Nadia Petrova facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Nadia Petrova
Надежда Петрова

Petrova winning in Cincinnati
Country (sports)	Russia
Residence	Miami, United States
Born	(1982-06-08) 8 June 1982 (age 43) Moscow, Soviet Union
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro	6 September 1999
Retired	11 January 2017
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	US$ 12,466,924
Singles
Career record	533–303 (63.76%)
Career titles	13
Highest ranking	No. 3 (15 May 2006)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	QF (2006, 2010)
French Open	SF (2003, 2005)
Wimbledon	QF (2005, 2008)
US Open	QF (2004, 2005)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	RR (2005, 2006, 2008)
Olympic Games	3R (2012)
Doubles
Career record	384–175 (68.69%)
Career titles	24
Highest ranking	No. 3 (21 March 2005)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	SF (2011)
French Open	F (2012)
Wimbledon	QF (2004, 2005, 2007, 2013)
US Open	F (2010)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour Finals	W (2004, 2012)
Medal record Representing Russia Olympic Games Bronze 2012 London Doubles

Nadezhda Viktorovna "Nadia" Petrova (born 8 June 1982) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She was one of the best players in the world in both singles and doubles. Nadia reached a career-high ranking of No. 3 in the world in both types of play.

Petrova won a total of 37 titles on the WTA Tour during her career. This included 13 singles titles and 24 doubles titles. She also earned over $12.4 million in prize money. This makes her one of the most successful Russian tennis players ever.

In singles, Nadia reached nine Grand Slam quarterfinals. She also made it to the semifinals twice at the French Open (in 2003 and 2005). She qualified for the WTA Tour Championships three times. Her biggest singles wins were at major tournaments in Charleston and Berlin in 2006. She also won in Tokyo in 2012 and the year-end Tournament of Champions in 2012.

Nadia was also very successful in doubles. She won the year-ending WTA Championships twice. First with Meghann Shaughnessy in 2004, and then with Maria Kirilenko in 2012. With Kirilenko, she also won a bronze medal in doubles at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She reached two Grand Slam doubles finals: the 2010 US Open and the 2012 French Open.

Nadia Petrova announced her retirement from tennis on 11 January 2017. She retired at age 34 because of many injuries. She had not played professionally for almost three years.

About Nadia Petrova

Early life and family

Nadia Petrova was born in Moscow, Russia. Her family was very athletic. Her father, Viktor, was a hammer thrower. Her mother, Nadezhda Ilyina, won a bronze medal in the 400-meter relay at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

Both her parents were athletics coaches. Nadia traveled a lot with them when she was a child. She later lived in Egypt, where she trained with her parents.

Playing style

Nadia Petrova was an aggressive player who could hit powerful shots. She was especially good at hitting winners with her backhand. Her backhand shots were flat and sometimes had slice.

Nadia's Tennis Journey

Starting out in tennis

As a junior player, Nadia won the 1998 French Open. She beat Jelena Dokic in the final. In the same year, she was runner-up at the Orange Bowl and the junior US Open.

Nadia played her first WTA tournament in May 1998. By the end of 1999, she was ranked in the top 100 players. In 2000, she reached the quarterfinals of the Miami Open. She beat a top-ten player, Julie Halard-Decugis, for the first time. She finished that year ranked No. 50.

In 2001, Nadia reached the fourth round of both the French Open and the US Open. Her ranking went up to No. 38. She also started doing well in doubles, winning her first two WTA Tour titles. In 2002, injuries caused her singles ranking to drop. During this time, she focused more on doubles and reached the top 20 in doubles.

2003–2004: Big steps in singles and doubles

At the 2003 French Open, Nadia was ranked No. 76. She surprised everyone by beating three-time champion Monica Seles in the first round. This was Seles's last professional match. Nadia then kept winning, reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal. She lost to world No. 2, Kim Clijsters, but her ranking jumped to No. 30.

She continued to play well, reaching her first WTA Tour singles final in Linz. She finished 2003 ranked No. 12. In March 2004, Nadia entered the top 10 in singles, reaching No. 9. She even beat world No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne at the US Open. This was her first win against a world No. 1 player.

