Vania King
Vania King is a Taiwanese-American former tennis player. A former top 10 doubles player, King won both the 2010 Wimbledon and 2010 US Open women's doubles titles with Kazakhstani partner Yaroslava Shvedova, with whom she also reached the final of the 2011 US Open. She has won a total of 15 WTA doubles titles and reached a career-high ranking of No. 3 in the world on June 6, 2011. She also reached one Grand Slam final in mixed doubles at the French Open in 2009 with Marcelo Melo.
In singles, King has been ranked as high as No. 50 in the world. Her biggest accomplishments included a WTA title at the 2006 Bangkok Open and two runner up finishes at the 2013 Guangzhou International and 2016 Jianxi International. She also progressed as far as the third round in Grand Slam tournaments four, doing so on four occasions.
Personal life
King's parents moved to the United States from Taiwan in 1982. She is the youngest of four children. Her brother Phillip was a two-time All-American at Duke University and two-time US junior champion. Vania is a graduate of Long Beach Poly High School in California.Tennis career
2006–2009
In 2006, King won her only WTA singles title at the PTT Bangkok Open, a Tier III tournament. She defeated Tamarine Tanasugarn in the final. On November 6, 2006, King achieved her career-high singles ranking of world No. 50.In 2009, she reached the mixed doubles final at the French Open alongside Brazilian player Marcelo Melo, losing to top seeds Liezel Huber/Bob Bryan.
King lost in the second round of the 2009 Wimbledon Championships to No. 15 Flavia Pennetta. She played in the ladies doubles with Anna-Lena Grönefeld, losing in the quarterfinals to eventual champions Venus and Serena Williams.
At the 2009 US Open, King was granted a wild card and had her best singles Grand Slam performance. She was defeated in the third round by world No. 22 Daniela Hantuchová.
2010
King began the year ranked no. 80 in the world at the Brisbane International. She reached the second round of the singles tournament, losing to Andrea Petkovic. In doubles, she partnered with Anna-Lena Grönefeld and lost in the first round to Timea Bacsinszky and Tathiana Garbin. King and Grönefeld fared better at the Medibank International in Sydney, where they were seeded fourth. They lost in the semifinals to Garbin and Nadia Petrova. In the singles tournament, King failed to qualify, losing in the first round of the qualifying tournament to top seed Ágnes Szávay, who went on to defeat Jelena Janković in the first round of the tournament.At the Australian Open, King lost in the second round to Roberta Vinci. In doubles, she partnered with Grönefeld again and entered the tournament seeded 14th. They lost in the second round to Svetlana Kuznetsova and Victoria Azarenka.
King's next major tournament was the Memphis international in mid-February. She entered the singles tournament seeded seventh and lost in the second round to Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden. In the doubles tournament, she and partner Michaëlla Krajicek were seeded third and won the tournament without dropping a set, defeating Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Shaughnessy in the final.
King then traveled to the Monterrey Open. In doubles, she reunited with Grönefeld and reached the finals as the top seed, falling to second-seeded Benešová/Záhlavová. In singles, she lost in the quarterfinals to second seed Daniela Hantuchová.
At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, King lost in the second round to second seed Caroline Wozniacki. She did not enter the doubles tournament. King fared better in the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami later that month. She partnered with Julie Coin and reached the quarterfinals of the doubles tournament, before losing to third seeds Petrova and Samantha Stosur, who went on to become the runners-up.
King's next Premier event was the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, where she reunited with Krajicek and reached the final, before falling to top seeds Liezel Huber and Petrova. In singles, she lost to Petrova in the second round.
At the Madrid Masters, King paired with Chuang Chia-jung for the first time for the doubles tournament. They defeated fourth seeds Huber and Anabel Medina Garrigues, before falling in the quarterfinals to Pe'er and Francesca Schiavone. In singles, King lost in the first round to Karolina Šprem.
King then entered the Strasbourg International. In the doubles tournament, she partnered with Alizé Cornet and won the tournament after an injury to Lucie Hradecká forced top seeds Hradecká/Chuang to retire in the second round. King/Cornet defeated second seeds Rodionova/Kudryavtseva in the final for her 10th tour doubles title. In singles, King defeated second seed Elena Vesnina in the first round and reached the semifinals, before falling to Kristina Barrois.
