Anna Chakvetadze
Anna Djambuliovna Chakvetadze is a Russian former professional tennis player who was born to a Georgian father and a Russian mother.
Chakvetadze won eight WTA singles titles, the biggest being the 2006 Kremlin Cup. She also reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 5 on 10 September 2007 after reaching the US Open semifinals. She also made the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and French Open that same year. She announced her retirement on 11 September 2013, due to a persisting back injury. She is currently a commentator on Eurosport channel.
Career
Chakvetadze began playing tennis at the age of eight after being introduced to the sport by her mother. She hit her peak of world No. 5 in 2007 after a semifinal appearance at the 2007 US Open. Also in that year, she reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and the French Open, both of which were career bests for those events. Four of her eight career singles titles also occurred in 2007.Junior tournaments
In 2003, she made it to the final of the Junior Championships at Wimbledon before falling to Kirsten Flipkens in three sets. The same year, she won the International Bavarian Junior Challenge, defeating Marta Domachowska in two sets. Her record as a junior was 67–19 in singles, and 22–14 in doubles; her highest world ranking was No. 22, achieved in December 2003.Professional tournaments
2001–2006: Early career and entering top 50
Chakvetadze debuted on the ITF Women's Circuit in November 2001, losing in the first round in Minsk. In July 2002, she won her first ITF doubles title in Istanbul, teaming with fellow Russian Irina Kotkina.At the 2004 US Open, Chakvetadze won three qualifying matchers to reach the main draw of her first Grand Slam singles tournament. In the second round, she defeated world No. 3 Anastasia Myskina before losing in the third round to Eleni Daniilidou. With this result, she became tied for the second fastest player to defeat a world top ten in WTA history, tying Serena Williams. She broke into the top 100 in the WTA rankings on September 13, reaching world No. 91. She reached the top 50 on 6 June 2005, coming in at world No. 44.
On 25 September 2006, Chakvetadze won her first WTA singles tournament at the Tier III event in Guangzhou, defeating Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues in the final. Two weeks later, she won her second WTA tournament at the Tier I Kremlin Cup in Moscow even though she was unseeded, beating Elena Dementieva and Nadia Petrova en route to the title. These wins helped boost her ranking to world No. 16.
2007: Breakthrough year, world No. 5
Chakvetadze started the year by winning the Tier IV Moorilla Hobart International in Australia, her third WTA tournament title. She defeated fellow Russian Vasilisa Bardina in the final. At the Australian Open, where she was seeded 12th, she defeated eighth-seeded Patty Schnyder in the fourth round before losing in the quarterfinals to top-seeded Maria Sharapova.In February, Chakvetadze reached the quarterfinals of the Open Gaz de France in Paris, where she lost to Amélie Mauresmo. She then competed at the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, where she lost in the semifinals to Mauresmo in three sets. On February 19, she made her top-ten debut on the WTA rankings, at world No. 10. At the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, she lost in the fourth round to Shahar Pe'er. She then reached the semifinals of the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, where she was defeated by world No. 1 Justine Henin in straight sets.
Chakvetadze then played four tournaments in Europe on red clay courts. Chakvetadze lost in the quarterfinals of the Tier II J&S Cup in Warsaw to Jelena Janković, the second round of the Tier I Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin, and the second round of the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. At the French Open, Chakvetadze lost to second-seeded Sharapova in the quarterfinals.
Chakvetadze won her second title of the year and first grass court title in 's-Hertogenbosch, with wins over Daniela Hantuchová and Janković. At Wimbledon, however, she was defeated in the third round by 31st-seeded Michaëlla Krajicek in three sets.
Chakvetadze then played five tournaments during the North American summer hard court season. At the Tier III Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open in Cincinnati, Chakvetadze was the top seed and won the title, defeating Akiko Morigami in the final. She won her second consecutive tournament the following week at the Bank of the West Classic in Palo Alto, the first tournament of the US Open Series. She defeated Sania Mirza in the final. That was her ninth consecutive match victory and resulted in her ranking rising to world No. 6. At the Acura Classic tournament in San Diego, her 12-match winning streak ended when she lost in the semifinals to top-seeded Sharapova for the third time this year 3–6, 2–6 after Chakvetadze had defeated reigning Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in the quarterfinals 6–7, 7–6, 6–2. Two weeks later at the Tier I Rogers Cup in Toronto, Chakvetadze retired from her second round match after losing the first set to Virginie Razzano. At the US Open, she was the sixth seed and reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova in three sets. This result caused her ranking to rise to a career high of world No. 5.
