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 $ 4,246,768
Singles
Career record 384–294 (56.64%)
Career titles 1 WTA, 6 ITF
Highest ranking No. 31 (13 September 2010)
Current ranking No. 64 (21 November 2016)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open 2R (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015)
French Open QF (2016)
Wimbledon SF (2010)
US Open 4R (2012)
Doubles
Career record 13–31 (29.55%)
Career titles 0 WTA, 0 ITF
Highest ranking No. 141 (23 March 2009)
Current ranking No. - (18 July 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: 6 June 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. She is right-handed and plays with a two-handed backhand. Born in Plovdiv, Pironkova started playing tennis at the age of four on being introduced to the sport by her father, who later coached her. After playing at a junior level and winning Atlantic Cup, she made her senior international tournament debut in 2002 at the International Tennis Federation circuit. Early in her career, Pironkova won six international singles titles at the ITF circuit.

Pironkova made her WTA tour debut at the İstanbul Cup in 2005, and achieved moderate success earlier in her career. That changed in 2010, when she entered Wimbledon with a 1–4 career record at the event, and went on reach the semifinals of the tournament, becoming the second Bulgarian tennis player in history to reach the semifinal stage of a Grand Slam in singles. She garnered wide recognition for her performance, and after her semifinal finish reached her highest WTA Singles ranking at no. 31 in September 2010. Pironkova followed it up with a quarterfinal run at the event the following year, earning her the nickname "The Wimbledon Darkhorse".[1] She is also known defeating Venus Williams three times at Grand Slam tournaments, twice at Wimbledon.[2]

Pironkova won her first WTA title at the 2014 Apia International, defeating three top-10 ranked players in a row. In 2016, Pironkova reached the quarterfinals at the 2016 French Open defeating the world no. 2 Agnieszka Radwańska making her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, apart from Wimbledon. In addition to this, she has a total of twelve 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 named one of the most beautiful women in sports by MSN.[3][4]

Personal 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 introduced her to the game. He later became her coach.[6] Pironkova married her long-time boyfriend Mikhail Mirchev, former Bulgarian Football player, in July 2016.[7]

In 2001, Pironkova won the Atlantic Cup International Junior Tournament held in Bulgaria,[8] and her career-high in juniors was world no. 227 in March 2002.[9]

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.[10] 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[11] to win her first professional ITF event.[5] In 2003, Pironkova won three ITF singles titles, one in Orestiada and two in Istanbul.[5]

At the age of 17, Pironkova played in her first WTA tournament, the Tier III event in Istanbul, Turkey. After winning two qualifying matches, she won three matches in the main draw, before losing out in the semifinals to Venus Williams.[12]

In January 2006, Pironkova made headlines by defeating Venus again in the first round of the 2006 Australian Open.[13] Pironkova was ranked 94th in the world.[14][15][16] However, in the next round, she lost to Laura Granville.[17]

In the first round of 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.[18] On 16 November 2006, Pironkova reached a career-high singles ranking of 62.[19]

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, and 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.[20] 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.[18][21]

Pironkova at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships

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.[18] Pironkova caused another upset at the 2008 Rome Masters, when as a qualifier, she reached the qurterfinals of the tournament. She beat top seed and world no. 3 Ana Ivanovic in the second round for the biggest victory of her career at that time.[22] Pironkova advanced to the quarterfinals, her first ever at a Tier I event, when Victoria Azarenka retired during their third round match with Pironkova leading, but, was defeated in three sets by Anna Chakvetadze.[18] In September, Pironkova reached the final in an ITF event in Sofia, where she lost to Nuria Llagostera Vives.[18] Pironkova ended the year ranked no. 46 in the world, marking her first ever Top-50 season.[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 Pironkova defeated Karolina Šprem in the first round before losing to 16th seeded Marion Bartoli.[18] 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.[18]

Pironkova 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 straight sets.[18] 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. She also reached two ITF quarter-finals at Sofia and Athens.

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.[23] 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 at the US Open in 1992 and 1993.[24] Pironkova beat five-time champion Venus Williams in the quarterfinals. She then lost her first Grand Slam semifinal to Vera Zvonareva in three sets.[23]

En route to her maiden semifinal 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 11th seed Marion Bartoli in the fourth round before taking out Williams.

