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Janković at the 2009 French Open |
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| Country | Yugoslavia (2000–2003) Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006) Serbia (2006–present) |
|---|---|
| Residence | Dubai, UAE |
| Born | February 28, 1985 Belgrade, Serbia (then SFR Yugoslavia) |
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) |
| Turned pro | February 6, 2000 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Career prize money | US$12,647,858 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 452–235 (65,78%) |
| Career titles | 12 WTA, 1 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (August 11, 2008) |
| Current ranking | No. 14 (December 12, 2011) |
| Grand Slam results | |
| Australian Open | SF (2008) |
| French Open | SF (2007, 2008, 2010) |
| Wimbledon | 4R (2006, 2007, 2008, 2010) |
| US Open | F (2008) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Championships | SF (2008, 2009) |
| Olympic Games | QF (2008) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 46–65 |
| Career titles | 1 WTA |
| Highest ranking | No. 43 (November 6, 2006) |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 3R (2008) |
| French Open | 2R (2007) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (2010) |
| US Open | 3R (2006) |
| Mixed Doubles | |
| Career titles | 1 |
| Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | W (2007) |
| Last updated on: November 7, 2011. | |
Jelena Janković (Serbian Cyrillic: Јелена Јанковић, pronounced [jɛ̌lɛna jǎːnkɔv̞itɕ]; born February 28, 1985 in Belgrade) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no. 13, being coached by the former ATP top-15 player, Andrei Pavel.[1]
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Janković was born in Belgrade, Serbia, Yugoslavia, as the third child of Veselin (Веселин) and Snežana (Снежана), two economists.. She has two brothers, Marko (Марко) and Stefan (Стефан). She is a student at the Megatrend University in Belgrade, studying economics; however, she has put her course of study on indefinite hold as she continues to pursue her tennis career. Janković learned her first tennis skills at the Tennis Club 'Red Star'.[2] As a nine-and-a-half year old she was introduced to tennis by her elder brother and fitness coach Marko.[3] With 11 years has won the national championship in the competition to 12 years. She was later trained at the Tennis Academy of Nick Bollettieri. As a junior she won the 2001 Australian Open[4] and junior no. 1 in the world.[5] In 2001, she started to play on the WTA Tour; she reached the second round at her first tournament at the Indian Wells Masters.
In October 2003, Janković entered the top 100 at no. 90 for the first time, after winning her first ITF title in Dubai. Three months later, Janković garnered her first top-10 win against Elena Dementieva, 6–1, 6–4, in the first round of the 2004 Australian Open. In May, Janković won her first WTA title, a Tier V event, in Budapest, defeating Martina Suchá in the final, 7–6, 6–3. Following her win in Budapest, she reached no. 51 in the world. Elsewhere in her 2004 season, she defeated top-20 players Nadia Petrova (twice), Vera Zvonareva, Patty Schnyder, and Paola Suárez. Janković finished 2004 ranked no. 28 in the world.
She was ranked world no. 1 for seventeen consecutive weeks until she was overtaken by Serena Williams on February 2, 2009. She was the year-end world no. 1 in 2008, the second player in the history of the WTA tour to do this without winning a Grand Slam title, after Kim Clijsters.
Janković has reached the singles final of the US Open and the singles semifinals of the Australian Open and the French Open. In 2007, she became the first Serbian player to win a Grand Slam title when she won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title with British partner Jamie Murray.[6]
She is one of only seven players who has defeated both Williams sisters at the same tournament, and one of three players who were world no. 1 and as a junior and a senior. Janković is also known for being one of the most consistent top-10 players, entering it in early 2007 and the only one never falling out of top 10 ever since. However her remarkable streak ended at four years and three months of being in top 10.
In March, at Dubai, she advanced to the final following Serena Williams's retirement in the semifinal. Janković then lost in the final to Lindsay Davenport, 4-6, 9-3, 4-6. She made her first Tier I semifinal in Berlin, losing to Nadia Petrova, 4-6, 6-7, 3-6. In June, she reached her first grass-court final at Birmingham, but lost to Maria Sharapova, 2-6, 6-4, 1-6. In October, Janković reached her third final of the year in Seoul, ranked no. 17 in the world, her highest ranking at that time, losing to 16-year-old Nicole Vaidišová, 5-7, 3-6. Her ranking at the end of the season eclipsed her 2004 record at no. 22.