At the French Open, she lost in the first round to Bethanie Mattek-Sands. She entered the mixed doubles tournament with Christopher Kas, reaching the semifinals, before falling to Shvedova and Julian Knowle. In women's doubles, with Krajicek, she reached the second round, losing to fourth-seeded Petrova and Stosur.
At Wimbledon, King won the ladies' doubles title in straight sets with partner Yaroslava Shvedova. They defeated Elena Vesnina and Vera Zvonareva in the final.
At the US Open, King and Shvedova won their second Grand Slam doubles title, defeating the second-seeded pair Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova in a rain-delayed final.
At the Stanford Classic, Vania lost to Romanian Sorana Cîrstea.
2011
King and Shvedova made the finals of the US Open, losing to Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond.King made it to the finals of five other WTA tournaments in the course of the year, one in Monterrey with Anna-Lena Grönefeld and in Rome, Cincinnati, Osaka, and Moscow with Shvedova. She and Shvedova won the events in Cincinnati in August and Moscow in October.
2012
King reached the third round of the Australian Open at the start of the year, losing to Ana Ivanovic. She had defeated Kateryna Bondarenko in the first round.She reached the second round of the Mercury Insurance Open in Carlsbad in July, losing to Marion Bartoli.
In doubles, she reached the final in Stanford with Jarmila Gajdošová and in Carlsbad with Nadia Petrova, but lost to Marina Erakovic and Heather Watson in Stanford and to Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears in Carlsbad.
2013
In singles action in 2013, King lost in the Guangzhou final to Zhang Shuai. King lost in the second round of the French Open and in the first round of the other three Slans. In doubles that year, her best finish was a finals loss in Guangzhou.2014
In doubles, King made the second round at the Australian Open partnering Galina Voskoboeva. They lost to the Czech/Dutch pair of Hradecká and Krajicek.She partnered with Barbora Strýcová in Florianópolis, and they made it to the semifinals before being defeated by Medina Garrigues and Shvedova. She was eliminated in the first round in Indian Wells, and the second round in Miami, but made it to the final in Bogotá, partnering Chanelle Scheepers of South Africa.
Partnering Zheng Jie of China, she made a quarterfinal appearance in Madrid, losing to Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci. Then followed a series of first-round losses, including Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
She had some success in the late summer, making the quarterfinals in Washington, D.C. partnering Taylor Townsend, and the third round at the US Open partnering Lisa Raymond.
In singles, she made the semifinals in Shenzhen, but had to concede a walkover. She made a first-round exit at the Australian Open at the hands of Carla Suárez Navarro. At the Pattaya Open, she was defeated by Elena Vesnina in the first round. A series of first-round defeats followed in Rio de Janeiro, Florianópolis, and Indian Wells.
She made the second round in Miami and Charleston, but it was not until April in Bogotá that she found some form and made it to the semifinals. She went down in the first round in both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, but she did make the quarterfinals in Washington, D.C..
At the US Open, she defeated Francesca Schiavone in the first round, but lost to eventual champion Serena Williams in the second round.
2015
King missed the first three Slams of 2015 due to injury. She lost in the first round of singles and the second round of doubles there in Flushing. The highlight of her year came on hard courts in Waco, where King and Nicole Gibbs won in November, defeating Julia Glushko and Rebecca Peterson 6–4, 6–4.2016-2017
In 2017, King reunited with the doubles partner with whom she had had the most success, Yaroslava Shvedova. They made it to the semifinals in Sydney, where they lost to Sania Mirza and Barbora Strýcová.At the Australian Open, King and Shvedova advanced to the third round, where they lost to Mirjana Lucic-Baroni and Andrea Petkovic. They were stopped in the second round of Indian Wells by the Japanese-Chinese pair of Shuko Aoyama and Zhaoxuan Yang. In Miami, they went on to the quarterfinals, where they again lost to Mirza and Strýcová.