She reached the second round in Palermo, beating Italian Anna Floris, before losing to Jill Craybas. In July, she scored a straight-set 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 to qualifier Roberta Vinci in the second round. In her last tournament of the year, the 2010 Kremlin Cup, Pironkova lost in the second round to Dominika Cibulková, and ended the year ranked no. 35 in the world.[19][23]

2011: Wimbledon quarterfinal

In the Australian Open, Pironkova fell in the second round to Monica Niculescu, having beaten Pauline Parmentier in the first round.

Pironkova 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 at 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.[25]

Pironkova at the 2011 Aegon International.

Pironkova entered Wimbledon as the 32nd seed. In the third round, she defeated world no. 3 and second seed 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 for the second year straight at The Championships, then lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Petra Kvitová.

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.[26]

At the 2011 US Open, Pironkova defeated Virginie Razzano in the first round, but lost to world no. 13 Peng Shuai in the second.[25] 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 the 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 no. 46 in the world.[19]

2012: US Open fourth round

Pironkova began 2012 representing Bulgaria at the 2012 Hopman Cup losing to Petra Kvitová. Pironkova and her partner Grigor Dimitrov defeated 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.[27] Afterward, their team was victorious against Denmark 2–1.[28] They scored a victory over the United States, but finished second in Group A and didn't qualify for the final.[29]

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. They scored their first victory, beating Estonia (3–0).[30] Later, the team lost to Austria, then lost again to Portugal and finished in seventh place in the group.[31]

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.[32] 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 Grand Slam 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 quarterfinal 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.[29]

2013: Wimbledon fourth round

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 third seed Klára Koukalová in the round of 16.[33] 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,[33] 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.[33]

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 quarterfinals of a WTA event. She then lost to Carla Suárez Navarro in three sets.[33]

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 causing another huge upset at the tournament when she was up a set against fourth seed Agnieszka Radwańska, but eventually lost in three sets to the former finalist.

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,[34] 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-set loss to Samantha Stosur, managing to win just two games.[35] 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 and world No. 14 Roberta Vinci in the first round, losing just six games.[36] However, Pironkova's good run ended in the second round, where she lost to youngster No. 55 Annika Beck, after winning the first set on a tie-break.[37] 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 second set, then winning the second set again on a tiebreak, and was leading in the third set when her opponent retired. However, in what was her second loss against the Canadian out of two matches, she lost in the second qualifying round to youngster No. 19 Eugenie Bouchard.[38]

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

In April, she played at the indoor hard-court event in Katowice, where she was seeded eighth. In the first round, Pironkova beat Andrea Hlaváčková, after losing the first set. In round two, in what was her fifthloss against the Israeli out of eight matches, she lost to world No. 90 Shahar Pe'er, whom she also lost to in this same event in 2013.

Pironkova at The Kremlin Cup 2014.

Pironkova then played in the qualifying for the indoor clay court event in Stuttgart, where she was the top seed and the top-ranked player at No. 40. In the first round of qualifying, she beat local teenager Tayisiya Morderger, but then lost to No. 221 Gioia Barbieri in the second qualifying round.

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

She then played at Roland Garros. In round one, she beat No. 49 Annika Beck (after losing the first on a tie-break), whom she had never beaten before. Pironkova then faced a major test in round two, in what was her fifth loss out of five matches, despite being a break up in the first set, to seventh seed No. 8 Maria Sharapova, who went on to win the tournament.

In June, Pironkova played at the Eastbourne grass court event, where in round one she lost to local wildcard No. 70 Heather Watson, who went on to reach the semifinals.

Pironkova then played Wimbledon, where she faced no. 57 Varvara Lepchenko in the first round and lost in a match that was played over two days.

Next, in July, she playеd at the Istanbul hard-court event, where she was unseeded. In what was the second match between the two and second loss for Pironkova, she lost to no. 72 Stefanie Vögele in the first 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 sixth loss to the Serb out of six matches, she lost to ninth 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 stage and finished fourth in her group.

2015

Pironkova started the year ranked no. 50. She began the season at the 2015 Brisbane International and lost her first-round match to seventh 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 qualifying, as she was not given a wildcard entry.[43] At the time, Pironkova was ranked no. 67 and lost the points from her title. She beat eighth 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 second seed and eventual champion Petra Kvitová in a repeat of the 2014 semifinals. With this defeat, she ended her 14-match winning streak at the tournament.[44]

Pironkova at the 2015 Internazionali BNL d'Italia.

