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| image = Bacsinszky US16 (8) (29828039066).jpg
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| caption = Bacsinszky in [[2016 US Open (tennis)|2016 US Open]]
| caption = Bacsinszky in 2016 US Open
| country = {{flag|Switzerland}}
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| residence = [[Belmont-sur-Lausanne]]
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==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Bacsinszky, who first picked up a racket at age 5, was pushed hard to succeed in youth tennis by her father Igor, tennis coach from [[Romania]].<ref name="wtatennis">{{cite web|url=http://www.wtatennis.com/players/player/311579/title/Timea-BACSINSZKY|title=Timea Bacsinszky Biography|first=|last=|work=|date=1 March 2015|accessdate=1 March 2015|language=}}</ref> She has stated that she resented him for this and remains estranged from him after her parents divorced, though she still developed a passion for competitive tennis.<ref name="power"/> Her mother, Suzanne, is a dentist from [[Hungary]]. Her Romanian born father, Igor is part [[Polish people|Polish]] descent and her mother Suzanne, Hungarian with [[Austria]]n roots.<ref name="wtatennis"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.origo.hu/sport/egyeni/20150415-interju-bacsinszky-timea-teniszezovel.html|title=Zsarnok apát kellett legyőznie, hogy sikeres lehessen|publisher=[[Origo]]|date=7 May 2015|language=Hungarian}}</ref> She has one brother, Daniel, a music teacher and member of [[The Evpatoria Report]], and two sisters, Sophie (musician and student) and Melinda.<ref name="wtatennis"/> While growing up, Bacsinszky idolized [[Monica Seles]]. She spent part of her childhood in [[Satu Mare]].
Bacsinszky, who first picked up a racket at age 5, was pushed hard to succeed in youth tennis by her father Igor, tennis coach from [[Romania]].<ref name="wtatennis">{{cite web|url=http://www.wtatennis.com/players/player/311579/title/Timea-BACSINSZKY|title=Timea Bacsinszky Biography|first=|last=|work=|date=1 March 2015|accessdate=1 March 2015|language=}}</ref> She has stated that she resented him for this and remains estranged from him after her parents divorced, though she still developed a passion for competitive tennis.<ref name="power"/> Her mother, Suzanne, is a dentist from [[Hungary]]. Her Romanian born father, Igor is part [[Polish people|Polish]] descent and her mother Suzanne, Hungarian with [[Austria]]n roots.<ref name="wtatennis"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.origo.hu/sport/egyeni/20150415-interju-bacsinszky-timea-teniszezovel.html|title=Zsarnok apát kellett legyőznie, hogy sikeres lehessen|publisher=[[Origo]]|date=7 May 2015|language=Hungarian}}</ref> She has one brother, Daniel, a music teacher and member of [[The Evpatoria Report]], and two sisters, Sophie (musician and student) and Melinda.<ref name="wtatennis"/> While growing up, Bacsinszky idolized [[Monica Seles]]. She spent part of her childhood in [[Satu Mare]].

Bacsinszky's hometown is [[Lausanne]], and she is a devout fan of the local ice hockey team, [[Lausanne HC]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.24heures.ch/sports/lhc/Timea-Bacsinszky-Malley-a-souvent-porte-l-equipe/story/24627399|title=Timea Bacsinszky: "Malley a souvent porté l’équipe"|work=[[24 heures (Switzerland)|24 heures]]|date=7 June 2017|accessdate=20 September 2017|language=French}}</ref>


==Career==
==Career==
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Bacsinszky's early tennis highlights included reaching the semifinals of three junior Grand Slam tournaments in 2004–05. Her breakthrough professional tournament was the [[2006 Zurich Open]], where she qualified then defeated [[Anastasia Myskina]] and [[Francesca Schiavone]] before losing to former No. 1, [[Maria Sharapova]]. Her early years on tour were a learning experience, and she finished both 2006 and 2007 ranked in the 120s.
Bacsinszky's early tennis highlights included reaching the semifinals of three junior Grand Slam tournaments in 2004–05. Her breakthrough professional tournament was the [[2006 Zurich Open]], where she qualified then defeated [[Anastasia Myskina]] and [[Francesca Schiavone]] before losing to former No. 1, [[Maria Sharapova]]. Her early years on tour were a learning experience, and she finished both 2006 and 2007 ranked in the 120s.


Her singles ranking climbed in 2008, and she finished in the top 60 three straight years. The breakthrough was reaching the semifinals of the [[Diamond Games]] in February, winning three qualifying and several main draw matches before losing to world No. 1, [[Justine Henin]], in three sets. She won her first WTA singles title at the [[2009 BGL Luxembourg Open|2009 Luxembourg Open]] then won her first three doubles titles the following year.
Her singles ranking climbed in 2008, and she finished in the top 60 three straight years. Most important was reaching the semifinals of the [[Diamond Games]] in February, winning three qualifying and several main draw matches before losing to world No. 1 [[Justine Henin]], in three sets. She won her first WTA singles title at the [[2009 BGL Luxembourg Open|2009 Luxembourg Open]], then won her first three doubles titles the following year.