In doubles, Nadia had a great year in 2004. She and Meghann Shaughnessy won six doubles titles. They won the WTA Championships, which was Nadia's biggest doubles title. She finished 2004 ranked No. 7 in doubles.

2005: First singles title and top 10 finish

Nadia reached the fourth round of the 2005 Australian Open, losing to the champion Serena Williams. She then reached her third career singles final at the German Open. This performance helped her ranking rise to No. 9.

At the 2005 French Open, she reached the semifinals again. A few weeks later, at Wimbledon, she made it to the quarterfinals. After losing in a final in Bangkok, Nadia finally won her first singles title in Linz. This was her fifth attempt at winning a final. She finished 2005 ranked No. 9, her first time ending the year in the top 10.

2006: Five titles and a career-high ranking

The year 2006 was amazing for Nadia. She won her first title of the year in Qatar. Then, she went on a winning streak, winning 15 matches in a row. She won three titles in a row: Amelia Island, Charleston, and Berlin. The Charleston and Berlin titles were her first Tier I titles.

With these wins, Nadia reached her highest singles ranking ever, world No. 3. However, she got an ankle injury just before the 2006 French Open and lost in the first round. This also forced her to miss Wimbledon. Later in the year, she won another title in Stuttgart, her fifth of the year. She finished 2006 ranked No. 6, her best year-end ranking.

2007–2008: Ups and downs

In 2007, Nadia won her seventh career title in Paris. She reached the final in Amelia Island but lost. She struggled with injuries, especially a lower-back pain. This caused her to lose early in some major tournaments. She finished 2007 ranked No. 14.

Petrova at the 2007 Australian Open

In 2008, Nadia reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. This was her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since 2006. She won her first singles title of the year in Cincinnati. She also won the doubles title there with Maria Kirilenko. This was her 13th career doubles title. Nadia finished 2008 ranked No. 11.

Nadia at the 2008 US Open

2009–2010: Grand Slam finals in doubles

The year 2009 was tough for Nadia in singles. She didn't win any singles titles. However, she continued to do well in doubles. She won three doubles titles with Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Maria Kirilenko. She finished the year ranked No. 20 in singles.

In 2010, Nadia had a strong start at the 2010 Australian Open. She upset Kim Clijsters and Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach the quarterfinals. She also reached her first Grand Slam doubles final at the US Open with Liezel Huber. They lost a very close match. Nadia finished 2010 ranked No. 15 in singles and No. 8 in doubles.

2011–2012: Olympic medal and more titles

In 2011, Nadia won her tenth career singles title at the Washington Open. This was her first singles title in almost three years. She also reached the semifinals in doubles at the US Open with Maria Kirilenko.

Petrova at the 2012 Summer Olympics

The year 2012 was a big bounce-back for Nadia. She won her 11th singles title in Rosmalen. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, she and Maria Kirilenko won the bronze medal in doubles. This was a huge achievement! She also reached her second Grand Slam doubles final at the French Open.

Later in 2012, Nadia won her biggest singles tournament in Tokyo. She then won the WTA Tour Championships in doubles with Kirilenko. She also won the Tournament of Champions in Sofia, her 13th singles title. Nadia finished 2012 ranked No. 12 in singles and No. 5 in doubles.

2013–2014: Injuries and retirement

In 2013, Nadia continued to have success in doubles. She won three doubles titles with Katarina Srebotnik, including in Sydney and Miami. However, she struggled with injuries in singles. She lost early in many tournaments and her ranking dropped.

In 2014, Nadia's injuries continued. She played only a few tournaments and had to retire from one match. She did not play any more tournaments for the rest of the year. Her ranking dropped out of the top 300. Nadia did not play any professional matches in 2015 or 2016.

On 11 January 2017, Nadia Petrova officially announced her retirement from tennis. She had a wonderful career filled with many achievements.

Images for kids

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  Petrova at the French Open

See also

In Spanish: Nadezhda Petrova para niños