María José Martínez Sánchez facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
María José Martínez Sánchez

Martínez Sánchez at the 2018 French Open
Country (sports)	Spain
Residence	Barcelona, Spain
Born	(1982-08-12) 12 August 1982 (age 42) Yecla, Murcia, Spain
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Turned pro	1998
Retired	2020
Plays	Left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	US$ 4,409,022
Singles
Career record	361–246 (59.47%)
Career titles	5 WTA, 12 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 19 (10 May 2010)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	3R (2009)
French Open	3R (2009, 2012)
Wimbledon	3R (2008, 2011)
US Open	3R (2009)
Doubles
Career record	491–259 (65.47%)
Career titles	21 WTA, 22 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 4 (5 July 2010)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	QF (2009, 2019)
French Open	SF (2010, 2012)
Wimbledon	QF (2008, 2009, 2012)
US Open	SF (2012)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour Finals	W (2009)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	SF (2018, 2019)
French Open	QF (2015, 2017, 2018)
Wimbledon	SF (2017)
US Open	2R (2009)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	10–7
Medal record Representing  Spain Mediterranean Games Silver 2001 Tunis Doubles

María José Martínez Sánchez (born August 12, 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. She was a top player in both singles and doubles.

In singles, she won five titles on the WTA Tour. Her biggest win was at the 2010 Italian Open. There, she beat two former world No. 1 players, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Janković. She reached her highest singles ranking of world No. 19 in May 2010.

In doubles, Martínez Sánchez won 21 WTA Tour titles. She often played with her Spanish teammate Nuria Llagostera Vives, winning ten titles together. These included the 2009 WTA Tour Championships and the 2009 Rogers Cup. She also won the Dubai Tennis Championships in 2010 and 2011. Her highest doubles ranking was world No. 4 in July 2010.

Playing Career Highlights

Martínez Sánchez had a great start to her career as a junior player. She won the 1999 Orange Bowl, which is a big junior tennis event. The next year, she became the champion of the French Open girls' doubles. She played in her first major tournament, the 2001 Australian Open, but lost to the third-seeded Venus Williams.

2008 Season

At Wimbledon, she made it to the third round. She lost to Venus Williams, who went on to win the tournament. In her next major event, the US Open, she lost in the first round.

She finished 2008 ranked 87th in the world. This was only the second time she finished a year in the top 100.

2009 Season: A Breakthrough Year

Sánchez playing at the 2009 US Open

Martínez Sánchez started 2009 at the 2009 Australian Open. She upset the 32nd seed in the first round. She then won her second match but lost in the third round to a fellow Spanish player. In doubles, she and Nuria Llagostera Vives reached the quarterfinals.

María José then played at the Copa Colsanitas. She won her first singles title there, beating Gisela Dulko in the final. In doubles, she and Llagostera Vives also won the title.

At the French Open, she reached the third round. She played against world No. 2, Serena Williams. Martínez Sánchez lost the match in three sets.

Martínez Sánchez won her second singles title of the year at the 2009 Swedish Open. She beat top seed and world No. 9, Caroline Wozniacki, in the final.

Martínez Sánchez and her partner Nuria Llagostera Vives won the year-end championships in doubles. They beat Venus and Serena Williams. Then, they won their biggest title against the world No. 1 team in the final.

Overall, 2009 was her best year. She won two WTA singles titles and reached the third round at three major tournaments. She ended the year ranked world No. 27 in singles. In doubles, she won seven titles with Llagostera Vives. She finished the year ranked world No. 5 in doubles.

2010 Season: Reaching the Top 20

Her first tournament of 2010 was the Hopman Cup. She won it with her partner Tommy Robredo for Spain.

Martínez Sánchez was seeded 24th at the 2010 Australian Open. However, she lost in the second round.

Her biggest success came at the Italian Open in Rome. This was a very important tournament. She beat world No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki and former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic. She then defeated world No. 7 Jelena Janković in the final. This was the biggest title of her career. After this win, she entered the top 20 players for the first time, reaching No. 19.