===2011–14===
===2011–14===
Bacsinszky suffered a serious foot injury in the spring of 2011, requiring surgery and a long recovery.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wtatennis.com/news/article/2637764|title=Bacsinszky breaking those percentages|work=[[Women's Tennis Association]]|date=7 March 2012|accessdate=26 June 2014}}</ref> She returned at the [[2012 Fed Cup|Fed Cup]] the following February then used her protected ranking to play several WTA tournaments. She also played a number of [[ITF Women's Circuit]] events. However, she decided to skip the Olympics for personal reasons<ref>{{cite web|url=http://2012.itftennis.com/olympics/news/articles/itf-confirms-paszek%27s-olympic-eligibility.aspx|title=ITF confirms Paszek's Olympic eligibility|work=[[International Tennis Federation]]|date=6 July 2012|accessdate=26 June 2014}}</ref> and soon took a hiatus from tennis altogether. She ended up working in restaurants and bars while preparing to attend hotel management school.<ref name="may14"/>
Bacsinszky suffered a serious foot injury in the spring of 2011, requiring surgery and a long recovery.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wtatennis.com/news/article/2637764|title=Bacsinszky breaking those percentages|work=[[Women's Tennis Association]]|date=7 March 2012|accessdate=26 June 2014}}</ref> She returned at the [[2012 Fed Cup|Fed Cup]] the following February then used her protected ranking to play several WTA tournaments. She also played a number of [[ITF Women's Circuit]] events. However, she decided to skip the Olympics for personal reasons<ref>{{cite web|url=http://2012.itftennis.com/olympics/news/articles/itf-confirms-paszek%27s-olympic-eligibility.aspx|title=ITF confirms Paszek's Olympic eligibility|work=[[International Tennis Federation]]|date=6 July 2012|accessdate=26 June 2014}}</ref> and soon took a hiatus from tennis altogether. She ended up working in restaurants and bars while preparing to attend hotel management school.<ref name="may14"/>


In May 2013 Bacsinszky received an email stating she was eligible to compete in that month's [[2013 French Open|French Open]] qualifier. With no practice and having to take time off work, she drove from [[Lausanne]] to Paris; she lost her first match but felt her passion for the game reignited. Thus she hired Dimitri Zavialoff, former coach of compatriot [[Stan Wawrinka]], and committed herself to reviving her tennis career.<ref name="may14">{{cite news|last1=Rothenberg|first1=Ben|title=Trying to Keep Peace at Home, While Losing Her Peace of Mind|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/29/sports/tennis/trying-to-keep-peace-at-home-while-losing-her-peace-of-mind.html?_r=0|accessdate=2 June 2015|publisher=New York Times|date=28 May 2014}}</ref><ref>http://letstalktennis.org/bacsinszky-i-had-given-up-on-tennis/</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Thomas|first1=Louisa|title=Clay Courage: The Unlikely Rise of Timea Bacsinszky at the French Open|url=http://grantland.com/the-triangle/timea-bacsinszky-french-open-2015/|accessdate=2 June 2015|publisher=Grantland|date=1 June 2015}}</ref> Her gradual return to the WTA Tour reached a big milestone at the [[2014 Wuhan Open]] when she upset No. 4, Maria Sharapova, in the third round. A few weeks later she won her fourth career doubles title.
In May 2013, Bacsinszky received an email, stating she was eligible to compete in that month's [[2013 French Open|French Open]] qualifier. With no practice and having to take time off work, she drove from Lausanne to Paris; she lost her first match but felt her passion for the game reignited. Thus she hired Dimitri Zavialoff, former coach of compatriot [[Stan Wawrinka]], and committed herself to reviving her tennis career.<ref name="may14">{{cite news|last1=Rothenberg|first1=Ben|title=Trying to Keep Peace at Home, While Losing Her Peace of Mind|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/29/sports/tennis/trying-to-keep-peace-at-home-while-losing-her-peace-of-mind.html?_r=0|accessdate=2 June 2015|publisher=New York Times|date=28 May 2014}}</ref><ref>http://letstalktennis.org/bacsinszky-i-had-given-up-on-tennis/</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Thomas|first1=Louisa|title=Clay Courage: The Unlikely Rise of Timea Bacsinszky at the French Open|url=http://grantland.com/the-triangle/timea-bacsinszky-french-open-2015/|accessdate=2 June 2015|publisher=Grantland|date=1 June 2015}}</ref> Her gradual return to the WTA Tour reached a big milestone at the [[2014 Wuhan Open]] when she upset No. 4, Maria Sharapova, in the third round. A few weeks later, she won her fourth career doubles title.


