Ai Sugiyama
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| Country |  Japan |
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| Residence | Yokohama, Japan | |
| Date of birth | July 5, 1975 | |
| Place of birth | Yokohama, Japan | |
| Height | 5ft 4.25in (1.63 m) | |
| Weight | 121 lbs. (55 kg) | |
| Turned Pro | October, 1992 | |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
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| Career Prize Money | $6,296,674 | |
| Singles | ||
| Career record: | 439-350 | |
| Career titles: | 6 WTA, 1 ITF | |
| Highest ranking: | No. 8 (February 9, 2004) | |
| Grand Slam results | ||
| Australian Open | QF (2000) | |
| French Open | 4r (1995, '00, '03) | |
| Wimbledon | QF (2004) | |
| U.S. Open | 4r (2003, '04) | |
| Doubles | ||
| Career record: | 463-246 | |
| Career titles: | 33 (3 ITF titles) | |
| Highest ranking: | No. 1 (October 23, 2000) | |
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Infobox last updated on: February 22, 2007. |
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Ai Sugiyama (Japanese: 杉山愛 Sugiyama Ai, born July 5, 1975, Yokohama, Japan) is a Japanese professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1992. In her career so far, she has won 6 singles titles and 33 doubles titles, including three Grand Slam women's doubles titles (1 with Frenchwoman Julie Halard-Decugis and 2 partnering Belgian Kim Clijsters). Coached by her mother, Ai plays a more aggressive game than her predecessor Kimiko Date, using her fitness and speed, as well as aggressive serve and volley whenever feasible.
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[edit] Career
In 1993, she made her Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon. In 1994, she reached her first WTA Tour singles final. She went on to win the Japan Open doubles at Tokyo, her first tour title. Later that year, she broke into the WTA Top 100. In 1995, she won her first Grand Slam match and reached the 4th round of Roland Garros. In 1996, she reached the 4th round at Wimbledon. She represented Japan at the Atlanta Olympics where she defeated Martina Hingis to reach the 3rd round.
In 1997, she won her first WTA Tour title (Japan Open) defeating Amy Frazier in the final. Later that year, she broke into the WTA Top 20. In 1998, she defeated then world number four Amanda Coetzer at Berlin and world number seven Steffi Graf at San Diego. In 1999, she won the US Open mixed doubles with Mahesh Bhupathi (India), her first Grand Slam title.
On October 23, 2000, she became the first Japanese woman to rank number one in the world in doubles. That year, she won seven doubles titles.
Without doubt, Ai's best tournament was in Scottsdale 2003. She won 8 doubles titles that year: 7 with Kim Clijsters (Sydney, Antwerp, Scottsdale, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, San Diego, Zurich) and 1 with Liezel Huber (Linz). Until then, many tennis fans would have seen her career as history, having sank in singles rankings to 49 in 2001 and barely coming back to the top 25-30 in the next two years. Having scraped off her only victory against Lindsay Davenport in the second round and Serena Williams withdrawing from the event, she saved a matchpoint in semifinals against Alexandra Stevenson before defeating Kim Clijsters in the finals. Ai played both semis and finals of singles and doubles in the same day and emerged with two trophies in her hands at the end of the day.
2003 proved to be her best year ever, having pushed Serena Williams to the limit at Roland Garros and reaching round of 16 in Wimbledon and US Open as well (her 4R defeat to Francesca Schiavone at Flushing Meadows was rather controversial). She also finished the year ranked tenth, having defeated world number one Justine Henin-Hardenne.
While her tennis career may end soon, she is still not sure about her future plans. In collaboration, her autobiography co-authored with her mother Fusako, she states an interest in both coaching and playing doubles. Although inspired by her mother's personality and achievements, she tries to carve her own life independently.
Her father is in the medical field while her younger sister Mai is an amateur golf player. Through her family, she was baptized in a Catholic church in 1999, but does not make her faith as explicit as Michael Chang does. Her mother recounts that Ai grew up without trouble nor much parental guidance and as a result, as enjoyed raising children.
The beginning of 2005 was rough, with four consecutive first-round losses for Ai. She lost in the first rounds of the first three Grand Slams; only at San Diego did she really do well, making it to the final, which she lost 0-6 3-6 to Mary Pierce, having defeated Hantuchova, Karantacheva and Kuznetsova en route. (Hantuchova/Sugiyama also reached the final in doubles, losing to Ruano-Pascual/Martinez) She broke her Grand Slam "curse", reaching the third round, losing to Kim Clijsters, the eventual champion.
