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Anne Viensouk Keothavong (born 16 September 1983) is a retired British tennis player. During her career, she won a total of 28 titles on the ITF Women's Circuit, and reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 48 (achieved on 23 February 2009). She also reached the semifinals of six WTA International tournaments, and the semifinals of one Premier tournament. Anne was British No. 1 and in 2009 became the first British player to make the WTA top 50 since 1993. In April 2001, aged 17, she became, until
Katie Swan Katie Swan (born 24 March 1999) is a British tennis player. Personal life Swan was born in Bristol, to parents Nicki and Richard. Whilst on holiday in Portugal when she was seven, she took tennis lessons. Her teacher had once played for Portug ...
in 2016, the youngest player ever to play in the Fed Cup for the British team, and she is second (alongside
Elena Baltacha Elena Sergeevna Baltacha ( uk, Олена Сергіївна Балтача; 14 August 1983 – 4 May 2014) was a Ukrainian-born British professional tennis player. Being a four-time winner of the AEGON Awards, she was also a long-term ...
) to
Virginia Wade Sarah Virginia Wade (born 10 July 1945) is a British former professional tennis player. She won three Major tennis singles championships and four major doubles championships, and is the only British woman in history to have won titles at all f ...
's record for most Fed Cup ties played for the Great Britain with 39. Keothavong announced her retirement on 24 July 2013. After that, she became a member of
BT Sport BT Sport is a group of pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe and BT Group, they first launched on 1 August 2013. The channels are based at the former International Broad ...
's tennis coverage team, alongside Martina Navratilova and fellow British ex-number one
Sam Smith Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...
. In 2017, Keothavong became Fed Cup captain for Great Britain, leading the team to win all four ties played in the Europe/Africa Zone Group I. She continued as captain for the
2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
and
2019 Fed Cup The 2019 Fed Cup was the 57th edition of the most important tournament between national teams in women's tennis. In one of the biggest shocks in this year's tournament, Romania upset title holders and 11-time winners Czech Republic at Ostrava ...
, winning promotion in April 2019 to World Group II for the first time in 26 years.


Early and personal life

Anne Keothavong was born in Hackney in London, to parents who had fled from their wartorn home country of Laos in the 1970s. Her father, Somsak, encouraged her to play
short tennis Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known ...
from an early age. Her mother's name is Vathana and she has two brothers: James, who is a tennis umpire, and Mark. She also has a sister, Lena. Keothavong married Andrew Bretherton on 28 February 2015. Keothavong attended
Kingsland Secondary School Kingsland Secondary School was a school located on Shacklewell Lane in the London Borough of Hackney, England. It closed in August 2003. The school, originally built as Dalston County School around 1937, was closed in August 2003, demolished and ...
in Hackney. At the age of seven, she took up tennis at
Hackney Downs Hackney Downs is a park and an area of historically common land in the Lower Clapton area of the London Borough of Hackney. The name is sometimes also used to apply to the neighbourhood around the park. Hackney Downs Park The Downs open space ...
and
Highbury Fields Highbury Fields is an open space in Highbury, in the London Borough of Islington. At 11.75 hectares (29 acres), it is the largest open space in the borough. It extends north from Highbury Corner almost as far as Highbury Barn. As well as parkl ...
. Her preferred surface was hardcourt.


Career


Junior (1996–2001)

Keothavong played her first match on the ITF Junior Circuit in February 1996, at age 12, and her last in August 2001. In singles, she won one title at the LTA Junior International Tournament – Bisham Abbey where she beat compatriot
Elena Baltacha Elena Sergeevna Baltacha ( uk, Олена Сергіївна Балтача; 14 August 1983 – 4 May 2014) was a Ukrainian-born British professional tennis player. Being a four-time winner of the AEGON Awards, she was also a long-term ...
in the final. She also reached a total of three semifinals (one of which was at the
2001 Wimbledon Championships The 2001 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London in the United Kingdom, held from 25 June to 9 July 2001. It was the 115th edition of the Wimble ...
where she was beaten by Dinara Safina, the future world number one, who like Anne, went on to reach a higher ranking in seniors than in juniors) and ten quarterfinals. In junior doubles, she won one tournament, the 13th Salik Open, and lost in the final of two others: the LTA International Junior Tournament – Bisham Abbey and the 11th Malaysian International Junior Championships. All three of these were in 1999 and all three were partnering Elena Baltacha.