Significant finals
Grand Slam finals
Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)
Mixed doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)
Premier Mandatory/Premier 5 finals
Doubles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)
WTA career finals
Singles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | 2006 PTT Bangkok Open – Singles| | Bangkok Open, Thailand | Tier III | Hard |  Tamarine Tanasugarn | 2–6, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1–1 | 2013 Guangzhou International Women's Open – Singles| | Guangzhou Open, China | International | Hard |  Zhang Shuai | 6–7, 1–6 |
| Loss | 1–2 | 2016 Jiangxi International Women's Tennis Open – Singles| | Jiangxi Open, China | International | Hard | Duan Yingying | 6–1, 4–6, 2–6 |
Doubles: 33 (15 titles, 18 runner-ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Guangzhou Open, China | Tier III | Hard |  Jelena Kostanić Tošić | Li Ting Sun Tiantian | 4–6, 6–2, 5–7 | |
| Win | 1–1 | Japan Open, Japan | Tier III | Hard | Jelena Kostanić Tošić |  Chan Yung-Jan Chuang Chia-Jung | 7–6, 5–7, 6–2 | |
| Win | 2–1 | 2006 PTT Bangkok Open – Doubles| | Bangkok Open, Thailand | Tier III | Hard | Jelena Kostanić Tošić |  Mariana Díaz Oliva Natalie Grandin | 7–5, 2–6, 7–5 |
| Loss | 2–2 | 2007 Toray Pan Pacific Open – Doubles| | Pan Pacific Open, Japan | Tier I | Hard |  Rennae Stubbs |  Lisa Raymond Samantha Stosur | 6–7, 6–3, 5–7 |
| Win | 3–2 | 2007 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem – Doubles| | Morocco Open, Morocco | Tier IV | Clay |  Sania Mirza |  Andreea Ehritt-Vanc Anastasia Rodionova | 6–1, 6–2 |
| Win | 4–2 | 2007 Sunfeast Open – Doubles| | Sunfeast Open, India | Tier III | Hard | Alla Kudryavtseva |  Alberta Brianti Mariya Koryttseva | 6–1, 6–4 |
| Loss | 4–3 | Guangzhou Open, China | Tier III | Hard | Sun Tiantian | Peng Shuai Yan Zi | 3–6, 4–6 | |
| Loss | 4–4 | 2007 AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships – Women's Doubles| | Japan Open, Japan | Tier III | Hard | Chuang Chia-jung | Sun Tiantian Yan Zi | 6–1, 2–6 |
| Loss | 4–5 | 2008 Pattaya Women's Open – Doubles| | Pattaya Open, Thailand | Tier IV | Hard | Hsieh Su-wei | Chan Yung-Jan Chuang Chia-Jung | 4–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 5–5 | 2008 Toray Pan Pacific Open – Doubles| | Pan Pacific Open, Japan | Tier I | Hard | Nadia Petrova | Lisa Raymond Samantha Stosur | 6–1, 6–4 |
| Win | 6–5 | 2008 Challenge Bell – Doubles| | Tournoi de Québec, Canada | Tier III | Hard |  Anna-Lena Grönefeld | Jill Craybas Tamarine Tanasugarn | 7–6, 6–4 |
| Win | 7–5 | 2009 Brisbane International – Women's Doubles| | Brisbane International, Australia | International | Hard | Anna-Lena Grönefeld |  Klaudia Jans Alicja Rosolska | 3–6, 7–5, |
| Win | 8–5 | 2009 Challenge Bell – Doubles| | Tournoi de Québec, Canada | International | Hard |  Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová |  Sofia Arvidsson Séverine Beltrame | 6–1, 6–3 |
| Win | 9–5 | National Indoor, United States | International | Hard |  Michaëlla Krajicek | Bethanie Mattek-Sands Meghann Shaughnessy | 7–5, 6–2 | |
| Loss | 9–6 | 2010 Monterrey Open – Doubles| | Monterrey Open, Mexico | International | Hard | Anna-Lena Grönefeld | Iveta Benešová Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová | 6–3, 4–6, |
