Eleni Daniilidou facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Eleni Daniilidou
Ελένη Δανιηλίδου

Daniilidou in 2014
Country (sports)	Greece
Residence	Thessaloniki
Born	(1982-09-19) 19 September 1982 (age 42) Chania, Crete
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Turned pro	1996
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money	US$ 2,929,165
Singles
Career record	509–431 (54.15%)
Career titles	5
Highest ranking	No. 14 (12 May 2003)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	4R (2003)
French Open	3R (2003)
Wimbledon	4R (2002)
US Open	4R (2004)
Doubles
Career record	298–277 (51.83%)
Career titles	3
Highest ranking	No. 21 (29 January 2007)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	QF (2005)
French Open	SF (2006)
Wimbledon	QF (2006)
US Open	2R (2004, 2007)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	F (2003)
French Open	1R (2007)
Wimbledon	2R (2006)
US Open	2R (2003)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	29–15 (65.91%)

Eleni Daniilidou (Greek: Ελένη Δανιηλίδου; [eleˈni ðaniˈiliðu]; born 19 September 1982) is a Greek former tennis player from the island of Crete.

She is considered one of the best Greek tennis players of the Open Era, winning five singles titles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour. In 2003, she reached the mixed-doubles final of the Australian Open, making her the first Greek player to have reached a Grand Slam final. Her highest singles ranking is world No. 14, making her the only female tennis player from Greece to have reached the top 20 until Maria Sakkari in February 2020. No male tennis player had achieved this until Stefanos Tsitsipas reached 15th place in August 2018. By beating Justine Henin in the first round of the 2005 Wimbledon Championships, she became the first player to defeat a reigning French Open champion in the first round of Wimbledon.

Career summary

Daniilidou began her professional career in 1996, making the final of her first ITF event, having barely turned 14. She achieved her first ranking in 1998, finishing that year as the world No. 294. In 2001, she broke into the top 100 following a third round appearance at the US Open. 2002 was the best year of Daniilidou's career, finishing it at No. 22 in the world. She won her first WTA career singles title at the Rosmalen Championships, beating Amélie Mauresmo, Elena Dementieva and Henin; and reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time at Wimbledon. At the end of the year, she reached her second WTA final at the Brasil Open, beating Monica Seles en route, but lost to Anastasia Myskina.

Daniilidou started 2003 by winning her second WTA title at the Auckland Open and reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open, results which saw her break into the top 20 for the first time, reaching a career high of No. 14 after the German Open. She also reached the semifinals of the Paris Indoors and the DFS Classic. Daniilidou successfully defended her title at Auckland in 2004, her third WTA singles title. She reached the semifinals at the prestigious Miami Open, beating Jennifer Capriati en route. Later that year she equalled her best Grand Slam performance at the US Open by reaching the fourth round.

2005 was a relatively poor year for Daniilidou, becoming the first since 2001 where she did not win a title. She did, however, cause a huge upset at Wimbledon, beating the reigning French Open champion, Justine Henin. It was the first time the French Open champion had ever lost in the first round of Wimbledon. It also brought the end of Henin's 24-match win streak dating back to the beginning of the clay season. Daniilidou eventually lost in the third round, her best Grand Slam performance of the year. She also reached the semifinals of a lower level WTA event in Portorož, Slovenia. She recovered slightly in 2006, going back into the top 50 and winning her fourth WTA singles title at the Korea Open. She also reached the semifinals of the Ordina Open, and remained in the top 50 in 2007 with her best result being a semifinal at the Connecticut Open, where she beat Dinara Safina in the quarterfinals after saving a match point.

2008 was an injury-plagued season for Daniilidou, missing almost half the year with a right knee injury. She won her fifth and last WTA singles title at the Hobart International, but missed several months of events from March. She returned at the Summer Olympics in August, but failed to win a match for the rest of the season, ultimately finishing the year outside the top 100 for the first time since 2000.

Performance timelines

Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.