Janković lost in the second round of the Australian Open to world no. 188 Olga Savchuk. That was the first of ten straight losses, not winning a match from late January into early May. She later said this run caused her to consider quitting tennis. Janković ended her losing streak by beating world no. 17 Elena Likhovtseva in the first round of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, before eventually losing to Venus Williams in three sets in the quarterfinals. At the French Open, Janković reached the third round for the first time, where she lost to world no. 1 Amélie Mauresmo.
At Wimbledon, Janković surprisingly defeated sixth-seeded and defending champion Venus Williams in the third round in three sets. Competing in the fourth round of a Grand Slam event for the first time, she lost to ninth-seeded Anastasia Myskina, 4-6, 6-7(5). In August, Janković reached her fifth career final and first of the year at the JPMorgan Chase Open in Los Angeles, defeating Serena Williams (ranked world no. 108 at the time after a lengthy injury lay-off) in the semifinals, before losing to third-seeded Elena Dementieva in the final. The US Open saw Janković defeat world no. 10 Vaidišová in the third round, world no. 7 and former champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round, and world no. 5 Dementieva, 6–2, 6–1, in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. In the semifinals, Janković lost to world no. 2 Justine Henin, 6-4, 4-6, 0-6, after Janković had led 6–4, 4–2. Janković argued with the chair umpire, when the umpire refused to offer an opinion as to whether a service call had been correct, suggesting that Janković use one of her electronic challenges. Janković then lost ten consecutive games.
Janković continued her strong form in the aftermath of the US Open. Of the six tournaments she played during the remainder of the year, she reached the quarterfinals at five. This included a run to the semifinals at the China Open in Beijing, defeating world no. 7 Nadia Petrova in the quarterfinals, before losing to world no. 1 Mauresmo in a third set tiebreak. Janković finished the year at a career-high ranking of world no. 12.
To begin the year, Janković won the second title of her career at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, defeating Vera Zvonareva in the final. The following week, at the Medibank International in Sydney, Janković defeated world no. 7 and former no. 1 Martina Hingis and top-seeded Amélie Mauresmo on the way to the final, where she lost to Kim Clijsters after serving for the match.[7] Janković's strong start to the year meant that some considered her a title threat at the Australian Open; however, she was eliminated in the fourth round by the eventual champion Serena Williams, 3-6, 2-6. Because of her results at these tournaments, her ranking rose to world no. 10, the first time she had been included in the top 10.
Janković reached two semifinals in the Middle East in the spring, retiring against Mauresmo due to an ankle injury at the Dubai Tennis Championships, and losing in three sets to Justine Henin at the Qatar Total Open in Doha, Qatar. However, she then failed to reach the semifinals at any of her next three tournaments. Janković rebounded in the clay-court season, defeating Venus Williams on a third set tiebreak in the semifinals of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina. She went on to defeat Dinara Safina in the final to win the first Tier I title of her career. On European red clay, after losing to world no. 1 Henin in three sets both in the semifinals of the J&S Cup in Warsaw and the quarterfinals of the Qatar Telecom German Open (failing to hold a 4–0 lead in the third set in the latter), Janković won her second career Tier I title at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, defeating second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. This results meant she entered the top 5 in the world rankings for the first time. Janković was the fourth seed at the French Open and one of the favorites for the title. After registering her third consecutive victory over Venus Williams in the third round, she went on to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the second time in her career, but lost there to eventual champion Henin, 2-6, 2-6. This improved her ranking to a new career-high of world no. 3.
On grass, Janković captured the DFS Classic title in Birmingham, beating top-seeded Maria Sharapova in the final. Sharapova led 3–0 in the third set, before Janković rallied to win the match. This was her first career victory over Sharapova. The next week, Janković reached the final of the Ordina Open in the Netherlands and became the first player since Chris Evert in 1974 to win 50 matches in the first half of a year. Janković, suffering from a hamstring injury, lost the final to Anna Chakvetadze. At Wimbledon, Janković was the third seed, but lost in the fourth round to the surprise eventual finalist Marion Bartoli, 6-3, 5-7, 3-6. In the mixed doubles competition at Wimbledon, Janković teamed with doubles specialist Jamie Murray to win the title by beating the fifth-seeded team, Jonas Björkman and Alicia Molik, 6–4, 3–6, 6–1.[6]
During the North American summer hard-court season, Janković reached the semifinals of the East West Bank Classic in Carson, California, but lost there to fellow Serb Ana Ivanović, having held a match point. The following week, Janković reached the final of the Tier I Rogers Cup in Toronto, where she lost to Henin on Henin's sixth match point. Janković had led 4–1 in the first set and 4–2 in the second set, but was unable to maintain her lead. At the US Open, Janković lost to Venus Williams in the quarterfinals, 6-4, 1-6, 6-7(4).