Chakvetadze was the defending champion at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, but lost her second round match to Dinara Safina.
She became the sixth player in 2007 to qualify for the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships. She reached the semifinals of that tournament by winning two of her three round-robin matches, defeating Serena Williams and Janković before losing to Henin. She then lost her semifinal match against Sharapova.
2008: Continued success
Chakvetadze began her season at the Medibank International. Seeded fifth, she lost in the first round to Katarina Srebotnik. Seeded sixth at the Australian Open, Chakvetadze was defeated in the third round by twenty-seventh seed Maria Kirilenko.Chakvetadze helped Russia win its first-round tie against Israel during the Fed Cup by defeating Tzipora Obziler. As the top seed at the Open Gaz de France, Chakvetadze won the title defeating seventh seed Ágnes Szávay in the final. Seeded second at the Proximus Diamond Games, Chakvetadze suffered a second-round upset at the hands of lucky loser Sofia Arvidsson. Seeded fifth at the Qatar Ladies Open, Chakvetadze lost in the second round to Li Na. Seeded sixth at the Dubai Tennis Championships, Chakvetadze retired from her quarterfinal match against fourth seed Jelena Janković due to a left thigh injury. After missing the Pacific Life Open, Chakvetadze returned to action at the Sony Ericsson Open.
2009: Out of top 50
Chakvetadze began the 2009 season at the Moorilla Hobart International. Seeded third, she was defeated in the first round by Carla Suárez Navarro. Seeded seventeenth at the Australian Open, Chakvetadze lost in the second round to Australian wildcard Jelena Dokić.Playing in the Fed Cup tie versus China, Chakvetadze played one rubber and won over Yan Zi. Russia easily won the tie over China 5-0. Seeded fifteenth at the Dubai Tennis Championships, Chakvetadze was defeated in the first round by Ayumi Morita. Seeded nineteenth at the BNP Paribas Open, Chakvetadze beat Ekaterina Makarova in the second round. She lost in the third round to Shahar Pe'er. Seeded twenty-second at the Sony Ericsson Open, Chakvetadze was defeated in the third round by eleventh seed and eventual champion Victoria Azarenka. During the Fed Cup semifinal tie versus Italy, Chakvetadze played one rubber and lost to Flavia Pennetta. Italy ended up defeating Russia 4-1 to advance to the Fed Cup final.
Chakvetadze kicked off her clay-court season at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. She was defeated in the first round by Flavia Pennetta. In Italy at the Italian Open, Chakvetadze lost a close three-setter in the third round to fourth seed Venus Williams. Competing at the first edition of the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, she defeated Virginia Ruano-Pascual in the first round. She then beat Sam Stosur in the second round, coming back from 1–4 down in the third set. Chakvetadze fell to Alona Bondarenko in the third round. Chakvetadze, who was seeded twenty-sixth at the French Open, suffered a first-round loss to lucky loser Mariana Duque Mariño in three sets, thus continuing her disastrous run.
Playing only one grass-court tournament before Wimbledon at the Aegon International, Chakvetadze was able to raise her game in the first round where she defeated third seed Jelena Janković. She was defeated by Marion Bartoli in the second round. Seeded thirty-second at the Wimbledon Championships, Chakvetadze lost to Sabine Lisicki in the first round, meaning she was out of the top 50 for the first time in quite a while.
Chakvetadze began her 2009 US Open Series campaign at the Bank of the West Classic where she was unseeded. She was defeated in the first round by Maria Kirilenko in three sets. The following week, at the LA Women's Tennis Championships, Chakvetadze won her first two matches, against eleventh seed Virginie Razzano and Alisa Kleybanova, but then lost convincingly to eighth seed Agnieszka Radwańska in the third round. Having won the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open in 2007, Chakvetadze went into the 2009 tournament unseeded; she was defeated in the second round by ninth seed Victoria Azarenka. At the Rogers Cup in Toronto, Chakvetadze lost in the first round to Sybille Bammer, after leading 6–3, 4–1. Her final tournament before the US Open was the Pilot Pen Tennis in New Haven, where she was the last year finalist. She reached her first quarter-final of the year, defeating Nadia Petrova and Sybille Bammer all in three sets. She then lost in her quarterfinal match to her good friend Elena Vesnina. Chakvetadze entered the US Open as an unseeded player for the first time since 2005. She defeated Yurika Sema in the first round but then fell in the second round to seventh seed Vera Zvonareva.
