 Rao at the 2008Coleman Vision Tennis Championships inAlbuquerque, New Mexico | |
| Country (sports) |  United States(2000–09) India(2007–09; Fed Cup and Olympic tournaments only) |
|---|---|
| Residence | Bradenton, Florida |
| Born | (1985-10-27)October 27, 1985 (age 40) Jersey City, New Jersey |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) |
| Turned pro | 2004 |
| Retired | 2009 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | US$ 238,224 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 196–188 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 144 (July 7, 2008) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | Q3 (2003, 2005) |
| French Open | Q2 (2005, 2006) |
| Wimbledon | Q3 (2003) |
| US Open | Q3 (2007) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 107–105 |
| Career titles | 8 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 108 (May 19, 2008) |
| Other doubles tournaments | |
| Olympic Games | 2R (2008) |
Sunitha Rao (born October 27, 1985) is an Indian-American former professionaltennis player, who represented India in international tournaments. She won eight doubles titles on theITF Circuit in her career. On July 7, 2008, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 144.[1] On May 19, 2008, she peaked at No. 108 in the doubles rankings.
Playing forIndia Fed Cup team, she has a win–loss record of 5–6.[2] Rao also is the fourth female tennis player in history representing India to enter the top-200 world rankings, afterNirupama Sanjeev,Shikha Uberoi, andSania Mirza.
Rao was born inJersey City, New Jersey in 1985 and was raised by herTelugu Indian immigrant parents Manohar and Savithri, who were fromChennai.[3]
Rao played her firstWTA Tour match at the2002 Brasil Open, where she defeatedVanessa Henke in the first round. She was beaten byAnastasia Myskina in the second round.
Rao played at the2004 Korea Open where she was beaten byMiho Saeki in the first round. Rao participated at the2005 Internationaux de Strasbourg, but was overpowered byIveta Benešová in the first round. Then she played at theSunfeast Open where she beatNeha Uberoi in the first round before falling toElena Likhovtseva.
She took part at the 2006Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic, where she lost toAngelique Widjaja in the first round. She also suffered a first-round defeat at the2006 Sunfeast Open toNicole Pratt. Rao defeatedSandy Gumulya in the first round of the2007 Sunfeast Open to advance to the second round where she lost toAnne Keothavong. She then lost in the first round of the2007 Challenge Bell toAlina Jidkova.
Rao received an entry into thePTT Pattaya Open via a lucky loser spot. She beatJunri Namigata before losing toEkaterina Bychkova. Then, at theCopa Colsanitas, she lost toEdina Gallovits in the first round.
Rao received the best result of her WTA career at the2008 DFS Classic inBirmingham. She beatPetra Kvitová (who would be the future world No. 2 and Wimbledon titlist) in the first round andNaomi Cavaday in the second before falling toAlona Bondarenko in the third round.
She partnered withSania Mirza, representing India in the women's doubles event at the2008 Summer Olympics inBeijing.[4][5] They got a walkover in round one, but lost toSvetlana Kuznetsova andDinara Safina of Russia in round two.[6]
Rao announced retirement from tennis in 2009. She graduated from theBabson College in 2014 and works in the real estate business.[7]
| Legend |
|---|
| $75,000 tournaments |
| $50,000 tournaments |
| $25,000 tournaments |
| $10,000 tournaments |
| Result | No. | Date | Location | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1. | February 24, 2002 | Mumbai, India | Hard |  Peng Shuai | 3–6, 6–7(3–7) |
| Loss | 2. | November 10, 2002 | Mexico City | Hard |  Olga Vymetálková | 6–7(2–7), 3–6 |
| Loss | 3. | October 17, 2004 | Mackay, Australia | Hard |  Evie Dominikovic | 5–7, 3–6 |
| Loss | 4. | October 24, 2004 | Rockhampton, Australia | Hard | Evie Dominikovic | 0–6, 0–2 ret. |
| Loss | 5. | July 8, 2007 | Southlake, United States | Hard |  Alexa Glatch | 2–6, 5–7 |
| Loss | 6. | October 14, 2007 | San Francisco, United States | Hard | Ashley Harkleroad | 1–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 7. | March 22, 2008 | Noida, India | Hard |  Anastasija Sevastova | 2–6, 1–6 |
| Result | No. | Date | Location | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1. | January 18, 2004 | Tampa, United States | Hard | Milangela Morales |  Alisa Kleybanova Mayumi Yamamoto | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 2. | May 16, 2004 | Charlottesville, United States | Clay |  Vilmarie Castellvi |  Erica KrauthJessica Lehnhoff | 0–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 1. | November 14, 2004 | Port Pirie, Australia | Hard | Casey Dellacqua | Daniella DominikovicEvie Dominikovic | 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(6) |
| Win | 2. | November 13, 2005 | Port Pirie, Australia | Hard |  Gréta Arn | Monique AdamczakChristina Horiatopoulos | 6–4, 3–6, 6–2 |
| Win | 3. | November 27, 2005 | Mount Gambier, Australia | Hard | Ryōko Fuda | Gréta ArnAnastasia Rodionova | 6–1, ret. |
| Win | 4. | May 7, 2006 | Charlottesville, United States | Clay |  Marie-Ève Pelletier |  Maria Fernanda AlvesLilia Osterloh | 6–7(6), 6–2, 6–3 |
| Loss | 3. | July 23, 2006 | Hammond, United States | Hard | Ryōko Fuda | Christina FusanoRaquel Kops-Jones | 6–7(3), 6–4, 1–6 |
| Loss | 4. | October 8, 2006 | Traralgon, Australia | Hard | Casey Dellacqua | Christina Horiatopoulos Raquel Kops-Jones | 2–6, 6–7(5) |
| Win | 5. | October 15, 2006 | Melbourne, Australia | Hard | Casey Dellacqua | Daniella Dominikovic Evie Dominikovic | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 5. | January 20, 2007 | Fort Walton Beach, United States | Hard | Marie-Ève Pelletier | Angelika BachmannTetiana Luzhanska | 7–5, 6–7(7), 6–7(4) |
| Win | 6. | June 2, 2007 | Carson, United States | Hard |  Kim Grant | Angela HaynesLindsay Lee-Waters | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 7. | June 17, 2007 | Allentown, United States | Hard | Ryōko Fuda | Angela Haynes Lindsay Lee-Waters | 6–7(3), 6–4, 6–1 |
| Loss | 6. | March 14, 2008 | New Delhi, India | Hard |  Aurélie Védy | Ji ChunmeiSun Shengnan | 6–2, 2–6, [4–10] |
| Win | 8. | May 11, 2008 | Zagreb Ladies Open, Croatia | Clay |  Melinda Czink | Stéphanie Foretz Jelena Kostanić Tošić | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Loss | 7. | October 5, 2008 | Troy, United States | Hard | Angela Haynes | Raquel Kops-JonesAbigail Spears | 2–6, 0–6 |
