.jpg) Kirilenko at the2014 Italian Open | |
| Full name | Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko |
|---|---|
| Native name | Мари́я Ю́рьевна Кириле́нко |
| Country (sports) |  Russia |
| Residence | Moscow, Russia |
| Born | (1987-01-25)25 January 1987 (age 38) Moscow,Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft8+1⁄2 in) |
| Turned pro | 2001 |
| Retired | 2014 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $6,855,919 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 364–257 |
| Career titles | 6 |
| Highest ranking | No. 10 (10 June 2013) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | QF (2010) |
| French Open | QF (2013) |
| Wimbledon | QF (2012) |
| US Open | 4R (2011) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Olympic Games | SF – 4th (2012) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 255–150 |
| Career titles | 12 |
| Highest ranking | No. 5 (24 October 2011) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | F (2011) |
| French Open | F (2012) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (2007) |
| US Open | SF (2011) |
| Other doubles tournaments | |
| Tour Finals | W (2012) |
| Team competitions | |
| Fed Cup | 3–4 |
Medal record | |
Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko (Russian:Мари́я Ю́рьевна Кириле́нко,IPA:[mɐˈrʲijəkʲɪrʲɪˈlʲenkə]ⓘ; born 25 January 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player. A junior Grand Slam champion at the2002 US Open at the age of 15, she went on to become a top-ten player in both singles and doubles. Kirilenko won sixWTA Tour singles titles and 12 doubles titles. She was a three-timemajor singles quarterfinalist (reaching that stage at the2010 Australian Open, the2012 Wimbledon Championships, and the2013 French Open), a semifinalist at the2012 London Olympics (where she lost toVictoria Azarenka in the bronze medal match), and reached a career-high ranking of world No. 10, on 10 June 2013. In women's doubles, she became ranked as high as No. 5 in the world on 24 October 2011, and reached two major finals, at the2011 Australian Open with Azarenka and the2012 French Open with compatriotNadia Petrova. Along with Petrova, Kirilenko won the2012 WTA Tour Championships in doubles and was a bronze medalist at the2012 London Olympics.
In 2002, Kirilenko won the junior tournaments at the Canadian Open and US Open.
In 2002, Kirilenko started participating in WTA events. She began moving up the rankings in 2004, but was set back by an injury. At the2004 French Open, Kirilenko took the first set offSerena Williams before losing in three sets.[1] She was the runner-up toNicole Pratt at theHyderabad Open.
At the end of 2005, she climbed back up the rankings and won her first title in Beijing. On 12 June 2006, she broke into the world's top 20 for the first time. At theUS Open, Kirilenko was seeded 20th and reached the third round, before losing toAravane Rezaï.
Kirilenko made her debut for Russia at the Fed Cup tournament in April 2006. In the World Group quarterfinal tie against Belgium, she lost her singles match against 2005 US Open championKim Clijsters, but partnering withDinara Safina, won her doubles match againstJustine Henin and Clijsters. However, Russia ended up losing, 2–3.
In January 2007, she advanced to the third round of theAustralian Open, before being defeated by third seedSvetlana Kuznetsova. She then competed in thePan Pacific Open in Tokyo, where she advanced to the second round, upsetting world No. 15Shahar Pe'er of Israel, before being defeated byAi Sugiyama. She then competed in theDubai Tennis Championships, where she reached the second round, before losing in a close match toDaniela Hantuchová.[2]
At theSan Diego Open in California, Kirilenko upset second seededJelena Janković to advance to the quarterfinals, before losing to fellow RussianElena Dementieva. At theStanford Classic in Los Angeles, she upset sixth seedMarion Bartoli in straight sets before losing to eventual championAna Ivanovic in the quarterfinals.
Unseeded at theUS Open, she defeatedMartina Müller and 22nd seedKatarina Srebotnik. She then lost to unseededJulia Vakulenko. After the US Open, she appeared in the Sunfeast Open. There, Kirilenko won her second WTA Tour singles title, defeating unseededMariya Koryttseva in straight sets. The next week at a tournament inSeoul, Kirilenko, as the fourth seed also reached the finals, but lost to top seedVenus Williams.
At theAustralian Open, Kirilenko reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career, beating sixth seedAnna Chakvetadze. Her next opponent was Daniela Hantuchová, to whom she lost, 6–1, 4–6, 4–6, after leading 6–1, 3–1.
Kirilenko then reached the second round of a Tier-I event in Doha, beatingEkaterina Makarova, before losing toAnabel Medina Garrigues in three sets. Kirilenko then lost four matches in a row at Dubai, Bangalore, Indian Wells, and Miami. However, as the second seed, she reached the final of a Tier-IV event at Estoril, where she defeatedIveta Benešová in straight sets. She also won the doubles title there, partnering withFlavia Pennetta. Kirilenko also won in Barcelona, defeating Martinez-Sanchez for her fourth career title and the second of the year.