Chakvetadze played her final tournament of the year at the Kremlin Cup in Russia, her home country. She was defeated in the first round by Alona Bondarenko.
Chakvetadze ended the year ranked 70, her lowest ranking in over five years.
2010: Return to form and injuries
Chakvetadze started the year with a first-round loss at the ASB Classic in Auckland to wildcard Kimiko Date-Krumm. At the Moorilla Hobart International, Chakvetadze was defeated in the final round of qualifying by Elena Baltacha. Ranked sixty-six at the Australian Open, Chakvetadze lost in the first round to twelfth seed Flavia Pennetta.At the PTT Pattaya Open, Chakvetadze was defeated in her quarterfinal match by eventual finalist Tamarine Tanasugarn. In March, Chakvetadze competed at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where she retired with an ankle injury in the second round whilst trailing at 6–2, 5–3 to fifth seed Agnieszka Radwańska. At the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, Chakvetadze had a first-round loss to Kimiko Date-Krumm.
In May, Chakvetadze played at the Polsat Warsaw Open where she fell in the qualifying round to Bojana Jovanovski. At the French Open, Chakvetadze was two points away from winning the match in straight sets, before losing in the first round to Angelique Kerber.
Chakvetadze started her grass-court season at the Aegon Classic. She advanced to the third round, where she lost to qualifier Alison Riske. In Eastbourne at the Aegon International, Chakvetadze was defeated in the second round of qualifying by Jarmila Groth. At the Wimbledon Championships, Chakvetadze won her first-round match over Andrea Petkovic. She lost in the second round to top seed, defending champion, and eventual champion Serena Williams.
In Hungary at the GDF Suez Grand Prix, Chakvetadze fell in the second round to second seed Alexandra Dulgheru. At the ECM Prague Open, she was defeated in the first round by qualifier and compatriot Ksenia Pervak. Playing in Slovenia at the Banka Koper Slovenia Open, Chakvetadze defeated Johanna Larsson in her first final in two years and to win her eighth WTA Tour title. In the Portorož doubles final, Chakvetadze and Marina Erakovic lost to Maria Kondratieva/Vladimíra Uhlířová in a super tie-break. Playing at the first edition of the e-Boks Danish Open, Chakvetadze not only got through qualifying but she also advanced to the semifinal where she fell to top seed and eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki.
Chakvetadze entered the EmblemHealth Bronx Open to prepare for the US Open. She defeated Sofia Arvidsson in the final to win the second title of the year. At the US Open, Chakvetadze suffered a first-round loss to Urszula Radwańska.
Seeded third at the Tashkent Open, Chakvetadze retired in the second round against Evgeniya Rodina due to a viral illness. In Beijing at the China Open, Chakvetadze fell in the second round of qualifying to Kateryna Bondarenko. At the Generali Ladies Linz, Chakvetadze lost in the first round to Sybille Bammer. Her final tournament of the season was the Kremlin Cup. Chakvetadze was defeated in her quarterfinal match by Vera Dushevina.
Chakvetadze ended 2010 ranked 56. She won one singles title and reached two doubles finals.
2011: Illness and injuries
Chakvetadze started the year with a first-round loss at the Brisbane International to Ksenia Pervak. At the Moorilla Hobart International, Chakvetadze was defeated in the first round by seventh seed Sara Errani. Ranked fifty-seven at the Australian Open, Chakvetadze lost in the second round to twenty-fifth seed Petra Kvitová.In Dubai at the Dubai Tennis Championships, Chakvetadze defeated Daniela Hantuchová in the first round. In the second round, she faced top seed Caroline Wozniacki. She lost the first set 1–6; she was 5–3 up in the second set when she suddenly collapsed. It was later confirmed that Chakvetadze collapsed due to a GI illness that she had been suffering from since before the tournament. As a result, she did not play the Qatar Ladies Open. At the BNP Paribas Open, Chakvetadze retired during her second-round match against twenty-fourth seed Maria Kirilenko due to dizziness. She then missed the Sony Ericsson Open due to illness.
Chakvetadze started her clay-court season at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. After qualifying for the main draw, she faced Zuzana Kučová in her first-round match. She retired during the third set due to dizziness. Because of these problems, she did not play the French Open.