Janković's form tailed off following the US Open. At the Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic in Bali, Janković was upset in the quarterfinals by former world no. 1 Lindsay Davenport, in Davenport's first singles tournament since giving birth. The following week at the China Open in Beijing, Janković defeated Davenport, but lost in the final to Hungarian teenager Ágnes Szávay, after Janković had a match point in the second set.[8] Janković finished the year on a six-match losing streak, losing all three of her round-robin matches on her debut at the year-end WTA Tour Championships in Madrid, including her seventh loss of the year to Henin. She finished the year ranked world no. 3.
Janković had successful nose surgery immediately after Madrid to correct a breathing problem. The surgery prevented her from practicing for three weeks.
Olympic Committee of Serbia declared her the sportswoman of the year.[9]
Janković lost in the semifinals of the Australian Open to Maria Sharapova, 3-6, 1-6. In March at the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, Janković lost in the semifinals to Ana Ivanović, 6-7(3), 3-6. The following fortnight, Janković reached her first final of the year at the Miami Masters, losing to Serena Williams, 1-6, 7-5, 3-6, after Williams was unable to convert on seven match points in the third set.[10]
Janković started the clay-court season by losing in the quarterfinals of both the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina and the Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin. Janković then successfully defended her Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia title in Rome, after defeating Venus Williams in three sets in the quarterfinals, receiving a walkover from the injured Sharapova in the semifinals, and defeating French teenager Alizé Cornet in the final. This was Janković's first singles title of the year. She went into the French Open among the favorites, following the sudden retirement of four-time champion Justine Henin. However, she lost to eventual champion Ivanović, 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, after leading by a break in the third set. This marked Janković's fourth defeat in four career Grand Slam semifinals. She would have become the world no. 1 had she reached the final. However, she did reach a new career-high of world no. 2 in the week following the tournament.
At Wimbledon, Janković injured her knee during her third-round match against Caroline Wozniacki.[11] Although she won that match, it visibly hindered her during her fourth-round loss to Tamarine Tanasugarn. Janković would have become the world no. 1 had she reached the semifinals of the tournament.[12] However, she lost to Tamarine Tanasugarn in the fourth round, 3-6, 2-6. Janković squandered two further opportunities to immediately take the world no. 1 position with losses in the semifinals of the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles[13] to Dinara Safina and the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup in Montreal, to Dominika Cibulková. Janković did eventually replace Ivanović as the world no. 1 on August 11, 2008.[14] She was the 18th woman to have been ranked world no. 1 by the Women's Tennis Association, but the first woman to have done so without ever having reached a Grand Slam final and only the third woman (the others being Amélie Mauresmo and Kim Clijsters) to have become world no. 1 without first winning a Grand Slam title.[15][16]
Janković's reign as the world no. 1 lasted only one week, after she lost in the quarterfinals of the Beijing Olympics to eventual silver-medalist Safina. This meant Ivanović reclaimed the world no. 1 position. Janković was the second seed at the US Open, where she defeated Olympic gold-medalist Elena Dementieva in the semifinals to reach her first Grand Slam final. There, she lost to fourth-seeded Serena Williams, 4-6, 5-7. Janković would have reclaimed the world no. 1 position if she won the event.
Janković became the world no. 1 again during the fall in the midst of winning three consecutive tournaments. At the China Open, Janković defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6–3, 6–2, to win the title. The following week, Janković played in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, where she defeated Venus Williams in the semifinals, 6–7(8), 7–5, 6–2, and Nadia Petrova in the final, 6–4, 6–3. In the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, Janković defeated defending champion Dementieva in the semifinals, 0–6, 6–1, 6–0, before triumphing against Vera Zvonareva in the final, 6–2, 6–4, for her third title in three weeks, the first time for a player on the WTA tour to do so since 2005.[17] As the top seed at the year-end 2008 WTA Tour Championships held in Doha, Qatar, Janković won two of her three round-robin matches, including only the second win of her career over Ivanović. However, she lost in the semifinals, to eventual champion 00Venus Williams--, 2-6, 6-2, 3-6, and ended the year as world no. 1. Janković was later named the ITF World Champion for her performance in 2008.[18] She won four titles during the season, the most of anyone on the tour along with Serena Williams and Safina.