Unfortunately, she got a neck injury before the 2010 French Open. This made her lose in the first round. She also had a leg injury later in the year, which made her miss Wimbledon.

2011 Season: Two More Titles

Martínez Sánchez started 2011 at the Sydney International. She won her first match but lost in the second round. At the Australian Open, she won her first match but was defeated in the second round.

At Wimbledon, she upset 15th seed Jelena Janković in the first round. She then won her next match easily. She lost to 23rd seed and five-time Wimbledon champion, Venus Williams, in the third round.

She won two more titles in 2011. In July, she won the Gastein Ladies in Austria. In September, she won the Korea Open in South Korea.

2012 Season: Injuries and Comeback

2012 was a tough year for Martínez Sánchez because of injuries. She fell out of the top 150 in singles.

She had to withdraw from the 2012 Australian Open due to a knee injury. She didn't win a main-draw match until the 2012 French Open. There, she reached the third round. In doubles, she and Llagostera Vives reached the semifinals.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Martínez Sánchez won her first match. However, she then lost to Victoria Azarenka. In doubles, she and Llagostera Vives won their first match.

She had a good run at the US Open. This helped her get back into the top 100 in singles and the top 15 in doubles. She won a tough first-round match. In the second round, she played against Serena Williams, who eventually won the tournament.

Later Career

After having a daughter in November 2013, she returned to play doubles in 2015. In 2019, she reached the mixed doubles semifinals at the 2019 Australian Open with her partner Neal Skupski.

Major Tournament Finals

Year-End Championships (Doubles)

María José Martínez Sánchez won one major year-end doubles title.

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	2009	Doha	Hard	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Cara Black  Liezel Huber	7–6(7–0), 5–7, [10–7]

Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 Tournaments

These are some of the biggest tournaments outside of the Grand Slams.

Singles: 1 Title

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	2010	Rome	Clay	Jelena Janković	7–6(7–5), 7–5

Doubles: 7 Finals (3 Titles, 4 Runner-ups)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	2008	Berlin	Clay	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Cara Black  Liezel Huber	6–3, 2–6, [2–10]
Loss	2009	Cincinnati	Hard	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Cara Black Liezel Huber	3–6, 6–0, [2–10]
Win	2009	Toronto	Hard	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Samantha Stosur  Rennae Stubbs	2–6, 7–5, [11–9]
Win	2010	Dubai	Hard	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Květa Peschke  Katarina Srebotnik	7–6(7–5), 6–4
Loss	2010	Rome	Clay	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Gisela Dulko  Flavia Pennetta	4–6, 2–6
Win	2011	Dubai (2)	Hard	Liezel Huber	Květa Peschke Katarina Srebotnik	7–6(7–5), 6–3
Loss	2018	Doha	Hard	Andreja Klepač	Gabriela Dabrowski  Jeļena Ostapenko	3–6, 3–6

WTA Tour Finals

Singles: 6 Finals (5 Titles, 1 Runner-up)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1.	15 June 2008	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Maria Kirilenko	0–6, 2–6
Win	1.	22 February 2009	Bogotá, Colombia	Clay	Gisela Dulko	6–3, 6–2
Win	2.	11 July 2009	Båstad, Sweden	Clay	Caroline Wozniacki	7–5, 6–4
Win	3.	8 May 2010	Rome, Italy	Clay	Jelena Janković	7–6(7–5), 7–5
Win	4.	17 July 2011	Bad Gastein, Austria	Clay	Patricia Mayr-Achleitner	6–0, 7–5
Win	5.	25 September 2011	Seoul, South Korea	Hard	Galina Voskoboeva	7–6(7–0), 7–6(7–2)