Kirilenko played at the Tier-III tournament inCincinnati in August, where she was third seed. She reached the semifinals, where she lost to eventual championNadia Petrova. She partnered with Petrova as the second-seed doubles team and beat the top-seed pair ofHsieh Su-wei andYaroslava Shvedova in the finals.
Kirilenko was seeded 27th at theAustralian Open, but lost to future top five playerSara Errani in the first round.
In theDubai doubles tournament, Kirilenko partnered withAgnieszka Radwańska, and even though they were unseeded, they reached the final, eventually losing toLiezel Huber andCara Black, the world No. 1 doubles pairing at that time.
At the 2009 French Open, Kirilenko was unseeded in the singles tournament, and lost toOlivia Rogowska of Australia in the first round. In the doubles tournament, Kirilenko and doubles partner Flavia Pennetta of Italy were seeded eighth. They made it to the third round, before losing to 11th seededAnna-Lena Grönefeld of Germany andPatty Schnyder of Switzerland.
Kirilenko was unseeded atWimbledon and made it to the second round, losing to ninth seededCaroline Wozniacki.
At theUS Open, she made it to the third round, defeating her doubles partner Radwańska before losing toLi Na. She then competed in theKorea Open in Seoul, where she was the defending champion, but lost in the semifinals to eventual championKimiko Date-Krumm.
Kirilenko began the year by competing in theAuckland Open, where she reached the quarterfinals but lost to Shahar Pe'er. With a ranking at that time of No. 58, Kirilenko was unseeded at theAustralian Open, where in the first round she upset her friend, former doubles partner,2008 champion and 14th seedMaria Sharapova, 7–6, 3–6, 6–4, in a 3-hour 22-minute marathon. It was the second-longest women's match in Australian Open history (only behind the2011 fourth-round match between Francesca Schiavone and Svetlana Kuznetsova[3]). She advanced to the quarterfinals, losing toZheng Jie, who was also unseeded for this tournament. In the doubles portion, she and her partner, Agnieszka Radwańska, were seeded 15th and advanced to the semifinals, losing there to the world No. 1 pairing of Cara Black and Liezel Huber in three sets.
Kirilenko entered as 32nd seed at theIndian Wells Open, and made it to the third round, losing there to second seeded Caroline Wozniacki.InMiami, she advanced as 32nd seed like Indian Wells to the third round, again losing to Wozniacki.
Kirilenko played in Rome at theItalian Open where she was unseeded. She lost in the quarterfinals to world No. 1, Serena Williams.
Kirilenko entered as 30th seed theFrench Open where she advanced to the round of 16 for the first time in her career, before losing to 17th seed and eventual champion Francesca Schiavone, having defeateddefending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova en route.[4] In thedoubles draw, Kirilenko and Radwańska were seeded 11th. They reached the quarterfinals, before losing to the eventual champions Serena and Venus Williams in straight sets.
AtWimbledon, she was 27th seed in the singles draw, and lost in the third round to eighth seed Kim Clijsters.[5]Kirilenko also paired up with Agnieszka Radwańska in the doubles draw, where they were seeded No. 10.
Kirilenko made the quarterfinals of theStanford Classic in California, before losing to Radwańska. She entered in the doubles tournament withVictoria Azarenka, they ended in the semifinals.
She then reached the second rounds ofWestern & Southern Open and theRogers Cup, losing toVera Zvonareva and Victoria Azarenka, respectively. At thePilot Pen Tennis, she reached the semifinals, losing to Nadia Petrova.
She reached the third round of theUS Open losing to 11th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.
She then reached the second rounds ofKorea Open, losing to former world No. 1, Dinara Safina, andPan Pacific Open, losing to Flavia Pennetta. At the last Premier-Mandatory event of the year, theChina Open, she lost in the third round to eventual finalist and compatriot Vera Zvonareva. In theJapan Women's Open, she retired in the second round due to a hip injury againstChang Kai-chen, after losing the first set 4–6. Kirilenko reached the final of theKremlin Cup where she fell to Victoria Azarenka.
Kirilenko ended the 2010 season ranked No. 20 in the world.