Pironkova then played at the Australian Open, where she beat unseeded Heather Watson in the first round, but then in what was her eighth loss against the Slovak out of nine matches, lost to 11th seed Dominika Cibulková in the second round, again in straight sets. Pironkova reached the third round of the 2015 Dubai Tennis Championships, where she beat Klára Koukalová and Peng Shuai, before losing to top seed world no. 2 Simona Halep in straight sets. At Indian Wells, she lost in the first round, reached the second round in Miami, losing to 15th seed Flavia Pennetta in three tight sets. She reached second rounds in both Prague and Madrid, losing to top seeds Karolína Plíšková and Lucie Šafářová, respectively. She suffered a first-round defeat in Rome.[45]

At the 2015 French Open, Pironkova reached the third round, where she upset 25th seed Barbora Strýcová and then took out another Czech player Denisa Allertová, both in straight sets, before losing to American Sloane Stephens. The third-round appearance at the Roland Garros was her best to date.[46]

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 German fourth seed Angelique Kerber, losing in three sets. She then reached her second premier-level event quarterfinal in 2015 in Eastbourne at the 2015 Aegon International, where she beat Marina Erakovic in the first round, 16th seed Samantha Stosur, and former Grand Slam finalist Dominika Cibulková, 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.[47]

She then entered the 2015 İstanbul Cup as the eighth seed and reached her third quarterfinal 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.[48]

2016: Roland Garros quarterfinal

Pironkova at the 2016 BNP Paribas Open

Pironkova started her 2016 season with a loss to Samantha Crawford in 2016 Brisbane qualifying. Pironkova played the 2016 Apia International Sydney, where she received a wild card to the main draw and reached the second round, beating Lesia Tsurenko before losing to No.8 seed Belinda Bencic. Her next tournament was the Australian Open where she lost in the first round to Yaroslava Shvedova. After the Australian swing, her next tournament was the Dubai Tennis Championships, where she entered the main draw after beating Kristyna Pliskova, Kateryna Bondarenko and Anna-Lena Friedsam in the qualifying. She lost to eventual finalist Barbora Strycova in the first round.

At Roland Garros, the 102nd ranked Pironkova upset 16th seed Sara Errani in the first round and 19th seed Sloane Stephens in the third round, both in straight sets. In the fourth round against World No.2 Agnieszka Radwańska, after Pironkova was a set and 3 games down, the match was cancelled due to rain and resumed after 2 days. The Bulgarian took advantage of the situation, dominating the rest of the match after the pause by winning 12 out of 15 games, thus eventually reaching the quarterfinals and becoming the first Bulgarian since Sesil Karatantcheva in 2005 to reach this stage of the tournament.[49] Pironkova's run at Roland Garros ended with a loss to Samantha Stosur.

In June, Pironkova's good performance continued on grass court. She passed through the qualification rounds of the Birmingham event, and then in the second round the Bulgarian beat No.26 Irina-Camelia Begu to reach the quarterfinals, where she was eliminated by Barbora Strýcová. Pironkova then exited the 2016 Wimbledon in the first round after losing to 7th seed Belinda Bencic in two tight sets.

In August Pironkova participated in the 2016 Summer Olympics, She lost in the opening round to German Laura Siegemund. She next played the Cincinnati Masters making her way to the second qualifying round by beating Kateryna Kozlova, she then lost to Annika Beck of Germany, but was allowed into the main draw as a lucky loser. In the first round she faced Daria Kasatkina overcoming her 6-1, 6-1. In the next round she lost to World Number 8 Roberta Vinci, 5-7, 3-6. Towards the end of the month she lost in the first round of qualifying in New Haven in straight sets.

She reached the second round if the US Open but was beaten by Johanna Konta in three sets; 6-2, 5-7, 6-2.

Playing style

Pironkova plays right-handed, and uses a double-handed backhand.[6] She prefers fast surfaces. Pironkova is noted for her powerful backhand, with the down-the-line backhand being one of her best shots. 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. Overall Pironkova is not a hard hitting player, but she makes very intelligent use of the court and its geometry. Her main weakness is her serve. [3][50]

Honors

Best progressing player of the year in Bulgaria – 2005.[51]

WTA career finals: 1 (1 – 0)

Singles: 1 (1 title)

Legend (pre/post 2009)
Grand Slam tournaments (0-0)
WTA Tour Championships (0-0)
Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (0-0)
Premier (1–0)
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

Key
W  F  SF QF R# RR Q# A P Z# PO G F-S SF-B NMS NH
(W) Won tournament; reached (F) final, (SF) semifinal, (QF) quarterfinal; (R#) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a (RR) round-robin stage; reached a (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; played in a (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; won a (G) gold, (F-S) silver or (SF-B) bronze Olympic medal; a (NMS) downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament; or (NH) tournament not held.
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 US Open.

