Carla Suárez Navarro

Carla Suárez Navarro

Carla in-action at the 2011 US Open
Country  Spain
Residence Barcelona
Born September 3, 1988
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
Height 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Turned pro 2003
Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money $5,068,395
Singles
Career record 377–235 (61.6%)
Career titles 1 WTA, 6 ITF
Highest ranking No. 10 (6 April 2015)
Current ranking No. 10 (6 April 2015)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open QF (2009)
French Open QF (2008, 2014)
Wimbledon 4R (2013)
US Open QF (2013)
Doubles
Career record 104-105
Career titles 1 WTA, 4 ITF
Highest ranking No. 12 (23 February 2015)
Current ranking No. 13 (23 March 2015)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open QF (2013)
French Open SF (2014)
Wimbledon 3R (2013, 2014)
US Open 3R (2014)
Last updated on: 23 March 2015.
This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Suárez and the second or maternal family name is Navarro.

Carla Suárez Navarro (born September 3, 1988 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) is a Spanish tennis player. She began playing for Spain in the 2008 Fed Cup. On February 16, 2015, she reached her career high ranking at World No. 13.

Suárez Navarro first came to prominence by reaching the quarter-finals of the 2008 French Open as a qualifier, in what was her first appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament and only her third appearance in the main draw of a WTA Tour tournament. She also reached the quarter-finals of the 2009 Australian Open, defeating Venus Williams en route, at the 2013 US Open, where she lost to eventual champion Serena Williams, and again at the 2014 French Open, where she lost in three sets to Eugenie Bouchard.

Career

2008–2009

Suárez playing at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships

At the French Open, Suárez Navarro reached the quarter-finals of her first Grand Slam main draw tournament. After she won three qualifying matches, she defeated former World No. 1 Amélie Mauresmo of France in the second round 6–3, 6–4, Australian Casey Dellacqua in the third round, and 26th-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta in the fourth round 6–3, 6–2. Suárez Navarro then lost to third-seeded Jelena Janković in the quarterfinals 6–3, 6–2. At Wimbledon, Suárez Navarro lost to second-seeded Janković in the second round 6–1, 6–3.

Suárez Navarro reached the second Grand Slam quarterfinal of her career at the 2009 Australian Open before being defeated by Elena Dementieva 6–2, 6–2. She upset Venus Williams in the second round 2–6, 6–3, 7–5. This was her first win over a top 10 player.

In March, Suárez Navarro reached her first final on the WTA Tour at the Andalucia Tennis Experience, a clay court event in Marbella, Spain. She lost to Jelena Janković in the final 6–3, 3–6, 6–3.

At Roland Garros seeded 22, she defeated Edina Gallovits 6–1, 6–4 and Lucie Hradecká 6–2, 6–4, before losing to Victoria Azarenka in the third round 7–5, 5–7, 2–6.

At Wimbledon, Suárez Navarro defeated #25 Kaia Kanepi in the first round and Ekaterina Makarova in the second round. She faced defending champion Venus Williams for the first time since the 2009 Australian Open but was unable to repeat the upset win, losing 0–6, 4–6.

2010

Suárez Navarro had a good start to 2010, making the second round of the 2010 ASB Classic in Auckland before losing to top seed Flavia Pennetta in straight sets. She then made the quarter-final of the 2010 Moorilla Hobart International before losing to No.2 seed Shahar Pe'er 6–4, 6–7, 5–7.

At the 2010 Australian Open, Suárez Navarro made it to the third round before losing to top seed, the defending (and eventual) champion Serena Williams, 0–6, 3–6.

She was upset in the first round of the 2010 Copa BBVA-Colsanitas by World No.198 Kristina Antoniychuk 1–6, 4–6, then made it to the semi-finals of the 2010 Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco before losing to Polona Hercog 3–6, 5–7.

Unseeded at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, California, Suárez Navarro reached the fourth round, losing to Alisa Kleybanova 6–2, 6–7, 4–6. Along the way, she gained one of the biggest wins of her career by defeating World No.3 and top seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–4, 4–6, 6–1 in the second round.

She reached the final of the Andalucia Tennis Experience in Marbella for the second year in a row, losing to Flavia Pennetta 2–6, 6–4, 3–6.

Suarez Navarro suffered an ankle injury at the tournament in Fes, Morocco. She returned to play in the 2010 French Open, losing her first-round match to Olga Govortsova 6–7, 1–6, she remained sidelined until the 2010 US Open.

2011

Carla began the season at the 2011 ASB Classic in Auckland. As the ninth seed, she was upset in round two by Heather Watson. She also lost early in Hobart to Alberta Brianti.

Going into the Australian Open, she defeated American Christina McHale by 4–6, 6–3, 6–4; but lost to eventual titlist Kim Clijsters of Belgium in the following round. Next she represented Spain at the Fed Cup against Estonia in Tallinn, where she had a 1–1 record; getting past Anett Kontaveit but falling to Kaia Kanepi.

