Ágnes Szávay

Ágnes Szávay (Hungarian: Szávay Ágnes, pronounced [ˈsaːvɒi ˈaːɡnɛʃ]; born 29 December 1988) is a former professional tennis player from Hungary. The 2007 WTA Newcomer of the Year achieved her career-high ranking of world No. 13 in April 2008.[2]

Ágnes Szávay

Szávay at the 2010 US Open
Country (sports)	Hungary
Residence	Vienna, Austria
Born	29 December 1988 Kiskunhalas, Hungary
Height	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Turned pro	2004
Retired	6 February 2013[1]
Plays	Right (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	$2,120,121
Singles
Career record	219–125
Career titles	5 WTA, 3 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 13 (14 April 2008)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	2R (2010)
French Open	4R (2009)
Wimbledon	4R (2008)
US Open	QF (2007)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games	1R (2008)
Doubles
Career record	101–78
Career titles	2 WTA, 3 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 22 (24 September 2007)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	3R (2006, 2009)
French Open	3R (2007, 2008)
Wimbledon	QF (2010)
US Open	SF (2007)

Personal life

Szávay was born in Kiskunhalas and grew up in Soltvadkert. She started to play tennis at the age of six, with her parents acting as her first coaches and managers. She worked with several coaches including Zoltán Újhidy, Levente Barátosi, Miklós Hornok, József Bocskay, Zoltán Kuharszky, Karl-Heinz Wetter and Gábor Köves. Her younger sister Blanka is five years her junior.

Tennis career

2006

In 2006, she made it to the final of the Ashland Challenger tournament, but lost there to Aleksandra Wozniak in straight sets.[3]

2007

Szávay won her first career WTA-level tournament in singles in Palermo in July. The win caused her ranking to rise to world No. 37. She also won one doubles tournament, the Tier III Budapest Grand Prix, with Vladimíra Uhlířová.

In August, Szávay reached the final of the Tier II tournament in New Haven, defeating Daniela Hantuchová, Alona Bondarenko, and Samantha Stosur, then lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. Szávay was leading 6–4, 0–3 when she had to retire from the match because of a back injury.[4]

Szávay reached the quarterfinals of the US Open, defeating 32nd-seeded Michaëlla Krajicek and seventh-seeded Nadia Petrova, then lost to Kuznetsova. She also reached the semifinals in women's doubles, teaming with Uhlířová.

At her first tournament after the US Open, she reached the final of the Tier II China Open. Szávay, the sixth seed, reached the semifinals where she defeated Chinese player Peng Shuai to advance to her second career Tier II final. Szávay then defeated Jelena Janković to claim her first Tier II title. Szávay led 5–0 in the first set tiebreak before losing it 7–9. In the second set, Szávay saved a match point while trailing 5–1 with a second serve ace and then won nine consecutive games.[5] Szávay moved into the top 20 due to this result.

Szávay's year ended prematurely because of a thigh injury. In late September at the Tier IV Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships in Seoul, she was forced to retire from her quarterfinal match with Eleni Daniilidou while tied at one set apiece. She did not play on the tour the remainder of the year.

For her achievements, she was named "2007 Hungarian Sportswoman of the Year".

2008

Ágnes Szávay at Roland Garros, 2008

Szávay began the year at the Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourt in Gold Coast. Szávay and Dinara Safina, the third seeded team, won the doubles title, defeating the first and second seeded teams in the semifinals and final, respectively.[6]

Szávay reached the final of the Tier II Open Gaz de France in Paris. She defeated second-seeded Daniela Hantuchová in the quarterfinals and fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva in the semifinals, then lost to Anna Chakvetadze in the three-set final.

Szávay started the clay court season by reaching the quarterfinals in three consecutive tournaments. At the Tier II Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Szávay lost to Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals. Going into the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, Szávay was ranked world No. 13, her highest singles ranking; she reached the quarterfinals but eventually lost to Alizé Cornet in two sets. At the Tier I Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin, Szávay lost to world No. 2 Ana Ivanovic in three sets.

2009

Szávay at the 2009 French Open

At the 2009 French Open, Szávay was seeded 29th and upset world No. 3 Venus Williams, beating her in the third round. She was defeated in straight sets by Dominika Cibulková in the fourth round. She won the third title of her career in her hometown at GDF Suez Grand Prix defeating top seed Patty Schnyder in the final.