Singles

Doubles

Grand Slam finals

Mixed doubles: 1 (runner-up)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	2003	Australian Open	Hard	Todd Woodbridge	Leander Paes Martina Navratilova	4–6, 5–7

WTA career finals

Singles: 6 (5 titles, 1 runner–up)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Jun 2002	Rosmalen Open, Netherlands	Tier III	Grass	Elena Dementieva	3–6, 6–2, 6–3
Loss	1–1	Sep 2002	Brasil Open, Brazil	Tier II	Hard	Anastasia Myskina	3–6, 6–0, 2–6
Win	2–1	Jan 2003	Auckland Open, New Zealand	Tier IV	Hard	Cho Yoon-jeong	6–4, 4–6, 7–6(7–2)
Win	3–1	Jan 2004	Auckland Open, New Zealand (2)	Tier IV	Hard	Ashley Harkleroad	6–3, 6–2
Win	4–1	Oct 2006	Korea Open, South Korea	Tier IV	Hard	Ai Sugiyama	6–3, 2–6, 7–6(7–3)
Win	5–1	Jan 2008	Hobart International, Australia	Tier IV	Hard	Vera Zvonareva	walkover

Doubles: 12 (3 titles, 9 runner–ups)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	May 2003	Warsaw Open, Poland	Tier II	Clay	Francesca Schiavone	Liezel Huber Magdalena Maleeva	6–3, 4–6, 2–6
Loss	0–2	Feb 2004	Diamond Games, Belgium	Tier II	Hard	Myriam Casanova	Cara Black Els Callens	2–6, 1–6
Win	1–2	Jun 2004	Stanford Classic, United States	Tier II	Hard	Nicole Pratt	Claudine Schaul Iveta Benešová	6–2, 6–4
Loss	1–3	Jun 2005	Birmingham Classic, UK	Tier III	Grass	Jennifer Russell	Daniela Hantuchová Ai Sugiyama	2–6, 3–6
Loss	1–4	Nov 2006	Gaz de France Stars, Belgium	Tier III	Carpet (i)	Jasmin Wöhr	Lisa Raymond Samantha Stosur	2–6, 3–6
Loss	1–5	Sep 2007	Korea Open, South Korea	Tier IV	Hard	Jasmin Wöhr	Chuang Chia-jung Hsieh Su-wei	2–6, 2–6
Loss	1–6	Jan 2008	Hobart International, Australia	Tier IV	Hard	Jasmin Wöhr	Anabel Medina Garrigues Virginia Ruano Pascual	2–6, 4–6
Win	2–6	Jul 2010	İstanbul Cup, Turkey	International	Hard	Jasmin Wöhr	Maria Kondratieva Vladimíra Uhlířová	6–4, 1–6, [11–9]
Loss	2–7	Apr 2011	Estoril Open, Portugal	International	Clay	Michaëlla Krajicek	Alisa Kleybanova Galina Voskoboeva	4–6, 2–6
Win	3–7	Sep 2011	Tashkent Open, Uzbekistan	International	Hard	Vitalia Diatchenko	Lyudmyla Kichenok Nadiia Kichenok	6–4, 6–3
Loss	3–8	Jul 2013	Gastein Ladies, Austria	International	Clay	Kristina Barrois	Sandra Klemenschits Andreja Klepač	1–6, 4–6
Loss	3–9	Jul 2013	Baku Cup, Azerbaijan	International	Hard	Aleksandra Krunić	Irina Buryachok Oksana Kalashnikova	4–6, 7–6(7–3), [10–4]