Then, Suárez followed an early loss in Paris with a semifinal and a quarterfinal, in Bogota and Acapulco, respectively. An elbow injury caused her to stop playing for two and a half months and withdraw from Roland Garros.

She returned to the competition at the 2011 Open GDF Suez de Marseille, where she beat Sun Shengnan and Aleksandra Wozniak to make the quarterfinals, but was beaten by homecrowd favourite Pauline Parmentier.

She failed to qualify for Wimbledon, losing to Ekaterina Ivanova in round two.

In early September, Suárez reached round four of the US Open for the first time, defeating Mathilde Johansson, Simona Halep and compatriot Silvia Soler Espinosa. However, her run was ended by Andrea Petkovic.

2012

Carla Suarez Navarro was impressive in the 2012 French Open, reaching the third round. In the first round, Suarez Navarro comfortably beat Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6–0, 6–2. In the second round she faced Sesil Karatantcheva of Kazakhstan, and beat her 4–6, 6–4, 6–1. In the third round she lost to Yaroslava Shvedova, also from Kazakhstan, 6–4, 7–5, who had just returned from an injury.

At Wimbledon 2012 Carla Suarez Navarro only made it to the first round, but it was against fifth seed Samantha Stosur of Australia. She was well beaten losing 6–1, 6–3.

At Italiacom Open, she reached the quarterfinals, losing to Laura Robson 4–6 6–2 3–6.[1]

In the London 2012 Olympics, she beat Samantha Stosur in a thrilling first round match, 3–6, 7–5, 10–8,[2] avenging her first round defeat to the Australian at Wimbledon the previous month.

Playing style

Suárez Navarro uses a single-handed backhand, unlike most female players of her era.[3] She has said in interviews that her favorite shot is her cross-court backhand and that her favorite surfaces are clay and hard. Frew McMillan has said, "There's something of Justine Henin about her game. She has a great variety of shots."[4]

Significant finals

WTA Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 2015 Miami Open Hard United States Serena Williams 2–6, 0–6

Doubles: 2 (2 runners-up)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 2014 Madrid Clay Spain Garbiñe Muguruza Italy Sara Errani
Italy Roberta Vinci 		4–6, 3–6
Runner-up 2015 Dubai Tennis Championships Hard Spain Garbiñe Muguruza Hungary Tímea Babos
France Kristina Mladenovic 		3–6, 2–6

WTA career finals

Singles: 8 (1 title, 7 runners-up)

Winner — Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Tier I / Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (0–1)
Tier II / Premier (0–1)
Tier III, IV & V / International (1–5)
Titles by Surface
Hard (0–2)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (1–5)
Carpet (0–0)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. April 12, 2009 Andalucia Tennis Experience, Marbella, Spain Clay Serbia Jelena Janković 3–6, 6–3, 3–6
Runner-up 2. April 11, 2010 Andalucia Tennis Experience, Marbella, Spain (2) Clay Italy Flavia Pennetta 2–6, 6–4, 3–6
Runner-up 3. May 5, 2012 Estoril Open, Estoril, Portugal Clay Estonia Kaia Kanepi 6–3, 6–7(6–8),4–6
Runner-up 4. March 2, 2013 Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Acapulco, Mexico Clay Italy Sara Errani 0–6, 4–6
Runner-up 5. May 4, 2013 Portugal Open, Oeiras, Portugal Clay Russia Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 5–7, 2–6
Winner 6. May 3, 2014 Portugal Open, Oeiras, Portugal Clay Russia Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–4, 3–6, 6–4
Runner-up 7. February 15, 2015 Diamond Games, Antwerp, Belgium Hard Germany Andrea Petkovic walkover
Runner-up 8. April 4, 2015 Miami Open, Miami, United States Hard United States Serena Williams 2-6, 0-6

Doubles: 4 (1 title, 3 runners-up)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (0–2)
Premier (1–1)
International (0–0)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. 10 May 2014 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain Clay Spain Garbiñe Muguruza Italy Sara Errani
Italy Roberta Vinci		 4–6, 3–6
Winner 1. 3 August 2014 Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, United States Hard Spain Garbiñe Muguruza Poland Paula Kania
Czech Republic Kateřina Siniaková		 6–2, 4–6, [10–5]
Runner-up 2. 20 September 2014 Toray Pan Pacific Open, Tokyo, Japan Hard Spain Garbiñe Muguruza Zimbabwe Cara Black
India Sania Mirza 		2–6, 5–7
Runner-up 3. 21 February 2015 Dubai Tennis Championships, Dubai, UAE Hard Spain Garbiñe Muguruza Hungary Tímea Babos
France Kristina Mladenovic		 3–6, 2–6

Singles performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF R# RR LQ (Q#) A P Z# PO SF-B F-S G NMS NH

Won tournament; or reached Final; Semifinal; Quarter-final; Round 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a Round Robin stage; lost in Qualification Round; absent from tournament event; played in a Davis Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-off; won a bronze, silver (F or S) or gold medal at the Olympics; a downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament (Not a Masters Series); or a tournament that was Not Held in a given year.

