Tsvetana Pironkova

Tsvetana Pironkova
Цветана Пиронкова
Country (sports)  Bulgaria
Residence Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Born (1987-09-13) 13 September 1987
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Turned pro 2002
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money $ 3,707,338
Singles
Career record 363–276 (56.81%)
Career titles 1 WTA, 6 ITF
Highest ranking No. 31 (13 September 2010)
Current ranking No. 93 (8 February 2016)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open 2R (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015)
French Open 3R (2015)
Wimbledon SF (2010)
US Open 4R (2012)
Doubles
Career record 13–30 (30.23%)
Career titles 0 WTA, 0 ITF
Highest ranking No. 141 (23 March 2009)
Current ranking No. 911 (8 February 2016)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open 2R (2007, 2009)
French Open 2R (2006, 2008)
Wimbledon 2R (2011, 2013)
US Open 2R (2008)
Last updated on: 8 February 2016.

Tsvetana Pironkova (Bulgarian: Цветана Кирилова Пиронкова [tsvɛˈtana pirɔnˈkɔva]) (born 13 September 1987) is a Bulgarian tennis player and the current no. 1 Bulgarian in the WTA rankings. Pironkova is right-handed and plays with a two-handed backhand. She is best known for her performance at Wimbledon, reaching the semifinals of at the 2010 Championships and the quarterfinals the following year (earning her the nickname "The Wimbledon Darkhorse"),[1][2] and for defeating Venus Williams three times at Grand Slam tournaments, twice at Wimbledon.

Pironkova has won one WTA title at 2014 Apia International and six ITF titles in her career. Her highest WTA Singles ranking is 31 which she achieved on 13 September 2010. She is the first Bulgarian tennis player to reach the semi-final stage of a Grand Slam in singles. In addition to her wins over Williams, Pironkova also has a total of 9 wins over other top-10 ranked players to her name. Pironkova has been recognized by The New York Times for her "cerebral" grass-court abilities, and was also named one of the most beautiful women in sports by MSN.[3][4]

Early life and Junior career

Pironkova was born in 1987 to Kiril Enchev Pironkov, a former canoeing champion, and Radosveta Chinkova Nikolova, a former swimming champion.[5] She started playing tennis at the age of 4,[5] when her father Kiril introduced her to the game. Kiril later became her coach.[6] Pironkova plays right-handed, and uses a double backhand.[6] In 2001, Pironkova won the Atlantic Cup International Junior Tournament held in Bulgaria,[7] and her career-high in juniors was world no. 227 in March 2002.[8]

Professional career

Early career 2002 – 2006

In August 2002 at the age of 14, Pironkova played her first professional tournament at the International Tennis Federation tournament in Bucharest, Romania. Pironkova won three qualifying matches before reaching the final in the main draw, where she lost to Monica Niculescu of Romania.[9] In September 2002, Pironkova played in the ITF event in Volos, Greece, where she lost only one set playing through the qualifying and main draw. She defeated Tina Schmassmann of Switzerland[10] to win her first professional ITF event.[5] In 2003, she won three ITF singles titles, one in Orestiada and two in Istanbul.[5]

In the week of 14–21 May 2005, at the age of 17, Pironkova played in her first WTA-level tournament, the Tier III event in Istanbul, Turkey. After winning two qualifying matches, Pironkova won three matches in the main draw before she lost in the semifinals to Venus Williams.[11]

In January 2006, Pironkova made headlines by defeating tenth-seed Venus Williams in the first round of the 2006 Australian Open.[12] Pironkova was ranked 94th in the world.[13][14][15] However, in the next round, she lost to Laura Granville.[16]

In the first round at Wimbledon, Pironkova came from a set down to defeat then-top 20 player Anna-Lena Grönefeld. However, in the second round, she lost to Agnieszka Radwańska in straight sets.[17] On 16 November 2006, Pironkova reached her then career-high singles ranking of 62.[18]

2007 – 2009: Top 50 Debut

In 2007, Pironkova lost in the first rounds of the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon. She played in qualifying rounds for the US Open, and beat Zuzana Ondrášková, Marta Domachowska, and Stéphanie Dubois to reach the main draw. She drew Olga Puchkova from Russia in the first round, and won that match to set up a clash with world no. 1, Justine Henin in the second round. Pironkova lost to Henin in straight sets.[19] After the US Open in September, Pironkova played in one of the biggest Challenger events of the year in Bordeaux, winning the tournament with straight-set victories over Mathilde Johansson, Tatjana Malek and Alizé Cornet.[17][20]