In the same year, Ai was better in doubles than she was in singles. Partnering with Elena Dementieva, she reached the final of her first tournament, Sydney, losing to Stewart/Stosur. They reached the Round of 16 at the Australian Open. She attempted a few tournaments with Anastasia Myskina and Elena Likhovtseva, but these partners did not show many results. In Berlin, she finally found her ideal partner, Daniela Hantuchova, reaching the Semifinal (l. to Black/Huber). At the French Open, however, weeks later, they only reached the second round (l. to Birnerova/Vanc). They won their next tournament, however, Birmingham (def. Daniilidou/Russel 6-2 6-3 in the final). At Wimbledon, Hantuchova/Sugiyama reached the Quarterfinal, losing to eventual champions Black/Huber. At the Canadian Open in Toronto, they reached the Semifinal (l. to eventual champions Groenefeld/Navratilova). At the US Open, they reached the third round, losing to Yan/Zheng. Ai went through three different (unsuccessful) partners in the next tournaments, before returning to Daniela in Zurich, where they reached the final (def. #1 seeds Raymond/Stosur en route), losing to Black/Stubbs, 6-7(6) 7-6(4) 6-3, a match in which they definitely had their chances to win. They finished off the year ranked #5, and, thus, did not qualify for the Year-End Championships.
In the same year, Ai only played Mixed Doubles at two events: the French Open & the US Open. At Roland Garros, playing with Max Mirnyi, she lost in the first round. At the US Open, she partnered with Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe. The duo reached the quarterfinals, losing to Hantuchova / Bhupathi of India, eventual champions.
2006 started off on the wrong foot, losing to Lucie Safarova (eventual champion) at the Gold Coast 6-1 6-2. At Sydney, the following week, Ai lost in the first round to Schiavone, a player she has never beaten, 6-1 6-2. In doubles, playing with Hantuchova, she lost in the first round to Groenefeld / Huber (second seeds) 6-1 7-6 (4). At the Australian Open, she lost in the first round of singles 6-4 6-3 to Conchita Martinez Granados. In Doubles, with Hantuchova, reached the third round, losing to (10) Dulko/ Kirilenko 6-1 6-1. In Mixed Doubles, parterning with Wayne Arthurs, reached second round, losing 6-4 7-5 to Perry / Stubbs.
Entering the Doha, Qatar tournament with an 0-5 singles record, she managed to beat wildcard Selima Sfar 6-3 6-3. In the second round, she surprinsingly upset (4) Anastasia Myskina 7-6(2) 6-7(6) 6-4, needing several match points to close the match out (she had a few in the second set tiebreak). In her quarterfinal match against Julia Schruff, she had a comfortable 6-3 6-2 win; missing only four of her first serves in the first set, and winning the match with an ace. She lost in the semifinal, in an epic match against Nadia Petrova, 6-1 7-6 (2). At the beginning of the second set, she had yet to hold serve, and was trailing 0-4, and managed to win five consecutive games to 5-4. Even if she lost, she achieved a lot in Doha! She won the doubles title with Daniela Hantuchova, defeating Zi Yan and Jie Zheng in the semifinal 6-3 3-6 6-3, and Ting Li and Tiantian Sun 6-4 6-4 in the final.
In Indian Wells, Ai had a good run in singles, reaching the fourth round where she bowed down to Justine Henin-Hardenne 6-2 6-1; along the way, she beat Lucie Safarova 6-3 7-5. In Doubles, parterning with [[Sania Mirza|Mirza, she reached the Quarterfinals, beaten by Daniilidou and Medina Garrigues 6-2 6-3. However, they upset Black/Stubbs (2) 6-7(8) 6-2 7-6(8).
In Miami, Ai showed impressive form in singles, reaching the Quarterfinals by defeating Julia Schruff 6-1 6-1, Elena Likhovtseva (15) 3-6 7-5 6-0 and Sofia Arvidsson (32) 6-7(4) 6-3 6-2, but losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-0 7-6(4), after wasting an opportunity to serve for the second set. In doubles, she and Hantuchova beat Myskina/Safina 6-4 6-2, Gullickson/Stewart 6-3 2-6 6-2, but lost to Mauresmo/Kuznetsova 7-6 7-5 in the QF.
Coming back to Fed Cup in April after a disappointing result in 2004, falling 0-2 in matches, Ai returned with fiery vengeance securing two solid wins for Japan. Playing in Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo, Ai first faced Swiss teen Stefanie Vogele. Playing with a bandaged left thigh, and stating not being one hundred percent, Ai struggled to victory by defeating Vogele 62 46 61. The following day, teaming up with compatriot Akiko Morigami, the pair fought to victory with a 62 26 60 win over Timea Bacsinszky]] and Stefania Boffa. Japan faces Austria in the World Group Play-offs in July.
