Career Kaia Kanepi

1 career

1.1 2004
1.2 2006
1.3 2007
1.4 2008: french open quarterfinal
1.5 2009
1.6 2010: wimbledon , open quarterfinals
1.7 2011
1.8 2012: 2nd french open quarterfinal
1.9 2013
1.10 2014
1.11 2015
1.12 2016
1.13 2017: second open quarterfinal

career

kaia kanepi born in haapsalu. father, jaak (a real estate broker) , mother anne (a homemaker) played tennis. have daughters kadri, won tennis scholarship study in united states, , karin, dedicated horse rider. kaia, watched parents , sisters play, discovered love tennis @ age. started playing @ age of 8.

her family has supported desire play professional tennis. reached world number 1 in international tennis federation (itf) junior rankings before turning professional in 2000. has won 8 itf singles titles , top-ranked estonian female tennis player.

until autumn of 2007, kaia coached andrei luzgin. after luzgin, fredrik loven sweden became coach, partnership ended in february 2008. kanepi s next coach (until september 2008) pablo giacopelli. november 2008, coached luca appino. after november 2009, kanepi coached fellow estonia pro mait künnap. in february 2010, broke coach , agent. in april, started work silver karjus.

2004

kanepi represented estonia in both women s singles , women s doubles, partnering maret ani, @ 2004 summer olympics, losing in first round of both events.

2006

at end of 2006, reached first wta tour final during gaz de france stars tournament in hasselt, belgium. came through 3 qualification rounds , beat anne kremer, nathalie dechy, eleni daniilidou, francesca schiavone, , michaëlla krajicek play final against kim clijsters, whom lost in 3 sets.

2007

at australian open, kanepi struggled, defeated 28th-seeded flavia pennetta of italy before losing alicia molik in second round. @ indian wells, defeated wildcard kristina brandi in first round, lost in second round 14th seed , eventual champion daniela hantuchová. @ sony ericsson open in key biscayne, florida, stunned patty schnyder in second round, before losing qualifier vera dushevina in next round.

kaia kanepi in 2007

in late july, kanepi reached semifinals of bad gastein tournament in austria, fell francesca schiavone. third career semifinal , first of year. afterwards, made top 40 debut @ world number 40.

2008: french open quarterfinal

at french open, kanepi defeated sixth seed anna chakvetadze in second round. defeated 29th-seeded anabel medina garrigues place in fourth round. outplaying unseeded petra kvitová reached quarterfinals, defeated fourth seed svetlana kuznetsova in straight sets.

kanepi granted direct entry @ wimbledon, lost in first round sixth seed serena williams.

at 2008 summer olympics, kanepi reached third round, defeating flavia pennetta , virginie razzano, before losing li na.

at open, defeated monica niculescu in first round, lost amélie mauresmo in second round.

in september, kanepi reached quarterfinals qualifier of tier toray pan pacific open in tokyo, defeated vera dushevina, world number 13 chakvetadze, , virginie razzano, before losing world number 5 dinara safina of russia. reached semifinals of hansol women s open in seoul, south korea, beaten eventual champion , first seed maria kirilenko.

she made second final @ wta level @ tier iii japan open tennis championships in tokyo. defeated lucie Šafářová, yanina wickmayer, anastasia pavlyuchenkova, , 8th seed aleksandra wozniak, before losing in final danish world number 16 , top seed caroline wozniacki in 3 sets.

she named 2008 best female athlete of estonia association of estonian sports journalists.