Pironkova lost in the first round of both French Open and Wimbledon to Jill Craybas

Pironkova made a solid start to 2008, winning two qualifying matches at the Tier II event in Sydney before bowing out in three sets to Dominika Cibulková. She reached the second round of the Australian Open, losing to second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets.[17] She caused another upset at the 2008 Rome Masters. As a qualifier, she beat top seed and world no. 3 Ana Ivanovic in the second round for the biggest victory of her career at that time.[21] She advanced to the quarterfinals, her first ever at a Tier I event, when Victoria Azarenka retired during their third round match with Pironkova leading. In the quarterfinals she was defeated in three sets by Anna Chakvetadze.[17] In September, Pironkova reached the final in an ITF event in Sofia, where she lost to Nuria Llagostera Vives.[17] She ended the year ranked no. 46 in the world.[6]

Pironkova kicked off her 2009 season playing at Brisbane where she lost in second round to Italy's Sara Errani, she made the quarterfinals at the 2009 Moorilla Hobart International before she lost to Virginie Razzano. En route, she defeated then world no. 15 Patty Schnyder. It was her fifth top 20 win in her career.[5]

At the Australian Open she defeated Karolina Šprem in the first round before losing to 16th seeded Marion Bartoli.[17] Playing at the Dubai Open Pironkova reached the second round of the tournament losing out to 12th seed Dominika Cibulková. Seeded No. 8 at the first Andalucia Tennis Experience, Pironkova lost in the first round to Roberta Vinci.[17]

She won 4 matches at Stuttgart (3 in qualifying) but lost to Agnieszka Radwańska in the Round of 16. She also lost in the first rounds of the French Open and Wimbledon, both times to Jill Craybas in straigh sets.[17] She reached two ITF quarter-finals at Sofia and Athens. Pironkova played her last tournament of the season Kremlin Cup, Moscow where she came up with better performance reaching the Quarter-Finals defeating top seeded Vera Zvonareva in Round of 16 before losing out to Alona Bondarenko.

2010: First Grand Slam semifinal

Pironkova exited the Australian Open with a second-round loss to world no. 28 Shahar Pe'er.

Pironkova at the 2010 US Open

She made her first ITF Tour appearance of the year in the Fort Walton Beach tournament, where she reached the semifinals.[22]

In Warsaw she reached her first quarterfinal of the year after defeating Elena Dementieva. She then lost to the defending and eventual champion Alexandra Dulgheru. At the French Open Pironkova lost to four-time tournament champion Justine Henin in the first round.

Entering Wimbledon with a 1–4 career record at the event,[3] Pironkova went beyond the second round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, and become the first Bulgarian to reach a semifinal of a Grand Slam tournament since Manuela Maleeva achieved this feat at the US Open in 1992 and 1993.[23] Pironkova beat five-time champion Venus Williams in the quarterfinals. She then lost her first Major semifinal to Vera Zvonareva in three sets.[22]

En route to her maiden semi final appearance Pironkova beat three Russian players Anna Lapushchenkova, Vera Dushevina and Regina Kulikova all in straight sets in the first three rounds and then upstaged Frenchwoman and the 11th seed Marion Bartoli in the pre-quarters before taking out Williams. Tennis Island worte, "Against Vera Zvonareva in the semifinals, Pironkova had her chances – even leading the Russian by a set – before coming back to earth in three. In spite of the invariable loss, The Legend of Tsvetana Pironkova was born."[1]

She reached the second round at Palermo beating Italian Anna Floris before losing out to Jill Craybas. In July she scored a straight-sets victory over Tatjana Malek in Istanbul. However, she then recorded three consecutive losses, two of which were to Anastasia Rodionova and one to Anna Lapushchenkova.

At the US Open, Pironkova lost in the second round to qualifier Mandy Minella. At the 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open she beat Japanese qualifier Ayumi Morita before losing out to qualifier Roberta Vinci in the second round. In her last tournament of the year, 2010 Kremlin Cup, Pironkova lost in the second round to Dominika Cibulková, and ended the year ranked no. 35 in the world.[18][22]

2011: Wimbledon Quarterfinal

In the Australian Open Pironkova fell the in second round to Monica Niculescu having beaten Pauline Parmentier in the first round. She also fell in the second round at the 2011 BNP Paribas Open to 16th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in a tight three setter. She was seeded 32nd in the French Open, and beat Casey Dellacqua in the first round but yet again failed to cross the second round hurdle as she lost to Gisela Dulko in straight sets.[24]

Pironkova entered Wimbledon as the no. 32 seed. In the third round she defeated world no. 3 and second-seeded Vera Zvonareva in straight sets, thus avenging her loss in the semifinals the previous year. In the Fourth-Round she went on to defeat former champion Venus Williams second year straight at The Champuonships, then losing the quarterfinals to eventual champion Petra Kvitová.

