Agnieszka Radwańska

Agnieszka Radwańska

Radwanska at the 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open
Country (sports)	Poland
Residence	Kraków, Poland
Born	(1989-03-06) 6 March 1989 Kraków, Poland
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Turned pro	23 April 2005
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	US$7,327,730
Singles
Career record	304–137
Career titles	8 WTA, 2 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 5 (27 February 2012)
Current ranking	No. 5 (27 February 2012)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	QF (2008, 2011, 2012)
French Open	4R (2008, 2009, 2011)
Wimbledon	QF (2008, 2009)
US Open	4R (2007, 2008)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	RR (2008, 2009, 2011)
Doubles
Career record	106–81
Career titles	2 WTA, 2 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 16 (10 October 2011)
Current ranking	No. 20 (20 February 2012)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	SF (2010)
French Open	QF (2009, 2010)
Wimbledon	3R (2007, 2011)
US Open	SF (2011)
Last updated on: 16 January 2012.

Agnieszka Radwańska [aɡˈɲɛʂka radˈvaɲska] (born 6 March 1989 in Kraków) is a Polish professional tennis player. As of 27 February 2012, she is ranked world no. 5. Known for constructing points and making intelligent use of the court, she has won eight WTA singles titles.

In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she won the Nordea Nordic Light Open. Radwańska has also reached five Grand Slam quarterfinals, becoming the first Polish woman in the WTA to do so. In 2008, she became the first Polish female tennis player to surpass US$1 million in career prize money.

Personal life

Agnieszka Radwańska was born in Kraków. She began playing tennis at the age of four, after her father introduced her to the sport. Her younger sister, Urszula, is also a tennis player. Radwańska's closest friends on the WTA Tour are Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka, Daniela Hantuchová, Angelique Kerber, and Maria Kirilenko.

Playing style

Radwańska hits consistently on both the forehand and the backhand sides. Her favorite shot is her forehand, particularly the inside-out forehand. She is also very accurate with the drop shot and lob, and relies on tactical accuracy and patience in constructing the point before hitting a winner. Several commentators (including former men's pro Wojciech Fibak) have compared her playing style to that of Martina Hingis, describing her as "a natural mover who understands the geometry of the court".

Career

2006

Radwańska played her first WTA tournament at the Tier II J&S Cup (later known as the Warsaw Open) in Warsaw. In her first match, she defeated seventh-seeded Anastasia Myskina 6–4, 4–6, 6–4. She advanced to the quarterfinals, where she lost to Elena Dementieva in three sets.

In June, Radwańska won her second Grand Slam junior singles title, defeating top-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the final of the French Open. She reached the top of the ITF rankings and received a wild card for the main draw at Wimbledon, where she lost in the fourth round to second-seeded Kim Clijsters. In August, Radwańska won three qualifying matches to reach the main draw of the US Open. She lost in the second round to Tatiana Golovin. At the Fortis Championships Luxembourg tournament, Radwańska lost in the semifinals to Francesca Schiavone after defeating former world no. 1 Venus Williams in the second round and top-seeded Dementieva in the quarterfinals.

2007

At the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, world no. 49 Radwańska defeated world no. 6 Martina Hingis in the third round 4–6, 6–3, 6–2. She lost to Tathiana Garbin in the next round 6–3, 6–4.

Radwańska won her first WTA doubles title at the Tier III Istanbul Cup, partnering her younger sister Urszula. In August, she won her first WTA singles title at the Tier IV Nordea Nordic Light Open in Stockholm. By defeating Vera Dushevina in the final, she became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA tour singles title.

At the US Open, Radwańska defeated defending champion Maria Sharapova in the third round 6–4, 1–6, 6–2. This was the first time that a second-seeded female player had lost before the fourth round since Andrea Jaeger in 1981. Radwańska then lost to Shahar Pe'er in the fourth round.

2008

At the 2008 US Open

Radwańska upset world No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the third round of the Australian Open. She then defeated 14th-seededed Nadia Petrova to reach her first Grand Slam singles tournament quarterfinal, losing to ninth-seeded Daniela Hantuchová. This tournament was the first time that two female Poles, Radwańska and Marta Domachowska, reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam singles tournament.

At the Tier IV Pattaya Women's Open in Thailand, Radwańska won her second career WTA tournament singles title, beating Jill Craybas in the final.

