 Craybas at Wimbledon, 2013 | |
| Country (sports) |  United States |
|---|---|
| Residence | Huntington Beach, California |
| Born | (1974-07-04)July 4, 1974 (age 51) Providence, Rhode Island |
| Height | 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) |
| Turned pro | 1996 |
| Retired | 2013 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| College | University of Florida |
| Prize money | US$ 2,552,154 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 434–452 |
| Career titles | 1 WTA, 4 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 39 (April 17, 2006) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 3R (2004) |
| French Open | 2R (2001,2007,2009,2010,2011) |
| Wimbledon | 4R (2005) |
| US Open | 2R (2004,2005,2006,2009) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Olympic Games | 1R (2008) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 163–244 |
| Career titles | 5 WTA, 1 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 41 (June 23, 2008) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 2R (2006,2007,2011) |
| French Open | QF (2004) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (2007) |
| US Open | 2R (2004,2005,2006,2012) |
| Mixed doubles | |
| Career record | 9–10 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | 2R (2006,2008) |
| US Open | SF (2008) |
| Team competitions | |
| Fed Cup | 3–5 |
Jill N. Craybas (born July 4, 1974) is an American former professionaltennis player.
From the 2000US Open to the 2011 US Open, Craybas competed in 45 consecutiveGrand Slam tournament main draws; her best result coming in the2005 Wimbledon Championships where she reached the fourth round, which included wins overMarion Bartoli andSerena Williams. By the time she retired in 2013, she was one of the oldest players on theWTA Tour at 39 years of age, as well as the longest serving, having turned pro in 1996.
Craybas was born inProvidence, Rhode Island. During commentingthe 2024 Mutua Madrid Open women's singles final, she said she is of Polish descent. She received an athletic scholarship to attend theUniversity of Florida inGainesville, Florida, where she played for coachAndy Brandi'sFlorida Gators women's tennis team inNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) andSoutheastern Conference (SEC) competition from 1993 to 1996. As a senior, she won the 1996NCAA women's singles tennis championship. She was the 1995–96 recipient of theHonda Sports Award for Tennis, recognizing her as the outstanding collegiate female tennis player of the year.[1][2]
Craybas graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in telecommunications in 1996, and has said in interviews that she hopes to enter film or television production when her playing career ends. She was inducted into theUniversity of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2008.[3][4]
Craybas credits her achievements to her long-time coach, Raja Chaudhuri who has worked with her from the start of her tennis career.
Craybas turned professional in 1996. She won one title on the WTA Tour, at theJapan Open. She beatSilvija Talaja in the final, after trailing 4–0 in the third set. In the 2006 season, Craybas reached one quarterfinal atHobart as the eighth seed, losing to unseeded ItalianMara Santangelo in three sets. She also reached the semifinals of a Tier-III event inMemphis, a fourth-round showing at the Tier-I event inKey Biscayne, Florida and a further quarterfinal appearance atStanford in late July.
Craybas is best known for her 2005 defeat ofSerena Williams in the third round ofWimbledon. She beat Williams 6–3, 7–6, then lost to Serena's older sister, and eventual champion,Venus Williams 0–6, 2–6.
On March 25, 2006, Craybas once again served up an early round defeat of a top-seeded player. This time it was second-seededKim Clijsters in the second round of theKey Biscayne WTA Tour tournament. After having led in both the first and third sets, Clijsters eventually lost by a score of 5–7, 6–3, 5–7. It was Clijsters earliest ever exit in Key Biscayne, and she was the defending champion.
By that time Craybas, then a veteran on the tour, was thought to be playing the best tennis of her life. However, after having a successful start to 2006, she fell short of what was expected of her from her dramatically impressive start, losing to lower-ranked opponents in first rounds or having difficult first round draws against the top players in the world.
She began 2007 by reaching the semifinals of a Tier-IV event in New Zealand, theAuckland Open. She beat all of her opponents in straight sets before bowing out toVera Zvonareva, 3–6, 5–7. She next took part in the Tier-II event in Sydney, where she lost in the last round of qualifying toVera Dushevina, 1–6, 6–3, 1–6. At the firstGrand Slam tournament of the year at theAustralian Open, she suffered a first-round loss to the tenth-seededNicole Vaidišová. Craybas bounced back into winning form at her next tournament in the U.S., at an ITF tournament inMidland, Michigan. As the top-seeded, she beat all of her opponents in straight sets until a hard-fought 2–6, 6–3, 6–3 victory over second-seeded and fellow AmericanLaura Granville. Because of her lower ranking, she suffered in tough draws, not going further than the second round of any tournament since.
At the start of 2008, Craybas entered thePattaya Open, where, as the seventh seed, she played some of the best tennis of her career and beatOlga Savchuk 6–1, 6–1 in the first round,Renata Voráčová 2–6, 6–1, 6–3 in the second, andAndreja Klepač 6–4, 6–4 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, she beatAkgul Amanmuradova 6–4, 6–0, and lost to the top seedAgnieszka Radwańska in a tie-break in the third set. As a result, Craybas's ranking improved from world No. 77 to No. 60.
Craybas won the2008 Istanbul Cup in doubles.
She represented the United States at the2008 Summer Olympics in the women's singles tournament. She became the last qualifier for the event, replacingTamira Paszek of Austria.[5] The opening came available when fellow AmericanAshley Harkleroad elected to skip the games after she became pregnant.[6] At the US Open 2013, Craybas announced her retirement from tennis.[7]
| Legend |
|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments |
| Tier I |
| Tier II |
| Tier III, IV & V (1–1) |
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1. | Oct 2002 | Japan Open | Hard |  Silvija Talaja | 2–6, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1. | Feb 2008 | Pattaya Open, Thailand | Hard |  Agnieszka Radwańska | 2–6, 6–1, 6–7(4) |
| Legend |
|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments |
| Tier I / Premier M & Premier 5 |
| Tier II / Premier |
| Tier III, IV & V / International (5–9) |
| Result | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | Sep 2004 | China Open | Tier II | Hard |  Justin Gimelstob |  Emmanuelle GagliardiTripp Phillips | 1–6, 2–6 |
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | A | 1R | Q1 | 1R | 2R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 2R | Q2 | Q1 | 5–12 |
| French Open | A | A | A | Q1 | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | Q2 | A | 5–11 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | Q1 | Q1 | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 4R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | Q1 | A | 6–11 |
| US Open | 1R | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | Q1 | A | 4–15 |
| Win–loss | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 2–4 | 0–4 | 4–4 | 4–4 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 3–4 | 1–4 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 20–49 |
| Tournament | 1998 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 5–10 |
| French Open | A | A | QF | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | A | 1R | 4–9 |
| Wimbledon | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | 3–10 |
| US Open | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | 2R | 2R | 5–11 |
| Win–loss | 0–1 | 1–2 | 4–4 | 1–4 | 2–4 | 3–4 | 0–4 | 1–4 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 2–3 | 17–40 |