The Olympic Committee of Serbia declared her the best sportswoman for the second year in a row.
Janković started the year at the JB Group Classic, an exhibition prior to the Australian Open. She was the top seed of Team Europe. She started by winning a doubles match in which she was paired with Portuguese player Michelle Larcher de Brito. The team defeated Team Americas world no. 6 Venus Williams and newcomer to the women's tour, Coco Vandeweghe, 6–4, 7–5. Janković then lost to Williams in singles, 2-6, 2-6. Janković later withdrew from the remainder of the tournament because of illness.
Janković was seeded first at the Australian Open in Melbourne. She shockingly lost to 16th-seeded Marion Bartoli in the fourth round, 1-6, 4-6. Bartoli hit 34 winners, compared to Janković's 17 and won 81 percent of her first serve points, compared to Janković's 56 percent.[19] Janković lost her World No. 1 ranking to Serena Williams as a result.
Her next Women's Tennis Association event was the Open GDF SUEZ tournament in Paris, where she entered as a wildcard and was the second-seeded player. In the first round, Janković beat Francesca Schiavone, and in the second round, she beat Li Na. In the quarterfinals, she beat fifth-seeded Alizé Cornet, 5–7, 6–4, 6–4, but then lost to Amélie Mauresmo in the semifinals, 2-6, -6-0, 1-6.
Janković had a first-round bye at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, where she was seeded third. She was upset by Kaia Kanepi in the third round, 2-6, 5-7, in what she called "the worst match of my career."[20] She was the second-seeded player at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, a Premier Mandatory tournament. She received a bye in the first round, before losing in the second round to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 4-6, 4-6. After the match, she conceded that she has been struggling with her confidence, saying "I need a lot of work."[21] Janković then lost in the second round of the next Premier Mandatory tournament, the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, to Gisela Dulko, 4-6, 6-7(5), after Janković failed to hold leads of 5–2 in the second set and 5–2 in the tiebreaker.[22]
Beginning her spring clay-court season at the Andalucia Tennis Experience in Marbella, Spain, Janković defeated fifth-seeded Spaniard Carla Suárez Navarro in three sets for her first title of 2009.
Jelena Janković won the third point for Serbia in the Fed Cup play-offs against Spain, which meant that the national team played in the 2010 edition of Fed Cup World Group. Jelena beat Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, in Lleida to bring the Serbian team a first-ever chance to compete among the world's top-tier women's tennis teams next year. The previous day, Janković and Ana Ivanović had won their single matches.
Janković was the defending champion at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. Seeded third, she lost in the quarterfinals to Flavia Pennetta, 6-2, 4-6, 4-6. Janković was also the defending champion at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, but lost in the quarterfinals to eventual finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova, 1-6, 6-7(3). Seeded fourth at the inaugural Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, she advanced to the quarterfinals once again, but was defeated by Patty Schnyder, 6-7(6), 3-6.
Seeded fifth at the French Open, she lost to Sorana Cîrstea of Romania in the fourth round, 6-3, 0-6, 7-9, despite serving for the match in the third set at 5–4.
In her first match on grass at the AEGON International in Eastbourne, third-seeded Janković lost in the first round to Russian Anna Chakvetadze, 7-6(5), 3-6, 2-6. Janković was seeded sixth at Wimbeldon. She defeated Julia Görges, having trailed 5–2 in the first set. Janković then beat Iveta Benešová in the second round, but lost to qualifier Melanie Oudin in the third round, 7-6, 5-7, 2-6.
At the Bank of the West Classic in California, Janković lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Marion Bartoli, despite having two match points. In her next tournament at the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open in Cincinnati, Janković defeated Victoria Azarenka to advance to the quarterfinals, where she disposed of Sybille Bammer. In the semifinals, Janković defeated Elena Dementieva, 7–6, 0–6, 7–6, in a match that lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes, saving four match points on her way to victory. In the final, Janković won her second title of the year, defeating world no. 1 Dinara Safina, 6–4, 6–2. With the win, her ranking also went back to world no. 4.
