 Hantuchová at the2015 Wimbledon Championships | |
| Country (sports) |  Slovakia |
|---|---|
| Residence | Monte Carlo, Monaco |
| Born | (1983-04-23)23 April 1983 (age 42) Poprad, Czechoslovakia |
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] |
| Turned pro | 1999 |
| Retired | 6 July 2017 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $10,436,407 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 570–415 |
| Career titles | 7 |
| Highest ranking | No. 5 (27 January 2003) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | SF (2008) |
| French Open | 4R (2002,2006,2010,2011) |
| Wimbledon | QF (2002) |
| US Open | QF (2002,2013) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Tour Finals | RR (2002,2007) |
| Olympic Games | 3R (2012) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 288–234 |
| Career titles | 9 |
| Highest ranking | No. 5 (26 August 2002) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | F (2002,2009) |
| French Open | F (2006) |
| Wimbledon | QF (2005) |
| US Open | SF (2011) |
| Mixed doubles | |
| Career record | 40–14 (74%) |
| Career titles | 4 |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| Australian Open | W (2002) |
| French Open | W (2005) |
| Wimbledon | W (2001) |
| US Open | W (2005) |
| Team competitions | |
| Fed Cup | W (2002) Record 36–19 |
| Hopman Cup | W (2005) |
Daniela Hantuchová (Slovak pronunciation:[ˈdaɲɪelaˈɦantuxɔʋaː]; born 23 April 1983) is a Slovaktennis commentator and retired player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her firstWTA Tour title at theIndian Wells Open, defeatingMartina Hingis in the final and becoming the lowest-ranked player to ever win the tournament. She also reached the quarterfinals of that year'sWimbledon Championships andUS Open, ending the year in the top ten. She was part of the Slovak team that won the2002 Fed Cup and the2005 Hopman Cup.
Hantuchová reached her highest ranking of world No. 5 in January 2003, after playing the quarterfinals of theAustralian Open. She has won seven WTA Tour tournaments, including the Indian Wells Open for a second time in2007, with the2015 Thailand Open being her last victory. She reached the semifinals of the2008 Australian Open, her best result in a major tournament. Her biggest career wins include victories over defending championSerena Williams in the third round of the2006 Australian Open and world No. 1Caroline Wozniacki in the third round of the2011 French Open. Hantuchová became the 37th woman in the Open Era to reach 500 career wins when she beatLaura Robson in the second round of the2013 Birmingham Classic on her way to the title.[1][2]
She is also an accomplished doubles player, achieving a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 5. In 2005, she completed thecareer Grand Slam in mixed doubles, becoming only the fifth female tennis player to do so. She won the mixed doubles atWimbledon in 2001 withLeoš Friedl, at theAustralian Open in 2002 withKevin Ullyett, at theFrench Open in 2005 withFabrice Santoro and at theUS Open in 2005 withMahesh Bhupathi. She has also reached the finals of the mixed doubles atWimbledon in 2002 with Ullyett and the finals of the women's doubles at theAustralian Open in 2002 withArantxa Sánchez Vicario, at theFrench Open in 2006 withAi Sugiyama and at theAustralian Open in 2009 with Sugiyama.
Hantuchová announced her retirement from professional tennis on 6 July 2017. Since then, she has been a tennis commentator and pundit, covering tournaments such as theUS Open andWimbledon forAmazon Prime, as well as serving as a commentator forFox Sports.[3][4] Hantuchová has also produced a web series forTennis Channel and is hosting a podcast about sports and entertainment.[5]
Hantuchová was born inPoprad,Czechoslovakia (nowSlovakia) to father Igor, a computer scientist, and mother Marianna, a toxicologist.[1] She was introduced to tennis by her grandmother Helena, a former Slovak national champion.[6]
When her parents split up in 2003, Hantuchová's performances temporarily worsened.[7] AtWimbledon that year, she failed to convert several match points and was seen weeping on court.[8] She also suffered from a weight problem during this period.[9][10] She was suspected of beinganorexic,[7][11] but denied this,[12] saying that her weight loss was due to over-training and that it had not affected her stamina.[13]
Hantuchová speaks fluent Slovak, Czech, English and German, as well as some Croatian and Italian.[14][15] She was trained as a classical pianist.[7] She is thought to be a perfectionist and puts a lot of pressure on herself during her training.[7] Hantuchová qualified for university in Slovakia but deferred it to pursue tennis.[16]
She appeared in the 2009Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition alongsideMaria Kirilenko andTatiana Golovin in a pictorial entitledVolley of the Dolls.[17] In July 2012, she appeared nude in the 2012 edition ofESPN: The Magazine's "The Body Issue". She appeared on one of six special edition covers.[18] Though widely considered to be a "sex symbol",[13][19] Hantuchová has never considered herself as such, saying that modelling is "just fun to do from time to time".[20]
Hantuchová turned professional in this year and took part in severalITF tournaments. She won a $25k tournament inJackson in May, beatingMilagros Sequera in the final; she won a $25k doubles tournament inCivitanova Marche in July, where she teamed up withEva Dyrberg to beatRosa María Andrés Rodríguez andConchita Martínez Granados in the final; and won a $25k tournament inFano in September, beatingFlora Perfetti in the final. She also entered her firstWTA tournament in October, that year'sEurotel Slovak Open, losing in the singles toSabine Appelmans in the first round. She also entered the doubles withĽudmila Cervanová. They beatKvěta Peschke andBarbara Rittner in the round of 16 and lost toNathalie Dechy andHenrieta Nagyová in the quarterfinals.
Hantuchová's first WTA tournament of 2000 was theAustralian Open, where she was knocked out in the second qualifying round. Her next event was theU.S. Indoor Championships in Oklahoma City. She progressed through three qualifying rounds and beatShinobu Asagoe in the first round before losing toSarah Pitkowski-Malcor in the second round. Hantuchová's next three tournaments were theMiami Open, where she received a wildcard and lost in the first round toElena Dementieva; theMPS Group Championships, where she lost in the first qualifying round toPavlina Nola, and theBelgian Open, where she lost in the first round toKim Clijsters.
AtStrasbourg in May, Hantuchová reached her first ever WTA quarterfinal. She won three qualifying matches before beatingIroda Tulyaganova andNadia Petrova in the first and second rounds, respectively. She lost the quarterfinal toRita Kuti-Kis. She did not enter the qualifiers forthat year's French Open. In her next four tournaments, theBirmingham Classic,Wimbledon, theAustrian Open and theUS Open, she did not advance beyond the qualifying rounds. Between the Austrian Open and the US Open, Hantuchová won her final ITF tournament, at a $50k tournament held in the Bronx, she beatYi Jing-Qian in the final in straight sets.
Hantuchová reached her second quarterfinal of the year at theBGL Luxembourg Open when she beatVirginie Razzano in the first round andNathalie Tauziat in the second round. She lost in the quarterfinals toBarbara Rittner. At theSlovak Indoors, she lost in the first round of the singles toAnne Kremer. However, she and partnerKarina Habšudová won the doubles tournament. They were due to facePetra Mandula andPatricia Wartusch in the final, but they withdrew and Hantuchová and Habšudová won in awalkover. It was Hantuchová's first WTA Tour title. Her final tournament of the year was thePhiladelphia Championships. In the first round, she beatAlexandra Stevenson, who retired injured after the end of the first set. In the second round, she lost toNathalie Tauziat.
Hantuchová began 2001 at theSydney International, where she lost in the first qualifying round. She automatically qualified for theAustralian Open but lost toAnna Kournikova in the first round. Hantuchová then reached her first ever WTA semifinal at theU.S. Indoor Championships. She beatTara Snyder, third seedAmanda Coetzer andAnikó Kapros before losing toJennifer Capriati in the semifinals. Hantuchová then progressed through two qualifying rounds at theIndian Wells Open but lost toRita Kuti-Kis in the first round of the main draw. She received a wildcard for theMiami Open, but lost in the first round.