Radwańska reached her first Tier I semifinal at the Qatar Total Open in Doha, defeating Dominika Cibulková in a nearly three-hour quarterfinal, before losing to Maria Sharapova in the semis. In May, Radwańska won the Tier III Istanbul Cup on red clay with a victory over Elena Dementieva, earning her third WTA singles title. She then lost a fourth-round French Open match to Jelena Janković.

On grass, Radwańska won the Tier II International Women's Open in Eastbourne, United Kingdom, defeating Nadia Petrova in the final. At Wimbledon, Radwańska defeated fourth-seeded Kuznetsova in the fourth round. She then lost to sixth-seeded Serena Williams in the quarterfinals, with Williams becoming the first woman to defeat both Radwańska sisters in the same tournament. At the Olympics in Beijing, Radwańska lost a second-round match to Francesca Schiavone. She went on to reach the fourth round of the US Open, losing to seventh-seeded Venus Williams. Radwańska ended the year ranked world no. 10.

2009

Radwańska reached the quarterfinals of the Medibank International Sydney, where she lost in three sets to eventual champion Elena Dementieva. She was upset in first round of the Australian Open by Kateryna Bondarenko.

In Indian Wells, she defeated Samantha Stosur and Aleksandra Wozniak en route to the quarterfinals, where she lost to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. At the Sony Ericsson Open, she lost a three-set fourth-round match to Venus Williams.

She reached the fourth round of the French Open, falling in three sets to eventual champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. She and Urszula also reached the quarterfinals in doubles. She went on to reach her second consecutive quarterfinal at Wimbledon, falling to Venus Williams.

She reached her first semifinal of the season in Tokyo, where she fell in three sets to eventual champion Maria Sharapova. She reached her first final of the year in China, losing in straight sets to Svetlana Kuznetsova. Her performance in Beijing led to her finishing the year ranked world no. 10.

2010

Radwańska and her doubles partner Maria Kirilenko reached the semifinals of the 2010 Australian Open, losing to the world no. 1 pairing of Cara Black and Liezel Huber in three sets. In Indian Wells, Radwańska won her fifth straight match against Marion Bartoli, and went on to upset Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals before losing to Caroline Wozniacki in the semis. Radwańska entered the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open as the sixth seed, defeating world no. 1 Ana Ivanović en route to a quarterfinal match aganist Venus Williams, which she lost 6–3, 6–1.

For the first time in her career, Radwańska was seeded in the top 8 for a Grand Slam at the 2010 French Open, having reached the world no. 8 ranking prior to Indian Wells. She defeated Elena Baltacha in the first round, but her unsuccessful clay court season continued as she suffered a loss to Yaroslava Shvedova in the second round. At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, she lost a fourth-round match against Li Na, slipping to no. 11 in the world rankings.

Due to a stress fracture in her foot, Radwańska's season ended at the China Open, where she lost a three-set match to Angelique Kerber.

2011: Ascent

Radwańska reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, losing to eventual champion Kim Clijsters. She went on to reach the fourth round in Indian Wells, where she lost to Victoria Azarenka, and the quarterfinals in Miami, losing to Vera Zvonareva. However, she won the Miami doubles title with Daniela Hantuchová, defeating Nadia Petrova and Liezel Huber 7–6(5), 2–6, 10–8. She went on to reach the fourth round of the 2011 French Open, losing to Maria Sharapova for the sixth consecutive time.

At the 2011 Mercury Insurance Open, Radwańska advanced to the final and defeated rival Vera Zvonareva in straight sets. With the victory, she earned her first title since winning in Eastbourne in 2008. At the 2011 Rogers Cup in Toronto, she once again defeated Zvonareva in the third round, 6–4, 7–6(4), coming back from a 0–4 deficit in the second set. She went on to lose a three-set semifinal match against Samantha Stosur.

After defeating her sister Urszula in the first round of the US Open, she was upset in the second round by eventual semifinalist Angelique Kerber. She avenged this loss at the Toray Pan Pacific Open, defeating Kerber in three sets before advancing to the final, where she won her third straight match against Vera Zvonareva. This marked her first Premier 5 title, and raised her ranking to no. 12 in the world.

At the 2011 China Open, she defeated Zheng Jie, Sofia Arvidsson, Ana Ivanović, and Flavia Pennetta in straight sets, before winning a three-set final against Andrea Petkovic. She qualified for her first season-ending championship at the WTA Championships in Istanbul, taking the 8th spot when Marion Bartoli was unable to win the title in Moscow.