===2015: Breakthrough season, top-10 debut and first Grand Slam semifinal===
===2015: Breakthrough season, top-10 debut and first Grand Slam semifinal===
Bacsinszky began the year in [[2015 WTA Shenzhen Open|Shenzhen]], upsetting No. 4 [[Petra Kvitová]] in the semifinal before losing to No. 3 [[Simona Halep]] in her first WTA final in five years. She then reached the third round of the [[2015 Australian Open|Australian Open]] followed by back-to-back titles in Mexico at [[2015 Abierto Mexicano Telcel|Acapulco]] and [[2015 Monterrey Open|Monterrey]], beating [[Caroline Garcia]] in both finals. As a result, her ranking rose into the top 30 for the first time. She continued this good form at the [[2015 BNP Paribas Open|Indian Wells]] Premier Mandatory, defeating No. 8 [[Ekaterina Makarova]] en route to the quarterfinals where she lost to No. 1 [[Serena Williams]], thereby ending her win streak at a career-best 15 matches.<ref name="power">{{cite news|title=The Power in Her|work=tennis.com|url=http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/03/power-her/54389/|accessdate=19 March 2015}}</ref>
Bacsinszky began the year in [[2015 WTA Shenzhen Open|Shenzhen]], upsetting No. 4 [[Petra Kvitová]] in the semifinal before losing to No. 3 [[Simona Halep]] in her first WTA final in five years. She then reached the third round of the [[2015 Australian Open|Australian Open]] followed by back-to-back titles in Mexico at [[2015 Abierto Mexicano Telcel|Acapulco]] and [[2015 Monterrey Open|Monterrey]], beating [[Caroline Garcia]] in both finals. As a result, her ranking rose into the top 30 for the first time. She continued this good form at the [[2015 BNP Paribas Open|Indian Wells]] Premier Mandatory, defeating No. 8 [[Ekaterina Makarova]] en-route to the quarterfinals where she lost to No. 1 [[Serena Williams]], thereby ending her win streak at a career-best 15 matches.<ref name="power">{{cite news|title=The Power in Her|work=tennis.com|url=http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015/03/power-her/54389/|accessdate=19 March 2015}}</ref>


At the [[2015 French Open – Women's Singles|French Open]] she advanced past the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time, once again upsetting Kvitová. She made it all the way to the semifinals and a rematch with No. 1 Williams; Bacsinszky led by a set and a break but lost the last ten games.<ref>{{cite news |title=Serena Williams beats Timea Bacsinszky to reach French Open final – as it happened |work=theguardian.com |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2015/jun/04/serena-williams-timea-bacsinszky-french-open |accessdate=4 June 2015}}</ref> Then after making the quarterfinals of [[2015 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles|Wimbledon]] her ranking rose to 13.
At the [[2015 French Open – Women's Singles|French Open]] she advanced past the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time, once again upsetting Kvitová. She made it all the way to the semifinals and a rematch with No. 1 Williams; Bacsinszky led by a set and a break but lost the last ten games.<ref>{{cite news |title=Serena Williams beats Timea Bacsinszky to reach French Open final – as it happened |work=theguardian.com |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2015/jun/04/serena-williams-timea-bacsinszky-french-open |accessdate=4 June 2015}}</ref> Then after making the quarterfinals of [[2015 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles|Wimbledon]] her ranking rose to 13.
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The U.S. hard-court season however saw unstable results of the Swiss, falling in the first round of all four tournaments she entered, including losing to [[Barbora Strýcová]] in her opening match at the [[2015 US Open (tennis)|US Open]]. Entering the [[2015 China Open (tennis)|China Open]] in poor form, Bacsinszky beat Italian [[Camila Giorgi]], qualifier [[Mariana Duque-Marino]], and three former top-10 players including [[Carla Suárez Navarro]], [[Sara Errani]] and [[Ana Ivanovic]] to advance her first ever Premier-Mandatory final where she lost to [[Garbiñe Muguruza]] in straight sets. Her run to the final put her in the top 10 in the [[WTA rankings]] for the first time.
The U.S. hard-court season however saw unstable results of the Swiss, falling in the first round of all four tournaments she entered, including losing to [[Barbora Strýcová]] in her opening match at the [[2015 US Open (tennis)|US Open]]. Entering the [[2015 China Open (tennis)|China Open]] in poor form, Bacsinszky beat Italian [[Camila Giorgi]], qualifier [[Mariana Duque-Marino]], and three former top-10 players including [[Carla Suárez Navarro]], [[Sara Errani]] and [[Ana Ivanovic]] to advance her first ever Premier-Mandatory final where she lost to [[Garbiñe Muguruza]] in straight sets. Her run to the final put her in the top 10 in the [[WTA rankings]] for the first time.