Pironkova at the 2011 Aegon International.

In July, Pironkova competed in the Internazionali Femminili Di Palermo tournament, where she defeated Anna Tatishvili in the first round and Sorana Cîrstea in the second, before losing to Flavia Pennetta in the quarterfinals.[25]

At the 2011 US Open Pironkova defeated Virginie Razzano in the first round, but lost to world no. 13 Peng Shuai in the second.[24] She teamed with Chanelle Scheepers in the doubles tournament, but they were defeated by Arantxa Parra Santonja and Nuria Llagostera Vives.

At the 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open Pironkova beat Gisela Dulko in the first round, but then lost to Vera Zvonareva in the second. At 2011 Kremlin Cup Pironkova beat Petra Martić, after Martić retired due to injury. She then lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round, and ended the year at number 46 in the world.[18]

2012

Pironkova began 2012 representing Bulgaria at the 2012 Hopman Cup losing to Petra Kvitová. Pironkova and her partner Grigor Dimitrov managed to defeat Tomáš Berdych and Kvitová in doubles. Despite their win the team of Bulgaria lost to the Czech Republic (1–2), after Pironkova and Dimitrov lost their singles matches.[26] Afterward, their team was victorious against Denmark 2–1.[27] The team of Bulgaria scored a victory over the team of the United States, but finished second in Group A and didn't qualify for the final.[28]

At the Australian Open, Pironkova defeated Sania Mirza in the first round, before losing to Galina Voskoboeva in the second. She again represented Bulgaria in the Fed Cup, alongside Elitsa Kostova, Dia Evtimova and Isabella Shinikova. On 1 February, the team scored their first victory, after beating Estonia (3–0).[29] Later, the team lost to Austria, then lost again to Portugal and finished seventh place in the group.[30]

Pironkova competed in the 2012 Qatar Total Open, recording a victory over Angelique Kerber in the second round, but losing to Marion Bartoli in the third. She reached the second round of the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open, losing to Roberta Vinci. At the Brussels Open, Pironkova reached the quarterfinals, falling to Kaia Kanepi.[31] She then reached the second round of the French Open, losing to former champion Francesca Schiavone.

At the 2012 Aegon International, Pironkova reached her second quarterfinal of the season after defeating no. 1 seeded Agnieszka Radwańska and qualifier Stéphanie Dubois, losing to eventual champion Tamira Paszek. At the 2012 Wimbledon Championships, Pironkova lost a second-round match to Maria Sharapova in three sets. She reached the quarterfinals of the 2012 Swedish Open losing to Polona Hercog.

At the 2012 US Open, Pironkova reached the third round of a Major besides Wimbledon for the first time. She defeated Camila Giorgi in the first round, Ayumi Morita in the second, and Silvia Soler Espinosa in the third. In the fourth round, with a first US Open quarter-final in sight, she was upset by former world no. 1 Ana Ivanovic. Her last tournament of the year was the 2012 Qatar Airways Tournament of Champions, where she entered with a wild card. She lost to Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals.[28]

2013

Pironkova reached the quarterfinals of the 2013 Moorilla Hobart International in Australia, where she lost to the defending champion Mona Barthel. She had beaten Irina-Camelia Begu and 3rd seeded Klára Koukalová in the round of 16.[32] She was eliminated in the first round of the Australian Open by Romina Oprandi.

Pironkova at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships.

In February, Pironkova took part in the Fed Cup tie Bulgaria vs. Netherlands, defeating Arantxa Rus in straight sets, helping Bulgaria win the tie. She later helped Bulgaria win the tie against Luxembourg with a victory over veteran Anne Kremer. On 9 February, she played in the tie against Slovenia, and beat Tjasa Srimpf after Srimpf retired after losing the first game of the match, which advanced Bulgaria to the promotion playoffs. In the playoff tie against Great Britain on 10 February, Pironkova lost against Heather Watson in three sets, meaning that Bulgaria lost the tie and remained in the Fed Cup Europe/Africa Group I.