Despite her good form leading up to the 2009 US Open, Janković's inconsistency continued, as she suffered a shock second-round defeat to Yaroslava Shvedova, 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-7(6), despite having match points in the third-set tie-break. Her ranking went down to world no. 8.
At the 2009 Toray Pan Pacific Open seeded seventh, Janković defeated Sabine Lisicki and Elena Vesnina in the second and third round, respectively, after receiving a first-round bye. She defeated Marion Bartoli in the quarterfinals, 6–4, 6–3 and Li Na, 6–4, 6–3, in the semifinals. She faced Maria Sharapova in the final and retired while behind 5–2 because of an arm injury. Because of her semifinal appearance, Janković received a first-round bye in Beijing. She lost her opening match to home favorite Peng Shuai, 6-4, 5-7, 2-6.
Her next tournament was Moscow, where she was seeded second. This tournament was her last chance to qualify for Doha. She was in a battle for the last available spot at Doha, along with Vera Zvonareva and Agnieszka Radwańska. However, things worked in her favor, as both Zvonareva and Radwańska fell in their early rounds, making Janković the last player to qualify for Doha. Janković lost her first match to Azarenka, 2-6, 3-6, but bounced backm defeating Safinam 1–1, retm and Wozniackim 6–2, 6–2m to clinch the first berth in her group. In her second year-end championship semifinalm she lost to Venus Williams, 5-7, 3-6, 4-6. She ended the year ranked no. 8 and with a 46–19 record.
Janković started the 2010 season in Sydney. She lost in the first round to Ágnes Szávay, 7–5, 1–6, 5–7, having been seeded seventh for the tournament. During the Australian Open, Janković, seeded eighth, defeated opponents Monica Niculescu and Katie O'Brien in straight sets, before losing to 31st seed Alona Bondarenko in the third round.
Next, Janković represented Serbia in the 2010 Fed Cup. In her first match, she rallied from 4–6, 1–4 down to defeat Alisa Kleybanova, 4–6, 6–4, 6–0. In her next Fed Cup match, she defeated reigning French Open Champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6–3, 4–6, 6–3. In the deciding doubles match, she partnered with Ana Ivanović. Ivanović and Janković fell to Kuznetsova and Kleybanova. Her next scheduled tournament was the 2010 Dubai Tennis Championships. Having a first-round bye, she defeated Aravane Rezaï, 4–6, 6–4, 7–5. She then lost to Vera Zvonareva in the third round, causing her ranking to fall to no. 9 in the world.
Janković's next tournament was the 2010 Monterrey Open, where she was the top seed. She fell in the first round. Next, she traveled to Indian Wells, California for the 2010 BNP Paribas Open. At the tournament, she was seeded sixth and defeated Caroline Wozniacki, 6–2, 6–4, to take her 12th title.
Janković's next tournament was the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, where she was seeded seventh. In the fourth round, she lost to Samantha Stosur, 1–6, 6–7(9), ending her eight-match winning streak.
Janković's next tournament was the 2010 Family Circle Cup, where she was seeded second. She lost in the quarterfinals to Daniela Hantuchová.
At the Fed Cup qualifying, Janković defeated Slovakia's Magdaléna Rybáriková in her first singles match, but fell to Hantuchová in her second. Janković and Bojana Jovanovski then fell to Rybáriková and Hantuchová in the deciding doubles match.
Janković was the fourth seed at the 2010 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. She lost against Justine Henin in the quarterfinals, 6–3 6–7(4) 3–6, for the tenth time in a row.
Janković was the seventh seed at the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia. In the quarterfinals, she produced one of her most polished performances to thrash fourth seed Venus Williams, 6–0, 6–1, with Williams suffering her heaviest loss in her career, having never won fewer than two games in a match. She then beat reigning world no. 1 Serena Williams in the semifinals, after saving a match point and later being down 5–2 in the final set tie-breaker, 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(5), in 2 hour and 47 minutes. As a result of defeating these two opponents, she became one of the few women in the history of women's tennis to defeat both Williams sisters in the same tournament and the first player who beat both sisters in less than 24 hours in one tournament. However, she was then shocked by unseeded María José Martínez Sánchez and lost in the final, 6–7(5), 5–7. Nevertheless, her ranking increased to world no. 4.