Going into the 2011 WTA Tour Championships, Radwańska was labeled by the media as one of the hottest players on tour. She was placed in the Red Group at the tournament, dropping a three-set opening match to Caroline Wozniacki. She then won her fourth straight match against Vera Zvonareva, coming back from a 3–5 deficit in the third set and saving three match points. To advance to the semifinals, she needed to win at least one set against Petra Kvitová. She started the match strongly by jumping out to a 5–1 lead, but eventually lost 6–7(4), 3–6. She ended the year ranked 8th with a 46–18 record, and was named WTA Fan Favorite Singles Player.

2012

Radwańska reached the semifinals of the 2012 Apia International in Sydney, defeating Urszula Radwanska, Andrea Petkovic, and then-world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki before losing to eventual champion Victoria Azarenka. At the Australian Open, she won a three-set opening round match against Bethanie Mattek-Sands. She then beat Paula Ormaechea, Galina Voskoboeva, and Julia Görges in straight sets, losing in the quarterfinals to Victoria Azarenka. Despite the loss, she achieved a new career-high ranking of 6 in the world.

She then entered the Qatar Total Open (receiving a bye in the first round), defeating Anne Keothavong, Varvara Lepchenko, and Christina McHale in straight sets. She lost in the semifinal match against newly crowned world no. 1 Victoria Azarenka. At the Dubai Tennis Championships she defeated Sabine Lisicki in the quarterfinals and Jelena Janković in the semifinals. In the final, she defeated Julia Görges 7–5, 6–4, winning her first title of the season and reaching the world no. 5 ranking.

Rivalries

Radwańska vs. Zvonareva

Radwańska and Zvonareva following the 2011 Pan Pacific Open final.

Radwańska has a rivalry with Russian player Vera Zvonareva, which began in 2007. Radwańska leads the series 4–2.

Throughout their meetings, Radwańska has proven able to match Zvonareva's pace and movements around the court. Zvonareva is considered the more powerful of the two, while Radwańska has been noted as more focused at times, utilizing what Sports Illustrated's Courtney Nguyen dubbed "selective aggression" during the pair's 2011 matches.

Their first match occurred during the 2007 Kremlin Cup, with Zvonareva winning in straight sets. The two did not play again until the 2011 season, when Radwańska won four of their five matches—including the finals of the Mercury Insurance Open and the Pan Pacific Open. Their final meeting of 2011 was an acclaimed match at the WTA Championships. Trailing 3–5 in the third set, Radwańska saved three match points and went on to win 1–6, 6–2, 7–5. The victory marked her fourth straight win against Zvonareva, who she described as "very consistent and always tough to beat."

Radwańska vs. sister Urszula Radwańska

Agnieszka and her younger sister Urszula Radwańska have played on the WTA Tour four times. Urszula, a year and 9 months younger, won their first match while both were still teenagers at the WTA Premier 2009 Dubai Tennis Championships tournament, in the first round, by a score of 6–4, 6–3. However, Agnieszka won their match later that year at the 2009 AEGON International, also a Premier-level tournament, 6–1, 6–1. Agnieszka won 6–2, 6–3 in the first round of the 2011 US Open and then again at the 2012 Apia International Sydney in Sydney, 6–1, 6–1.

Radwańska vs. Azarenka

Radwańska and Victoria Azarenka first played in 2006. Azarenka leads their head-to-head 8–3. During the 2006 Wimbledon Championships, Radwańska won their first meeting in straight sets. The two have met at least once a year since, often in quarterfinal or semifinal matches. Their first meeting of 2012 occurred at the Apia International, with Azarenka winning in three sets. They met again less than two weeks later, when Azarenka won their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open.

Career statistics

Main article: Agnieszka Radwańska career statistics

Singles Performance Timeline

Tournament	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	SR	W–L
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open	A	A	A	2R	QF	1R	3R	QF	QF	0 / 6	15–6
French Open	A	A	A	1R	4R	4R	2R	4R		0 / 5	10–5
Wimbledon	A	A	4R	3R	QF	QF	4R	2R		0 / 6	17–6
US Open	A	A	2R1	4R	4R	2R	2R	2R		0 / 6	13–6
Win–Loss	0–0	0–0	7–2	6–4	14–4	8–4	7–4	9–4	4–1	0 / 23	55–23

Awards

2006

• WTA Tour Most Impressive Newcomer of the Year

2011

• WTA Fan Favorite Singles Player

References

External links

• Official website
• Agnieszka Radwańska at the Women's Tennis Association
• Template:ITF junior profile
• Agnieszka Radwańska at the Billie Jean King Cup