Following a string of first-round losses,[32] Pironkova beat Karolína Plíšková in Marrakesh, but then lost in three sets to Lourdes Domínguez Lino, who went on to reach the final. She then lost a series of first-round matches throughout the remainder of the clay-court season, culminating with an early exit at the French Open.[32]

On her preferred surface of grass,[3] Pironkova snapped her losing streak at the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, defeating Lauren Davis in the opening round. She dropped her second-round match to Sorana Cîrstea. She went on to play in 's-Hertogenbosch, where she beat Kristina Mladenovic and Irina-Camelia Begu, marking the first time since January that she reached the quarter finals of a WTA event. She then lost to Carla Suárez Navarro in three sets.[32]

At the 2013 Wimbledon Championships she won against 21st seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the first round and then went on to beat Barbora Strýcová and Petra Martić in the nest two rounds. She came close to cause another huge upset at the tournament when she was up a set against the 4th seeded Agnieszka Radwańska but eventually lost in three sets to the former finalist. In an interview with The New York Times, Pironkova revealed that winning the final of Wimbledon "would be the ultimate dream coming true."[3][32]

2014: First WTA title

Pironkova started the 2014 season ranked outside the top-100, at No. 107. She made it through the qualifying draw at the 2014 Apia International Sydney tournament. In the main draw, she defeated world no. 7 Sara Errani in the quarterfinals and world no. 6 Petra Kvitová in the semifinals, both in straight sets. She then defeated 9th ranked Angelique Kerber to win her first WTA Tour title. Pironkova was the first qualifier to win a WTA Premier event in three and a half years,[33] moved up 50 places in the world rankings, and was the first Bulgarian to win a WTA event in over 10 years (after Magdalena Maleeva at the 2003 DFS Classic). Pironkova's run in Australia ended at the Australian Open with a second round straight sets loss to Samantha Stosur, managing to win just two games.[34] After the Australian Open, she reached a ranking of No. 52.

Next, in February, Pironkova played in Qatar, where she made it through the qualifying rounds. She beat veteran 11th seed world No. 14 Roberta Vinci in the first round 2:0 sets, losing just six games.[35] However, Pironkova's good run ended in the 2nd round, where she lost to youngster No. 55 Annika Beck 2:1 sets, after winning the first set on a tie-break.[36] After Qatar, she played in Dubai. In the first round of qualifying, she beat world No.487 Vitalia Diatchenko in a long and hard match (over 2 and a half hours), losing the first set on a tiebreak, saving a match point in the 10th game of the 2nd set, then winning the 2nd set again on a tiebreak, and then was leading in the 3rd set when her opponent retired. However, in what was her 2nd loss against the Canadian out of 2 matches, she lost in the 2nd qualifying round to youngster No.19 Eugenie Bouchard 2:0 sets.[37]

Next, in March, Pironkova played at the Indian Wells hard court event,[38] where she started in the main draw. She lost in straight sets to No.38 Madison Keys in the 1st round.[39] She then played in Miami, where she beat Galina Voskoboeva and 25th seed Sorana Cîrstea without losing a set, but then lost in the 3rd round 2:0 sets to 5th seed Angelique Kerber,[40] who went on to reach the 1-4/finals. Pironkova moved 5 places up the rankings after Miami, to No.42.[41]

Next, in April, she played at the indoor hard court event in Katowice, where she was seeded 8th. In the 1st round, Pironkova beat Andrea Hlaváčková 2:1 sets, after losing the first set. In round 2, in what was her 5th loss against the Israeli out of 8 matches, she lost 2:0 sets to world No.90 Shahar Pe'er, whom she also lost against in this same event in 2013. Pironkova then played in the qualifications of the indoor clay court event in Stuttgart, where she was the top seed and the top-ranked player at No.40. In the 1st round of qualifying she beat local teenager Tayisiya Morderger 2:0 sets, but then lost 2:0 sets to No.221 Gioia Barbieri in the 2nd qualifying round.

Pironkova at The Kremlin Cup 2014.

Next, in May, she played in Madrid, where she started in the main draw and lost 2:0 sets to wildcard No.145 Lara Arruabarrena in round 1. Pironkova then played in Rome, where she lost to qualifier No.69 Petra Cetkovská 2:1 sets in round 1, despite easily winning the 1st set.

She then played at Roland Garros. In round 1 she beat No.49 Annika Beck 2:1 sets (after losing the first on a tie-break), whom she had never beaten before. Pironkova then faced a major test in round 2 – in what was her 5th loss out of 5th matches between them, despite being a break up in the 1st set, she lost 2:0 sets to 7th seed No.8 Maria Sharapova, who went on to win the tournament.