Doubles: 35 Finals (21 Titles, 14 Runner-ups)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	1.	4 March 2001	Acapulco, Mexico	Clay	Anabel Medina Garrigues	Virginia Ruano Pascual  Paola Suárez	6–4, 6–7(5–7), 7–5
Winner	2.	8 April 2001	Porto, Portugal	Clay	Anabel Medina Garrigues	Alexandra Fusai  Rita Grande	6–1, 6–7(5–7), 7–5
Winner	3.	6 May 2001	Bol, Croatia	Clay	Anabel Medina Garrigues	Nadia Petrova  Tina Pisnik	7–5, 6–4
Runner-up	1.	16 July 2001	Palermo, Italy	Clay	Anabel Medina Garrigues	Tathiana Garbin  Janette Husárová	6–4, 2–6, 4–6
Runner-up	2.	29 July 2001	Casablanca, Morocco	Clay	María Emilia Salerni	Lubomira Bacheva  Åsa Carlsson	3–6, 7–6(7–4), 1–6
Winner	4.	5 August 2001	Basel, Switzerland	Clay	Anabel Medina Garrigues	Joannette Kruger  Marta Marrero	7–6(7–5), 6–2
Runner-up	3.	11 August 2002	Espoo, Finland	Clay	Eva Bes-Ostariz	Svetlana Kuznetsova  Arantxa Sánchez Vicario	3–6, 7–6(7–5), 3–6
Runner-up	4.	13 July 2003	Palermo, Italy	Clay	Arantxa Parra Santonja	Adriana Serra Zanetti  Emily Stellato	4–6, 2–6
Winner	5.	2 March 2008	Acapulco, Mexico (2)	Clay	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Iveta Benešová  Petra Cetkovská	6–2, 6–4
Runner-up	5.	11 May 2008	Berlin, Germany	Clay	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Cara Black  Liezel Huber	6–3, 2–6, [2–10]
Runner-up	6.	15 June 2008	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Lourdes Domínguez Lino Arantxa Parra Santonja	6–4, 5–7, [4–10]
Winner	6.	21 February 2009	Bogotá, Colombia	Clay	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Gisela Dulko  Flavia Pennetta	7–5, 3–6, [10–7]
Winner	7.	28 February 2009	Acapulco, Mexico (3)	Clay	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Lourdes Domínguez Lino Arantxa Parra Santonja	6–4, 6–2
Winner	8.	19 April 2009	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Sorana Cîrstea  Andreja Klepač	3–6, 6–2, [10–8]
Runner-up	7.	11 July 2009	Båstad, Sweden	Clay	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Gisela Dulko Flavia Pennetta	2–6, 6–0, [5–10]
Winner	9.	19 July 2009	Palermo, Italy	Clay	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Mariya Koryttseva  Darya Kustova	6–1, 6–2
Runner-up	8.	16 August 2009	Cincinnati, U.S.	Hard	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Cara Black Liezel Huber	3–6, 6–0, [2–10]
Winner	10.	23 August 2009	Toronto, Canada	Hard	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Samantha Stosur  Rennae Stubbs	2–6, 7–5, [11–9]
Winner	11.	29 August 2009	New Haven, USA	Hard	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Iveta Benešová Lucie Hradecká	6–2, 7–5
Winner	12.	1 November 2009	WTA Finals, Doha, Qatar	Hard	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Cara Black Liezel Huber	7–6(7–0), 5–7, [10–7]
Winner	13.	20 February 2010	Dubai, UAE	Hard	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Květa Peschke  Katarina Srebotnik	7–6(7–5), 6–4
Runner-up	9.	9 May 2010	Rome, Italy	Clay	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Gisela Dulko Flavia Pennetta	4–6, 2–6
Runner-up	10.	23 October 2010	Moscow, Russia	Hard (i)	Sara Errani	Gisela Dulko Flavia Pennetta	3–6, 6–2, [6–10]
Winner	14.	20 February 2011	Dubai, UAE (2)	Hard	Liezel Huber	Květa Peschke Katarina Srebotnik	7–6(7–5), 6–3
Winner	15.	9 July 2011	Båstad, Sweden	Clay	Lourdes Domínguez Lino	Nuria Llagostera Vives Arantxa Parra Santonja	6–3, 6–3
Winner	16.	23 June 2012	Eastbourne, United Kingdom	Grass	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Liezel Huber Lisa Raymond	6–4, ret.
Winner	17.	19 June 2016	Mallorca, Spain	Grass	Gabriela Dabrowski	Anna-Lena Friedsam Laura Siegemund	6–4, 6–2
Winner	18.	23 September 2017	Tokyo, Japan	Hard	Andreja Klepač	Daria Gavrilova Daria Kasatkina	6–3, 6–2
Runner-up	11.	6 January 2018	Brisbane, Australia	Hard	Andreja Klepač	Kiki Bertens Demi Schuurs	5–7, 2–6
Runner-up	12.	18 February 2018	Doha, Qatar	Hard	Andreja Klepač	Gabriela Dabrowski Jeļena Ostapenko	3–6, 3–6
Runner-up	13.	8 April 2018	Charleston, U.S.	Clay	Andreja Klepač	Alla Kudryavtseva Katarina Srebotnik	3–6, 3–6
Winner	19.	24 June 2018	Mallorca, Spain (2)	Grass	Andreja Klepač	Lucie Šafářová Barbora Štefková	6–1, 3–6, [10–3]
Winner	20.	3 May 2019	Rabat, Morocco	Clay	Sara Sorribes Tormo	Georgina García Pérez Oksana Kalashnikova	7–5, 6–1
Runner-up	14.	23 June 2019	Mallorca, Spain	Grass	Sara Sorribes Tormo	Kirsten Flipkens Johanna Larsson	2–6, 4–6
Winner	21.	23 August 2019	Bronx, U.S.	Hard	Darija Jurak	Margarita Gasparyan Monica Niculescu	7–5, 2–6, [10–7]