Pironkova has won one WTA and six ITF singles titles in her career.
Tournament 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 SR W–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 QF 0 / 11 11–11
Wimbledon Q3 2R 1R 1R 1R SF QF 2R 4R 1R 1R 1R 0 / 11 14–11
US Open Q2 1R 2R 1R 1R 2R 2R 4R 1R 2R 1R 2R 0 / 11 8–11
Win–Loss 0–0 3–4 1–4 2–4 1–4 7–4 7–4 6–4 3–4 3–4 3–4 5–4 0 / 43 41–44
National Representation
Summer Olympics Not Held 2R Not Held 2R Not Held 1R 0 / 3 2–3
Year–End Championships
WTA Tour Championships Did Not Qualify 0 / 0 0–0
Tournament of Champions Not Held A A A SF RR RR A 0 / 3 1–9
WTA Premier Mandatory Tournaments
Indian Wells A 2R 2R 2R 2R 2R 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R 0 / 11 6–11
Miami A 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R 2R 2R 1R 3R 2R Q2 0 / 10 5–10
Madrid Not Held 1R Q1 1R 1R 1R 1R 2R Q1 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 P 1R 0 / 4 3–4
Rome A A A QF 1R Q1 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R Q1 0 / 7 3–7
Montréal / Toronto А А А А А А А А A A A A 0 / 0 0–0
Cincinnati Tier III А А 1R 1R Q1 1R 2R 2R 0 / 5 2–5
Tokyo А А А А А A 2R 2R 1R Q2 NP5 0 / 3 2–3
Career Statistics 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 W–L
Tournaments 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 Reached 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 5–4 142–180
Year End Ranking 88 62 98 46 99 35 46 42 108 39 59

Doubles performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF R# RR Q# A P Z# PO G F-S SF-B NMS NH
(W) Won tournament; reached (F) final, (SF) semifinal, (QF) quarterfinal; (R#) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a (RR) round-robin stage; reached a (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; played in a (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; won a (G) gold, (F-S) silver or (SF-B) bronze Olympic medal; a (NMS) downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament; or (NH) tournament not held.
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.

Tournament 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 W–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

Top 10 wins

Season 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Total
Wins 1 0 1 1 2 1 2 0 3 0 1 12
# Player Rank Event Surface Round Score TP rank
2006
1. United States Venus Williams No. 10 Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia Hard 1st Round 2–6, 6–0, 9–7 95
2008
2. Serbia Ana Ivanovic No. 3 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Rome, Italy Clay 2nd Round 6–4, 5–7, 6–2 64
2009
3. Russia Vera Zvonareva No. 7 Kremlin Cup, Moscow, Russia Hard (i) 2nd Round 6–0, 6–2 126
2010
4. Russia Elena Dementieva No. 5 Polsat Warsaw Open, Warsaw, Poland Clay 2nd Round 7–5, 4–6, 6–4 100
5. United States Venus Williams No. 2 Wimbledon Championships, London, United Kingdom Grass Quarterfinals 6–2, 6–3 82
2011
6. Russia Vera Zvonareva No. 3 Wimbledon Championships, London, United Kingdom Grass 3rd Round 6–2, 6–3 33
2012
7. China Li Na No. 9 Open GDF Suez, Paris, France Hard (i) 1st Round 7–6(7–5), 3–2, retired 50
8. Poland Agnieszka Radwańska No. 3 Aegon International, Eastbourne, United Kingdom Grass 1st Round 6–2, 6–4 40
2014
9. Italy Sara Errani No. 7 Apia International Sydney, Sydney, Australia Hard Quarterfinals 7–6(7–2), 6–3 107
10. Czech Republic Petra Kvitová No. 6 Apia International Sydney, Sydney, Australia Hard Semifinals 6–4, 6–3 107
11. Germany Angelique Kerber No. 9 Apia International Sydney, Sydney, Australia Hard Final 6–4, 6–4 107
2016
12. Poland Agnieszka Radwańska No. 2 French Open, Paris, France Clay 4th Round 2–6, 6–3, 6–3 102