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 16 (11 titles, 5 runner-ups)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Sep 1996	ITF Thessaloniki, Greece	10,000	Hard	Nóra Köves	3–6, 2–6
Win	1–1	Aug 1998	ITF Southsea, Great Britain	10,000	Grass	Manisha Malhotra	7–6(7–5), 6–3
Win	2–1	Aug 1998	ITF İstanbul, Turkey	10,000	Hard	Riei Kawamata	6–0, 6–1
Win	3–1	Aug 1998	ITF Skiathos, Greece	10,000	Carpet	Tatiana Poutchek	6–3, 6–4
Win	4–1	Aug 1998	ITF Xanthi, Greece	10,000	Hard	Lizzie Jelfs	6–2, 6–0
Win	5–1	Sep 1999	ITF Thessaloniki, Greece	25,000	Carpet	Clarisa Fernández	6–2, 6–2
Win	6–1	Aug 2000	ITF Kastoria, Greece	10,000	Carpet	Jolanda Mens	6–3, 6–1
Win	7–1	Apr 2001	ITF Dubai, United Arab Emirates	75,000	Hard	Anikó Kapros	6–4, 6–4
Win	8–1	Apr 2001	ITF Taranto, Italy	25,000	Clay	Edina Gallovits-Hall	7–5, 6–2
Loss	8–2	Feb 2009	ITF Midland, United States	75,000	Hard (i)	Lucie Hradecká	3–6, 3–6
Loss	8–3	Aug 2009	ITF Westende, Belgium	25,000	Hard	Estelle Guisard	1–6, 2–6
Loss	8–4	Sep 2009	ITF Athens, Greece	100,000	Hard	Jelena Dokic	2–6, 1–6
Win	9–4	Oct 2010	ITF Athens, Greece	50,000	Hard	Laura Pous Tió	6–4, 6–1
Win	10–4	May 2011	ITF Nottingham, Great Britain	75,000	Grass	Olga Govortsova	1–6, 6–4, 6–2
Win	11–4	Jul 2011	ITF Pozoblanco, Spain	50,000	Hard	Elitsa Kostova	6–3, 6–2
Loss	11–5	Oct 2012	ITF Barnstaple, Great Britain	75,000	Hard (i)	Annika Beck	7–6(7–1), 2–6, 2–6