Hantuchová played three Fed Cup matches for Slovakia in April, and then in theGerman Open in May, where she lost in the second qualifying round toFrancesca Schiavone. At theItalian Open, Hantuchová lost in the singles to eventual finalistAmélie Mauresmo in the third round. She also competed in the doubles with Nagyová. They beatKerry-Anne Guse andAlicia Molik in the first round,Martina Navratilova andArantxa Sánchez Vicario in the second round,Mary Pierce andAi Sugiyama in the quarterfinal and lost toPaola Suárez andPatricia Tarabini in the semifinal. Hantuchová's form saw her qualify automatically for theFrench Open, beating Alexandra Stevenson in the first round and losing to eighth seedConchita Martínez in the second round. She again teamed up with Nagyová in thedoubles, reaching the third round.
Hantuchová reached her second semifinal of the year at theBirmingham Classic in June. She beatNathalie Dechy,Eleni Daniilidou,Nicole Pratt, andVirginie Razzano, before falling toMiriam Oremans in the semifinals. At theEastbourne International a week later, Hantuchová entered thedoubles with the previous year's champion Ai Sugiyama. They reached the semifinals, where they lost to second seedsCara Black andElena Likhovtseva. AtWimbledon the week after, she beat Oremans in a rematch in the first round and lost toVenus Williams in the second round. She also entered thedoubles, losing in the third round withKarina Habšudová; and themixed doubles withLeoš Friedl. Unseeded, they beatDevin Bowen andMaría José Martínez Sánchez in the first round, first seedsRennae Stubbs andTodd Woodbridge in the second round, thirteenth seedsJiří Novák andMiriam Oremans in the third round, fifteenth seedsDonald Johnson and Karina Habšudová in the quarterfinal andKimberly Po andDavid Rikl in the semifinal. In the final, they facedMike Bryan andLiezel Huber, winning in three sets. It was then-18-year-old Hantuchová's first ever Grand Slam final appearance and victory.
In July, Hantuchová was knocked out in the first round of theAustrian Open byMaja Palaveršić and played in the PreCon Open in Basel, losing toMarie-Gaianeh Mikaelian in the quarterfinal. She also took part in the doubles, partnering withMagüi Serna and reaching the semifinals. Her next three tournaments were theCanada Masters, where she lost toJennifer Capriati in the second round; theNew Haven Open, where she lost to Květa Peschke in the third qualifying round; and theUS Open, where she lost to Nathalie Dechy in the first round.
In September, Hantuchová played in theSparkassen Cup. She progressed through three qualifying rounds, beatHenrieta Nagyová in the first round andJelena Dokic in the second round before losing to Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinal. In October, Hantuchová won three qualifying matches at thePorsche Tennis Grand Prix but lost toPatty Schnyder in the first round. At theZurich Open, she won three qualifying matches, beatMeghann Shaughnessy andBarbara Schett and lost to eventual winnerLindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals. Her final event was theLuxembourg Open, where she lost toAnna Kournikova in the second round. She also played in the doubles withElena Bovina, reaching her second final of the year. They were unsuccessful, however, losing toBianka Lamade andPatty Schnyder.
Hantuchová started the year as the world No. 38 at theGold Coast Hardcourts, where she lost toJustine Henin in the second round. At theAdidas International, Hantuchová was knocked out in the second round by Meghann Shaughnessy and went on to play at theAustralian Open. In thesingles, she was seeded 32nd and lost in the third round to second seed Venus Williams. In thedoubles, she and partnerArantxa Sánchez Vicario were seeded thirteenth and reached the final, where they lost to Martina Hingis andAnna Kournikova. In themixed doubles, she and partnerKevin Ullyett also reached the final, where they beatGastón Etlis andPaola Suárez, securing Hantuchová her second Grand Slam title in as many years.
At theOpen Gaz de France and theProximus Diamond Games, Hantuchová lost in the second round, toFrancesca Schiavone andDája Bedáňová, respectively. In March, she went into theIndian Wells Open ranked world No. 25, defeatingTatiana Poutchek,Barbara Schett,Justine Henin,Lisa Raymond, andEmmanuelle Gagliardi en route to the final, where she beat world No. 4,Martina Hingis. It was her first WTA Tour tournament win and she was the lowest-ranked player to ever win the event.[21] She also reached the semifinals of thedoubles, where she and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario lost to eventual championsLisa Raymond andRennae Stubbs. The following month at theMiami Open, theAmelia Island Championships and theFamily Circle Cup, Hantuchová lost in the second round, toCara Black,Janette Husárová, andMary Pierce, respectively. She had more success in the doubles. Continuing her partnership with Vicario, they won at Amelia Island and reached the semifinals of the Family Circle Cup.
Hantuchová then reached successive singles quarterfinals inHamburg andBerlin, losing to Martina Hingis andAnna Smashnova, respectively. She and Vicario reached the doubles final of both, losing in Hamburg toMartina Hingis andBarbara Schett and in Berlin toElena Dementieva andJanette Husárová. At theItalian Open, Hantuchová lost in the first round toAnastasia Myskina. She then entered theFrench Open as the 11th seed, losing to former championMonica Seles in the fourth round. In themixed doubles, she andKevin Ullyett reached the quarterfinals. In June, she played at the Eastbourne International, reaching the semifinals in thesingles and thedoubles. AtWimbledon, she again reached the singles quarterfinals, only to be beaten by the eventual champion,Serena Williams. In thedoubles, she partnered with former world No. 1,Jennifer Capriati, but they lost in the second round. In themixed doubles, she and Ullyett reached their second Grand Slam final of the year. This time, they were unsuccessful, losing toMahesh Bhupathi andElena Likhovtseva.
Her US Open Series was modest, as she lost in the second round of San Diego and Los Angeles, after having first-round byes in both tournaments. She reached the semifinals of the Tier-I-event in Montreal, losing toAmélie Mauresmo, and New Haven, losing to world No. 2Venus Williams. At the final Grand Slam of the year, Hantuchová defeated1997 French Open championIva Majoli in round three, and world No. 6Justine Henin, only to be beaten in her second consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal by Serena Williams (who again went on to win the title).
Later that year, Hantuchová also reached the quarterfinals in Leipzig and the final in Filderstadt, losing toKim Clijsters. The second set was the only set Hantuchová had taken from Clijsters in their nine meetings. She then went on to reach the quarterfinals of Zurich, losing to eventual championPatty Schnyder in three tight sets, and the semifinals in Linz, and winning both of her singles rubbers in the Fed Cup final. This impressive season amassed her enough points to compete at the annual Tour Championships, losing in the first round to 17th rankedMagdalena Maleeva. Hantuchová's record for the year was 56–25 and 6–10 against top-10 players; 6–2 in singles Fed Cup play; 10–6 on indoor carpet, 6–2 on grass, 11–7 on clay, and 29–10 on hardcourts.
Hantuchová started 2003 solidly, reaching the quarterfinals at her first three events in Sydney, losing to Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams, at the Australian Open (her third Grand Slam quarterfinal in a row), andElena Dementieva in Paris. Hantuchová reached her first semifinal of the year at her fourth event in Antwerp, losing to Williams again. By then, Hantuchová's ranking was at a career-high No. 5. Defending a title for the first time in her career, Hantuchová advanced to the fourth round in Indian Wells, losing toAmanda Coetzer. Despite a first-round loss toAlicia Molik in Miami, Hantuchová rebounded in the Tier-I Charleston event, making her fifth quarterfinal in seven events, losing toAshley Harkleroad. She made her sixth quarterfinal at her next event in Amelia Island, losing to eventual champion Dementieva. Hantuchová went undefeated in first-round Fed Cup play against Germany, winning both of her matches. Following the Fed Cup, she again made it to the quarterfinals for the seventh time of the year at the Tier-I Berlin tournament, losing to Kim Clijsters.