Seeded seventh, Janković received a first-round bye at the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open and defeated compatriot Ana Ivanović, 4–6, 6–4, 6–1, in the second round, after being down 4–6, 0–2. She lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Aravane Rezaï, 5–7, 4–6.
Janković's next tournament was 2010 French Open, where she was seeded fourth. In the first round, she defeated Alicia Molik, 6–0, 6–4, then Kaia Kanepi, 6–2, 3–6, 6–4, in the second round, and then Alona Bondarenko in the third round, 6–4, 7–6(3). In the fourth round, she defeated Daniela Hantuchová, 6–4, 6–2, who had already defeated Janković twice that year on clay. In the quarterfinals, Janković defeated Yaroslava Shvedova, 7–5, 6–4, for a spot in her third semifinal at Roland Garros. Her run ended in the semifinals to Samantha Stosur, 1-6, 2-6. Two weeks later, her ranking increased to world no. 3.
Janković then played in the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, where she was seeded fourth. She defeated hometown favorite Laura Robson, 6–3, 7–6, in the first round and Aleksandra Wozniak in the second round in three sets, 4–6, 6–2, 6–4, after being down 0–2 in the final set. She then beat 28th seed Alona Bondarenko, 6–0, 6–3, in their third meeting at a Grand Slam that year. Struggling with injuries, Janković retired trailing 21st seed Vera Zvonareva in the fourth round, 1-6, 0-3. Although she retired in the fourth round, her ranking increased to world no. 2.
Janković defeated fellow Serb Bojana Jovanovski, 6–3, 6–3 in the first round of the 2010 Banka Koper Slovenia Open, but had to retire in her next match against Anastasiya Yakimova due to twisting her ankle while leading 6–1, 2–0, and ultimately retired at 6–1, 3–6, 0–1.
She then traveled to San Diego to play in the 2010 Southern California Open, where she was the top seed. Due to her seeding, she received a bye to the second round, but fell to Russia's Alisa Kleybanova, 5–7, 2–6, despite leading 4–0 in the first set and also having three set points in the first set.
Janković then traveled to Cincinnati for the 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open, where she was the top seed and defending champion. Due to her seed, she received a bye into the second round, where she defeated Vera Dushevina, 6–4, 3–6, 6–1. In the third round, Janković failed to defend her title, as she had a shocking upset to Akgul Amanmuradova. This caused her ranking to fall to world no. 3. Janković then entered the 2010 Rogers Cup as the top seed. After receiving a bye in the first round, she was upset by Iveta Benešová, 6-73, 3-6, in the second round. Due to her early exit, her ranking dropped to no. 5.
Janković then traveled to New York to play in the 2010 US Open, where she was seeded fourth. In the first round, she defeated Simona Halep, 6–4, 4–6, 7–5, and defeated Mirjana Lučić in the second round, 6–4, 3–6, 6–2. She was defeated by Kaia Kanepi in the third round, 2-6, 6-7(1). Had she won the US Open, she would have once again become the no. 1 player in the world.
Janković's next tournament was the 2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open, where was seeded third and was the runner-up the previous year. Due to her seeding, she received a bye in the first round and defeated Alona Bondarenko, 6–4, 6–1, in the second round. In the third round, she lost for the second straight time to Kaia Kanepi, 4-6, 4-6. She then traveled to China to play in the 2010 China Open, where she was seeded third. In the first round, she defeated Klára Zakopalová, 7–5, 7–5, but eventually fell in the third round against fellow Serbian player Bojana Jovanovski in three sets, 6–4, 2–6, 2–6.
Despite her recent slump, Janković still qualified for the 2010 WTA Tour Championships as the sixth seed. Her next tournament was the 2010 Kremlin Cup, where she was the top seed. Due to her seeding, she received a bye to the second round, where her bad form continued as she fell to Kazakhstani qualifier Zarina Diyas, 1-6, 2-6.
Janković's final event of the year was the 2010 WTA Tour Championships, where she qualified for the fourth consecutive year, as the sixth seed. She was placed in the White Group, consisting of second seed Vera Zvonareva, third seed Kim Clijsters, and eighth seed Victoria Azarenka. After losing her opening match to Zvonareva, Janković reportedly collapsed in the locker room. She was advised to go to hospital, but refused and came out to play Clijsters the next day and lost the match. Janković's time in Doha came to an end when she lost her third and final group match to Azerenka. This loss, again in straight sets, meant that she had lost her last 10 sets of tennis played, bring an end to her 2010 season.