1998–2001

Keothavong played her first professional match on the ITF Women's Circuit in April 1998, at age 14, when she fell in the first round of qualifying for a $10k tournament in Birmingham. That year she played only two more matches (in the qualifying tournaments for $10k events in Hatfield, Hertfordshire and Felixstowe) and lost both of them. She finished the year without a world ranking. During May 1999, Keothavong played in a total of five ITF tournaments with her best result being in the $10k event in Sunderland where she won three matches to qualify and then reached the second round. In the other four events, she either lost in the first round or qualifying stages. Her final ranking of the year was world No. 702. In
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
, Keothavong played ten ITF events, losing in the qualifying stages in one, round one in three others, the second round four times (once as a
lucky loser A lucky loser is a sports competitor (player or team) who loses a match in a knockout tournament or loses in qualifying, but who then enters the main draw, usually when another competitor withdraws during the tournament because of illness, injury ...
) and the quarterfinal in the $50k tournament in Cardiff. The other tournament she entered was the qualifying event for Wimbledon in which she participated courtesy of a wildcard. She beat Eva Martincová in round one of qualifying before losing to Yuka Yoshida. She improved her ranking to world No. 377.
2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...
started well for Keothavong; in her first tournament of the year she won the title by beating compatriot
Emily Webley-Smith Emily Webley-Smith (born 14 July 1984) is a British professional tennis player. She has a career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 240, achieved on 7 November 2011. She also has a best WTA doubles ranking of No. 113, set on 2 November 2015. Web ...
in the quarterfinals and Elodie Le Bescond in the final. She then reached the quarterfinals of her next tournament, the $10k event in Tipton. In February, she reached the semifinals in Sutton, London ($25k) as a qualifier. She played in the Fed Cup for the first time in April and lost all three of her singles rubbers in straight sets. In June, she was given wildcards into the qualifying draws for the Birmingham Classic (where she was beaten in the first round of qualifying) and the
Eastbourne International The Eastbourne International is a tennis tournament on the WTA Tour and the ATP Tour held at the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club, Eastbourne, United Kingdom. Held since 1974, it is classified as a WTA 500 series on the WTA Tour and an ATP Tour ...
(where she reached the second round of qualifying) and the main draw of Wimbledon. She faced
Janet Lee Janet Lee (, born October 22, 1976) is a Taiwanese-American retired tennis player. She won three doubles titles during her professional career on the WTA Tour. She competed in all four Grand Slam tournaments in both singles and doubles. Her ...
in round one and lost. In September and October, she reached three ITF quarterfinals (one $50k, one $25k and one $10k) and one semifinal ($25k). Her world ranking at the end of 2001 was No. 268.


2002

She started slowly the new season; she played in 13 ITF tournaments and did not pass the second round in any. In June, she was given a wildcard into the qualifying draw of Birmingham where she lost in round one. She also attempted to qualify for the Eastbourne International and was again beaten in the first round. She next competed in the main draw of Wimbledon where in the first round, she lost to
Virginie Razzano Virginie Razzano (born 12 May 1983) is a former French professional tennis player. She won two WTA Tour singles titles, both of them in 2007. Razzano reached her career-high WTA singles ranking of world No. 16 on 14 September 2009. She represe ...
. Immediately after Wimbledon she headed to Felixstowe to participate in a $25k tournament where she reached the quarterfinals. In August and September, she reached four consecutive ITF finals, winning three. She won the first in Bath beating Hannah Collin in the final. She was victorious in London when she defeated Yvonne Doyle but lost in the third final in Glasgow to
Selima Sfar Selima Sfar ( ar, سليمة صفر ; born 8 July 1977) is a retired Tunisian tennis player. She turned professional in 1999 and has been ranked as high as 75th in the world (16 July 2001). Sfar is the second highest ranked female Tunisian and A ...
. In Sunderland, her fourth consecutive final of August and September, she won by again beating Hannah Collin. She competed in three more $25k tournaments that year and reached the semifinals in two of them. Her final ranking of 2002 was world No. 233.