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She competed at theHong Kong Tennis Classic and won the Gold Group Championship with her compatriots Vera Zvonareva andYevgeny Kafelnikov. At theAustralian Open, she failed to defend her quarterfinal points by being knocked out in the second round. However, in the doubles competition, she reached the final, partnered with Victoria Azarenka, but lost to Pennetta and Dulko. She then fell early in thePattaya Open andDubai Tennis Championships. She then reached the third round of bothIndian Wells Open andMiami Open losing to Agnieszka Radwańska on both occasions. She then suffered three losses in a row in the second round ofFamily Circle Cup, and the first rounds ofMadrid Open andItalian Open. However, she won doubles at the Mutua Madrid Open with Victoria Azarenka. At theFrench Open, she reached the fourth round losing toAndrea Petkovic in three sets.
She then fell in the first round ofRosmalen Open toKimiko Date-Krumm, However, she rebounded by reaching the third round of theWimbledon Championships, eventually being stopped by the seventh-seeded Serena Williams. She then failed to win back-to-back matches falling in the second rounds ofStanford Classic,Southern California Open, first round ofRogers Cup, and the second rounds ofWestern & Southern Open. She then rebounded at theUS Open, losing to eventual champion Samantha Stosur 2–6, 7–615–17, 3–6 in the fourth round. The second set tie-break score of 15–17 was the longest in any major in the history of women's tennis.[6]
She reached her first semifinal of the year at theGuangzhou International Open, losing toChanelle Scheepers 5–7, 7–5, 4–6. She then played at thePan Pacific Open and theChina Open, where she defeatedSamantha Stosur in three sets in both occasions in the second round; she also fell in the quarterfinals on both events losing to Vera Zvonareva andMonica Niculescu, respectively. She played her last tournament of the year at theLuxembourg Open, where she had to withdraw in the second round due to an ankle injury.
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Kirilenko began her 2012 season at theSydney International. She lost in the second round of qualifying toSofia Arvidsson. Seeded 27th at theAustralian Open, Kirilenko retired during her third-round match against second seed Petra Kvitová due to an upper left leg injury.[7]
Seeded fourth at thePattaya Open, Kirilenko reached the final where she was defeated by third seed Daniela Hantuchová.[8] In Doha at theQatar Ladies Open, Kirilenko lost in the second round to 14th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.[9] At theDubai Championships, Kirilenko was defeated in the second round by Ana Ivanovic.[10] Seeded 20th atIndian Wells, Kirilenko advanced to the quarterfinal where she lost to second seed Maria Sharapova.[11] Seeded 22nd at theMiami Open, Kirilenko was defeated in the fourth round by seventh seed Marion Bartoli.[12]
Kirilenko began her clay-court season at theEstoril Open. Seeded second, she lost in the second round to qualifierKarin Knapp.[13] Seeded 16th at theMadrid Open, Kirilenko was defeated in the second round by Ekaterina Makarova.[14] Seeded 16th in Rome at theItalian Open, she lost in the first round to Flavia Pennetta.[15] Seeded third at theInternationaux de Strasbourg, Kirilenko retired during her first-round match againstSloane Stephens due to a right ankle injury.[16] Seeded 16th at theFrench Open, she was defeated in the second round by Klára Zakopalová.[17]
Kirilenko played only one tournament before Wimbledon which was theRosmalen Open. Seeded fifth, she lost in the first round to Francesca Schiavone.[18] Kirilenko then played at theWimbledon Championships where she was the 17th seed. She had sudden success reaching the round of 16 for the first time with easy wins overAlexandra Cadanțu,Lourdes Domínguez Lino and Sorana Cîrstea. Kirilenko had officially reached the second week of all four majors. She defeated 30th seed Peng Shuai to reach her second Grand Slam quarterfinal and her first at Wimbledon. After almost three hours of play, three rain delays and switching courts, she eventually lost in a very close and tough quarterfinal to third seed and eventual finalist Agnieszka Radwańska.[19]
Playing for Russia at theSummer Olympics, Kirilenko reached the semifinal upsetting sixth seed Petra Kvitová in her quarterfinal match.[20] She lost the semifinal match to eventual silver medalist Maria Sharapova.[21] Despite the loss, she still had a chance to win a medal. In the bronze medal match, she was defeated by Victoria Azarenka to end on fourth place.[22] However, she won a bronze medal in women's doubles with Nadia Petrova by beating the No. 1 ranked team of Liezel Huber/Lisa Raymond.[23]
Kirilenko started her preparation for the US Open at theWestern & Southern Open in Cincinnati. Seeded 12th, she lost in the first round to Venus Williams.[24] She bounced back into form at the Premier levelNew Haven Open at Yale. Seeded seventh, Kirilenko reached her second final of the year where she was defeated by second seed Petra Kvitová.[25] Seeded 14th at theUS Open, Kirilenko suffered a third-round upset at the hands ofAndrea Hlaváčková.[26] In doubles, Kirilenko and Petrova upset the Williams sisters in the third round[27] before losing in the quarterfinal to eighth seeds Nuria Llagostera Vives and María José Martínez Sánchez.