2010

Szávay reached her first quarterfinals of the year at the Open GDF Suez and then reached the quarterfinals at the Abierto Mexicano TELCEL and the Monterrey Open. In the summer, she won back-to-back titles at the GDF Suez Grand Prix and the ECM Prague Open.

2011

Szávay won her first match in nearly five months at the BNP Paribas Open. After the French Open, she took time off to recover from a back injury.

2012

Szávay lost in several first rounds, including the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, the Olympics, the New Haven Open at Yale, and the US Open.

2013

On 6 February 2013, Szávay announced retirement from professional tennis due to ongoing back problems.[7]

WTA career finals

Singles: 7 (5–2)

Legend: Before 2009 Legend: Starting in 2009 Grand Slam tournaments (0/0) WTA Championships (0/0) Tier I (0/0) Premier Mandatory (0/0) Tier II (1/2) Premier 5 (0/0) Tier III (0/0) Premier (0/0) Tier IV & V (1/0) International (3/0)

Finals by surface Hard (1/2) Grass (0/0) Clay (4/0) Carpet (0/0)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1.	16 July 2007	Palermo, Italy	Clay	Martina Müller	6–0, 6–1
Runner-up	1.	25 August 2007	New Haven, United States	Hard	Svetlana Kuznetsova	6–4, 0–3 ret.
Winner	2.	23 September 2007	Beijing, China	Hard	Jelena Janković	6–7^(7–9), 7–5, 6–2
Runner-up	2.	10 February 2008	Paris, France	Hard	Anna Chakvetadze	3–6, 6–2, 2–6
Winner	3.	12 July 2009	Budapest, Hungary (1)	Clay	Patty Schnyder	2–6, 6–4, 6–2
Winner	4.	11 July 2010	Budapest, Hungary (2)	Clay	Patty Schnyder	6–2, 6–4
Winner	5.	18 July 2010	Prague, Czech Republic	Clay	Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová	6–2, 1–6, 6–2

Doubles: 8 (2–6)

Legend: Before 2009 Legend: Starting in 2009 Grand Slam tournaments (0/0) WTA Championships (0/0) Tier I (0–0) Premier Mandatory (0/0) Tier II (0–1) Premier 5 (0/0) Tier III (2–3) Premier (0–0) Tier IV & V (0–1) International (0–1)

Finals by surface Hard (1–3) Grass (0–0) Clay (1–3) Carpet (0–0)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1.	8 July 2004	Budapest, Hungary	Clay	Virág Németh	Petra Mandula Barbara Schett	3–6, 2–6
Runner-up	2.	24 October 2005	Hasselt, Belgium	Hard (i)	Michaëlla Krajicek	Émilie Loit Katarina Srebotnik	3–6, 4–6
Runner-up	3.	20 February 2006	Bogotá, Colombia	Hard	Jasmin Wöhr	Gisela Dulko Flavia Pennetta	6–7, 1–6
Runner-up	4.	3 March 2007	Doha, Qatar	Hard	Vladimíra Uhlířová	Martina Hingis Maria Kirilenko	1–6, 1–6
Winner	1.	23 April 2007	Budapest, Hungary	Clay	Vladimíra Uhlířová	Martina Müller Gabriela Navrátilová	7–5, 6–2
Runner-up	5.	23 July 2007	Bad Gastein, Austria	Clay	Vladimíra Uhlířová	Lucie Hradecká Renata Voráčová	3–6, 5–7
Winner	2.	5 January 2008	Gold Coast, Australia	Hard	Dinara Safina	Yan Zi Zheng Jie	6–1, 6–2
Runner-up	6.	18 July 2010	Prague, Czech Republic	Clay	Monica Niculescu	Timea Bacsinszky Tathiana Garbin	5–7, 6–7^(4–7)

ITF Circuit finals

$100,000 tournaments

$75,000 tournaments

$50,000 tournaments

$25,000 tournaments

$10,000 tournaments

Singles: 4 (3–1)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1.	26 September 2004	Ciampino, Italy	Clay	Stefania Boffa	6–0, 6–2
Runner-up	1.	1 October 2006	Ashland, United States	Hard	Aleksandra Wozniak	1–6, 6–7^(2–7)
Winner	2.	22 October 2006	Houston, United States	Hard	Bethanie Mattek	2–6, 6–4, 6–1
Winner	3.	19 May 2007	Zagreb, Croatia	Clay	Nika Ožegović	6–0, 7–6^(7–2)