She lost out on her run to the 2015 [[WTA Finals]], however, because the last tournament she played (Luxembourg) held its final on Saturday and the points could not count for the race. She withdrew from the 2015 [[WTA Elite Trophy]] due to a left knee injury that had already forced her retirement in her first round match in Luxembourg. After the end of the season, Bacsinszky received the WTA's Most Improved Player Award, ending the year No. 12 in the ranking.
She lost out on her run to the [[WTA Finals]], however, because the last tournament she played (Luxembourg) held its final on Saturday and the points could not count for the race. She withdrew from the [[WTA Elite Trophy]] due to a left knee injury that had already forced her retirement in her first round match in Luxembourg. After the end of the season, Bacsinszky received the WTA's Most Improved Player Award, ending the year No. 12 in the ranking.


===2016: 4th WTA title; Olympic silver medal in doubles===
===2016: 4th WTA title; Olympic silver medal in doubles===
Bacsinszky's first two tournaments both ended in defeats as she lost to [[Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova]] and [[Anna Karolína Schmiedlová|Anna Karolina Scmiedlová]] at the [[Brisbane International]] and at the [[Sydney International]], respectively. Her next tournament was the [[Australian Open]], where she beat [[Kateřina Siniaková|Katerina Siniakova]] but lost to [[Annika Beck]]. At the Fed Cup, Bacsinszky lost both of her matches in Switzerland's tie against Germany, but these losses didn't do any harm to Switzerland who beat Germany in the doubles. She then withdrew from the [[Dubai Tennis Championships]]. At the [[Qatar Open (tennis)|Qatar Open]], Bacsinszky defeated [[Bethanie Mattek-Sands]] and [[Yulia Putintseva]] before losing to eventual champion [[Carla Suárez Navarro]]. However, Timea was not able to defend her back-to-back title in Acapulco and Monterrey from 2015 as they were set in the same dates as the aforementioned tournaments.
Bacsinszky's first two tournaments both ended in defeats as she lost to [[Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova]] and [[Anna Karolína Schmiedlová]] at the [[Brisbane International]] and at the [[Sydney International]], respectively. Her next tournament was the [[2016 Australian Open|Australian Open]], where she beat [[Kateřina Siniaková]] but lost to [[Annika Beck]]. At the Fed Cup, Bacsinszky lost both of her matches in Switzerland's tie against Germany, but these losses didn't do any harm to Switzerland who beat Germany in the doubles. She then withdrew from the [[Dubai Tennis Championships]]. At the [[Qatar Open (tennis)|Qatar Open]], Bacsinszky defeated [[Bethanie Mattek-Sands]] and [[Yulia Putintseva]] before losing to eventual champion Carla Suárez Navarro. However, Timea was not able to defend her back-to-back title in Acapulco and Monterrey from 2015 as they were set in the same dates as the aforementioned tournaments.


In March, Bacsinszky reached fourth round at [[2016 BNP Paribas Open|Indian Wells]] beating [[Tsvetana Pironkova]] and [[Eugenie Bouchard]] respectively, but lost to [[Daria Kasatkina]] subsequently. She then made a surprising semifinal run at [[2016 Miami Open|Miami Open]], beating [[Agnieszka Radwańska|Agnieszka Radwanska]] and [[Simona Halep]], two top-5 players, back-to-back. She lost to [[Svetlana Kuznetsova]] in straight sets in the semifinal.
In March, Bacsinszky reached fourth round at [[2016 BNP Paribas Open|Indian Wells]] beating [[Tsvetana Pironkova]] and [[Eugenie Bouchard]] respectively, but lost to [[Daria Kasatkina]] subsequently. She then made a surprising semifinal run at [[2016 Miami Open|Miami Open]], beating [[Agnieszka Radwańska]] and Simona Halep, two top-5 players, back-to-back. She lost to [[Svetlana Kuznetsova]] in straight sets in the semifinal.


At the clay-court season, Bacsinszky won her fourth WTA title in [[2016 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem|Rabat]], losing only one set in the tournament, and re-entered top 10. She made the quarterfinals at [[2016 Internazionali BNL d'Italia – Women's Singles|Rome]] (losing to [[Garbine Muguruza]]) and reached her highest career ranking at No. 9. At [[French Open]], she beat [[Sílvia Soler Espinosa|Silvia Soler-Espinosa]], [[Eugenie Bouchard]], [[Pauline Parmentier]] and [[Venus Williams]] en route to her second straight quarterfinal, but lost to the unseeded [[Kiki Bertens]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wtatennis.com/news/article/5606162/title/bacsinszky-behind-the-mic|title=Bacsinszky: Behind The Mic|website=Women's Tennis Association|access-date=2016-05-29}}</ref>
At the clay-court season, Bacsinszky won her fourth WTA title in [[2016 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem|Rabat]], losing only one set in the tournament, and re-entered top 10. She made the quarterfinals at [[2016 Internazionali BNL d'Italia – Women's Singles|Rome]] (losing to Garbine Muguruza) and reached her highest career ranking at No. 9. At [[2016 French Open|French Open]], she beat [[Sílvia Soler Espinosa]], [[Eugenie Bouchard]], [[Pauline Parmentier]] and [[Venus Williams]] en route to her second straight quarterfinal, but lost to the unseeded [[Kiki Bertens]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wtatennis.com/news/article/5606162/title/bacsinszky-behind-the-mic|title=Bacsinszky: Behind The Mic|website=Women's Tennis Association|access-date=2016-05-29}}</ref>