ITF Circuit Finals

María José Martínez Sánchez also played in many tournaments on the ITF Circuit.

Singles (12–8)

Outcome	No.	Date	Location	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1.	24 May 1999	Ceuta, Spain	Clay	Nuria Llagostera Vives	3–6, 4–6
Winner	1.	25 July 1999	Valladolid, Spain	Hard	Choi Ju-yeon	7–6, 6–2
Winner	2.	15 May 2000	Edinburgh, United Kingdom	Clay	Zsófia Gubacsi	6–2, 6–3
Runner-up	2.	4 June 2000	Modena, Italy	Clay	Lourdes Domínguez Lino	6–4, 4–6, 5–7
Winner	3.	10 July 2000	Getxo, Spain	Clay	Julia Vakulenko	6–4, 6–0
Winner	4.	23 July 2000	Valladolid, Spain	Hard	Paula Hermida	6–4, 6–2
Runner-up	3.	4 September 2000	Denain, France	Hard (i)	Anabel Medina Garrigues	6–2, 5–7, 0–6
Runner-up	4.	29 April 2001	Caserta, Italy	Clay	Tathiana Garbin	6–3, 6–7, 2–6
Runner-up	5.	2 June 2003	Galatina, Italy	Clay	Kaia Kanepi	3–6, 3–6
Winner	5.	2 August 2005	Vigo, Spain	Hard	Annette Kolb	6–7(5), 7–5, 7–6(4)
Runner-up	6.	30 August 2005	Mollerussa, Spain	Hard	Kildine Chevalier	2–6, 7–5, 2–6
Runner-up	7.	20 March 2006	Sabadell, Spain	Clay	Estrella Cabeza Candela	3–6, 5–7
Winner	6.	16 April 2006	San Luis Potosí, Mexico	Clay	María José Argeri	6–2, 4–6, 6–2
Winner	7.	1 May 2006	Catania, Italy	Clay	Karin Knapp	3–6, 6–4, 4–6
Winner	8.	6 June 2006	Madrid, Spain	Hard	Kelly Liggan	7–6, 6–3
Winner	9.	23 October 2006	Sant Cugat, Spain	Clay	Arantxa Parra Santonja	6–2, 6–4
Winner	10.	17 April 2007	Calvià, Spain	Clay	Casey Dellacqua	6–1, 6–7, 7–5
Winner	11.	17 September 2007	Madrid, Spain	Hard	Sabine Lisicki	6–2, 3–6, 6–3
Winner	12.	24 September 2007	Granada, Spain	Hard	Monica Niculescu	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	8.	12 May 2008	Saint-Gaudens, France	Clay	Petra Cetkovská	4–6, 4–6