At the French Open, Hantuchová lost in the second round in a marathon match to Harkleroad again, making 101 unforced errors, leading to long-time coachNigel Sears criticising her attitude publicly.[22] Following the match, her extremely thin physique was noticed for the first time publicly, and some wondered about Hantuchová's health. Kicking off the grass season in Eastbourne, Hantuchová lost in the quarterfinals toConchita Martínez, but more famously she lost in the second round of Wimbledon toShinobu Asagoe, with Hantuchová breaking down crying during the latter stages of the match and making 57 unforced errors. Some theorized that the media's continued interest regarding her weight and the pressure of success at 19 years of age, in addition to her on-court breakdown and her parents' divorce, as well as her coach's walking out in the middle of the match, led to this breakdown. Following Wimbledon, Hantuchová went 6–8 for the rest of the year, 0–4 against top-ten players She ended the year with an overall record of 28–23, and she fell to No. 17 in the world. Further signs of the pressure and problems she was facing during this period was that, in July, she made herself unavailable for Slovakia in the Fed Cup in order to concentrate on her singles career, and in November she parted company with Sears.[23]
2004 proved to be a continuation of Hantuchová's poor second half of 2003, with many of the same struggles (she briefly hired Harold Solomon, who had previously coached her friend Jennifer Capriati, as well asAnna Kournikova, before re-hiring Sears in March),[24] She reached just three quarterfinals, the first at the first Tier-I event in Tokyo was not until halfway through the season. At Tokyo, however, she garnered her thus far only victory overMaria Sharapova in the second round, falling to Davenport in the quarterfinals. The tournament that saved her from a poor 2004 was Eastbourne, in which she defeated Sugiyama in the quarterfinals, and Mauresmo in the semifinals, before losing to Kuznetsova in the third final of her career. However, Hantuchová was serving for the championship, up 6–2, 6–5, but was broken.
Hantuchová was ranked No. 54 as she entered Eastbourne, but found herself ranked No. 38 as she went into Wimbledon, losing to eventual champion Sharapova in the third round. Hantuchová made one more quarterfinal at New Haven, losing to Lisa Raymond. At the US Open one week later, Hantuchová lost in three sets to Patty Schnyder in the third round. She finished the year ranked no. 31, with a 24–24 win–loss record. She finished 1–4 against top-10 players overall, the sole victory over Mauresmo.
Hantuchová reached the third round of the Australian Open, losing to Dementieva in a tight three-setter. Following that, she made her first quarterfinal of the year in Tokyo for the second straight year, losing to Kuznetsova. At her next event, she reached the semifinals in Doha, losing to Sharapova. Then, she made another quarterfinal at her next tournament in Dubai, losing to Serena Williams. At Dubai also, in the first round, she garnered her tenth top-10 victory over No. 8Alicia Molik. Hantuchová made the third round at the French Open and Wimbledon, losing to Clijsters in Paris, and eventual championVenus Williams in England.
Hantuchová had a successful US Open series run, where she reached the semifinals in Cincinnati, getting upset by No. 74Akiko Morigami. In Stanford, Hantuchová lost to Clijsters in the quarterfinals. After a second-round loss in San Diego to Sugiyama, Hantuchová reached her fourth final in Los Angeles, getting a walkover in the quarterfinals over Sharapova, and got revenge against Dementieva in the semifinals. In the final, for the seventh time in their head-to-head, Clijsters defeated Hantuchová in straight sets. For the third time at the event, Hantuchová made the quarterfinals in New Haven, before losing to Davenport.
Hantuchová lost to eventual quarterfinalist Venus Williams in the third round at the US Open. She won the mixed doubles, completing a career grand slam in mixed doubles. She has largely retired from the mixed doubles since then, saying that she "felt like it's time to move on and focus on my singles."[14] In Luxembourg, Hantuchová made her eighth quarterfinal of the season, losing toNathalie Dechy. In Filderstadt the following week, Hantuchová made the semifinals, her third of the year, defeating No. 10 Patty Schnyder in the second round andFlavia Pennetta in the quarterfinals. She lost to Davenport in the semifinals. At the final Tier-I event of the year, Hantuchová pushed Davenport to three sets and had match points in the second set in Zurich, before losing. In her final event of the year, in Linz, Hantuchová made her tenth quarterfinal, losing to Schnyder. Hantuchová finished 2005 with a 3–10 record against the top 10, 37–25 overall record, with 2–1 on indoor carpet, 3–4 on clay, 2–3 on grass, and 30–17 on hardcourts, reaching ten quarterfinals, three semifinals, and one final.
Hantuchová reached the quarterfinals of Sydney in 2006 with a win over top-ten player Patty Schnyder and got to the semifinals of Auckland. She continued this form at the Australian Open with her third-round victory over defending champion and seven-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams, who had entered the tournament with a lack of match practice and questions over her fitness. This victory (the only over Serena in her career) ensured that Hantuchová would progress to the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in three years. She lost to fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova in straight sets in the fourth round.
Thereafter, she was unable to find a consistent level of form. Prior to the clay-court season, she parted company for a second time (and permanently) with Sears.[25] He was replaced by Angel Giminez. She then played her first Fed Cup matches for Slovakia in almost three years. It was a successful return, with Hantuchová winning both her singles and her doubles matches againstLuxembourg, her singles match against The Netherlands, and the decisive singles rubber in the tie against Great Britain. With the help of Hantuchová's 4–0 record, Slovakia booked a place in the World Group II play-off againstThailand.
Despite disappointing results in the warm-up tournaments, she reached the fourth round of both the French Open and Wimbledon, before extending her 2006 Fed Cup record to 6–0 by winning both her singles matches in Slovakia's 5–0 rout of Thailand, which ensured their promotion to the World Group II. Her fourth-round streak at Grand Slams ended when she was beaten by a resurgent Serena Williams in the second round of the US Open, which was the culmination of a very disappointing American hardcourt season (her record was 7–6 including the US Open, failing to get past the round of 16 of any of the tournaments she entered).
Hantuchová beatTatiana Golovin in straight sets, before losing toDinara Safina. The following week, she reached the quarterfinals of Stuttgart with an easy victory over the then top-ten player Safina in the second round. This was both her first victory over a top-ten player and first appearance in a quarterfinal since January. In October 2006, Hantuchová reached the final of the Zurich Open. In the first round, she upset sixth seedPatty Schnyder. In the second round, she defeated her doubles partnerAi Sugiyama. Hantuchová was then scheduled to play world No. 1Amélie Mauresmo in the quarterfinals. However, Mauresmo withdrew due to a right shoulder injury. In the semifinals, Hantuchová upset world No. 4Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach the final of the Tier-I event. In the final, Hantuchová lost in a three-setter to second seedMaria Sharapova. The results in this tournament were the culmination of Hantuchová's up-turn of form, which kept her in the top 20, as she had arrived in Zurich outside the top group for the first time in over 11 months. The injury she suffered to her right rib[26] afterMary Pierce hit a shot at her in doubles, caused her the most serious injury of her career and also forced her to retire in her match against Vesnina the following week in Linz. Hantuchová finished the year ranked No. 17 in the world, with a 34–25 record. She went 24–17 on hardcourts, 5–4 on clay, 3–2 on grass, and 2–2 on carpet. She was 4–6 against top-10 players, beating Schnyder twice, Safina, and Kuznetsova, with losses to Sharapova (twice), Clijsters, Henin-Hardenne, Dementieva, andNadia Petrova.
Hantuchová's first tournament of the year was at theAuckland Open, where she lost in the second round toVirginie Razzano. Hantuchová then lost toNicole Vaidišová in the first round of the Tier-IISydney International and reached her second consecutive Australian Open fourth round, where she lost to world No. 5, Kim Clijsters.
Hantuchová was then upset in the first round of the Tier-IPan Pacific Open in Tokyo byRoberta Vinci. Three weeks later at the Tier-II Dubai Championships, Hantuchová defeatedMaria Kirilenko in the second round, before losing her quarterfinal match againstAmélie Mauresmo in three sets. The following week at the Tier-IIQatar Open, Hantuchová trailed world No. 6,Martina Hingis, in their quarterfinal match 4–1 in the second set, before coming back to win. She then lost her semifinal match against world No. 5,Svetlana Kuznetsova. In her seventh tournament of the year, Hantuchová won six matches, the last four of which were upsets of higher seeded players, to win the Tier I Indian Wells Open. She upset Hingis in the fourth round, Shahar Pe'er in the quarterfinals,Li Na in the semifinals, and Kuznetsova in the final in straight sets.[7]
Hantuchová, however, struggled in her next four events. She was upset in the third round of the Tier IMiami Open in Key Biscayne byVera Zvonareva. On clay at Amelia Island, Hantuchová lost toSybille Bammer in the quarterfinals. Two weeks later, Hantuchová lost both of herFed Cup matches against the Czech Republic inBratislava on clay, losing to Vaidišová andLucie Šafářová. Losing her fourth consecutive match, Hantuchová was upset in the first round of the Tier I German Open in Berlin byZuzana Ondrášková. Hantuchová then reached her first career clay-court semifinal at theInternazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. She upset seventh-seededAnna Chakvetadze in the third round, before losing to second-seeded Kuznetsova in the semifinals. At the French Open, Hantuchová was upset in the third round byAnabel Medina Garrigues, 4–6, 7–6, 7–5.