Doubles: 29 (16 titles, 13 runner-ups)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Aug 1998	ITF Southsea, Great Britain	10,000	Grass	Lucy Wood	Lizzie Jelfs Mareze Joubert	2–6, 3–6
Win	1–1	Aug 1998	ITF İstanbul, Turkey	10,000	Hard	Nataly Cahana	Duygu Akşit Oal Gülberk Gültekin	3–6, 6–3, 6–3
Win	2–1	Aug 1998	ITF Skiathos, Greece	10,000	Carpet	Evagelia Roussi	Marina Lazarovska Tatiana Poutchek	3–6, 6–4, 6–2
Win	3–1	Aug 1998	ITF Xanthi, Greece	10,000	Hard	Evagelia Roussi	Dragana Ilić Ljiljana Nanušević	6–0, 6–3
Win	4–1	Sep 1998	ITF Thessaloniki, Greece	25,000	Clay	Christína Papadáki	Ľudmila Cervanová Magdalena Kučerová	7–6(7–5), 4–6, 7–5
Win	5–1	Sep 1999	ITF Thessaloniki	25,000	Carpet	Surina De Beer	Adriana Barna Adrienn Hegedűs	6–2, 6–3
Win	6–1	Aug 2000	ITF Kastoria, Greece	10,000	Carpet	Evagelia Roussi	Sandra Klemenschits Daniela Klemenschits	6–3, 6–4
Loss	6–2	Sep 2000	ITF Fano, Italy	25,000	Clay	Alicia Ortuño	Rosa María Andrés Rodríguez Conchita Martínez Granados	2–6, 4–6
Win	7–2	Oct 2000	ITF Joué-lès-Tours, France	25,000	Hard (i)	Maria Geznenge	Mia Buric Laura Dell'Angelo	5–3, 4–1, 4–0
Loss	7–3	Jan 2001	ITF Tipton, Great Britain	10,000	Hard (i)	Maria Geznenge	Helen Crook Victoria Davies	6–2, 4–6, 4–6
Win	8–3	Feb 2001	ITF Sutton, Great Britain	25,000	Hard (i)	Lydia Steinbach	Amanda Hopmans Patty Van Acker	6–0, 6–4
Loss	8–4	Mar 2001	ITF Cholet, France	10,000	Clay (i)	Germana Di Natale	Yuliya Beygelzimer Anastasia Rodionova	1–6, 6–7(5–7)
Win	9–4	Apr 2001	ITF Dinan, France	25,000	Clay (i)	Caroline Schneider	Vanessa Henke Syna Schmidle	6–3, 7–6(7–4)
Loss	9–5	Mar 2009	ITF La Palma, Spain	25,000	Hard	Jasmin Wöhr	Lu Jingjing Sun Shengnan	2–6, 7–5, [5–10]
Loss	9–6	Jun 2009	ITF Nottingham, UK	75,000	Grass	Rika Fujiwara	Alexa Glatch Natalie Grandin	3–6, 6–2, [7–10]
Win	10–6	Sep 2009	ITF Athens, Greece	100,000	Hard	Jasmin Wöhr	Timea Bacsinszky Tathiana Garbin	6–2, 5–7, [10–4]
Win	11–6	Nov 2009	ITF Ismaning, Germany	50,000	Carpet (i)	Jasmin Wöhr	Ekaterina Dzehalevich Eva Hrdinová	6–2, 4–6, [10–5]
Win	12–6	Sep 2010	ITF Sofia, Bulgaria	100,000	Hard	Jasmin Wöhr	Sandra Klemenschits Tatjana Maria	6–3, 6–4
Loss	12–7	Oct 2010	ITF Athens, Greece	50,000	Hard	Petra Martić	Vitalia Diatchenko İpek Şenoğlu	walkover
Win	13–7	Jun 2012	ITF Nottingham, UK	75,000	Grass	Casey Dellacqua	Laura Robson Heather Watson	6–4, 6–2
Win	14–7	Sep 2013	ITF Albuquerque, United States	75,000	Hard	CoCo Vandeweghe	Melanie Oudin Taylor Townsend	6–4, 7–6(7–2)
Loss	14–8	Dec 2013	ITF Ankara, Turkey	50,000	Hard	Aleksandra Krunić	Yuliya Beygelzimer Çağla Büyükakçay	3–6, 3–6
Loss	14–9	Mar 2014	ITF Croissy-Beaubourg, France	50,000	Hard (i)	Kristina Barrois	Margarita Gasparyan Lyudmyla Kichenok	2–6, 4–6
Loss	14–10	May 2014	ITF Fukuoka, Japan	50,000	Grass	Naomi Broady	Shuko Aoyama Eri Hozumi	3–6, 4–6
Win	15–10	Mar 2015	ITF Amiens, France	10,000	Clay	Ilka Csöregi	Elizaveta Ianchuk Olga Ianchuk	6–1, 6–4
Loss	15–11	Feb 2016	ITF Antalya	10,000	Clay	Arina Folts	Petia Arshinkova Elena Gabriela Ruse	6–7(0–7), 4–6
Loss	15–12	Apr 2016	ITF Manisa, Turkey	10,000	Hard	Margarita Lazareva	Abbie Myers Melis Sezer	4–6, 4–6
Win	16–12	Jul 2016	ITF Imola, Italy	25,000	Carpet	Lisa Sabino	Martina Di Giuseppe Maria Masini	4–6, 6–2, [10–4]
Loss	16–13	Mar 2017	ITF İstanbul	15,000	Hard (i)	Vlada Ekshibarova	Ekaterina Kazionova Elena Rybakina	1–6, 3–6

Best Grand Slam results details

Singles

Australian Open 2003 Australian Open (18th seed) Round Opponent Rank Score EDR 1R Marissa Irvin No. 79 7–6(8–6), 6–3 No. 20 2R Amy Frazier No. 40 6–1, 6–2 3R Nathalie Dechy (16) No. 18 6–4, 6–3 4R Serena Williams (1) No. 1 4–6, 1–6