Doubles (23–16)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1.	11 May 1998	Tortosa, Spain	Clay	Anabel Medina Garrigues	Patricia Aznar Cynthia Perez	0–6, 3–6
Runner-up	2.	11 October 1998	Girona, Spain	Clay	Marta Marrero	Rosa María Andrés Rodríguez Lourdes Domínguez Lino	6–4, 1–6, 6–7
Winner	1.	24 May 1999	Ceuta, Spain	Clay	Rocío González	Oleksandra Kravets Nuria Llagostera Vives	7–6(4), 6–0
Winner	2.	27 September 1999	Porto, Portugal	Clay	Lourdes Domínguez Lino	Alicia Ortuño Michaela Paštiková	3–6, 6–2, 6–1
Winner	3.	3 June 2000	Modena, Italy	Clay	Lourdes Domínguez Lino	Tina Hergold Maja Matevžič	6–4, 4–6, 6–3
Runner-up	3.	12 June 2000	Grado, Italy	Clay	Lourdes Domínguez Lino	Vanessa Menga Alicia Ortuño	6–3, 5–7, 1–6
Runner-up	4.	10 July 2000	Getxo, Spain	Clay	Lourdes Domínguez Lino	Maja Palaveršić Alicia Ortuño	1–6, 2–6
Winner	4.	17 July 2000	Valladolid, Spain	Clay	Alicia Ortuño	Trudi Musgrave Lorna Woodroffe	6–2, 6–4
Winner	5.	4 September 2000	Denain, France	Clay	Lourdes Domínguez Lino	Elena Bovina Mariana Díaz Oliva	6–4, 6–0
Runner-up	5.	23 April 2001	Caserta, Italy	Clay	Gisela Riera	Eva Bes Lourdes Domínguez Lino	1–6, 6–7(5)
Runner-up	6.	22 September 2002	Biella, Italy	Clay	Anabel Medina Garrigues	Lubomira Bacheva Eva Bes	5–7, 6–2, 6–7(5)
Runner-up	7.	3 May 2003	Maglie, Italy	Clay	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Delia Sescioreanu Edina Gallovits-Hall	4–6, 6–4, 3–6
Winner	6.	22 June 2003	Périgueux, France	Clay	Anabel Medina Garrigues	Lana Popadić Natacha Randriantefy	6–0, 6–3
Winner	7.	29 June 2003	Mont-de-Marsan, France	Clay	Paula García	Kildine Chevalier Christina Zachariadou	6–4, 7–5
Runner-up	8.	11 August 2003	Martina Franca, Italy	Clay	Paula García	Mervana Jugić-Salkić Darija Jurak	6–2, 4–6, 1–6
Winner	8.	5 October 2003	Girona, Spain	Clay	Conchita Martínez Granados	Lubomira Bacheva Roberta Vinci	7–5, 6–3
Winner	9.	21 February 2005	Melilla, Spain	Hard	Sara Errani	Sun Shengnan Yang Shujing	6–7, 6–0, 7–5
Winner	10.	6 August 2005	Vigo, Spain	Hard	Anna Font	Estrella Cabeza Candela Matilde Muñoz Gonzalves	6–2, 6–3
Winner	11.	21 August 2005	Coimbra, Portugal	Hard	Ana Catarina Nogueira	Angelique Kerber Tatjana Priachin	6–4, 7–6(1)
Winner	12.	18 September 2005	Bordeaux, France	Clay	Conchita Martínez Granados	Julia Schruff Jasmin Wöhr	7–5, 6–2
Runner-up	9.	3 October 2005	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Conchita Martínez Granados	Lourdes Domínguez Lino María Sánchez Lorenzo	5–7, 7–6(4), 6–7(3)
Winner	13.	15 October 2005	Sevilla, Spain	Clay	Sara Errani	Gabriela Niculescu Monica Niculescu	6–2, 7–6(5)