Coming to the grass-court season, Bacsinszky played [[2016 Aegon International Eastbourne – Singles|Eastbourne]] but knocked out by the in-form [[Kristina Mladenovic]] in straight sets. At [[2016 Wimbledon Championships|Wimbledon]], she started her campaign by beating qualifier [[Luksika Kumkhum]] in the first round and set up a rematch of last year's fourth round match against [[Monica Niculescu]]. Similar to last year, Timea turned the match around with a comeback win by winning six games in a row in the last set. However, she lost in straight sets to the eventual quarterfinalist [[Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova]]. She then reached the semifinals of the inaugural [[Ladies Championship Gstaad]], losing to [[Kiki Bertens]].
Coming to the grass-court season, Bacsinszky played [[2016 Aegon International Eastbourne – Singles|Eastbourne]] but knocked out by the in-form [[Kristina Mladenovic]] in straight sets. At [[2016 Wimbledon Championships|Wimbledon]], she started her campaign by beating qualifier [[Luksika Kumkhum]] in the first round and set up a rematch of last year's fourth round match against [[Monica Niculescu]]. Similar to last year, Timea turned the match around with a comeback win by winning six games in a row in the last set. However, she lost in straight sets to the eventual quarterfinalist [[Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova]]. She then reached the semifinals of the inaugural [[Ladies Championship Gstaad]], losing to Kiki Bertens.


At the [[2016 Summer Olympics|Summer Olympics]], Bacsinszky suffered a shocking first round loss in the hands of China's [[Zhang Shuai (tennis)|Zhang Shuai]]; however, partnering with [[Martina Hingis]] for the first time ever in the doubles tournament, Bacsinszky earned her first olympic medal, as they beat [[Daria Gavrilova]]/[[Samantha Stosur]] of Australia, [[Bethanie Mattek-Sands]]/[[Coco Vandeweghe]] of the United States, [[Chan Hao-ching]]/[[Chan Yung-jan]] of Taipei and [[Andrea Hlaváčková]]/[[Lucie Hradecká]] of Czech Republic en route to the final where the pair lost to [[Ekaterina Makarova]]/[[Elena Vesnina]] of Russia. They become the first two Swiss female tennis Olympic medalists.
At the [[2016 Summer Olympics|Summer Olympics]], Bacsinszky suffered a shocking first round loss in the hands of China's [[Zhang Shuai (tennis)|Zhang Shuai]]; however, partnering with Martina Hingis for the first time ever in the doubles tournament, Bacsinszky earned her first olympic medal, as they beat Daria Gavrilova/[[Samantha Stosur]] of Australia, Bethanie Mattek-Sands/[[CoCo Vandeweghe]] of the United States, [[Chan Hao-ching]]/[[Chan Yung-jan]] of Taipei and [[Andrea Hlaváčková]]/[[Lucie Hradecká]] of Czech Republic en route to the final where the pair lost to [[Ekaterina Makarova]]/[[Elena Vesnina]] of Russia. They become the first two Swiss female tennis Olympic medalists.


Post-Olympic saw Bacsinszky lack of deep runs in tournaments including round two loss to [[Varvara Lepchenko]] in three tight sets in [[2016 US Open (tennis)|US Open]] and exited second round of [[2016 China Open – Women's Singles|China Open]], where she was runner-up the previous year. However, due to her strong first half of the season, Timea qualified for [[2016 WTA Elite Trophy|Elite Trophy]] in Zhuhai. At the last event of the season, she lost to Zhang Shuai in straight sets in one of the two round-robin matches, but concluded the season with straight win against [[Tímea Babos]]. She ended the season ranked No. 15.
Post-Olympic saw Bacsinszky lack of deep runs in tournaments including round-two loss to [[Varvara Lepchenko]] in three tight sets in [[2016 US Open (tennis)|US Open]] and exited second round of [[2016 China Open – Women's Singles|China Open]], where she was runner-up the previous year. However, due to her strong first half of the season, Timea qualified for [[2016 WTA Elite Trophy|Elite Trophy]] in Zhuhai. At the last event of the season, she lost to Zhang Shuai in straight sets in one of the two round-robin matches, but concluded the season with straight win against [[Tímea Babos]]. She ended the season ranked No. 15.


