Conchita Martínez

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For another Spanish female tennis player with the same name, see Conchita Martinez Granados.

Inmaculada Concepción Martínez Bernát

Conchita Martinez.
Nickname	Conchita Martínez
Country	Spain
Residence
Date of birth	April 15, 1972
Place of birth	Monzón, Huesca, Spain
Height
Weight
Turned Pro	1988
Retired	April 15, 2006
Plays
Career Prize Money	11,527,977
Singles
Career record:	739-297
Career titles:	33
Highest ranking:	2
Grand Slam results
Australian Open	1998: Runner-up
French Open	2000: Runner-up
Wimbledon	1994: Won
U.S. Open	1995/1996 Semi-Final
Doubles
Career record:	414-232
Career titles:	13
Highest ranking:	7
Infobox last updated on: November 11, 2006.

Olympic medal record
Women’s Tennis
Silver	1992 Barcelona	Doubles
Silver	2004 Athens	Doubles
Bronze	1996 Atlanta	Doubles

Inmaculada Concepción ("Conchita") Martínez Bernát (born April 16, 1972) is a former professional tennis player from Spain. She won the women's singles title at Wimbledon in 1994. She also finished runner-up at the Australian Open in 1998, and the French Open in 2000.

Contents 1 Career 2 Grand Slam singles finals 2.1 Wins (1) 2.2 Runner-ups (2) 3 Singles titles 4 Singles runner-ups 5 External links

[edit] Career

Born in Monzón, Huesca, Martínez turned professional in 1988. In 1992, she was a Silver Medalist in the women's doubles at the Olympic Games in Barcelona (partnering Arantxa Sánchez Vicario), and also runner-up in the women's doubles at the French Open.

In 1993, Martínez became the first Spanish woman in sixty-five years since Lili de Alvarez to reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon. Martínez lost to Steffi Graf 7-6, 6-3. Also in 1993 Conchita Martinez beat Steffi Graf for the first time in her career in Philadelphia and that was the only match that she ever beat her.

In 1994 Martínez reached the Wimbledon final, where she faced the 9-time former Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova. Navratilova's last Wimbledon triumph had come four years earlier, but many observers felt that the 37 year-old Czech-born American was the favourite going into the match given her long track record of success on grass courts, whereas Martínez's most significant tournament victories up to that time had been on slower-playing surfaces, particularly clay courts. However Martínez seized her moment and won in three sets 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

In 1995, Martínez was a semi-finalist at all four of the Grand Slam tournaments and reached her career-high singles ranking of World No. 2. In 1993 she became the first Spaniard to win the Italian Open since Lili de Alvarez captured the title in 1930. Martínez went on to become the first player to win the Italian Open title for four consecutive years. She also partnered Sánchez Vicario to claim a women's doubles Olympic Bronze Medal in Atlanta.

1998 saw Martínez reach her second career Grand Slam final. She was defeated in the final of the Australian Open by Martina Hingis 6-3, 6-3. She also helped Spain win the Fed Cup that year, beating Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 6-3, 2-6, 9-7 in three hours and 19 minutes in a marathon match during the final.

Martínez reached the final of the French Open in 2000, where she lost to Mary Pierce 6-2, 7-5 after beating Spanish compatriot Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in the semi-final. She also won the German Open beating Martina Hingis in the semi-final and Amanda Coetzer in the final.

In 2001, Martínez was runner-up in the women's doubles at the French Open (partnering Jelena Dokic). She also reached the quarter-final in Wimbledon for the first time in six years but lost narrowly to Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium.

Martínez won her second Olympic Silver Medal in the women's doubles in 2004 in Athens (partnering Virginia Ruano Pascual).

In 2005, Martínez won her first singles title in five years at Pattaya, Thailand, bringing her career total to 33 top-level singles titles, 9 of which are Tier I events, and 13 doubles titles.

On April 15, 2006, at the age of 33 and after 18 years of professional career, she announced her retirement, having won more professional singles tournaments than any other female Spanish tennis player.

[edit] Grand Slam singles finals

[edit] Wins (1)

Year	Championship	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
1994	Wimbledon	Martina Navrátilová	6-4, 3-6, 6-3

[edit] Runner-ups (2)

Year	Championship	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
1998	Australian Open	Martina Hingis	3-6, 3-6
2000	French Open	Mary Pierce	2-6, 5-7

Conchita Martinez is one of the few out lesbian athletes on the WTA. For years the Spanish media have shown interest in Martinez' love life off the tennis court. During the mid-1990s Martinez had an openly lesbian relationship with fellow pro American doubles specialist Gigi Fernandez in 1994 and 1995. Martinez and Fernandez did not hide that they were a couple but did not seek out media attention either. Martinez has joined Martina Navratilova, Amelie Mauresmo, Renee Stubbs, Nicole Pratt, Inze Gorrachategui, Jana Novotna, Hana Mandlikova, and Billie Jean King as being out of the closet as lesbians.

[edit] Singles titles

• 2005 - Pattaya
• 2000 - German Open
• 1999 - Polish Open
• 1998 - German Open, Warsaw
• 1996 - Italian Open, Moscow
• 1995 - Hilton Head, Amelia Island, Hamburg, Italian Open, San Diego, Los Angeles
• 1994 - Wimbledon, Hilton Head, Italian Open, US Hardcourts
• 1993 - Brisbane, Houston, Italian Open, US Hardcourts, Philadelphia
• 1992 - Austrian Open
• 1991 - Barcelona, Austrian Open, Paris Indoor
• 1990 - Paris Indoor, Scottsdale, Indianapolis
• 1989 - Phoenix, Wellington, Tampa
• 1988 - Sofia, Futures/Rocafort-ESP, Futures/Castellon-ESP, Futures/Reggio Emilia-ITA

[edit] Singles runner-ups

• 2004 - Charleston
• 2003 - Eastbourne
• 2002 - Bali
• 2000 - Amelia Island, Gold Coast, French Open
• 1998 - Australian Open, Amelia Island
• 1997 - Italian Open, Stanford
• 1996 - Indian Wells, Hamburg
• 1995 - Delray Beach
• 1993 - Linz, Barcelona, Essen
• 1992 - Indian Wells, Boca Raton, Hilton Head, San Diego
• 1989 - Geneva
• 1988 - European Open, Bayonne

[edit] External links

• WTA Tour profile for Conchita Martínez
• Fed Cup record