In Berlin, Ai suffered a 6-1 4-6 6-2 loss to Virginie Razzano. In Doubles, seeded second with Hantuchova, they fell in the quarterfinal to Dementieva/Pennetta, the fifth seeds, 0-6 7-5 6-3. In Rome, Ai suffered another first round loss to Medina Garrigues, 6-2 4-6 6-4. However, in doubles, she and Hantuchova won the title, their third as a team and biggest title, beating Li/Sun in the QF 6-4 6-1; Black/Stubbs (2) in the SF 6-4 6-0; Peschke/Schiavone (8) 3-6 6-3 6-1 in the final.
At the French Open, Ai, seeded 22nd, beat Daniilidou 6-7 6-0 6-3 in the first round, but lost to French qualifier Rezai 4-6 6-4 6-3, after having a 6-4 4-2 lead. Rezai started playing better and there was simply nothing Ai could do. She put up a fight and can still be proud about that. Deciding not to enter the Mixed Doubles competition, like her partner, to focus on the Women's Doubles event, Ai and Dani beat Dhenin/Johansson 6-4 6-3, then proceeded to blast Arvidsson/Muller off the court 6-1 6-1; they proceeded to have a third-round scare, trailing 6-1 4-1 to Bartoli/Peer, but started to play more on Bartoli, as Peer was on fire that day, and ended up winning it 1-6 7-6(3) 6-2; in the quarterfinals, they beat second-seeded Black/Stubbs 6-1 7-6(5); in the semifinals, they beat fourth-seeded Yan/Zheng 6-3 3-6 6-3. They lost 6-3 6-2 in the final to first-seeded Raymond/Stosur, after some sort of controversy on their break point at 3-5* in the first set. It was an excellent tournament for the team, proving they are a force to be reckonned with. Things could only get better from here on out!
At Birmingham, Ai lost to Mara Santangelo in two close sets after beating Gajdosova. Daniela's injury prevented them from defending their title. At Eastbourne, Ai beat Srebotnik 7-6(5) 4-6 5-1 ret., as Katarina dislocated her thumb, before falling to Svetlana Kunzetsova 1-6 6-1 6-2. The fact that she challenged the World No. 6 is comforting, as she can still trouble the top dogs.
Wimbledon 2006 saw Sugiyama, the eighteenth seed, produce a shock by defeating former world number 1 and 12th seed, Martina Hingis, 7-5 3-6 6-4 to advance to the fourth round, a match which echoed the start of her career in 1993. It was a huge win for her, trumping the fact that she lost in the first rounds of Doubles & Mixed.
The beginning of the summer brought several bad singles losses, as well as shocking doubles upsets. Hantuyama picked it up in Los Angeles, reaching the final, bowing down to Ruano Pascual/Suarez. In Montréal, she beat Wozniak and Medina Garrigues before going down fighting to Svetlana Kuznetsova. In doubles, parterning Nathalie Dechy, they reached the quarterfinals.
The US Open arrived, and, seeded twenty-eighth, she reached the third round (d. Ondraskova in 1R, Garbin in 2R) where she fell to the second seed Justine Henin-Hardenne 4-6 6-1 6-0. She was down 4-1 in the first set, and won five straight games to seize that set. But alas she could not complete the upset. In doubles, seeded fourth with Daniela Hantuchova, vs. Fedak/Perebiynis.
In Beijing, Ai carried on her good form. She beat qualifier Alicia Molik, who was also her doubles partner in the event, in the first round, 6-2 7-6. She then upset fourth-seeded Nicole Vaidisova 6-4 1-6 6-3 before losing to up-and-coming Chinese star Shuai Peng in another three-set match 6-7 6-3 6-2. Further success continued, as she reached the final of a Tier IV event in Seoul, losing to Eleni Daniilidou of Greece in three sets, 3-6 6-2 6-7.
The beginning of 2007 was better than the last two years. She lost to Yakimova in the second round of the Australian Open (10-8 in the third), who she later had revenge on in Miami. Her and Daniela Hantuchova reached the Quaterfinals of the Grand Slam event, losing to eventual champions Black & Huber. In Tokyo, she reached the quarterfinals, losing to World #1 Maria Sharapova 4-6 6-1 6-0. In Doha, she injured her toe, but was quick back to her feet, reaching the Round of 16 in Indian Wells.