After defeatingEleni Daniilidou in the third round of the Tier III grass-courtBirmingham Classic, Hantuchová returned to the top 10 for the first time since August 2003. She then lost toMarion Bartoli in the quarterfinals, in three sets. The following week at the Tier IIIOrdina Open in 's-Hertogenbosch, Hantuchová defeated world No. 6Ana Ivanovic in the quarterfinals, before losing to Chakvetadze in the semifinals. This result caused Hantuchová to drop out of the top 10. Hantuchová was the tenth-seeded player at Wimbledon and did not lose a set in her first two matches. She then defeated SlovenianKatarina Srebotnik in the third round, before losing to world No. 8, Serena Williams, in the fourth round. Immediately after Wimbledon, Hantuchová helped Slovakia win its Fed Cup World Group II play-off against Serbia. On an indoor hardcourt in Košice, she beatAna Timotić andVojislava Lukić.
Hantuchová played five tournaments during the North American summer hard-court season. She began theUS Open Series by losing to Chakvetadze in the semifinals of the Tier-IIStanford Classicn. This result put her back in the top ten. At the Tier-I San Diego Classic, she lost to world No. 16, Venus Williams, in the second round. The following week at the Tier-IILA Championships, Hantuchová retired from her third-round match with Elena Dementieva while trailing, 3–6, 1–4. Hantuchová once again fell out of the top 10, after losing in the second round of the Tier-IIPilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven to eventual runner-upÁgnes Szávay. At theUS Open, Hantuchová was the ninth-seeded player but lost to Ukraine'sJulia Vakulenko in the first round. It was Hantuchová's earliest loss at this tournament since her debut in 2001 and her earliest loss at a Grand Slam tournament since the 2004 French Open.
Hantuchová then played four consecutive tournaments. She reached her second final of the year at the Tier-III Bali Classic, losing to Lindsay Davenport in three sets. At the Tier-IIISunfeast Open in Kolkata, Hantuchová lost in the semifinals to Maria Kirilenko, but re-entered the top 10. Traveling back to Europe, Hantuchová played in the Tier II Luxembourg Open. She defeated Patty Schnyder in the quarterfinals and Bartoli in the semifinals to advance to her third final of the year for the first time in her career. Hantuchová then lost to world No. 6 Ivanovic in the final, after leading the match, 6–3, 3–0. At the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Hantuchová defeated Šafářová in the first round, but lost in the second round to Dementieva. This loss, however, did not prevent Hantuchová from rising to world No. 9, her highest ranking in over four years.
At the Tier-I Zurich Open, Hantuchová defeated Dinara Safina in the first round, before losing toAgnieszka Radwańska. One week later, Hantuchová won her third career title at the Tier-II Generali Ladies Linz. In the semifinals, she defeated Vaidišová for the first time in her career. Hantuchová then defeated Schnyder in a straight-sets final. This title enabled Hantuchová to qualify for the year-endWTA Tour Championships in Madrid. But Hantuchová did not advance past the round-robin stage. She lost to Sharapova and Ivanovic, before beating Kuznetsova to finish third in her group. Hantuchová's win–loss record for 2007 was 52–28. She was 6–11 versus top-10 players, with two victories against Hingis, two against Kuznetsova, one against Ivanovic, and one against Chakvetadze. The losses were to Clijsters, Mauresmo, Chakvetadze (twice), Kuznetsova (twice), Vaidišová, Serena Williams, Ivanovic (twice), and Sharapova. Hantuchová finished the year at world No. 9, her first top-ten finish since 2002.
She started the year at the Medibank International in Sydney. She defeated Dinara Safina in the first round, before losing to world No. 12, Czech Nicole Vaidišová, in the second round. At theAustralian Open, Hantuchová reached her first Grand Slam semifinal.[27] She won her first three matches without losing a set. In the quarterfinals, she beat Polish teenagerAgnieszka Radwańska, who had defeated second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova and Nadia Petrova in earlier rounds. Hantuchová then lost to Ana Ivanovic in the semifinals, despite Hantuchová having won the first set 6–0, and leading the second set 2–0. After the match, Hantuchová claimed that Ivanovic had been distracting her by squeaking her shoes on the court before serving, a claim Ivanovic disputed.[28] Hantuchová's performance at this tournament caused her ranking to improve one spot to world No. 8.
Hantuchová then played two indoor tournaments in Europe. At the Open Gaz de France in Paris, she lost to seventh-seededÁgnes Szávay in the quarterfinals. She was the third-seeded player at Antwerp, where she again reached the quarterfinals. A blister on her right hand caused Hantuchová to retire during the quarterfinal againstTimea Bacsinszky.
Hantuchová was then scheduled to play at the Qatar Open, the first Tier-I event of the year, and the Dubai Championships, a Tier-II event, but withdrew from both because of fatigue. Hantuchová played both of the two-week Tier I events in the United States. AtIndian Wells, Hantuchová was the defending champion and fifth seed. She lost to fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals. In doubles, Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama lost in the semifinals to Safina andElena Vesnina, the eventual champions. At the Miami Open, Hantuchová failed to reach the fourth round for the ninth consecutive year. She lost to former doubles partner Sugiyama in the third round, despite leading 3–0 in the third set. In doubles, Hantuchová partnered with Lindsay Davenport to reach the quarterfinals, where they lost to Sugiyama andKatarina Srebotnik, who went on to win the event.
The following week at the Tier-II event on clay in Amelia Island, Hantuchová was the third seed, but lost in the second round toKarolina Šprem. Hantuchová spent the month of May and most of June recovering from a stress fracture in her right foot, which resulted in her withdrawal from the Tier-I Italian Open in Rome,[29] the Tier IIIİstanbul Cup,[30] the French Open,[31][32] and the Rosmalen Open in 's-Hertogenbosch. She recovered in time forWimbledon, but lost in the second round to unseededAlisa Kleybanova.
Hantuchová played four hardcourt tournaments between Wimbledon and the US Open. She lost in the second round of the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford and in the second round of the following week's tournament, the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles. Hantuchová was seeded tenth at theBeijing Olympics. She defeated Sugiyama in the first round, before losing in the second round toCaroline Wozniacki. The following week at the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Hantuchová lost in the quarterfinals toAlizé Cornet. Hantuchová was seeded eleventh at theUS Open, where she was upset in the first round by qualifierAnna-Lena Grönefeld.
To end the year, Hantuchová played seven tournaments in Asia and Europe. She lost in the semifinals of the Commonwealth Classic in Bali and in the first round of the Tier-I Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo toFrancesca Schiavone. In Beijing at the China Open, she lost to world No. 2, Jelena Janković, in the quarterfinals. After losing in the first round of the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart, the second round of the Tier-I Kremlin Cup in Moscow, and the second round of the Zurich Open, Hantuchová was seeded third at the Luxembourg Open. However, she lost to world No. 39Sorana Cîrstea in the quarterfinals. Because she won only 11 of 26 singles matches after the Indian Wells tournament, Hantuchová finished the year ranked world No. 21, her lowest year-end ranking and first finish out of the top 20 since 2004. She was 0–5 during the year versus players ranked in the top ten at the time the matches were played, with losses to Ivanovic, Sharapova, Janković, and Zvonareva (twice).
Hantuchová began the2009 WTA Tour by participating in theBrisbane International as the tournament's fourth-seeded player. She was upset in the first round bySara Errani. Hantuchová then played theSydney International, where she lost in the second round to sixth-seeded Agnieszka Radwańska.