| Loss | 9–7 | 2010 Family Circle Cup – Doubles| | Volvo Car Open, United States | Premier | Clay | Michaëlla Krajicek | Liezel Huber Nadia Petrova | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 10–7 | 2010 Internationaux de Strasbourg – Doubles| | Internationaux de Strasbourg, France | International | Clay | Alizé Cornet | Alla Kudryavtseva Anastasia Rodionova | 3–6, 6–4, |
| Loss | 10–8 | 2010 UNICEF Open – Women's Doubles| | Rosmalen Championships, Netherlands | International | Grass |  Yaroslava Shvedova | Alla Kudryavtseva Anastasia Rodionova | 6–3, 3–6, |
| Win | 11–8 | 2010 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Doubles| | Wimbledon, Great Britain | Grand Slam | Grass | Yaroslava Shvedova | Elena Vesnina Vera Zvonareva | 7–6, 6–2 |
| Win | 12–8 | 2010 US Open – Women's Doubles| | US Open, United States | Grand Slam | Hard | Yaroslava Shvedova | Liezel Huber Nadia Petrova | 2–6, 6–4, 7–6 |
| Loss | 12–9 | 2011 Monterrey Open – Doubles| | Monterrey Open, Mexico | International | Hard | Anna-Lena Grönefeld | Iveta Benešová Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová | 7–6, 2–6, |
| Loss | 12–10 | 2011 Italian Open – Women's Doubles| | Rome, Italy | Premier 5 | Clay | Yaroslava Shvedova | Peng Shuai Zheng Jie | 2–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 13–10 | 2011 Western & Southern Open – Women's Doubles| | Cincinnati Open, United States | Premier 5 | Hard | Yaroslava Shvedova | Natalie Grandin Vladimíra Uhlířová | 6–4, 3–6, |
| Loss | 13–11 | 2011 US Open – Women's Doubles| | US Open, United States | Grand Slam | Hard | Yaroslava Shvedova | Liezel Huber Lisa Raymond | 6–4, 6–7, 6–7 |
| Loss | 13–12 | 2011 HP Open – Doubles| | Osaka Women's Open, Japan | International | Hard | Yaroslava Shvedova |  Kimiko Date-Krumm Zhang Shuai | 5–7, 6–3, |
| Win | 14–12 | 2011 Kremlin Cup – Women's Doubles| | Kremlin Cup, Russia | Premier | Hard | Yaroslava Shvedova | Anastasia Rodionova Galina Voskoboeva | 7–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 14–13 | 2012 Bank of the West Classic – Doubles| | Bank of the West Classic, United States | Premier | Hard | Jarmila Gajdošová |  Marina Erakovic Heather Watson | 5–7, 6–7 |
| Loss | 14–14 | 2012 Mercury Insurance Open – Doubles| | Southern California Open, United States | Premier | Hard | Nadia Petrova | Raquel Kops-Jones Abigail Spears | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 14–15 | 2012 Korea Open – Doubles| | Korea Open, South Korea | International | Hard |  Akgul Amanmuradova | Raquel Kops-Jones Abigail Spears | 6–2, 2–6, |
| Loss | 14–16 | 2013 Guangzhou International Women's Open – Doubles| | Guangzhou Open, China | International | Hard | Galina Voskoboeva | Hsieh Su-wei Peng Shuai | 3–6, 6–4, |
| Loss | 14–17 | 2014 Copa Colsanitas – Doubles| | Copa Colsanitas, Colombia | International | Clay | Chanelle Scheepers |  Lara Arruabarrena Caroline Garcia | 6–7, 4–6 |
| Win | 15–17 | 2016 WTA Shenzhen Open – Doubles| | Shenzhen Open, China | International | Hard |  Monica Niculescu | Xu Yifan Zheng Saisai | 6–1, 6–4 |
| Loss | 15–18 | 2016 Aegon Classic – Doubles| | Birmingham Classic, Great Britain | Premier | Grass | Alla Kudryavtseva | Karolína Plíšková Barbora Strýcová | 3–6, 6–7 |
Singles performance timeline
Women's doubles performance timeline
Mixed doubles performance timeline
KU=with Kevin UllyettFC=with František Čermák
MM=with Marcelo Melo
CK=with Christopher Kas
VS=with Vincent Spadea
DM=with David Martin
JK=with Jordan Kerr
HT=with Horia Tecău
DN=with Daniel Nestor
DB=with Dustin Brown
RB=with Rohan Bopanna
TB=with Tomasz Bednarek
FS=with Franko Škugor