[edit] Grand Slam Titles
[edit] Women's doubles
- 2000 U.S. Open (with Julie Halard-Decugis, def. Black/Likhotseva 6-0 1-6 6-1)
- 2003 Roland Garros (with Kim Clijsters, def. Ruano-Pascual/Suarez 6-7(5) 6-2 9-7)
- 2003 Wimbledon (with Kim Clijsters, def. Ruano-Pascual/Suarez 6-4 6-4)
[edit] Mixed doubles
- 1999 U.S. Open (with Mahesh Bhupathi, def. Johnson/Po 6-4 6-4)
[edit] WTA Tour titles (39)
[edit] Singles wins (6)
| Legend |
| Grand Slam (0) |
| Tour Championships (0) |
| Tier I Event (0) |
| Tier II-V Events (6) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the Final | Score |
| 1. | 20 April 1997 | Tokyo, Japan | Hard |  Amy Frazier |
4-6, 6-4, 6-4 |
| 2. | 11 January 1998 | Gold Coast, Australia | Hard |  Maria Vento-Kabchi |
7-5, 6-0 |
| 3. | 19 April 1998 | Tokyo, Japan | Hard | Corina Morariu |
6-3, 6-3 |
| 4. | 2 March 2003 | Scottsdale, USA | Hard |  Kim Clijsters |
3-6, 7-5, 6-4 |
| 5. | 26 October 2003 | Linz, Austria | Hard |  Nadia Petrova |
7-5, 6-4 |
| 6. | 10 January 2004 | Gold Coast, Australia | Hard | Nadia Petrova |
1-6, 6-1, 6-4 |
[edit] Singles runner-ups (7)
- 1994: Surabaya (lost to Elena Wagner)
- 1995: Oakland (lost to Magdalena Maleeva)
- 1997: Gold Coast (lost to Elena Likhovtseva)
- 1997: Moscow (lost to Jana Novotna)
- 1999: Tokyo (lost to Amy Frazier)
- 2005: San Diego (lost to Mary Pierce)
- 2006: Seoul (lost to Eleni Daniilidou)
[edit] Doubles wins (33)
- 2006: Doha, Rome (w. Hantuchova)
- 2005: Birmingham (w. Hantuchova)
- 2004: Montréal (Canadian Open, w. Asagoe), Bali (w. Myskina)
- 2003: Roland Garros, Wimbledon, Sydney, Antwerp, Scottsdale, San Diego, Zurich (all w. Clijsters), Linz (w. Huber)
- 2002: Memphis (w. Tatarkova)
- 2001: Canberra, Indian Wells (both w. Arendt)
- 2000: US Open, Sydney, Miami, New Haven, Tokyo (Princess Cup), Moscow (all w. Halard-Decugis), Eastbourne (w. Tauziat)
- 1999: Sydney, Strasbourg (both w. Likhovtseva)
- 1998: Gold Coast, Luxembourg, Leipzig, Philadelphia (all w. Likhovtseva)
- 1997: Tokyo (Princess Cup, w. Seles)
- 1996: Tokyo (Japan Open, w. Date)
- 1995: Hobart (w. Nagatsuka)
- 1994: Tokyo (Japan Open, w. Donoshiro)
[edit] Doubles Finalist (25)
- 2006: Roland Garros, Los Angeles (w. Hantuchova)
- 2005: Sydney (w. Dementieva), San Diego, Zurich (w. Hantuchova)
- 2004: Wimbledon (w. Huber), Olympics (lost bronze medal match with Asagoe)
- 2003: Berlin, Indian Wells, Tours Championships (all w. Clijsters), Shanghai (w. Tanasugarn)
- 2002: San Diego, Los Angeles (both w. Hantuchova), Montréal (Canadian Open), Shanghai, Linz (all w. Fujiwara)
- 2001: Wimbledon, Tokyo (both w. Clijsters)
- 2000: Wimbledon, Montréal (Canadian Open), Linz (all w. Halard-Decugis)
- 1999: Paris, Leipzig (both w. Likhovtseva)
- 1997: Starsbourg (w. Likhovtseva)
- 1995: Tokyo (w. Nagatsuka)
- 1994: Surabaya (w. Nagatsuka)
| Women's Tennis Association | Top ten Asian female tennis players as of April 02, 2007 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. Na Li (China) (18) • 2. Ai Sugiyama (Japan) (26) • 3. Shuai Peng (China) (37) • 4. Jie Zheng (China) (41) • 5. Sania Mirza (India) (46) • 6. Akiko Morigami (Japan) (55) • 7. Aiko Nakamura (Japan) (63) • 8. Tamarine Tanasugarn (Thailand) (68) • 9. Varvara Lepchenko (Uzbekistan) (89) • 9. Yung-Jan Chan (Chienese Taipei) (93) • 10. Tiantian Sun (China) (97) | ||
| Possible inclusions: Maria Sharapova¹ (Russia) (2) • Shahar Pe'er² (Israel) (15) • Elena Likhovtseva¹ (Russia) (56) • Anna Smashnova² (Israel) (90) ¹ of Asian origin, represents bi-continental Russia ² Israel is considered part of Europe by the ITF |
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[edit] External links
- Official site
- WTA Tour profile for Ai Sugiyama