===2017: Second Major semifinal===
===2017: Second Major semifinal===

Revision as of 06:33, 16 October 2018

Timea Bacsinszky
Bacsinszky in 2016 US Open
Country (sports)  Switzerland
ResidenceBelmont-sur-Lausanne
Born (1989-06-08) 8 June 1989 (age 35)
Lausanne
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Turned proOctober 2004
PlaysRight (two-handed backhand)
CoachDimitri Zavialoff
Prize money$6,270,946
Official websitetimea-b.com
Singles
Career record398–225
Career titles4 WTA, 12 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 9 (16 May 2016)
Current rankingNo. 329 (24 September 2018)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3R (2015, 2017)
French OpenSF (2015, 2017)
WimbledonQF (2015)
US Open3R (2008)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games1R (2008, 2016)
Doubles
Career record162–93
Career titles5 WTA, 14 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 36 (31 January 2011)
Current rankingNo. 93 (24 September 2018)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open2R (2010, 2011)
French Open2R (2008, 2015)
Wimbledon2R (2010)
US Open3R (2010, 2018)
Other doubles tournaments
Olympic GamesF (2016)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Wimbledon1R (2010)
US Open1R (2010)
Team competitions
Fed Cup28–22
Medal record
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Doubles
Last updated on: 15 October 2018.

Timea Bacsinszky[1] (born 8 June 1989) is a Swiss professional tennis player who has won four singles and five doubles titles on the WTA Tour. A former top-10 player, Bacsinszky reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 9 on 16 May 2016. She had her breakthrough year in singles in 2015, winning a career-best 15 consecutive matches spanning two titles, and then reaching the semifinals of the French Open, the first time she advanced past the third round of a Major. She also reached her first Premier Mandatory final at the China Open and became the first Swiss female tennis player to be ranked in the top 10 since Martina Hingis in 2007. She once again reached the semifinals of the French Open in 2017. She also reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 2015, and of the French Open in 2016.

Representing Switzerland, Bacsinszky has a Fed Cup career match record of 28–22.[2] She won the silver medal in women's doubles at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, partnering Hingis.

Personal life

Bacsinszky, who first picked up a racket at age 5, was pushed hard to succeed in youth tennis by her father Igor, tennis coach from Romania.[3] She has stated that she resented him for this and remains estranged from him after her parents divorced, though she still developed a passion for competitive tennis.[4] Her mother, Suzanne, is a dentist from Hungary. Her Romanian born father, Igor is part Polish descent and her mother Suzanne, Hungarian with Austrian roots.[3][5] She has one brother, Daniel, a music teacher and member of The Evpatoria Report, and two sisters, Sophie (musician and student) and Melinda.[3] While growing up, Bacsinszky idolized Monica Seles. She spent part of her childhood in Satu Mare.

Career

2004–10

Bacsinszky's early tennis highlights included reaching the semifinals of three junior Grand Slam tournaments in 2004–05. Her breakthrough professional tournament was the 2006 Zurich Open, where she qualified then defeated Anastasia Myskina and Francesca Schiavone before losing to former No. 1, Maria Sharapova. Her early years on tour were a learning experience, and she finished both 2006 and 2007 ranked in the 120s.

Her singles ranking climbed in 2008, and she finished in the top 60 three straight years. Most important was reaching the semifinals of the Diamond Games in February, winning three qualifying and several main draw matches before losing to world No. 1 Justine Henin, in three sets. She won her first WTA singles title at the 2009 Luxembourg Open, then won her first three doubles titles the following year.

2011–14

Bacsinszky suffered a serious foot injury in the spring of 2011, requiring surgery and a long recovery.[6] She returned at the Fed Cup the following February then used her protected ranking to play several WTA tournaments. She also played a number of ITF Women's Circuit events. However, she decided to skip the Olympics for personal reasons[7] and soon took a hiatus from tennis altogether. She ended up working in restaurants and bars while preparing to attend hotel management school.[8]

In May 2013, Bacsinszky received an email, stating she was eligible to compete in that month's French Open qualifier. With no practice and having to take time off work, she drove from Lausanne to Paris; she lost her first match but felt her passion for the game reignited. Thus she hired Dimitri Zavialoff, former coach of compatriot Stan Wawrinka, and committed herself to reviving her tennis career.[8][9][10] Her gradual return to the WTA Tour reached a big milestone at the 2014 Wuhan Open when she upset No. 4, Maria Sharapova, in the third round. A few weeks later, she won her fourth career doubles title.