After a few weeks of hospital testing, Chakvetadze made her return at the UNICEF Open. She lost in the first round to Lourdes Domínguez Lino. At the Wimbledon Championships, Chakvetadze was defeated in the first round by fifth seed Maria Sharapova.
Chakvetadze announced that she will not participate at the US Open because of an ankle injury.
Chakvetadze ended the year ranked 230.
2012: Continued downfall, out of top 500
Chakvetadze started the year at the Moorilla Hobart International. She made it to the quarterfinals after wins over third seed Monica Niculescu and Tsvetana Pironkova. She retired during her quarterfinal match against sixth seed Shahar Pe'er due to a left leg cramp. At the Australian Open, Chakvetadze lost in the first round to Jelena Dokic.Chakvetadze took a break from the sport for several months before returning to competition at the e-Boks Open. As a qualifier, she was defeated in round one by Pauline Parmentier.
After qualifying for the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Chakvetadze was beaten in the first round by fellow qualifier Alizé Cornet. At the Mutua Madrid Open, Chakvetadze lost in the final round of qualifying to Johanna Larsson. Qualifying for the main draw at the Italian Open, Chakvetadze was defeated in the first round by qualifier Sloane Stephens. At the Brussels Open, Chakvetadze lost in the first round to Yanina Wickmayer.
In Washington, D.C. at the Citi Open, Chakvetadze was defeated in the first round by Melinda Czink. At the EmblemHealth Bronx Open, Chakvetadze advanced to the final where she lost to top seed Romina Oprandi.
In September, Chakvetadze played at the Tashkent Open in Uzbekistan. After qualifying for the main draw, she was defeated in the second round by eighth seed Galina Voskoboeva.
Chakvetadze didn't play any more tournaments for the rest of the season. She ended the year ranked 222.
2013: Retirement
Chakvetadze announced her retirement from professional tennis on September 11, 2013 due to ongoing back problems. Since retiring, she has been a tennis commentator for Eurosport.Playing style
Chakvetadze was a baseline player, whose game depended upon her excellent defensive skills. Her greatest assets were her speed, court coverage, shot selection, anticipation, and footwork. Her forehand and backhand were both hit flat and with depth, although she could hit her backhand with slice as and when the situation required. She was an excellent counterpuncher, with her exemplary fitness allowed her to extend rallies until she could create an opportunity to hit a winner. Her best groundstroke shots were her forehand and backhand, both down the line. Her first serve averaged 96 mph, and peaked at 109 mph, allowing her to serve aces and dictate service points. Her second serve was reliable, averaging 81 mph, meaning that double faults were uncommon; she was also excellent at defending her second serve with her powerful groundstrokes. Due to her doubles experience, she was a capable volleyer, and was adept at the net, but chose to play mostly from the baseline. Chakvetadze's major weaknesses were her lack of confidence and nerves. In difficult moments, she would commit many uncharacteristic unforced errors. Due to the careful nature of her game and her excellent point construction and shot selection, she was frequently compared to Martina Hingis.Personal life
Home invasion and robbery
On 18 December 2007, Chakvetadze's home was robbed. She was tied by six invaders who also beat her father, Djambuli. The six men left with over $306,000 worth of goods and cash. Chakvetadze was the target of the robbery, as the men demanded a Rolex watch she had recently won in an exhibition and told her as they left, "Keep playing. We'll come again." Seven suspects were arrested three months later.Political career
In December 2011, Anna stood for election in the Russian State Duma with the Right Cause party, but they were not elected.Significant finals
Premier Mandatory/Premier 5 finals
Singles: 1 (1 title)
Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)
WTA career finals
Singles: 9 (8 titles, 1 runner-up)
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 1. | Sep 2006 | Guangzhou Women's Open, China | Hard |  Anabel Medina Garrigues | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 2. | Oct 2006 | Kremlin Cup, Russia | Carpet |  Nadia Petrova | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 3. | Jan 2007 | Hobart International, Australia | Hard | Vasilisa Bardina | 6–3, 7–6 |
| Win | 4. | Jun 2007 | Rosmalen Championships, Netherlands | Grass |  Jelena Janković | 7–6, 3–6, 6–3 |
| Win | 5. | Jul 2007 | Cincinnati Masters, United States | Hard |  Akiko Morigami | 6–1, 6–3 |
| Win | 6. | Jul 2007 | Stanford Classic, United States | Hard |  Sania Mirza | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 7. | Feb 2008 | Open GDF Suez, France | Hard |  Ágnes Szávay | 6–3, 2–6, 6–2 |