Next, in June, Pironkova played at the Eastbourne grass court event, where in round 1 she lost 2:1 sets to local wildcard No.70 Heather Watson, who went on to reach the semi-finals.

Pironkova then played in Wimbledon, where she faced No.57 Varvara Lepchenko in the 1st round and lost 2:1 sets, in a match that was played over 2 days.

Next, in July, she playеd at the Istanbul hard court event where she was unseeded. In what was the 2nd match between the two and 2nd loss for Pironkova, she lost 2:0 sets to No.72 Stefanie Vögele in the 1st round. Pironkova played in Cincinnati, where she lost in the first round to Carla Suárez Navarro. Then she fell in New Haven in the qualifying draw.

In August, at the US Open she reached the second round, where in what was her 6th loss to the Serb out of 6 matches, she lost to 9th seed Jelena Janković.

In September, Pironkova played in Wuhan, where she lost in the qualifying draw. Her second tournament in September was the China Open, where she lost in the second round to world No 1 Serena Williams. Next, she reached the quarterfinals in Linz, before losing to Karin Knapp. The next week she reached her second quarterfinal of the month in Moscow, where she fell to eventual finalist Irina-Camelia Begu. Pironkova was awarded a wild card for the final tournament of the year – the Tournament of Champions. She lost all her matches in the round robin and finished 4th in her group.

2015

Pironkova started the year ranked 50th. She began the season at the 2015 Brisbane International and lost her first round match to 7th seed Carla Suárez Navarro. Then she returned to Sydney to play the 2015 Aipa International as the defending champion and once again had to go through qualifications as she was not given a wildcard entry,[42] before entering the main draw. At the time, Pironkova was ranked 67th and lost the points from her title due to the WTA's point system that only counts those accumulated within the previous 12 months. She beat 8th seed Flavia Pennetta in the first round in straight sets, then overcoming unseeded Madison Keys and Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová both in straight sets, but then lost in the semifinals to 2nd seed and eventual champion Petra Kvitová in a repeat of the 2014 semi-finals. With this defeat ended her 14-match winning streak at the tournament.[43]

Pironkova in 2015.

Pironkova then played at the Australian Open, where she beat unseeded Heather Watson 2:0 sets in the 1st round, but then in what was her 8th loss against the Slovakian out of 9 matches between them, lost to 11th seed Dominika Cibulková in the 2nd round, again in straight sets. Pironkova reached the third-round of 2015 Dubai Tennis Championships where she beat Klára Koukalová and Peng Shuai before losing out to top seeded world no. 2 Simona Halep in straight sets. At Indian Wells she lost in the first-round, reached the second-round at Miami Open losing out to 15th seed Flavia Pennetta in three tight sets. She reached second rounds at both Prague Open and Madrid Open losing out to top seeded Karolína Plíšková and Lucie Šafářová respectively. She suffered first-round defeat at Rome.[44]

At the 2015 French Open Pironkova reached the third-round, where she came up with an upset in the first round defeating 25th seeded Barbora Strýcová from Czech and then took out another Czech player Denisa Allertová both in straight sets before losing out to American Sloane Stephens. The third-round appearance at the Roland Garros was her best as she bettered her previous best second-round finish.[45]

Pironkova started her Grass season at the 2015 Aegon Classic Birmingham where in the first round she beat Brit Katie Stan but came short against Germany's 4th seeded Angelique Kerber losing out in three sets. She then reached her second premier level event quarter-final in 2015 in Eastbourne at the 2015 Aegon International where she beat Marina Erakovic in the first round, 16th seeded Samantha Stosur (AUS) and former Grand Slam finalist Dominika Cibulková (SVK) before being beaten by eventual finalist Agnieszka Radwańska. At the 2015 Wimbledon Championships she lost to 30th seed and Aegon International winner Belinda Bencic in three sets having won the first.[46]

She then entered the 2015 İstanbul Cup as the 8th seed and reached her third quarter-finals of the year. She beat Margarita Gasparyan and Kurumi Nara both in three sets but lost to Urszula Radwańska in three sets in a tie-break in the final set.[47]

2016

Pironkova started her 2016 season with a loss to Samantha Crawford at the 2016 Brisbane qualifying draw. Pironkova will play at 2016 Apia International Sydney, where she received a wild card to the main draw.

Playing style

Pironkova prefers fast surfaces. She is noted for her powerful backhand, with the down-the line backhand being one of her best shots.

Pironkova prefers Grass as the surface suits her game.