At theAustralian Open, Hantuchová was seeded 19th and defeated home favoriteCasey Dellacqua in their first-round match. She then beatMathilde Johansson of France in the second round, before losing to 15th-seededAlizé Cornet in the third round in three sets. In the doubles competition, Hantuchová and her partner Ai Sugiyama made it to the final, where they lost to Serena and Venus Williams.
At theParis Indoors, Hantuchová beatEkaterina Makarova in the first round, before losing to Cornet in the second round. This was the third consecutive time she has lost to Cornet. Hantuchová then played in theDubai Championships, where she lost to eventual runner-upVirginie Razzano in the third round. Because of her results at this tournament, Hantuchová's ranking improved five places to world No. 36. AtIndian Wells, Hantuchová was the only two-time singles champion in the draw. Seeded 30th, Hantuchová fell toSybille Bammer in the fourth round. Unseeded for the first time since 2001 at the Miami Open, Hantuchová lost to 22nd-seededAnna Chakvetadze in the second round.
Starting off the spring clay-court season, as a wildcard at the Amelia Island Championships, Hantuchová defeated eighth-seededBethanie Mattek-Sands in the second round. She then lost to eventual champion and second seedCaroline Wozniacki in the quarterfinals. Playing in the Fed Cup World Group play-offs, Hantuchová defeated Alizé Cornet in the first-round rubber, but lost to Amélie Mauresmo in her next match.
Hantuchová played four tournaments beforeRoland Garros on European clay. She lost in the early rounds of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, the Rome Masters and the Madrid Masters to Dinara Safina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Jelena Janković, respectively. In doubles at Rome, Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama defeated top seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber in the quarterfinals. However, the pair lost toHsieh Su-wei andPeng Shuai in the final. Her fourth event was theWarsaw Open, where she reached her second career clay-court semifinal, but lost to Romanian qualifier and eventual championAlexandra Dulgheru. Hantuchová was unseeded at theFrench Open and lost to Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano in the first round.
On grass, Hantuchová was seeded sixth in's-Hertogenbosch. She fell to top seed Safina in the quarterfinals. Competing at her ninthWimbledon, Hantuchová was unseeded in singles for the first time since 2004. She came from behind to defeat local teenagerLaura Robson in the first round. She then upset 16th seed and the previous year's semifinalistZheng Jie, and doubles partner Sugiyama. However, Hantuchová fell to second seed and eventual champion Serena Williams in the fourth round.
Hantuchová played her first-round match at theStanford Classic, winning in three sets against defending championAleksandra Wozniak. She then defeated seventh seed Agnieszka Radwańska in the second round, but fell to third seed Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals. In Los Angeles at theLA Championships, she lost to Dinara Safina. In theWestern & Southern Open, she lost to Flavia Pennetta, after upsetting seventh seedVera Zvonareva. InToronto, she fell to qualifierYaroslava Shvedova in the first round.
Hantuchová was seeded 22nd at theUS Open. She defeatedMeghann Shaughnessy, Timea Bacsinszky, andVania King, but fell in the fourth round to second seed and defending champion Serena Williams.
At theKorea Open, Hantuchová was the top seed, but was upset by eventual championKimiko Date-Krumm in the quarterfinals. She then competed in thePan Pacific Open and theChina Open, where she reached the second round in both, before losing in three sets to 11th seed Agnieszka Radwańska and 13th seed Nadia Petrova, respectively.
Hantuchová finished the season in Europe at theLuxembourg Open, where she was upset by unseeded Shahar Pe'er in the quarterfinals.
Hantuchová finished outside the top 20 for the second consecutive year at No. 24, with a win–loss record of 39–25. She went 25–16 on hard courts, 9–7 on clay, and 5–2 on grass. She was 1–9 versus top-10 players, with losses to Radwańska, Kuznetsova, Janković, Dementieva, Serena Williams (twice), and Safina (three times), with the sole victory over Zvonareva.
Hantuchová started the2010 WTA Tour by competing at theBrisbane International. Seeded fourth, Hantuchová was upset by unseededAndrea Petkovic in the quarterfinals. At theSydney International, she fell to fifth seed and eventual champion Elena Dementieva in the second round. Seeded 22nd at theAustralian Open, Hantuchová fell to 16th seed and eventual semifinalistLi Na in the third round.
Hantuchová defeatedZhang Shuai in theFed Cup tie against China in Bratislava prior to theDubai Championships. In Dubai, she upset fifth seed Dementieva through retirement, after winning the first set 6–4. However, she fell toAnastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round.
Hantuchová was seeded second at theMonterrey Open. She became one of the favorites after top seed Jelena Janković fell in the first round. Hantuchová fought from a set down to beat unseededVania King in the quarterfinals, and fourth seedDominika Cibulková in the semifinals. However, she fell to third seedAnastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the final. It was Hantuchová's first final sinceLinz in 2007. Hantuchová was upset atIndian Wells byRoberta Vinci in the second round, after injuring her back during training earlier that day. However, she achieved a career best result at theMiami Open. She reached the fourth round after recording straight-set victories over Patty Schnyder and 16th seed Nadia Petrova, but lost a very tight three-set match to third seed and eventual finalist Venus Williams in nearly three hours.
Hantuchová began the clay-court season by competing at theCharleston Cup in South Carolina. She upset second seed and world No. 7,Jelena Janković in the quarterfinals. However, she fell to fourth seed and eventual championSamantha Stosur in her third career clay-court semifinal. Hantuchová then helped Slovakia earn a place in the World Group I for the 2011 Fed Cup by scoring two singles victories and a doubles victory in theWorld Group play-offs against Serbia. She again defeated world No. 7 Janković in one of her singles matches for a second week in a row. Despite first-round loses in theItalian Open in Rome and in theMadrid Open, Hantuchová rebounded at theFrench Open. Seeded 23rd, she upset 16th seedYanina Wickmayer in the third round, but fell to fourth seed Jelena Janković in the fourth round.
Hantuchová played two tournaments on grass. She was defeated by Samantha Stosur at theEastbourne International and was then upset byBarbora Záhlavová-Strýcová atWimbledon.
To start off the US Open Series, Hantuchová lost in the opening-round to sixth seed Shahar Pe'er at theStanford Classic. At theSan Diego Open, she upset sixth seed Marion Bartoli in the first round, saving three match points. She then beat Zheng Jie and Alisa Kleybanova to advance to the semifinals, where she fell to Agnieszka Radwańska in straight sets. Hantuchová then fell in the first rounds of theCincinnati Open, and theRogers Cup to eventual semifinalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and 15th seed Flavia Pennetta, respectively. At thePilot Pen Tennis, she fell to Dinara Safina.
As the 24th seed, Hantuchová defeated Dinara Safina and Vania King at theUS Open, before falling to 12th seedElena Dementieva in the third round.
Hantuchová fell in the early rounds in both thePan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan and theChina Open. At theGenerali Ladies Linz, Hantuchová was upset by Patty Schnyder in the quarterfinals. At theLuxembourg Open, she lost again in the early rounds toAngelique Kerber in three sets. Hantuchová received a wildcard to theTournament of Champions in Bali. She upsetYanina Wickmayer in straight sets, but fell to Alisa Kleybanova in the semifinals. She also lost the third-place match to Kimiko Date-Krumm.
Hantuchová finished outside the top 20 for the third consecutive year at No. 30, with a win–loss record of 35–25. She was 3–5 versus top-10 players, with losses to Dementieva, Venus Williams, Janković, Stosur, and Radwańska, and with victories over Dementieva and Janković (twice).
Hantuchová withdrew from her first tournament of the year at theBrisbane International due to a left Achilles strain.[33] She competed next at theSydney International, but suffered a loss toMaría José Martínez Sánchez in the first round. At theAustralian Open, she was the 28th seed, but lost in the first round toRegina Kulikova in three sets. This is the first time Hantuchová had lost in the first round of the Australian Open, except her first appearance.