2009

kanepi reached career-best third round @ australian open, lost miserably world number 3 dinara safina in straight sets. had epic match kimiko date, former world number four, in first round.

she member of estonia fed cup team in rounds played in february. paired maret ani, , estonian team beat bulgaria, croatia, , belarus. kanepi won singles rubbers played (including win on world number 15 victoria azarenka). set new personal 196 kilometres per hour (122 mph) serve record in tournament, among fastest ever served woman.

kanepi continued season @ 2009 open gdf suez, wta premier tournament, lost in second round Émilie loit.

at top-level dubai tennis championships, advanced third round set match former world number 1 jelena janković. defeated janković in straight sets. highest-seeded player kanepi had time defeated. kanepi beat elena vesnina in quarterfinals in straight sets. was, however, denied place in finals virginie razzano.

kanepi participated @ rome masters. defeated patty schnyder in third round, lost victoria azarenka in quarterfinals. next tournament 2009 mutua madrileña madrid open, seeded sixteenth. however, retired in first round against lucie Šafářová. in french open opening round, kanepi defeated kazakhstan s yaroslava shvedova in first surprise of day. first round loss led drop in ranking, fell world number 24.

she scheduled play @ 2009 aegon classic in birmingham second seed. however, withdrew because of knee injury. kanepi seeded 25th @ 2009 wimbledon championships, lost carla suárez navarro in first round.

kanepi lost opening matches @ bastad , portoroz. bad form continued when lost 3 straight 1st round matches during open series. fell in first round of 2009 open qualifier chang kai-chen in 3 sets.

kanepi lost chang again in first round @ tokyo. suffered first round loss @ 2009 china open in beijing serena williams in match had more break points serena , lost 5–7, 4–6. 12th straight loss. kanepi ended losing streak @ itf tournament dubai in december, defeated yuliana fedak in straight sets in first round. lost regina kulikova.

2010: wimbledon , open quarterfinals

by start of new season, kanepi seemed in better physical shape in 2009. kanepi reached second round @ asb classic, defeating world number 15 li na in straight sets, before losing maria kirilenko in second round. fell in first round of 2010 moorilla hobart international seventh seed zheng jie in tight three-setter. @ first grand slam of year @ 2010 australian open, kanepi defeated chan yung-jan in first round, fell 19th seed nadia petrova in second round.

kanepi seeded fifth @ cellular south cup in memphis. in same half of draw maria sharapova. defeated arantxa rus in first round, , former world number 7 nicole vaidišová in second round. fell in 3 sets fifth seed petra kvitová in quarterfinals. despite this, kanepi s ranking fell world number 96, due fact did not defend points dubai previous year.

kanepi reached second round in acapulco, lost top seed , defending champion venus williams. kanepi fell in second round of 2010 monterrey open second seed daniela hantuchová in straight sets.

kanepi competed in 2 premier mandatory tournaments. @ 2010 bnp paribas open , 2010 sony ericsson open, fell in first rounds sorana cîrstea , lucie Šafářová respectively. kanepi s ranking fell out of top 100 following these tournaments.

kanepi represented estonia in 2010 fed cup world group play-offs against belgium. defeated world number 12 yanina wickmayer in first match, surprisingly defeated former world number 1 justine henin in second match-up.

at beginning of may, kanepi won ten straight matches claim seventh , eighth career itf tournaments. kanepi qualified 2010 french open, defeated pauline parmentier in first round. pushed world number 4 jelena janković 3 sets before losing in round two. allowed ranking re-enter top 100.

at 2010 internazionali femminili di palermo, kanepi won first wta singles title. defeated top seed flavia pennetta title. @ start of grass court season, reached quarterfinals qualifier @ 2010 aegon classic in birmingham, defeating 12th seed elena baltacha, jarmila groth, , michelle larcher de brito en route, before losing top seed , eventual champion li na.

kanepi qualified 2010 wimbledon championships, defeating olga savchuk, elena bovina, , ajla tomljanović in straight sets. in first round, kanepi caused big upset when defeated world number 6 , french open finalist samantha stosur. defeated edina gallovits in second round, , world number 31 alexandra dulgheru in round three. kanepi reached second grand slam quarterfinal, when defeated klára zakopalová in fourth round. in quarterfinals, kanepi lost extremely tough three-set match czech petra kvitová, despite having total of 5 match points , being double break in final set. success @ wimbledon, kanepi s ranking rose world number 38.