References

  1. ↑ Tsvetana Pironkova - find out more about the Wimbledon dark horse | Daily Mail Online
  2. ↑ A Beginner’s Guide: Tsvetana Pironkova – The Tennis Island
  3. 1 2 3 4 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. ↑ "Tsvetana Pironkova got Married". Tennis World Magazine. 17 July 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  8. ↑ Juniors – Player Activity. ITF Tennis (29 June 2010). Retrieved on 2011-06–29.
  9. ↑ ITF junior profile on www.itftennis.com. Itftennis.com. Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  10. ↑ Women's Circuit – ITF Circuit Calendar. ITF Tennis. Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  11. ↑ Women's Circuit – Tournament Overview. ITF Tennis (29 September 2002). Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  12. ↑ Women's Circuit – Drawsheet By Round. ITF Tennis. Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  13. ↑ Circuit – Drawsheet By Round. ITF Tennis. Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  14. ↑ "Venus slumps to shock early exit". BBC. 16 January 2006. Retrieved 16 January 2006.
  15. ↑ Bulgarian teen bounces Venus from Australian Openfrom SI.com, retrieved 16 January 2006 Archived 26 January 2006 at the Wayback Machine.
  16. ↑ Walker, Randy (2008 by New Chapter Press) On this Day in Tennis History, p.21
  17. ↑ Women's Circuit – Drawsheet By Round. ITF Tennis. Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Women's Circuit – Player Activity. ITF Tennis. Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  19. 1 2 3 "Rankings". wtatennis.com. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  20. ↑ Women's Circuit – ITF Circuit Calendar. ITF Tennis. Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  21. ↑ Women's Circuit – Tournament Overview. ITF Tennis (16 September 2007). Retrieved on 29 June 2011.
  22. ↑ "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.
  23. 1 2 3 "2010 Results". ESPN. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  24. ↑ Finn, Robin (10 September 1992). "U.S. OPEN '92; Graf Is Left Baffled; Young Maleeva Falls". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  25. 1 2 "2011 Results". CBS. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  26. ↑ "XXIV SNAI Open – Main draw singles" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-08-13.
  27. ↑ "Гришо и Цвети с победа на двойки срещу чехите" (in Bulgarian). 2 January 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
  28. ↑ "Bulgaria defeats Denmark in Hopman Cup". 4 January 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
  29. 1 2 "2012 Results". ESPN. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  30. ↑ "Пиронкова и Костова мачкат естонки за Фед Къп" (in Bulgarian). 1 February 2012. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
  31. ↑ "България остана на 7–мо място в I-ва група на "Фед Къп"" (in Bulgarian). 4 February 2012. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
  32. ↑ "Пиронкова отпадна на четвъртфинал в Брюксел" (in Bulgarian). 24 May 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-24.
  33. 1 2 3 4 "2013 Results". CBS. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  34. ↑ Pironkova tops Kerber in Sydney for first title
  35. ↑ "Пиронкова отпадна от Australian Open, контузия й попречи да се бори със Стосър". Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  36. ↑ "Пиронкова победи 14-та в света Винчи в Доха". Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  37. ↑ "Цветана Пиронкова допусна обрат срещу 55-ата в света и отпадна от турнира в Доха". Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  38. ↑ "Пиронкова губи в Дубай". Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  39. ↑ "Пиронкова губи в Дубай". Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  40. ↑ "ЦВЕТИ ОТПАДНА ОТ ИНДИЪН УЕЛС". Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  41. ↑ "Пиронкова губи от Кербер в Маями". Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  42. ↑ "Цвети се изкачи с 5 места нагоре в ранглистата". Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  43. ↑ Sydney wildcard snub firing up Tsvetana Pironkova | Stuff.co.nz
  44. ↑ Tsvetana Pironkova chalks up 14th straight win in Sydney | Zee News
  45. ↑ Players | WTA Tennis English
  46. ↑ Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova Proceeds to Third Round of Roland Garros
  47. ↑ Wimbledon 2015, day one: as it happened - Telegraph
  48. ↑ Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova Proceeds to Quarterfinals of Istanbul Cup - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency
  49. ↑ "Radwanska shocked by world No.102 Pironkova". Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  50. ↑ Pagliaro, Richard (28 June 2011). "Wimbledon: Kvitova d. Pironkova". tennis.com. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  51. ↑ "Годишни награди на Българска Федерация по Тенис - 2005" (PDF). bgtennis.bg. 2005. Retrieved 2015-03-16.

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