She then played at thePattaya Open, where she defeatedKurumi Nara, Kimiko Date-Krumm, andAkgul Amanmuradova, all in straight sets to reach the semifinals. There she upset top seed, world No. 3 and defending championVera Zvonareva. Hantuchová then won her first title in more than three years by defeating Sara Errani in the final. Despite this, she fell toAnna Chakvetadze in the first round of theDubai Championships the following week. However, she rebounded at theQatar Open by upsetting sixth seed Victoria Azarenka in the first round, but fell in the quarterfinals to second seed and eventual champion Vera Zvonareva, despite serving for the match at 5–4 in the final set.
At theIndian Wells Open and theMiami Open, Hantuchová lost in the early rounds to Dinara Safina and top seed Caroline Wozniacki, respectively. Partnering Agnieszka Radwańska, she reached the semifinals in Indian Wells, falling to the eventual champions, but won the doubles title in Miami, defeating Nadia Petrova and Liezel Huber.
On clay, Hantuchová was upset in the third round of theFamily Circle Cup in Charleston byChristina McHale. Hantuchová next competed on European red clay at thePorsche Tennis Grand Prix, theMadrid Open and theItalian Open. She fell in the early rounds of all three to Samantha Stosur in both Stuttgart and Madrid and to second seed Francesca Schiavone in Rome. However, Hantuchová rebounded at theInternationaux de Strasbourg, where she upset fourth seed Nadia Petrova in the quarterfinals, but fell to second seed Andrea Petkovic in the semifinals in three sets. Seeded 28th at theFrench Open, Hantuchová defeatedZhang Shuai andSara Errani in the first two rounds, both in straight sets.[34][35] She then upset top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki, 6–1, 6–3 for[36] her first win over a reigning world No. 1. However, Hantuchová fell to 13th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round.[37]
Hantuchová reached her second career grass-court final at theBirmingham Classic, upsetting second seed Ana Ivanovic in the semifinals, before falling to unseededSabine Lisicki. Competing at theEastbourne International, Hantuchová defeated second seed Li Na and Venus Williams, before retiring to fifth seedPetra Kvitová in the semifinals. Seeded 25th at theWimbledon, Hantuchová fell to fourth seed Victoria Azarenka in the third round.
Hantuchová fell in the early rounds of both theBank of the West Classic and theRogers Cup in Toronto. She reached her sixth and seventh quarterfinals of the season at theCarlsbad Open and at theCincinnati Open, but fell to third seed Agnieszka Radwańska and second seed Vera Zvonareva, respectively. After a first-round loss at theUS Open toPauline Parmentier, Hantuchová reached the quarterfinals of theBell Challenge and theLadies Linz losing toMarina Erakovic and top seed Petra Kvitová, respectively. Hantuchová finished the year at world No. 24 with a win loss record of 41–29. She went 5–11 against the top ten, with victories over Zvonareva, Azarenka, Wozniacki, Li Na, and Bartoli.
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Hantuchová began the year at theBrisbane International, where she reached her first final of the year, defeatingDominika Cibulková and Vania King, before receiving a walkover in the quarterfinals when Serena Williams pulled out of the event with an ankle sprain. In the semifinals, she lost the first set to Kim Clijsters, before the Belgian retired with a hip injury midway through the second. In the final, Hantuchová was easily defeated byKaia Kanepi. InSydney, Hantuchová upset Francesca Schiavone in the second round, before falling to second seed Petra Kvitová in the quarterfinals. Seeded No. 20 at theAustralian Open, Hantuchová fell to eventual semifinalist and defending champion Clijsters, in straight sets in the third round.
AtPattaya, she successfully defended her title by defeating fourth seed Maria Kirilenko in the final. However, Hantuchová was upset in the first round of theQatar Ladies Open in Doha the following week bySimona Halep. At theDubai Championships, she fell in the quarterfinals to eventual finalist,Julia Görges.
Hantuchová then suffered relatively unsuccessful tournaments inIndian Wells andMiami. She fell in the second round after a bye to CzechKlára Zakopalová. In Miami, she defeatedKateryna Bondarenko in a third-set tiebreaker, before falling toAna Ivanovic.[38] At the Fed Cup against Spain, she lost toSílvia Soler Espinosa, before defeatingLourdes Domínguez Lino to clinch the tie 3–2 for Slovakia.[39]
During the match against Spain, Hantuchová suffered a stress fracture in her foot which laid her up for two months and forced her to miss the whole clay-court season.[40]
Hantuchová lost her first-round match at Wimbledon 2012 againstJamie Hampton.[41]
At theLondon Olympics, Hantuchová upset tenth seed Li Na in the first round. She then beat Frenchwoman Alizé Cornet in the second round. She faced eighth seed Caroline Wozniacki in the third round and lost.
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Hantuchová did not have the best US Open Series, winning only one match in four tournaments. At theRogers Cup Hantuchová, lost in two tough sets toAleksandra Wozniak. At theWestern & Southern Open, Hantuchová beat Zheng Jie in the first round, but lost to seventh seed Sara Errani in straight sets. Hantuchová lost in the first round of theNew Haven Open toMona Barthel. At theUS Open, she lost to 17th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets.
At thePan Pacific Open, Hantuchová beatEkaterina Makarova in the first round, but then lost to tenth seed Caroline Wozniacki. Hantuchová lost in the first round of theChina Open to seventh seed Petra Kvitová. She lost to fifth seedJulia Görges in straight sets at theGenerali Ladies Linz. Hantuchová recorded her best result in months at theLuxembourg Open, where she made it to the semifinals. She lost toMonica Niculescu in straight sets. Hantuchová finished her year with three straight losses at theTournament of Champions to Wozniacki, Roberta Vinci, andHsieh Su-wei.
On reflection, Hantuchová said that 2012 was a difficult year for her. She struggled with niggling injuries even before she fractured her foot and was forced out for two months. As a result, her form was inconsistent and she suffered ten first-round defeats. She said: "I think 2012 has been a difficult year for me. Had a great start to the season, making the final in Brisbane, winning in Pattaya and feeling very good about my game, but unfortunately, suffered a fracture stress... that kept me away from the tracks for two months." However, she said that playing in the Olympics at Wimbledon, where she reached the third round, was a "special moment".[40] In an interview at the end of the year, Hantuchová reflected on turning 30 the following April, saying that it was "just a number" and that she wanted to keep playing as long as possible and break back into the top 10.[42][43]
Hantuchová started her year off in January with a quarterfinal appearance at theBrisbane International, beatingLourdes Domínguez Lino and fifth seed Sara Errani, before losing toLesia Tsurenko. She then suffered two successive first-round defeats: at theSydney International toAyumi Morita and at theAustralian Open toChan Yung-jan. At thePattaya Open at the end of the month, Hantuchová was the defending champion, but after beatingOlga Puchkova in the first round, she had to retire during her second-round match againstNina Bratchikova.
Hantuchová's next two matches werefirst-round Fed Cup ties in February for Slovakia against Serbia. She won them both, beatingBojana Jovanovski andVesna Dolonc in straight sets, helping her team progress to the quarterfinals. Hantuchová's next tournament was theQatar Ladies Open, where she beatLaura Robson andEkaterina Bychkova, losing in the third round to sixth seed Sara Errani. At theDubai Tennis Championships, Hantuchová entered the qualifiers. She beat Karolína Plíšková, recorded a walkover against Simona Halep and beatCarla Suárez Navarro. In the first round of the main draw, she lost to sixth seed Petra Kvitová.
In March, Hantuchová reached the second round in back-to-back tournaments. First, theIndian Wells Open, beatingStéphanie Foretz Gacon and losing to top seed and defending champion Victoria Azarenka. Then, theMiami Open, beatingTsvetana Pironkova and losing to sixth seed Errani. At theFamily Circle Cup in April, she lost in the first round toMarina Erakovic. In theFed Cup semifinal against Russia, Hantuchová beatMaria Kirilenko, but lost in three sets toEkaterina Makarova as Slovakia was defeated 3–2. At theMarrakech Grand Prix at the end of the month, she losttoOlga Puchkova.