Seeded second at theKorea Open, Kirilenko retired from her first-round match againstLee So-ra due to a back injury.[28] Competing as the 13th seed at theChina Open, Kirilenko lost in the first round to Ekaterina Makarova.[29] Seeded seventh at theKremlin Cup, Kirilenko was defeated in the semifinal by Sofia Arvidsson.[30] Seeded third at theTournament of Champions, she lost her first match to second seed Nadia Petrova, but she won her second one over eighth seedTsvetana Pironkova. She withdrew from her third match against sixth seed Jie Zheng due to an upper respiratory illness.[31] Kirilenko played her final tournament of the season at theWTA Tour Championships. She and Petrova won the doubles title beating Andrea Hlaváčková/Lucie Hradecká in the final.[32]
Kirilenko ended the year ranked 14 in singles and No. 7 in doubles.
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Beginning her season at theSydney International, Kirilenko lost in the second round to third seed Sara Errani.[33] Seeded 14th at theAustralian Open, Kirilenko made it to the fourth round where she lost to third seed Serena Williams.[34]
Seeded second at thePattaya Open, Kirilenko won the tournament defeating fifth seed Sabine Lisicki in the final.[35] During theFed Cup tie versus Japan, Kirilenko played one match and beat Kimiko Date-Krumm. Russia won the tie 3-2 to advance to the semifinal.[36] Seeded 12th at theQatar Ladies Open, Kirilenko retired from her first-round match versus qualifier Ekaterina Bychkova due to a shoulder injury.[37] Seeded 13th at theIndian Wells Open, Kirilenko reached the semifinal after wins over Christina McHale, qualifierMallory Burdette, third seed Agnieszka Radwańska, and fifth seed Petra Kvitová. She was defeated in her semifinal match by second seed and eventual champion Maria Sharapova.[38] Seeded 14th atMiami, Kirilenko lost in the third round to 21st seed Klára Zakopalová.[39] Seeded third in Mexico at theMonterrey Open, Kirilenko made it to the semifinal where she was defeated by top seed and eventual finalist,Angelique Kerber.[40] In theFed Cup semifinal tie versus Slovakia, Kirilenko lost her first match to Daniela Hantuchová but beat Dominika Cibulková in her final match. Russia won 3-2 to advance to the final in November versus Italy.[41]
Kirilenko began her preparation for the French Open at theMadrid Open. Seeded 13th, she was defeated in the third round by top seed, defending champion, and eventual champion Serena Williams.[42] Seeded 12th at theItalian Open, Kirilenko retired during her third-round match against seventh seed Sara Errani due to a left knee injury.[43] Seeded 12th at theFrench Open, Kirilenko defeatedNina Bratchikova,Ashleigh Barty to advance to the third round where she defeated Stefanie Vögele. In the fourth round, she defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands to reach her first quarterfinal at the French Open. She subsequently lost her quarterfinal match to her former doubles partner and third seed Victoria Azarenka.[44] Her run in Paris catapulted her into the top 10 for the first time.[45]
Seeded sixth at theEastbourne International, Kirilenko was suffering from a knee injury, but she still made it through to the quarterfinal where she was defeated by Yanina Wickmayer.[46] Seeded tenth at theWimbledon Championships, Kirilenko suffered a first-round upset at the hands of home crowd favoriteLaura Robson.[47] As a result, Kirilenko dropped to No. 12 in the world rankings due to the fact that she was defending a quarterfinal appearance from 2012.
Kirilenko startedUS Open Series at theRogers Cup seeded 11th, and lost in the second round to Alizé Cornet.[48] Seeded sixteenth at theWestern & Southern Open, Kirilenko was defeated in the second round byMona Barthel.[49] Seeded 14th at theUS Open, Kirilenko lost in the third round to twenty-first seedSimona Halep.[50]
Kirilenko started the Asian swing at theKorea Open. Seeded second, she was defeated in the second round by Kimiko Date-Krumm.[51] In Beijing at theChina Open, Kirilenko lost in the third round to top seed and eventual champion Serena Williams.[52] Seeded third at theKremlin Cup, Kirilenko was defeated in the second round by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.[53] Injury ended her season at theTournament of Champions in Sofia with a 0–5 retirement loss to Alizé Cornet.[54]
Kirilenko ended the year ranked 19.
