fayetteville, United States	Hard	Yuka Yoshida	Andrea Leand Eleni Rossides	6–4, 7–5
Win	5.	6 May 2007	Kangaroo Cup, Japan	Carpet	Ayumi Morita	Kumiko Iijima Seiko Okamoto	6–1, 3–6, 6–0

Images for kids

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  Ai Sugiyama in July 2008

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  Ai Sugiyama at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships

See Also

In Spanish: Ai Sugiyama para niños