At theMadrid Open in May, Hantuchová received a wild card and beatSloane Stephens and eighth seed Kvitová, before losing toKaia Kanepi in the third round. At theItalian Open, Hantuchová lost in the second qualifying round toSimona Halep. Hantuchová then suffered two first-round defeats, at theInternationaux de Strasbourg, where she was seeded eighth, toMaría Teresa Torró Flor, and then at theFrench Open, to Jelena Janković.
Hantuchová won her first tournament of 2013 in June at theBirmingham Classic. Unseeded for the tournament, she beat qualifierCasey Dellacqua in the first round. In the second, she beat seventh seedLaura Robson, securing her 500th career win and becoming only the 37th woman in the Open Era to do so. She then beat 12th seedKristina Mladenovic, and in the quarterfinals 15th seedFrancesca Schiavone. In the semifinals she defeated qualifierAlison Riske, and in the finalDonna Vekić.[44] Her first match after that was at theRosmalen Grass Court Championships, where she received a wild card and retired in her first-round match againstLesia Tsurenko. At theWimbledon Championships, she lost in the first round again, this time againstKlára Zakopalová.
Hantuchová began herUS Open Series at the end of July at theBank of the West Classic, winning in the first round against Yanina Wickmayer, but losing in the second round against seventh seedUrszula Radwańska. Indoubles she and Lisa Raymond were seeded third. They reached the semifinals, where they lost to first seeds and eventual championsRaquel Kops-Jones andAbigail Spears. In theSouthern California Open at the start of August, she defeatedTamira Paszek in the first round, and lost in the second round to second seed Agnieszka Radwańska. In thedoubles she teamed up withMartina Hingis, for whom it was a comeback to the WTA tour.[45] They reached the quarterfinals, again losing to the third seeds and eventual champions Kops-Jones and Spears. Hantuchová did not enter thesingles of the Canadian Open, but she and Hingis did enter thedoubles. They received a wild card, beating Kerber and Kvitová in the first round and losing to Julia Görges andBarbora Záhlavová-Strýcová in the second round. At theCincinnati Open, Hantuchová received a wildcard, but lost in the first round to Andrea Petkovic. Indoubles, she and Hingis reached the second round, losing to first seeds Errani and Roberta Vinci. At theNew Haven Open, Hantuchová was defeated in the first round by eventual champion Simona Halep. In thedoubles, Hantuchová and Hingis received a wildcard and were stopped in the first round by Cara Black and Vania King. At theUS Open, Hantuchová beatMaria Sanchez in the first round, to advance beyond the first round of a major for the first time since the 2012 Australian Open. She then beatVictoria Duval in the second round and Israeli qualifierJulia Glushko in a tough match in the third round. Hantuchová was at one point down 3–6, 2–4 and faced four match points in the final set, but came back to win.[46] She beat Alison Riske in the fourth round and advanced to the quarterfinals of the US Open for the first time since2002 and for the first time at any Grand Slam since the2008 Australian Open. She faced second seed Victoria Azarenka and lost. Indoubles, Hantuchová and Hingis received a wildcard, but lost a re-match against top seeds Errani and Vinci.
Hantuchová began theAustralian Open Series in the first round of theBrisbane International, where she lost in an upset toAshleigh Barty.[47] Indoubles, she andSabine Lisicki lost to top-seeded Peschke and Srebotnik. Hantuchová, then lost in the first round of theSydney International to wild-cardAjla Tomljanović. She andArantxa Parra Santonja beatDarija Jurak andMegan Moulton-Levy in the first round of thedoubles, but lost to fourth seedsRaquel Kops-Jones andAbigail Spears in the second. At the2014 Australian Open, she was seeded 31st and defeatedHeather Watson in the first round[48] and Karolína Plíšková in the second round. She lost to top seed Serena Williams in the third round. In thedoubles, Hantuchová andLisa Raymond were seeded 15th and beatMandy Minella andChanelle Scheepers in the first round andMagdaléna Rybáriková andStefanie Vögele in the second round. They lost to third seeds Ekaterina Makarova andElena Vesnina in the third round. Inmixed doubles, Hantuchová andLeander Paes beatAjla Tomljanović andJames Duckworth in the first round and eighth seedsElena Vesnina andMahesh Bhupathi in the second round. They lost to Kristina Mladenovic andDaniel Nestor in the quarterfinals.
Hantuchová's next tournament was theIndoors in Paris. She defeatedMarina Erakovic inthe singles, but was beaten by top seedMaria Sharapova in round two.[49] Indoubles, she and Petra Kvitová lost to fellow wildcards Alizé Cornet andCaroline Garcia in the first round. She then played at theQatar Open, where she had to withdraw during the second set of her first-round match with a right-knee injury.[50]
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In March, Hantuchová hiredPeter Lundgren, who coachedRoger Federer from 2000 to 2003. She had previously been coached byEduardo Nicolás from mid-2013 to the beginning of 2014.[51]
Hantuchová lost both her openers atIndian Wells andMiami to AmericansVarvara Lepchenko andMadison Keys, respectively. At theCharleston Cup where she was the 12th seed, she lost in the quarterfinals to fellow SlovakJana Čepelová.[52] Hantuchová then reached her first semifinal of the season atMarrakech as the top seed. There, she lost toRomina Oprandi. At theMadrid Open, she lost to Roberta Vinci in the first round. The following week, she lost in the first round again atRome toMonica Puig.
During the grass-court season, Hantuchová played atBirmingham. She failed to defend her title when she lost to veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm in the third round after defeating rising starBelinda Bencic in her opener. The following week, she defeated Vinci in the first round atEastbourne, but then lost toLauren Davis. AtWimbledon, Hantuchová lost to eventual finalistEugenie Bouchard in the first round.
Hantuchová played for theSan Diego Aviators ofWorld TeamTennis inJuly. She led the Aviators to the league's best regular-season record and was named WTT Female Most Valuable Player.[53] The Aviators lost to theSpringfield Lasers in the Western Conference Championship Match.[54]
Hantuchová participated in theBank of the West Classic, where she defeatedPaula Ormaechea in round one, but lost toGarbiñe Muguruza in the second. In doubles, she andArantxa Parra Santonja won the first round overDaria Gavrilova andXu Yifan, but lost againstPaula Kania andKateřina Siniaková.
At theCanadian Open singles, she was defeated in first round by eventual finalist Caroline Wozniacki. She also lost the first doubles round alongsideArantxa Parra Santonja.
She went on to another first-round singles defeat at the Cincinnati Open at the hands of Ekaterina Makarova. In doubles, she partnered Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová and won againstLucie Hradecká andMichaëlla Krajicek, but lost in round two against Errani and Vinci.
At theUS Open, she defeatedRomina Oprandi in round one, but lost to Alizé Cornet in the second round. She partnered Francesca Schiavone for women's doubles and lost to Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina in round one.
Hantuchová started at theAuckland Open, where she beat Sara Errani in the first round in straight sets. This marked her first win against a top-20 player since May 2013. In the second round, Hantuchová lost to qualifierUrszula Radwańska. After Auckland, Hantuchová received a wild card to play at theHobart International. She beat qualifierRichèl Hogenkamp in the first round. In the second round, Hantuchová lost to third seedZarina Diyas. At theAustralian Open, Hantuchová beat Zheng Saisai in the first round, before she lost to 24th seedGarbiñe Muguruza. Hantuchová played her 17th singles final at theThailand Open after wins over third seed Zarina Diyas, Zheng Saisai,Duan Yingying, and Marina Erakovic. She defeated Ajla Tomljanović in the final to win her seventh WTA tournament title. Two days later, at theDubai Championships, she beat Mona Barthel in the first round. Hantuchová fell in the second round to top seed and eventual championSimona Halep. At theMonterrey Open, Hantuchová was the seventh seed. She beat Monica Puig in the first round. However, she lost in the second round to qualifier Urszula Radwańska. Hantuchová lost in the first round ofIndian Wells Open to Klára Koukalová. She also lost in the first round of theMiami Open to Belinda Bencic. Hantuchová won one match during Fed Cup by beatingSusanne Celik of Sweden.