On November 30, Janković played a humanitarian match in Pionir Hall. Revenue from tickets was intended to help elementary school in Kraljevo damaged by an earthquake.
At the start of the year, Janković announced her decision to work with Andrei Pavel on a trial basis.[23]
She began 2011 by falling in the first round to France's Aravane Rezaï in three sets at the Medibank International Sydney. Her poor form continued at the Australian Open, losing in the second round against Shuai Peng, 6-7(7–3), 3-6, after defeating the Russian Alla Kudryavtseva in the first round.
Despite a dismal start to the season, Janković did well to reach the semifinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships, beating Kaia Kanepi and fourth seed Samantha Stosur. However, she lost to Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinal, 5-7, 3-6, despite having a 4–0 head-to-head against her, as well as having four set points in the first set. She attributed the defeat to tiredness.
Up next for Jankovic was the Qatar Ladies Open. She reached the semifinals again, losing to Vera Zvonareva, 1–6, 6–2, 4–6. The Russian had then beaten the Serb in their last five meetings. She then reached the final of the Monterrey Open, where she was defeated by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 6–2, 2–6, 3–6, despite being up a set. Indian Wells Masters was next for Jankovic, where she is the defending champion. She was given a bye in the first round and defeated the American wildcard, Coco Vandeweghe, 6–2, 6–1, in the second. She then defeated German Julia Görges, 6–2, 6–4, in the third round. She was defeated by Ana Ivanović in the fourth round, 4–6, 2–6.
Jankovic's next tournament was the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, where she was the sixth seed. She received a bye in the first round and defeated Monica Niculescu, 6–3, 6–1, and then defeated Klára Zakopalová, 7–5, 6–1, to advance to the fourth round. She then defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues, 6–1, 6–3, for a spot in the quarterfinals. She lost to Andrea Petkovic in the quarterfinals, 6–2, 2–6, 4–6, despite leading 4–2 in the final set.
Jankovic's next tournament is Family Circle Cup in Charleston. After receiving bye in the first round, she defeated Tamira Paszek in two sets, 6–2, 6–3. She next defeated Chanelle Scheepers, 6–2, 6–2. Jelena easily dispatched Christina McHale, 6–2, 6–0, in the quarterfinals. She lost in the semifinals to world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, 4-6, 4-6.
She then played in the Fed Cup against Slovakia. She appeared on Sunday's singles match against Daniela Hantuchová, which she won, 6–2, 3–6, 7–5, despite being down 3–1 in the third set. Later on, she won an epic doubles match with Aleksandra Krunic against Daniela Hantuchová and Magdalena Rybarikova, 2–6, 7–5, 9–7, despite being down, 6–2, 5–1 (30–0) and saving three match points. With this, Serbia was placed in World Group I again.
Her next tournament was the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. She was seeded seventh and faced Beatriz Garcia Vidagany in the first round; she won, 6–1, 6–2. In the second round, she was defeated by Germany's Andrea Petkovic, 6–3, 1–6, 3–6. Next up for Jankovic was the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open. She drew Spanish wildcard Laura Pous-Tio in the first round; Jankovic won comprehensively, 6–2, 6–0. She lost to Lucie Šafářová in the second round, 4–6, 6–4, 5–7.
However, at 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Jelena got her revenge beating the Czech player, 6–0, 6–3. Jelena won the first nine games of the match, before Safarova won a single game. She then defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues in the third round, 6–4, 2–6, 6–2. She lost to world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinals, 3–6, 6–1, 3–6, for the third time in a row. Her ranking dropped to no. 10, the lowest it had been since the beginning of 2007.
Her next tournament was the Brussels Ladies Open. In the first round, she defeated Anastasia Rodionova, 6–2, 6–3, but lost in the second round to Sofia Arvidsson, 6–3, 3–6, 3–6.
Jankovic was the tenth seed at the 2011 French Open. In the first round, she defeated Alona Bondarenko, 6–3, 6–1. She then went on to defeat Vera Dushevina in the second round, 6–3, 6–2. In the third round, she defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 6–2, 6–2. Jankovic then fell to fifth seed and defending champion Francesca Schiavone, 3–6, 6–2, 4–6. As a result, she dropped out of top 10 for the first time since early 2007, with her position being no. 15.