2015: Breakthrough season, top-10 debut and first Grand Slam semifinal

Bacsinszky began the year in Shenzhen, upsetting No. 4 Petra Kvitová in the semifinal before losing to No. 3 Simona Halep in her first WTA final in five years. She then reached the third round of the Australian Open followed by back-to-back titles in Mexico at Acapulco and Monterrey, beating Caroline Garcia in both finals. As a result, her ranking rose into the top 30 for the first time. She continued this good form at the Indian Wells Premier Mandatory, defeating No. 8 Ekaterina Makarova en-route to the quarterfinals where she lost to No. 1 Serena Williams, thereby ending her win streak at a career-best 15 matches.[4]

At the French Open she advanced past the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time, once again upsetting Kvitová. She made it all the way to the semifinals and a rematch with No. 1 Williams; Bacsinszky led by a set and a break but lost the last ten games.[11] Then after making the quarterfinals of Wimbledon her ranking rose to 13.

The U.S. hard-court season however saw unstable results of the Swiss, falling in the first round of all four tournaments she entered, including losing to Barbora Strýcová in her opening match at the US Open. Entering the China Open in poor form, Bacsinszky beat Italian Camila Giorgi, qualifier Mariana Duque-Marino, and three former top-10 players including Carla Suárez Navarro, Sara Errani and Ana Ivanovic to advance her first ever Premier-Mandatory final where she lost to Garbiñe Muguruza in straight sets. Her run to the final put her in the top 10 in the WTA rankings for the first time.

She lost out on her run to the WTA Finals, however, because the last tournament she played (Luxembourg) held its final on Saturday and the points could not count for the race. She withdrew from the WTA Elite Trophy due to a left knee injury that had already forced her retirement in her first round match in Luxembourg. After the end of the season, Bacsinszky received the WTA's Most Improved Player Award, ending the year No. 12 in the ranking.

2016: 4th WTA title; Olympic silver medal in doubles

Bacsinszky's first two tournaments both ended in defeats as she lost to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Anna Karolína Schmiedlová at the Brisbane International and at the Sydney International, respectively. Her next tournament was the Australian Open, where she beat Kateřina Siniaková but lost to Annika Beck. At the Fed Cup, Bacsinszky lost both of her matches in Switzerland's tie against Germany, but these losses didn't do any harm to Switzerland who beat Germany in the doubles. She then withdrew from the Dubai Tennis Championships. At the Qatar Open, Bacsinszky defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Yulia Putintseva before losing to eventual champion Carla Suárez Navarro. However, Timea was not able to defend her back-to-back title in Acapulco and Monterrey from 2015 as they were set in the same dates as the aforementioned tournaments.

In March, Bacsinszky reached fourth round at Indian Wells beating Tsvetana Pironkova and Eugenie Bouchard respectively, but lost to Daria Kasatkina subsequently. She then made a surprising semifinal run at Miami Open, beating Agnieszka Radwańska and Simona Halep, two top-5 players, back-to-back. She lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets in the semifinal.

At the clay-court season, Bacsinszky won her fourth WTA title in Rabat, losing only one set in the tournament, and re-entered top 10. She made the quarterfinals at Rome (losing to Garbine Muguruza) and reached her highest career ranking at No. 9. At French Open, she beat Sílvia Soler Espinosa, Eugenie Bouchard, Pauline Parmentier and Venus Williams en route to her second straight quarterfinal, but lost to the unseeded Kiki Bertens.[12]

Coming to the grass-court season, Bacsinszky played Eastbourne but knocked out by the in-form Kristina Mladenovic in straight sets. At Wimbledon, she started her campaign by beating qualifier Luksika Kumkhum in the first round and set up a rematch of last year's fourth round match against Monica Niculescu. Similar to last year, Timea turned the match around with a comeback win by winning six games in a row in the last set. However, she lost in straight sets to the eventual quarterfinalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. She then reached the semifinals of the inaugural Ladies Championship Gstaad, losing to Kiki Bertens.

At the Summer Olympics, Bacsinszky suffered a shocking first round loss in the hands of China's Zhang Shuai; however, partnering with Martina Hingis for the first time ever in the doubles tournament, Bacsinszky earned her first olympic medal, as they beat Daria Gavrilova/Samantha Stosur of Australia, Bethanie Mattek-Sands/CoCo Vandeweghe of the United States, Chan Hao-ching/Chan Yung-jan of Taipei and Andrea Hlaváčková/Lucie Hradecká of Czech Republic en route to the final where the pair lost to Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina of Russia. They become the first two Swiss female tennis Olympic medalists.

Post-Olympic saw Bacsinszky lack of deep runs in tournaments including round-two loss to Varvara Lepchenko in three tight sets in US Open and exited second round of China Open, where she was runner-up the previous year. However, due to her strong first half of the season, Timea qualified for Elite Trophy in Zhuhai. At the last event of the season, she lost to Zhang Shuai in straight sets in one of the two round-robin matches, but concluded the season with straight win against Tímea Babos. She ended the season ranked No. 15.