She is also known for her squash-shot forehand, and for mixing flat shots into rallies. She often draws her opponent forward with short balls to set up passing shots.[3][48] She hits with great speed on both sides, and has a mix of power and counterattack and also has a decent serve but at times struggles with her footwork.

Honors

Best progressing player of the year in Bulgaria – 2005.[49]

WTA career finals: 1 (1 – 0)

Singles: 1 (1 title)

Legend (pre/post 2009)
Grand Slam tournaments (0-0)
WTA Tour Championships (0-0)
Tier I / Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (0-0)
Tier II / Premier (1–0)
Tier III, IV & V / International (0–0)
Outcome No. Date Championship Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner 1. 10 January 2014 Apia International Sydney, Sydney, Australia Hard Germany Angelique Kerber 6–4, 6–4

ITF Circuit finals: 13 (6 – 7)

Singles: 13 (6 – 7)

Legend
$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$15,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up 1. 18 August 2002 Bucharest, Romania, ITF $10,000 Clay Romania Monica Niculescu 1–6, 6–7(4–7)
Winner 2. 29 September 2002 Volos, Greece, ITF $10,000 Carpet Switzerland Tina Schmassmann 7–6(7–3), 7–5
Winner 3. 29 June 2003 Orestiada, Greece, ITF $10,000 Hard Romania Simona Matei 6–1, 6–4
Winner 4. 3 August 2003 Istanbul, Turkey, ITF $10,000 Hard Turkey İpek Şenoğlu 7–6(7–2), 6–0
Runner-up 5. 28 September 2003 Volos, Greece, ITF $10,000 Carpet Bulgaria Sesil Karatantcheva 4–6, 6–2, 2–6
Winner 6. 2 November 2003 Istanbul, Turkey, ITF $10,000 Hard Israel Shahar Pe'er 6–3, 6–2
Runner-up 7. 21 November 2004 Barcelona, Spain, ITF $25,000 Clay Spain Laura Pous Tió 6–4, 5–7, 2–6
Runner-up 8. 30 January 2005 Belfort, France, ITF $25,000 Hard Czech Republic Sandra Kleinová 4–6, 3–6
Winner 9. 10 April 2005 Rome, Italy, ITF $25,000 Clay Romania Magda Mihalache 7–5, 7–5
Runner-up 10. 11 June 2005 Zagreb, Croatia, ITF $75,000 Clay Czech Republic Zuzana Ondrášková 6–4, 4–6, 3–6
Runner-up 11. 20 November 2005 Deauville, France, ITF $50,000 Clay Ukraine Viktoriya Kutuzova 4–6, 6–7(2–7)
Winner 12. 12 September 2007 Bordeaux, France, ITF $100,000 Clay France Alizé Cornet 6–2, 6–3
Runner-up 13. 21 September 2008 Sofia, Bulgaria, ITF $100,000 Clay Spain Nuria Llagostera Vives 2–6, 3–6

Singles performance timeline

Pironkova has won 1 WTA and 6 ITF Singles titles in her career.
Key
W  F  SF QF R# RR LQ (Q#) A P Z# PO SF-B F-S G NMS NH

Won tournament; reached the Finals; Semifinals; Quarterfinals; Rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a Round Robin stage; reached a Qualification Round; absent from tournament event; played in a Davis Cup or Fed 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.

Current through the 2016 Brisbane International.