kanepi next played @ 2010 swedish open, fell in first round fifth seed arantxa parra santonja. however, kanepi continued strong play @ 2010 internazionali femminili di palermo where, fifth seed, defeated rossana de los ríos, raluca olaru, third seed sara errani , romina oprandi reach third wta tour final. in final, kanepi defeated top seed, world number 12, , defending champion flavia pennetta, not dropping set in whole tournament claim first wta tour title.

kanepi seeded 31st @ 2010 open. defeated alizé cornet, akgul amanmuradova, fourth seed jelena janković , 15th seed yanina wickmayer advance first open quarterfinal, lost seventh seed , eventual runner-up vera zvonareva.

kanepi entered 2010 toray pan pacific open , defeated melanie oudin in first round. upset 13th seed shahar pe er , third seed jelena janković in succession. run ended in quarterfinals french open champion francesca schiavone, beat kanepi in 3 sets. final tournament of year 2010 china open. defeated 16th seed anastasia pavlyuchenkova in first round lost kvitová in second round.

2011

kanepi @ 2011 french open

kanepi started season loss bojana jovanovski, in first round of 2011 medibank international sydney. next tournament 2011 australian open, 20th seed. there, defeated magdaléna rybáriková in first round, fell julia görges in round two. kanepi, third seed, reached semifinal in 2011 open gdf suez, beat anastasija sevastova, sofia arvidsson , dominika cibulková. in semifinal, faced first seed kim clijsters, strong kanepi time, , kanepi lost match in straight sets.

kanepi 14th seed @ indian wells masters. had bye in first round, , in second round defeated gisela dulko. lost in third round 23rd seed yanina wickmayer. @ 2011 sony ericsson open, 14th seed lost virginie razzano in opening match after having first round bye.

she lost opening matches @ 2011 mutua madrid open , 2011 internazionali bnl d italia julia görges , romina oprandi respectively. qualified 2011 brussels open defeated yanina wickmayer in first round. @ 2011 french open, seeded 16th, beat sofia arvidsson , britain s heather watson in straight sets, before being upset in third round unseeded ekaterina makarova.

kanepi had poor grass court season. lost opening round matches @ birmingham qualifier arina rodionova after having first round bye, @ eastbourne 4th seed francesca schiavone , @ wimbledon sara errani. consequently fell out of top 30.

kanepi lost in second round @ 2011 open qualifier sílvia soler espinosa. had results during asian swing. @ toray pan pacific open, kanepi beat world number 1 caroline wozniacki in third round reach quarterfinals, lost agnieszka radwańska. @ china open, met wozniacki in 3rd round again lost time. kanepi reached final @ moscow, losing dominika cibulkova in 3 sets. reached semifinals of itf event in helsinki.

2012: 2nd french open quarterfinal

kanepi entered first tournament of year in brisbane. defeated alexandra panova in first round before upsetting number 7 seed anastasia pavlyuchenkova , number 2 seed andrea petkovic. in semifinals, defeated number 3 seed francesca schiavone book place in final against daniela hantuchová, went on win in straight sets, second wta title. kanepi entered first grand slam of year, 2012 australian open, , in first round overpowered johanna larsson, lost in second round future quarterfinalist ekaterina makarova in straight sets.

kanepi reach quarterfinals @ french open.

she passed chance represent nation in 2012 fed cup, wanting dedicate herself singles tournaments, hopes cut short when had pull out of open gdf suez tournament in paris due sore shoulder. injury forced skip tournaments in doha , dubai.

kanepi returned in march @ 2012 bnp paribas open , lost chanelle scheepers in second round. @ sony ericsson open lost in second round sílvia soler espinosa in straight sets. @ end of month kanepi , coach last 2 years, silver karjus, split on psychologist, supposedly influenced kanepi s direction impossible him continue working her. entered 2012 e-boks open 5th seed , won against anastasia rodionova , tímea babos reach quarterfinals lost number 3 seed jelena janković. kanepi went on win third wta title @ 2012 estoril open, defeating carla suárez navarro in final.

before french open, kanepi reached semifinals @ 2012 brussels open, lost agnieszka radwańska. @ roland garros, kanepi entered 23rd seed , played tournament given ranking, defeating ninth seed caroline wozniacki in third , arantxa rus in fourth round, defeated in quarterfinals maria sharapova in straight sets. achilles billateral injury caused kanepi withdraw birmingham, eastbourne, wimbledon , 2012 summer olympics in london. despite not having played since french open reached career high of number 15 on 20 august.

kanepi returned injury @ 2012 kdb korea open, reached third final of year. time faced caroline wozniacki , lost in straight sets. @ 2012 toray pan pacific open, lost in second round jamie hampton.