Runner-up	10.	30 October 2005	Sant Cugat, Spain	Clay	Conchita Martínez Granados	Lourdes Domínguez Lino Arantxa Parra Santonja	4–6, 3–6
Runner-up	11.	26 March 2006	Sabadell, Spain	Hard	Marta Fraga	Estrella Cabeza Candela Núria Roig	1–6, 1–6
Runner-up	12.	15 April 2006	San Luis Potosí, Mexico	Clay	Joana Cortez	Zsófia Gubacsi Matea Mezak	6–4, 4–6, 4–6
Winner	14.	11 June 2006	Móstoles, Spain	Hard	Joana Cortez	Carla Tiene Jenifer Widjaja	6–3, 6–2
Winner	15.	18 June 2006	Marseille, France	Clay	Conchita Martínez Granados	Séverine Beltrame Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro	7–5, 6–4
Winner	16.	14 October 2006	Joué-lès-Tours, France	Hard (i)	Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro	Barbora Strýcová Renata Voráčová	7–5, 7–5
Runner-up	13.	20 April 2007	Calvià, Spain	Clay	Arantxa Parra Santonja	Petra Cetkovská Andrea Hlaváčková	5–7, 4–6
Winner	17.	17 September 2007	Madrid, Spain	Clay	Arantxa Parra Santonja	Monica Niculescu Yevgenia Savranska	6–1, 7–6(4)
Winner	18.	24 September 2007	Granada, Spain	Clay	Marta Marrero	Alexandra Dulgheru Monica Niculescu	6–4, 6–1
Winner	19.	8 October 2007	Reggio Calabria, Italy	Clay	Marta Marrero	Stefanie Haidner Sandra Martinović	6–1, 6–2
Winner	20.	22 October 2007	Sant Cugat, Spain	Clay	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Kira Nagy Aurélie Védy	6–4, 6–1
Runner-up	14.	3 February 2008	Belford, France	Hard (i)	Marta Marrero	Lucie Hradecká Andrea Sestini Hlaváčková	6–7(8), 4–6
Winner	21.	15 March 2008	Las Palmas, Spain	Hard	Marta Marrero	Anna Gerasimou Anna Hawkins	6–2, 7–6(1)
Runner-up	15.	31 March 2008	Patras, Greece	Clay	Arantxa Parra Santonja	Tzipora Obziler Anastasiya Yakimova	5–7, 1–6
Runner-up	16.	7 April 2008	Monzón, Spain	Hard	Arantxa Parra Santonja	Rika Fujiwara Emmanuelle Gagliardi	6–1, 6–7(5), 8–10
Winner	22.	14 April 2008	Saint-Malo, France	Clay	Arantxa Parra Santonja	Renata Voráčová  Anastasiya Yakimova	6–2, 6–1
Winner	23.	20 December 2015	Ankara, Turkey	Hard (i)	Marina Melnikova	Paula Kania Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove	6–4, 5–7, [10–8]

Team Events

María José Martínez Sánchez also played for Spain in team tennis events.

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partnering	Opponents	Score
Winner	1.	9 January 2010	Hopman Cup, Perth, Western Australia	Hard	Tommy Robredo	Andy Murray  Laura Robson	2–1

Images for kids

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  Martínez Sánchez at the 2018 French Open

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  Sánchez playing at the 2009 US Open

See also

In Spanish: María José Martínez para niños