Tournament200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016SRW–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A 2R 1R 2R 2R 2R 2R 2R 1R 2R 2R 1R 0 / 11 8–11
French Open A 2R 1R 2R 1R 1R 2R 2R 1R 2R 3R 0 / 10 7–10
Wimbledon Q3 2R 1R 1R 1R SF QF 2R 4R 1R 1R 0 / 10 14–10
US Open Q2 1R 2R 1R 1R 2R 2R 4R 1R 2R 1R 0 / 10 7–10
Win–Loss 0–0 3–4 1–4 2–4 1–4 7–4 7–4 6–4 3–4 3–4 3-4 0–1 0 / 41 36–41
Year-End Championship
WTA Tour Championships Did Not Qualify 0 / 0 0–0
WTA Premier Mandatory Tournaments
Indian Wells A 2R 2R 2R 2R 2R 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R 0 / 10 5–10
Miami A 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R 2R 2R 1R 3R 2R 0 / 10 5–10
Madrid Not Held 1R Q1 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R 0 / 6 1–6
Beijing Tier II A 1R 1R 1R Q1 2R 1R 0 / 5 1–5
WTA Premier 5 Tournaments
Dubai Tier II 2R Q1 2R Premier 0 / 2 2–2
Doha Tier II A Not Held P 3R 1R 2R A 0 / 3 3–3
Rome A A A QF 1R Q1 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 0 / 7 3–7
Montréal / Toronto А А А А А А А А A A A 0 / 0 0–0
Cincinnati Tier III А А 1R 1R Q1 2R 2R 1 / 4 1–4
Tokyo А А А А А A 2R 2R 1R LQ NP5 0 / 3 2–3
National Representation
Summer Olympics Not Held 2R Not Held 2R Not Held 0 / 2 2–2
Other tournaments
Tournament of Champions Not Held A A A SF RR RR A 0 / 3 1–9
Career statistics
Year200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016W–L
WTA Levels & GS (Main Draw)
Played 3 16 15 18 20 15 22 22 13 16 12 167
Titles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
Finals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
Overall Win–Loss 6–3 15–16 7–15 16–18 9–20 16–15 13–22 20–24 6–14 15-17 14-12 137–176
WTA Levels & GS (Qualifying)
Played 6 9 8 8 5 11 0 1 3 6 2 55
Main Draw Entered 1 5 3 4 2 4 0 0 0 2 1 21
Overall Win–Loss 10–5 14–6 14–5 16–4 10–3 14–7 0–0 0–1 1–2 8-4 3-1 83–35
Year End Ranking
Year200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016Career Best
Ranking 88 62 98 46 99 35 46 42 108 39 59 No.31

Doubles performance timeline

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

Won tournament; reached the Finals; Semifinals; Quarterfinals; Rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a Round Robin stage; reached a Qualification Round; absent from tournament event; played in a Davis Cup or Fed 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.

Current through the 2014 US Open.

Tournament200620072008200920102011201220132014W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open А 2R А 2R А 1R А А A 2–3
French Open 2R А 2R 1R А 1R 1R А A 2–5
Wimbledon А А 1R А А 2R А 2R 2R 3–4
US Open 1R А 2R А 1R 1R 1R A А 1–5
Win–Loss 1–2 1–1 2–3 1–2 0–1 1–4 0–2 1–1 1–1 8–17

Wins over Top 10's per season

# Player Rank Event Surface Round Score
2006
1. United States Venus Williams No. 10 Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia Hard 1st Round 2–6, 6–0, 9–7
2008
2. Serbia Ana Ivanovic No. 3 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Rome, Italy Clay 2nd Round 6–4, 5–7, 6–2
2009
3. Russia Vera Zvonareva No. 7 Kremlin Cup, Moscow, Russia Hard (i) 2nd Round 6–0, 6–2
2010
4. Russia Elena Dementieva No. 5 Polsat Warsaw Open, Warsaw, Poland Clay 2nd Round 7–5, 4–6, 6–4
5. United States Venus Williams No. 2 Wimbledon Championships, London, United Kingdom Grass Quarterfinals 6–2, 6–3
2011
6. Russia Vera Zvonareva No. 3 Wimbledon Championships, London, United Kingdom Grass 3rd Round 6–2, 6–3
2012
7. China Li Na No. 9 Open GDF Suez, Paris, France Hard (i) 1st Round 7–6(7–5), 3–2, retired
8. Poland Agnieszka Radwańska No. 3 Aegon International, Eastbourne, United Kingdom Grass 1st Round 6–2, 6–4
2014
9. Italy Sara Errani No. 7 Apia International Sydney, Sydney, Australia Hard Quarterfinals 7–6(7–2), 6–3
10. Czech Republic Petra Kvitová No. 6 Apia International Sydney, Sydney, Australia Hard Semifinals 6–4, 6–3
11. Germany Angelique Kerber No. 9 Apia International Sydney, Sydney, Australia Hard Final 6–4, 6–4