During the spring, Hantuchová switched her racquet brand from Prince toHead. At theMorocco Open, Hantuchová lost in the first round to Christina McHale. At theMadrid Open, Hantuchová lost in the first round toElina Svitolina. Hantuchová lost again in the first round of theInternazionali d'Italia to 13th seed Sara Errani. Hantuchová lost in the first round of theFrench Open to Bencic. Hantuchová started her grass-court season by playing at theNottingham Open, where she lost in the first round toMagda Linette in a three-setter. The following week, Hantuchová reached the quarterfinals at theBirmingham Classic with wins over 14th seedIrina-Camelia Begu, qualifier Marina Erakovic and qualifierMichelle Larcher de Brito, before she lost to eighth seed and grass-court specialistSabine Lisicki. AtWimbledon, Hantuchová beat compatriot Dominika Cibulková in the first round. In the second round, she lost to British No. 1, Heather Watson. At theİstanbul Cup, she beat Turkish wildcardÇağla Büyükakçay. but in the second round, lost to eventual championLesia Tsurenko. At theWestern & Southern Open, she lost in the first round to Kristina Mladenovic. At theUS Open, Hantuchová lost in the first round toMisaki Doi. At theGuangzhou International Open, she lost in the first round to fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova. At theWuhan Open, she was given a wild card into the main draw. In the first round, Hantuchová lost to 12th seed Elina Svitolina. Her final tournament of the year was at theChina Open. She was the 14th seed for qualifying where in the first round, she lost toLara Arruabarrena. Hantuchová finished 2015 ranked No. 81. This was her 15th straight top-100 season.
Hantuchová started her season at theBrisbane International. She lost in the first round of qualifying toYsaline Bonaventure.[55] Getting through qualifying at theSydney International, Hantuchová was supposed to face second seed Agnieszka Radwańska in the first round, but Radwańska withdrew due to a left leg injury.[56] She got a bye into the second round, but fell to Samantha Stosur.[57] At theAustralian Open, Hantuchová was defeated in the first round by 23rd seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.
At theQatar Ladies Open, she lost in the first round of qualifying toAnastasija Sevastova.
Having fallen out of the top 100 for the first time since March 2002, Hantuchová successfully made her way through qualifying at theFrench Open, defeating seventh seedAnna Tatishvili,Barbora Štefková andJennifer Brady. She lost in the first round of the main draw toMirjana Lučić-Baroni.
For the first time since 2000, Hantuchová had to play the qualifying round to enter the main draw at theAustralian Open. She lost in the first round of qualifying toNatalia Vikhlyantseva.
During theFed Cup tie versus Italy, Hantuchová played one rubber and defeated Sara Errani. In the end, Slovakia beat Italy 3–2.[58] Playing a $25k tournament inRancho Santa Fe, Hantuchová was defeated in the second round byKayla Day. In Acapulco at theMexican Open, Hantuchová lost in the second round to fourth seedMonica Puig.[59] AtIndian Wells, Hantuchová was defeated in the first round of qualifying byMandy Minella.[60] Seeded eighth for the ITF tournament inSanta Margherita di Pula ($25k), Hantuchová lost in the second round toFiona Ferro.[61]
On 6 July 2017, at Wimbledon, Hantuchová announced her retirement from professional tennis.[62]
Hantuchová is right-handed but uses both hands when playing backhand shots.[63] She can hit the ball hard with both her forehand and backhand but is best known as a player with natural timing and excellent technique. A "superb ball-striker",[64] she plays a flowing style, hitting deep, accurate groundstrokes.[65][66] Her double-handed backhand is a particularly potent weapon. She is often described as an "all-rounder".[6][67] She has a strong, accurate serve and can play well when close to the net. She is famous for her long legs which are 43 in (110 cm) long.[68] Thanks to her height (1.81m), Hantuchová can cover a long distance in a short amount of time, which also helps in returning shots.[69] Although her speed across court has reduced a little in recent years, she compensates with her stamina. Dubbed the "Queen of 3-setters", as of 15 January 2014, Hantuchová had played 263 three-set matches, more than anyone else on the tour, winning 181 of them.[70]
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | SR | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | Q2 | 1R | 3R | QF | 2R | 3R | 4R | 4R | SF | 3R | 3R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 1R | Q1 | 0 / 16 | 29–16 |
| French Open | A | 2R | 4R | 2R | 1R | 3R | 4R | 3R | A | 1R | 4R | 4R | A | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | A | 0 / 14 | 20–14 |
| Wimbledon | Q2 | 2R | QF | 2R | 3R | 3R | 4R | 4R | 2R | 4R | 2R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | 0 / 16 | 24–16 |
| US Open | Q2 | 1R | QF | 3R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 4R | 3R | 1R | 1R | QF | 2R | 1R | A | A | 0 / 15 | 21–15 |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 2–4 | 13–4 | 8–4 | 5–4 | 8–4 | 10–4 | 8–4 | 6–3 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 5–4 | 2–3 | 4–4 | 5–4 | 2–4 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0 / 61 | 94–61 |
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | SR | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WTA Finals | A | A | 1R | Did not qualify | RR | Did not qualify | 0 / 2 | 1–3 | |||||||||||
| Tournament of Champions | Not Held | A | 4th | 1R | RR | A | A | Not Held | 0 / 3 | 1–6 | |||||||||
| WTA Elite Trophy | Not Held | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | ||||||||||||||
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 2002 | Australian Open | Hard |  Arantxa Sánchez Vicario |  Martina Hingis Anna Kournikova | 2–6, 7–6(7–4), 1–6 |
| Loss | 2006 | French Open | Clay |  Ai Sugiyama |  Lisa Raymond Samantha Stosur | 3–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 2009 | Australian Open(2) | Hard | Ai Sugiyama | Serena Williams Venus Williams | 3–6, 3–6 |
By winning the 2005 US Open title, Hantuchová completed the mixed doubles Career Grand Slam. She became only the fifth female player in history to achieve this.
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 2001 | Wimbledon | Grass |  Leoš Friedl | Mike Bryan Liezel Huber | 4–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 2002 | Australian Open | Hard |  Kevin Ullyett |  Gastón Etlis Paola Suárez | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 2002 | Wimbledon | Grass | Kevin Ullyett | Elena Likhovtseva Mahesh Bhupathi | 2–6, 6–1, 1–6 |
| Win | 2005 | French Open | Clay |  Fabrice Santoro | Leander Paes Martina Navratilova | 3–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 2005 | US Open | Hard | Mahesh Bhupathi |  Nenad Zimonjić Katarina Srebotnik | 6–4, 6–2 |
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Until the2009 US Open, Hantuchová endorsedNike sportswear and had her own line with them for her tournament wear, like players such asMaria Sharapova andSerena Williams. From the 2009 US Open onwards, Hantuchová began endorsingAdidas sportswear. As of Wimbledon 2010, she shares the same signature line asAna Ivanovic. In 2006, Hantuchová also appeared on an advertisement for Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot phone with Ivanovic.
Hantuchová also has endorsed four racquet brands. She first endorsedBabolat from the time she was a junior until late 2003, thenYonex until the 2007 Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, when she started using thePrince Ozone Seven at the 2007Dubai Tennis Championships. Photos were released from Prince giving the impression that Hantuchová, from the start of the 2011 season, will be using the Prince EXO3 Tour Team 100. However, she signed a deal with Völkl Tennis and then used the Völkl Power Bridge 9. At the2011 Fed Cup, she began using the Prince EXO3 Tour Team 100 again, with which she won her fourth career title. In 2014, she started using the Prince Warrior Pro 100. In spring of 2015, Hantuchová started usingHEAD rackets and bags although the racket is not part of the current range and appears to be all black in color. During the 2015 grass court season, Hantuchová started using the HEAD Graphene Instinct MP racket. In 2016, Hantuchová switched her racquet brand back to Babolat.
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Hantuchová has been in many sports/tennis related video games with such players asMaria Sharapova,Lindsay Davenport,Venus Williams andAnna Kournikova. Some of the titles areTop Spin (bothXbox andPlayStation 2 versions),Smash Court Tennis Pro Tournament 2, Roland Garros 2005 andVirtua Tennis 3. Hantuchová is also a playable character inVirtua Tennis 2009.
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | WTA Newcomer of the Year 2001 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | WTA Most Improved Player of the Year 2002 | Succeeded by |