2013


kanepi @ 2013 wimbledon championships

her continuing achilles tendon bilateral injury caused kanepi withdraw australian open, indian wells, , miami tournaments in 2013. however, returned tour in april, playing 2013 bnp paribas katowice open, losing in second round karolína plíšková. again, kanepi lost in second round @ 2013 grand prix sar la princesse lalla meryem, time mandy minella. kanepi failed defend title @ estoril when lost carla suárez navarro in semifinals.

she reached quarterfinals @ 2013 mutua madrid open lost eventual finalist maria sharapova. kanepi reached final @ 2013 brussels open , defeated peng shuai 4th wta title. exited 2013 french open in second round, losing swiss stefanie vögele in tight three-setter. @ wimbledon, played , beat home favourite laura robson in fourth round before beaten in quarterfinals germany s sabine lisicki.

at open kanepi 25th seed. faced american wildcard vania king in first round, winning in 3 sets. beat anna karolína schmiedlová in second round, lost angelique kerber in third. kanepi lost lucie Šafářová in second round @ beijing. @ 2013 kremlin cup, fell samantha stosur in first round. ended 2013 loss jovana jakšić of serbia in second round of itf tournament in egypt.

2014

kanepi started 2014 reaching quarterfinals in brisbane, defeated maria sharapova. in sydney, lost in second round angelique kerber. @ australian open, 23rd seed defeated in first round spain s garbiñe muguruza.

kanepi defeated varvara lepchenko in first round @ doha fell seventh seed , eventual champion simona halep in next round. lost in first round of 2014 dubai tennis championships flavia pennetta. kanepi reached quarterfinals @ acapulco, lost christina mchale. kanepi received first round bye @ 2014 bnp paribas open, lost yaroslava shvedova in opening match. reached third round @ miami, losing 15th seed carla suárez navarro in straight sets. @ 2014 porsche tennis grand prix, defeated lucky loser johanna konta in first round lost sara errani in round two.

at 2014 portugal open, defeated yvonne meusburger in opening match. lost romanian irina-camelia begu. in madrid, lost in first round alison riske. fell out of top 30 after tournament. kanepi lost monica niculescu in first round @ roland garros. fell yvonne meusburger in first round @ 2014 topshelf open. @ wimbledon, faced 7th seed jelena janković in first round , won in straight sets lost yaroslava shvedova in following round. after failing defend quarterfinal points, fell out of top 50. kanepi won ninth itf title in biarritz, defeating teliana pereira in final.

kanepi defeated johanna larsson in first round @ 2014 swedish open. reached third quarterfinal of 2014 victory on richèl hogenkamp. despite being favourite, kanepi lost mona barthel in straight sets. fell in qualifying 2014 connecticut open. @ open, kanepi defeated pauline parmentier in first round before narrowly defeating samantha stosur face spaniard carla suárez navarro. kanepi upset in straight sets , set clash world no.1 serena williams in round of 16. lost in straight sets.

in september, kanepi played @ 2014 kdb korea open 6th seed. cruised quarterfinals after defeating elizaveta kulichkova , kristýna plíšková.