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

Tournament200720082009201020112012201320142015W–L
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open A LQ QF 3R 2R 2R 3R 3R 1R 12–7
French Open A QF 3R 1R A 3R 4R QF 15–6
Wimbledon A 2R 3R A Q2 1R 4R 2R 7–5
US Open LQ 1R 2R 1R 4R 2R QF 3R 11–7
Win–Loss 0–0 5–3 9–4 2–3 4–2 4–4 12–4 9–4 45–24
Olympic Games
Summer Olympics NH 1R Not Held 2R Not Held 0–2
WTA Premier Mandatory Tournaments
Indian Wells A A 2R 4R A 2R 3R 3R QF 9–6
Miami A A 3R 2R A 1R 3R 4R F 8–5
Madrid Not Held 1R A A 2R 2R 3R 4–4
Beijing Tier II 1R Q2 2R QF 3R 3R 6–4
Win–Loss 0–0 0–0 1–4 4–2 1–1 4–4 5–4 3–2 18–17
WTA Premier 5 Tournaments
Dubai Tier II A A A Not Premier 5 QF 2–1
Doha Tier II A Not Held NP5 1R 1R A NP5 0–2
Rome A A 2R A A Q1 QF QF 4–2
Canada A A 1R A A 2R 3R QF 6–4
Cincinnati Tier III 1R A Q1 1R 1R 3R 0–3
Tokyo A A 1R A A 1R 1R NP5 0–3
Wuhan Not Held 2R 0–0
Win–Loss 0–0 0–0 1–4 0–0 0–0 1–4 5–5 3–1 10–14
Career Statistics200720082009201020112012201320142015No.
Titles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Finals Reached 0 0 1 1 0 1 2 1 6
Year-End Ranking 169 50 34 57 56 34 17 18

Grand Slam Doubles performance timeline

Tournament2008200920102011201220132014W–L
Australian Open 1R 1R 1R 2R QF A 4–5
French Open 1R 1R 1R SF 4–4
Wimbledon 1R 2R 2R 3R 3R 6–5
US Open 1R 2R 1R 2R 1R 3R 4–6
Win–Loss 0–2 2–4 0–1 0–2 3–4 5–4 8–3 18–20

Wins over Top 10's per season

# Player Rank Event Surface Round Score
2009
1. United States Venus Williams No. 6 Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia Hard 2nd Round 2–6, 6–3, 7–5
2010
2. Russia Svetlana Kuznetsova No. 3 Indian Wells, United States Hard 2nd Round 6–4, 4–6, 6–1
2012
3. Australia Samantha Stosur No. 5 Olympics, London, United Kingdom Grass 1st Round 3–6, 7–5, 10–8
4. Czech Republic Petra Kvitová No. 5 Beijing, China Hard 2nd Round 6–3, 6–2
2013
5. Italy Sara Errani No. 7 Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia Hard 1st Round 6–4, 6–4
6. Denmark Caroline Wozniacki No. 10 Stuttgart, Germany Clay (i) 1st Round 7–6(8–6), 6–1
7. Australia Samantha Stosur No. 9 Madrid, Spain Clay 1st Round 7–6(9–7), 6–2
8. Germany Angelique Kerber No. 10 US Open, New York City, United States Hard 4th Round 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–3)
2014
9. Czech Republic Petra Kvitová No. 6 Dubai, United Arab Emirates Hard 2nd Round 1–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–4)
10. Germany Angelique Kerber No. 7 Stuttgart, Germany Clay (i) 2nd Round 7–5, 6–4
11. Russia Maria Sharapova No. 6 Rogers Cup, Canada Hard 3rd Round 6–2, 4–6, 6–2
2015
12. Russia Ekaterina Makarova No. 10 Sydney, Australia Hard 2nd Round 4–6, 6–4, 6–1
13. Czech Republic Petra Kvitová No. 3 Dubai, United Arab Emirates Hard 3rd Round 6–3, 4–6, 6–3
14. Czech Republic Petra Kvitová No. 4 Doha, Qatar Hard 3rd Round 3–6, 6–0, 6–3
15. Poland Agnieszka Radwańska No. 8 Sony Open Tennis, Miami, United States Hard 4th Round 5–7, 6–0, 6–4
16. Germany Andrea Petkovic No. 10 Sony Open Tennis, Miami, United States Hard Semifinals 6–3, 6–3

Head-to-head vs. top 10 ranked players

Players who have been ranked World No. 1 are in boldface.

References

  1. ↑ "Laura Robson into semi-finals after win at Italiacom Open". Retrieved 2012-07-14.
  2. ↑ http://www.london2012.com/tennis/event/women-singles/index.html
  3. ↑ "One-handed backhand now a rarity in post-Henin era". USA Today. June 24, 2008. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  4. ↑ Speaking on British Eurosport after Suárez Navarro's defeat of Garrigues in the fourth round of the 2009 Australian Open

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Carla Suárez Navarro.