French Open 2003 French Open (14th seed) Round Opponent Rank Score EDR 1R Nicole Pratt No. 53 6–4, 6–3 No. 14 2R Tathiana Garbin No. 95 6–0, 4–6, 6–2 3R Patty Schnyder (19) No. 18 3–6, 4–6

Wimbledon Championships 2002 Wimbledon Round Opponent Rank Score EDR 1R Jelena Kostanić No. 64 6–2, 6–3 No. 38 2R Saori Obata No. 116 6–2, 6–2 3R Miriam Oremans No. 129 7–6(7–5), 6–4 4R Jennifer Capriati (3) No. 3 1–6, 6–3, 1–6

US Open 2004 US Open (29th seed) Round Opponent Rank Score EDR 1R Silvija Talaja No. 108 3–6, 6–3, 7–5 No. 33 2R Anabel Medina Garrigues No. 45 1–6, 7–5, 6–4 3R Anna Chakvetadze (Q) No. 175 6–2, 6–4 4R Shinobu Asagoe No. 62 6–7(4–7), 6–4, 3–6

Head-to-head records

• Serena Williams: 0–8
• Venus Williams: 0–2
• Kim Clijsters: 0–2
• Lindsay Davenport: 0–3
• Jelena Janković: 0–1
• Nadia Petrova: 1–3
• Dinara Safina: 2–2
• Justine Henin: 2–2
• Maria Sharapova: 0–5

Top-10 wins

Daniilidou has won 7 matches against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.

#	Player	Rank	Event	Surface	Rd	Score	EDR
2002
1	Justine Henin	No. 7	Rosmalen Championships, Netherlands	Grass	SF	4–6, 7–6(11–9), 6–3	No. 51
2	Monica Seles	No. 5	Brazil Cup, Brazil	Hard	SF	6–1, 7–5	No. 34
2003
3	Jelena Dokić	No. 10	Paris Indoor, France	Carpet (i)	QF	6–1, 6–3	No. 18
2004
4	Jennifer Capriati	No. 5	Dubai Championships, UAE	Hard	2R	6–4, 7–6(7–2)	No. 35
5	Jennifer Capriati	No. 7	Miami Open, United States	Hard	3R	6–2, 6–4	No. 35
2005
6	Justine Henin-Hardenne	No. 7	Wimbledon, United Kingdom	Grass	1R	7–6(8–6), 2–6, 7–5	No. 76
7	Svetlana Kuznetsova	No. 4	LA Championships, United States	Hard	R32	6–4, 6–4	No. 63

Longest winning streaks

8–match singles winning streak (2002)

#	Tournament	Category	Start date	Surface	Rd	Opponent	Rank	Score	EDR
–	Birmingham Classic, United Kingdom	Tier III	10 June 2002	Grass	QF	Jelena Dokic (1)	No. 8	4–6, 6–4, 4–6	No. 54
1	Ordina Open, Netherlands	Tier III	17 June 2002	Grass	1R	Tatiana Poutchek	No. 64	7–6(7–2), 6–0	No. 51
2					2R	Cristina Torrens Valero (6)	No. 39	6–2, 6–2
3					QF	Amélie Mauresmo (3)	No. 11	6–4, 6–4
4					SF	Justine Henin (2)	No. 7	4–6, 7–6(11–9), 6–3
5					F	Elena Dementieva (4)	No. 14	3–6, 6–2, 6–3
6	Wimbledon, United Kingdom	Grand Slam	24 June 2002	Grass	1R	Jelena Kostanić	No. 64	6–2, 6–3	No. 38
7					2R	Saori Obata	No. 116	6–2, 6–2
8					3R	Miriam Oremans	No. 129	7–6(7–5), 6–4
–					4R	Jennifer Capriati (3)	No. 3	1–6, 6–3, 1–6

See also

In Spanish: Eleni Daniilidou para niños