2015

kanepi began 2015 year @ 2015 brisbane international. in 1st round, upset 5th seed andrea petkovic 6–4, 5–7, 6–4. in 2nd round, defeated qualifier madison brengle 6–3, 7–6(3). in quarterfinals, kanepi lost 2nd seed , eventual finalist ana ivanovic 4–6, 6–4, 6–3. after brisbane, kanepi competed @ 2015 hobart international. defeated monica puig in 1st round match 6–4, 6–1. kanepi withdrew 2nd round match against camila giorgi due viral illness. ranked 48 @ 2015 australian open, kanepi lost in 1st round wildcard irina falconi 2–6, 6–4, 7–5.

after australian open, kanepi competed @ 2015 dubai tennis championships. in 1st round, kanepi faced svetlana kuznetsova. kuznetsova led 4–1 in 1st set before kanepi retired due injury. ranked 51 @ 2015 bnp paribas open, kanepi lost in 1st round qualifier ons jabeur 7–5, 6–2. kanepi had better result @ 2015 miami open. had 1st win since hobart defeating wildcard françoise abanda in 1st round 6–2, 6–3. in 2nd round, beat 28th seed varvara lepchenko 6–2, 6–4. in 3rd round, kanepi took 4th seed caroline wozniacki 3 sets, kanepi still lost 4–6, 6–1, 6–3. after miami, kanepi competed @ 2015 katowice open. seeded 5th, defeated qualifier shahar pe er in 1st round 6–1, 6–2. lucky loser elizaveta kulichkova defeated kanepi in 2nd round 6–1, 6–2.

kanepi started clay court season @ 2015 grand prix sar la princesse lalla meryem lost in 1st round qualifier teliana pereira 6–3, 6–2. @ 2015 mutua madrid open, kanepi beat madison keys in 1st round 6–4, 6–3. in 2nd round, lost samantha stosur 6–3, 6–2. @ 2015 french open, kanepi lost in 1st round 2nd seed, former world number 1, , defending champion maria sharapova 6–2, 6–4. after french open, kanepi played 100k tournament in marseille. lost in 1st round aliaksandra sasnovich 6–3, 5–7, 6–2.

at 2015 wimbledon championships, kanepi defeated in 1st round qualifier hsieh su-wei 6–1, 6–4.

kanepi played 1 tournament during open series 2015 connecticut open. lost in 2nd round of qualifying 6th seed magdaléna rybáriková 6–4, 1–6, 6–2. @ 2015 open, kanepi won 1st grand slam match of year beating anna-lena friedsam in 1st round 6–1, 6–1. kanepi lost in 2nd round 17th seed elina svitolina 6–3, 6–4.

at 100k tournament in biarritz, kanepi defeated in 1st round amra sadiković 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(4). @ 50,000+h tournament in saint-malo, kanepi lost in quarterfinals daria kasatkina 2–6, 6–1, 6–1. kanepi played qualifying @ 2015 generali ladies linz. lost in final round of qualifying 7th seed aleksandra krunić 6–3, 6–2. kanepi s final tournament of year 2015 kremlin cup 8th seed qualifying. kanepi ended losing in 1st round of qualifying paula kania 1–6, 7–6(4), 6–3.

kanepi ended 2015 ranked 122.

2016

kanepi began 2016 year playing qualifying @ 2016 brisbane international. in 1st round of qualifying, beat virginie razzano 6–4, 6–7(4), 6–1. in 2nd round of qualifying, faced 4th seed kateryna bondarenko. bondarenko led 7–5, 2–2 before kanepi retired.

after kanepi failed win @ least match in season, searched better luck in itf women s circuit. best result there reaching quarterfinals in padova, italy in june 2016, followed longer break due injury.

2017: second open quarterfinal

kanepi returned long injury break in june 2017 (having dropped 630 in wta rank), tried herself in itf circuit, winning 2 itf titles in essen, germany, , pärnu, estonia. got qualification rounds of wimbledon championships, lost in second round arina rodionova. estonian qualified open, reached first second week in grand slam in 3 years wins on francesca schiavone (0–6, 6–4, 6–2), yanina wickmayer (6–4, 6–2) , naomi osaka (6–3, 2–6, 7–5). defeated russia s daria kasatkina 6–4, 6–4 advance second open quarterfinal , first quarterfinal @ major since wimbledon 2013, defeated madison keys 3–6, 3–6. became second qualifier in open history make quarterfinals , first since barbara gerken in 1981.