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Kirilenko was not listed on any entry lists for 2014 tournaments, still recovering from the knee injury suffered in the Tournament of Champions in Sofia.[55] She also missed theAustralian Open due to the injury.[56]
After missing the pair of Premier Mandatory events atIndian Wells andMiami, Kirilenko made her comeback at theFamily Circle Cup in Charleston. Seeded tenth, she was upset in the first round by qualifierBelinda Bencic, who eventually reached her first tour semifinal.[57] At theMadrid Open, Kirilenko defeated qualifier Kristina Mladenovic in the first round to recorded her first victory of the year. She withdrew from her second-round match against qualifierCaroline Garcia due to a left wrist injury.[58] In Rome at theItalian Open, Kirilenko lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round.[59] Kirilenko exited in the first round at theFrench Open, winning three games againstJohanna Larsson.[60] As a result, her ranking plunged 44 places down to 88, after failing to defend quarterfinal points.
Kirilenko played the pre-Wimbledon tournament in the Netherlands at theRosmalen Open but lost to Mona Barthel in the first round.[61] Kirilenko entered theWimbledon Championships ranked 109, her lowest ranking in five years. She caused an upset by defeating 18th seed and the previous year's quarterfinalist, Sloane Stephens, in the first round[62] before she was defeated in the second by Peng Shuai.[63]
After a month-long break, Kirilenko entered theUS Open unseeded and drew fifth seed and 2006 champion Maria Sharapova in the first round. She lost the match in straight sets.[64]
In Seoul at theKorea Open, Kirilenko participated as a wildcard. She reached her first quarterfinal in 15 months by defeatingDonna Vekić and third seed Klára Koukalová in her first two matches. She then defeated sixth seed Kaia Kanepi for a place in the semifinals. Her run came to an end in the hands of second seed and eventual champion,Karolína Plíšková.[65] Kirilenko played her final tournament of the season at theChina Open where she was defeated in the first round by qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova.[66]
Kirilenko ended the year ranked 186.
Between 2015 and 2017, Kirilenko gave birth to two children, and has since not returned to professional tennis. She has not competed professionally since 2014.
In 2006, Kirilenko was selected to be the face ofAdidas tennis gear designed by noted British fashion designerStella McCartney and played exclusively in it for three years.[67] In 2009, she was replaced byCaroline Wozniacki following theUS Open.
She appeared in the 2009Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition alongsideDaniela Hantuchová andTatiana Golovin in a pictorial entitled "Volley of the Dolls".[68]
Kirilenko dated fellow Russian tennis playerIgor Andreev for several years. They split in 2011.[69]
In November 2011, Russian ice hockey playerAlexander Ovechkin of theWashington Capitals identified Kirilenko as his girlfriend on his Twitter account.[70] On 31 December 2012, Ovechkin confirmed rumors that he and Kirilenko were engaged.[71] In July 2014, she called off her planned wedding saying in comments distributed by the Russian Tennis Federation that there were "a lot of reasons" behind her decision. Ovechkin had faced questions from Russian media about the relationship when he did not accompany Kirilenko to Wimbledon in June.[72]
On 24 January 2015, Kirilenko married[73] Alexei Stepanov, reported to be the head of the Committee of Public Services in Moscow.[74]
In July 2015, Kirilenko gave birth to a son. In 2017, she gave birth to a daughter.[75][76]
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | A | 2R | 3R | 3R | 4R | 1R | QF | 2R | 3R | 4R | A | 18–9 |
| French Open | A | A | 2R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 4R | 4R | 2R | QF | 1R | 16–11 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 3R | 3R | QF | 1R | 2R | 11–11 |
| US Open | A | 3R | 2R | 2R | 3R | 3R | 1R | 3R | 3R | 4R | 3R | 3R | 1R | 19–12 |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 3–4 | 6–4 | 5–4 | 4–4 | 3–4 | 11–4 | 9–4 | 9–4 | 9–4 | 1–3 | 64–43 |
| Tournament | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | A | 1R | QF | 3R | 1R | 3R | SF | F | 3R | 2R | A | 19–9 |
| French Open | A | A | A | 2R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 3R | QF | QF | F | A | 1R | 17–9 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | A | 1R | 3R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | A | 6–8 |
| US Open | A | A | A | 3R | 3R | 1R | 1R | QF | 3R | SF | QF | A | A | 15–8 |
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 7–4 | 4–4 | 2–4 | 7–4 | 10–4 | 11–4 | 11–4 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 57–34 |
Russian Cup — Female Tennis Player of the Year | |
|---|---|
| |
Notes:1 = switched from  Kazakhstan;2 = juniors' circuit player awarded before the existence of theJuniors nomination,3 = wheelchair,4 = postponed to 2021 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Russia |