Doubles: 5 (3-2)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1.	5 October 2003	Carcavelos, Portugal	Clay	Romy Farah	Iveta Gerlová Katarína Kachlíková	4–6, 6–7^(6–8)
Winner	1.	10 April 2005	Dinan, France	Clay	Michaëlla Krajicek	Yuliya Beygelzimer Sandra Klösel	7–5, 7–5
Winner	2.	23 July 2006	Vittel, France	Clay	Yuliya Beygelzimer	Mădălina Gojnea Ekaterina Makarova	6–2, 7–5
Runner-up	2.	1 October 2006	Ashland, United States	Hard	Ashley Harkleroad	Milagros Sequera Julie Ditty	3–6, 7–5, 2–6
Winner	3.	18 May 2007	Zagreb	Clay	Emma Laine	Klaudia Jans Alicja Rosolska	6–1, 6–2

Singles performance timeline

Key

W

F

SF

QF

#R

RR

Q#

A

P

Z#

PO

G

F-S

SF-B

NMS

NH

(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (P) postponed; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (F-S) silver or (SF-B) bronze Olympic medal; a (NMS) downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)

To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Tournament	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	W-L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	A	A	A	Q1	Q2	1R	1R	2R	A	A	1–3
French Open	A	A	A	Q3	2R	3R	4R	2R	1R	A	7–5
Wimbledon	A	A	A	A	2R	4R	1R	1R	A	A	4–4
US Open	A	A	Q1	A	QF	2R	1R	2R	A	1R	6–5
Win-Loss	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	6–3	6–4	3–4	3–4	0–1	0–1	18–17
Olympic Games
Summer Olympics	NH	A	Not Held			1R	Not Held			1R	0–2
WTA Premier Mandatory tournaments
Indian Wells	A	A	A	A	A	A	4R	3R	2R	A	4–3
Miami	A	A	A	A	A	2R	4R	3R	2R	A	4–4
Madrid	Not Held						QF	1R	2R	A	4–2
Beijing	NH	Not Tier I					1R	1R	A	A	6–3
WTA Premier 5 tournaments
Dubai	Not Tier I						1R	A	A	NP5	0–1
Doha	Not Tier I					1R	Not Held		NP5	A	0–1
Rome	A	A	A	A	A	2R	1R	A	A	A	1–2
Montreal/Toronto	A	A	A	A	A	A	2R	3R	A	A	3–2
Cincinnati	Not Tier I						2R	A	A	A	1–1
Tokyo	A	A	A	A	A	1R	1R	1R	A	A	0–3
Titles	0	1	0	1	3	0	1	2	0	0	5
Year-end ranking	–	278	181	207	20	28	40	37	256	1025

Grand Slam doubles performance timeline

Tournament	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	W-L
Australian Open	3R	2R	1R	3R	2R	A	A	6–5
French Open	1R	3R	3R	2R	2R	A	A	6–5
Wimbledon	A	2R	3R	1R	QF	A	A	6–4
US Open	A	SF	A	2R	A	A	1R	5–3
Win–Loss	2–2	8–4	4–3	4–4	5–3	0–0	0–1	23–17

References

1. "Elbúcsúzom... /in Hungarian/". szavayagnes.hu. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
2. WTA | Players | Activity | Ágnes Szávay
3. Robert Wechsler (2007). Day by Day in Jewish Sports History. KTAV Publishing House, Inc. p. 275. ISBN 978-0-88125-969-8. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
4. Eaton-Robb, Pat., "Svetlana Kuznetsova wins Pilot Pen when Ágnes Szávay retires with back injury", Yahoo! News, 2007-08-25, Retrieved on 2007-09-03
5. Back from the Brink in Beijing
6. Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts main draw doubles
7. "WTA – Hungary´s Agnes Szavay announces her retirement from the sport". 7 February 2013.

External links

• Ágnes Szávay at the Women's Tennis Association
• Ágnes Szávay at the International Tennis Federation
• Ágnes Szávay at the Billie Jean King Cup
• Szávay statistics
• Official website (in Hungarian)