| Loss | 1. | Aug 2008 | Connecticut Open, United States | Hard |  Caroline Wozniacki | 6–3, 4–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 8. | Jul 2010 | Koper Open, Slovenia | Hard |  Johanna Larsson | 6–1, 6–2 |
Doubles: 6 (6 runner-ups)
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 1. | Sep 2006 | China Open | Hard | Elena Vesnina | Virginia Ruano Pascual  Paola Suárez | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 2. | Jul 2007 | Stanford Classic, United States | Hard |  Victoria Azarenka | Sania Mirza  Shahar Pe'er | 4–6, 6–7 |
| Loss | 3. | Aug 2007 | Southern California Open, United States | Hard | Victoria Azarenka |  Cara Black  Liezel Huber | 5–7, 4–6 |
| Loss | 4. | Feb 2010 | Pattaya Open, Thailand | Hard | Ksenia Pervak |  Marina Erakovic  Tamarine Tanasugarn | 5–7, 1–6 |
| Loss | 5. | Jul 2010 | Koper Open, Slovenia | Hard | Marina Erakovic | Maria Kondratieva  Vladimíra Uhlířová | 4–6, 6–2, |
| Loss | 6. | Sep 2012 | Tashkent Open, Uzbekistan | Hard |  Vesna Dolonc |  Paula Kania  Polina Pekhova | 2–6, ret. |
ITF Circuit finals
Singles (2–4)
Doubles (1–0)
Singles performance timeline
Head-to-head record against other players
Chakvetadze's win-loss record against certain players who have been ranked world No. 10 or higher is as follows:| Player | Ranking | Record | W% | Hardcourt | Clay | Grass | Carpet |
 Martina Hingis | 1 | 0–1 | 0% | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Lindsay Davenport | 1 | 0–2 | 0% | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Venus Williams | 1 | 1–3 | 25% | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Serena Williams | 1 | 1–1 | 50% | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
 Kim Clijsters | 1 | 0–1 | 0% | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Justine Henin | 1 | 0–3 | 0% | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
 Amélie Mauresmo | 1 | 2–3 | 40% | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| Maria Sharapova | 1 | 0–7 | 0% | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
 / Ana Ivanovic | 1 | 2–3 | 40% | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| / Jelena Janković | 1 | 7–3 | 70% | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| Dinara Safina | 1 | 2–3 | 40% | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 |
| Caroline Wozniacki | 1 | 0–4 | 0% | 0–4 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Victoria Azarenka | 1 | 2–3 | 40% | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
 Angelique Kerber | 1 | 3–1 | 75% | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 |
| Anastasia Myskina | 2 | 1–1 | 50% | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Svetlana Kuznetsova | 2 | 0–3 | 0% | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Petra Kvitová | 2 | 0–1 | 0% | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Vera Zvonareva | 2 | 0–3 | 0% | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 |
| Agnieszka Radwańska | 2 | 2–2 | 50% | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Nadia Petrova | 3 | 5–0 | 100% | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Elena Dementieva | 3 | 1–2 | 33% | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Sloane Stephens | 3 | 0–1 | 0% | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Kimiko Date-Krumm | 4 | 0–2 | 0% | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
/ Jelena Dokić | 4 | 0–1 | 0% | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
 Francesca Schiavone | 4 | 4–1 | 80% | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Samantha Stosur | 4 | 1–2 | 67% | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
 Li Na | 4 | 3–2 | 60% | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
 Dominika Cibulková | 5 | 0–2 | 0% | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Daniela Hantuchová | 5 | 5–2 | 71% | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Lucie Šafářová | 5 | 2–1 | 67% | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Sara Errani | 5 | 1–1 | 50% | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Carla Suárez Navarro | 6 | 0–1 | 0% | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Flavia Pennetta | 6 | 0–4 | 0% | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Patty Schnyder | 7 | 1–2 | 33% | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Marion Bartoli | 7 | 1–4 | 20% | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| Ai Sugiyama | 8 | 2–0 | 100% | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Ekaterina Makarova | 8 | 4–1 | 80% | 4–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Andrea Petković | 9 | 3–0 | 100% | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Maria Kirilenko | 10 | 3–4 | 43% | 3–4 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Total | – | 59–81 | 42% | 35–48 | 7–19 | 10–8 | 7–6 |