References

  1. 1 2 http://thetennisisland.com/2015/01/15/a-beginners-guide-tsvetana-pironkova/
  2. ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-2344407/Tsvetana-Pironkova--Wimbledon-dark-horse.html
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Rothenberg, Ben (28 June 2013). "Something About Wimbledon Agrees With Lisicki and Pironkova". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  4. ↑ "Bold and the beautiful. Most gorgeous sporting ladies". MSN. 25 September 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Profile at www.sonyericssonwtatour.com. Sonyericssonwtatour.com. Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 ITF Circuit Profile. Itftennis.com. Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  7. ↑ Juniors – Player Activity. ITF Tennis (29 June 2010). Retrieved on 2011-06–29.
  8. ↑ ITF junior profile on www.itftennis.com. Itftennis.com. Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  9. ↑ Women's Circuit – ITF Circuit Calendar. ITF Tennis. Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  10. ↑ Women's Circuit – Tournament Overview. ITF Tennis (29 September 2002). Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  11. ↑ Women's Circuit – Drawsheet By Round. ITF Tennis. Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  12. ↑ Circuit – Drawsheet By Round. ITF Tennis. Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  13. ↑ "Venus slumps to shock early exit". BBC. 16 January 2006. Retrieved 16 January 2006.
  14. ↑ Bulgarian teen bounces Venus from Australian Open from SI.com, retrieved 16 January 2006
  15. ↑ Walker, Randy (2008 by New Chapter Press) On this Day in Tennis History, p.21
  16. ↑ Women's Circuit – Drawsheet By Round. ITF Tennis. Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Women's Circuit – Player Activity. ITF Tennis. Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  18. 1 2 3 "Rankings". wtatennis.com. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  19. ↑ Women's Circuit – ITF Circuit Calendar. ITF Tennis. Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  20. ↑ Women's Circuit – Tournament Overview. ITF Tennis (16 September 2007). Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  21. ↑ "Пиронкова накова Иванович. Цвети хвърля бомбата на турнира в Рим – бие №1 в схемата" (in Bulgarian). 7sport.net. 15 May 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  22. 1 2 3 "2010 Results". ESPN. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  23. ↑ Finn, Robin (10 September 1992). "U.S. OPEN '92; Graf Is Left Baffled; Young Maleeva Falls". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  24. 1 2 "2011 Results". CBS. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  25. ↑ "XXIV SNAI Open – Main draw singles" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-08-13.
  26. ↑ "Гришо и Цвети с победа на двойки срещу чехите" (in Bulgarian). 2 January 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
  27. ↑ "Bulgaria defeats Denmark in Hopman Cup". 4 January 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
  28. 1 2 "2012 Results". ESPN. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  29. ↑ "Пиронкова и Костова мачкат естонки за Фед Къп" (in Bulgarian). 1 February 2012. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
  30. ↑ "България остана на 7–мо място в I-ва група на "Фед Къп"" (in Bulgarian). 4 February 2012. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
  31. ↑ "Пиронкова отпадна на четвъртфинал в Брюксел" (in Bulgarian). 24 May 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-24.
  32. 1 2 3 4 5 "2013 Results". CBS. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  33. ↑ Pironkova tops Kerber in Sydney for first title
  34. ↑ "Пиронкова отпадна от Australian Open, контузия й попречи да се бори със Стосър". Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  35. ↑ "Пиронкова победи 14-та в света Винчи в Доха". Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  36. ↑ "Цветана Пиронкова допусна обрат срещу 55-ата в света и отпадна от турнира в Доха". Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  37. ↑ [http://news7.bg/%D0%A1%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%82/%D0%A2%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%81/%D0%9F%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0-%D0%B3%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%B8-%D0% B2-%D0%94%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%B0%D0%B9_l.s_i.51846_c.72.html#.Uzpv6aiSxZg "Пиронкова губи в Дубай"] Check |url= value (help). Retrieved 16 February 2014. line feed character in |url= at position 163 (help)
  38. ↑ "Пиронкова губи в Дубай". Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  39. ↑ "ЦВЕТИ ОТПАДНА ОТ ИНДИЪН УЕЛС". Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  40. ↑ "Пиронкова губи от Кербер в Маями". Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  41. ↑ "Цвети се изкачи с 5 места нагоре в ранглистата". Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  42. ↑ http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/tennis/64960328/sydney-wildcard-snub-firing-up-tsvetana-pironkova
  43. ↑ http://zeenews.india.com/sports/tennis/tsvetana-pironkova-chalks-up-14th-straight-win-in-sydney_1530111.html
  44. ↑ http://www.wtatennis.com/players/player/10365/title/tsvetana-pironkova#results
  45. ↑ Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova Proceeds to Third Round of Roland Garros
  46. ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/wimbledon/11705267/Wimbledon-2015-day-one-live.html
  47. ↑ http://www.novinite.com/articles/170010/Bulgaria's+Tsvetana+Pironkova+Proceeds+to+Quarterfinals+of+Istanbul+Cup
  48. ↑ Pagliaro, Richard (28 June 2011). "Wimbledon: Kvitova d. Pironkova". tennis.com. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  49. ↑ "Годишни награди на Българска Федерация по Тенис - 2005" (PDF). bgtennis.bg. 2005. Retrieved 2015-03-16.

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