2017: Second Major semifinal

Bacsinszky skipped the first two weeks' tournaments of the season in Shenzhen and Sydney due to injury. With no warm-up match before Australian Open, she matched her best result at this tournament with a third round, losing to Daria Gavrilova in three sets. Entering Fed Cup as the Swiss No. 1, Bacsinszky won both of her rubbers against French player Alizé Cornet and Kristina Mladenovic. With injuries carried on from Fed Cup, she had to retired first round of Doha and eventually withdrew from Dubai, the first Premier-5 event of the year. The Swiss however reached second week of Indian Wells in third consecutive year, only to retired against Karolína Plíšková due to wrist injury. She also had to withdrew from Miami Open, where she was a semifinalist from the previous year. At Fed Cup semifinal against Belarus, Bacsinszky beat Aryna Sabalenka but lost to Aliaksandra Sasnovich, and Switzerland eventually lost to Belarus 2-3 at this round.

Coming into clay-court season with little tournaments played from the first quarter of the season, Bacsinszky struggled to go deep in different events including lost to CiCi Bellis at Rabat as the defending champion; second round at Madrid lost to Kiki Bertens, and Karolína Plíšková at third round of Rome. The Swiss however did upset the reigning French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza in first round of Madrid, her first top-10 win of the season and first win against the Spaniard.

At Roland Garros, Bacsinszky defeated Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo, Tunisian lucky loser Ons Jabeur and American Madison Brengle before beating 2017 Australian Open's runner-up Venus Williams in three sets to qualify for the quarterfinals. Bacsinszky then defeated home favourite Mladenovic but lost in the semifinal-match against eventual champion Jelena Ostapenko from Latvia.

Bacsinszky reached the third round of Wimbledon where she lost to Agnieszka Radwańska after leading by a set. During the match, she suffered an injury to her quadriceps.[13] She later missed the US Open due to an injury of her right wrist,[14] and subsequently underwent a surgical procedure in October, thus ending her season prematurely.[15]

Sponsors

Bacsinszky uses Babolat racquets and Asics clothes, having her apparel previously supplied by Lacoste and her shoes by Nike. She is also an ambassador for Japanese car manufacturer Honda.[16]

Career statistics

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
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 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 SR W–L Win %
Australian Open Q1 A Q3 2R A 1R 1R Absent 3R 2R 3R A 0 / 6 6–6 50%
French Open Absent 2R 2R 2R 2R Absent Q1 2R SF QF SF A 0 / 8 19–8 70%
Wimbledon Absent 1R 2R 2R 1R Absent Q2 2R QF 3R 3R A 0 / 8 11–8 58%
US Open Absent 1R 3R 2R 1R A 1R A 2R 1R 2R A 1R 0 / 9 5–9 36%
Win–Loss 0–0 0–0 1–3 5–4 3–3 1–4 0–1 0–1 0–0 3–3 11–4 8–4 9–3 0–1 0 / 31 41–31 57%

References

  1. ^ Template:Lang-hu
  2. ^ Timea Bacsinszky at the Billie Jean King Cup Edit this at Wikidata
  3. ^ a b c "Timea Bacsinszky Biography". 1 March 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  4. ^ a b "The Power in Her". tennis.com. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  5. ^ "Zsarnok apát kellett legyőznie, hogy sikeres lehessen" (in Hungarian). Origo. 7 May 2015.
  6. ^ "Bacsinszky breaking those percentages". Women's Tennis Association. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  7. ^ "ITF confirms Paszek's Olympic eligibility". International Tennis Federation. 6 July 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  8. ^ a b Rothenberg, Ben (28 May 2014). "Trying to Keep Peace at Home, While Losing Her Peace of Mind". New York Times. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  9. ^ http://letstalktennis.org/bacsinszky-i-had-given-up-on-tennis/
  10. ^ Thomas, Louisa (1 June 2015). "Clay Courage: The Unlikely Rise of Timea Bacsinszky at the French Open". Grantland. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  11. ^ "Serena Williams beats Timea Bacsinszky to reach French Open final – as it happened". theguardian.com. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  12. ^ "Bacsinszky: Behind The Mic". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  13. ^ "Timea Bacsinszky: "Est-ce une déchirure musculaire?"". tdg.ch/ (in French). Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  14. ^ "US Open ohne Timea Bacsinszky". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). 14 August 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  15. ^ "Timea Bacsinszky calls it a season, says she hopes to be back stronger". Tennis World USA. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  16. ^ B., Timea. "Timea Bacsinszky - Official Website". timea-b.com. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
Awards
Preceded by WTA Most Improved Player
2015
Succeeded by