Jankovic was the 15th seed at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, but lost to María José Martínez Sánchez in the first round,[24] her first opening-round exit in a Grand Slam since the 2005 French Open.
Her next tournament was 2011 Rogers Cup, where she fell in the first round to Julia Georges, 1–6, 3–6.
Jankovic was seeded 13th at the 2011 Western & Southern Open, where she defeated Iveta Benesova, 6–0, 6–3, Jie Zheng, 4–6, 6–3, 6–1, and Francesca Schiavone, 6–3, 5–7, 6–4, to reach the quarterfinals. She secured a spot in the semifinals in a walkover when Peng Shuai withdrew with injury. She defeated Andrea Petkovic in the semifinal, 7–6(4), 6–1. However, Jankovic lost to Maria Sharapova, 6–4, 6–7(3), 3–6. Her improved form was the result of hiring Ricardo Sanchez as her coach again, who once helped her to achieve the world no.1 spot.
She reached the third round at the US Open, losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 4-6, 4-6. She reached the semifinals of the 2011 Generali Ladies Linz tournament, falling to Petra Kvitová, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6.
Jelena Janković is often regarded as a counterpuncher. Jelena is known for being able to slide effectively on all surfaces. Janković has very consistent ground strokes and prefers to go down the line more often than crosscourt. Her signature shot is her two-handed backhand. She also has a decent forehand and a fair net game, being able to hit effective drive, drop and swinging volleys. Her main weakness is her serve. She likes to spin it in on the first and second serve which can lead to her getting broken many times in matches. Her weakest surface is considered grass and her best surface is fast hard court where she can use her defense and speed to win matches.
Janković was the subject of the 2008 autobiographical documentary, Jelenin svet (Jelena's World),[25] featuring Justine Henin, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Ana Ivanović, Elena Dementieva and other notable players.[25]
On December 5, 2007, Janković became a UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia, for Children's Fund. "I am happy to have become a UNICEF ambassador for Serbia. This is a great honour for me and I will try to justify the role that has been given to me", she said. Janković is the second Serbian tennis star to have volunteered to help promote the rights of children and collect funds for UNICEF after Ana Ivanović became an ambassador in September.
Leading Chinese sportswear brand, ANTA sports, announced it has secured one of the biggest deals in women's tennis by signing Janković to exclusively wear their sports apparel, shoes and accessories world-wide.The ANTA design team from the US and Japan has worked closely with Jelena to develop a Jelena Janković range of sports products under the JJ brand. The range reflects the style and fashion of Jelena Janković while offering the performance required by the number one tennis player in the world. The partnership with Janković marks a historic deal. ANTA is the first Chinese sports brand to align with a world number one female tennis player as part of their vision to grow its presence in tennis. Before Janković had endorsed Reebok sportswear, and had her own line with them for her tournament wear. Janković also has an endorsement with Prince Sports and now uses the Prince O3 Speedport Pro White Racquet after formerly using the Prince O3 Red Racquet. She now uses the Prince EXO3 Black. She is the face of the Serbian fashion design company Mona with her own line of clothing. Janković recently signed up to endorse Aqua Viva Hydroactive Water. Her picture will appear on the bottles for a limited time[26] and she will now feature in a TV advertisement. She is also Face of new Orbit endorsement.[27]
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| Runner-up | 2008 | US Open | Hard | Serena Williams | 6–4, 7–5 |
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| Winner | 2007 | Wimbledon | Grass | Jamie Murray | Alicia Molik Jonas Björkman |
6–4, 3–6, 6–1 |
To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the 2011 US Open.[28]
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | SR | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 4R | SF | 4R | 3R | 2R | 0 / 9 | 18–9 |
| French Open | A | A | A | LQ | 1R | 1R | 3R | SF | SF | 4R | SF | 4R | 0 / 8 | 23–8 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | LQ | 1R | 3R | 4R | 4R | 4R | 3R | 4R | 1R | 0 / 8 | 16–8 |
| US Open | A | A | LQ | LQ | 2R | 3R | SF | QF | F | 2R | 3R | 3R | 0 / 8 | 23–8 |
| Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 5–4 | 11–4 | 15–4 | 19–4 | 9–4 | 12–4 | 6–4 | 0 / 33 | 80–33 |