2003

The first tournament of
2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...
for her was the qualifying event for the
Hobart International The Hobart International is a women's professional tennis tournament held at the Hobart International Tennis Centre in Hobart, Australia. Held since 1994, it forms a part of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour and is classed as an Intern ...
where she lost to Tiffany Dabek in the first round. Keothavong then headed to the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. ...
in order to attempt to qualify and she again lost in the first round to
Sandra Klösel Sandra Klösel (born 22 June 1979) is a former tennis player from Germany. Kösel turned professional in July 1995, and won nine singles and six doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. In March 2007, she reached her career-high singles ranking of ...
. After this she headed to the ITF Circuit and won the $25k event in Belfort by defeating
Nathalie Viérin Nathalie Viérin (born 15 October 1982) is a retired Italian professional tennis player. Her career high WTA singles ranking is No. 103, which she reached on May 15, 2006. Her career high doubles ranking is No. 304, set 24 September 2007. She ha ...
in the final. Two weeks later she reached the quarterfinals of a $25k in Redbridge, London and the week after that lost in the final of yet another $25k event in Ostrava. In March, she reached the quarterfinals of Redding, California ($25k) and in April she headed to Portugal to represent Great Britain in the Fed Cup. She won two of her four singles rubbers. May saw Keothavong reach the second round of qualifying for the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
. In her next tournament (Surbiton $25k), she reached the semifinals but had to withdraw before the match. Keothavong did not compete again until mid-June when she was given a wildcard into the main draw of the Hastings Direct International where she was defeated by Japanese veteran,
Ai Sugiyama is a Japanese former tennis player. She reached the world No. 1 ranking in women's doubles on the WTA Tour and had a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8, achieved on February 9, 2004. In her career, she won six singles and 38 doubles t ...
. A second consecutive wildcard gave her entry into the main draw of Wimbledon where she had to withdraw during her first-round match against
Katarina Srebotnik Katarina Srebotnik (born 12 March 1981) is a Slovenian retired professional tennis player. She reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 20 on 7 August 2006. On 4 July 2011, she reached No. 1 of the WTA doubles rankings, holding this ...
with the score at 2–6, 0–4. After Wimbledon, she reached the final round of qualifying for the US Open and lost to
Maureen Drake Maureen Elizabeth Drake (born March 21, 1971) is a Canadian former professional tennis player. Her career-high WTA singles ranking is No. 47, which she reached on September 13, 1999. Her career-high doubles ranking is No. 77, set on October 30, ...
but had no more notable results that year. She finished the year with a singles ranking of world No. 177.


2004

The season began well for Keothavong as she started off by qualifying for the Tier-V Hobart International, beating
Kaia Kanepi Kaia Kanepi (; born 10 June 1985) is an Estonian professional tennis player. She achieved her career-high ranking of world No. 15 on 20 August 2012 and has won four singles titles on the WTA Tour. Described as a 'resident Grand Slam upset spec ...
along the way. In the first round she faced world No. 69,
Rita Grande Rita Grande (born 23 March 1975) is a former tennis player from Italy. During her career, Grande won three singles titles and five doubles titles on the WTA Tour. She also won one singles title and three doubles titles on the ITF Women's Cir ...
, but was beaten. This was followed by an attempt to qualify for the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. ...
. She was beaten in the first round of qualifying by Stephanie Gehrlein. In February, she reached the quarterfinals of ITF events in Sunderland ($25k) and Saint Paul ($50k), beaten by Lisa Stanciute and
Jill Craybas Jill N. Craybas (born July 4, 1974) is an American former professional tennis player. From the 2000 US Open to the 2011 US Open, Craybas competed in 45 consecutive Grand Slam main draws; her best result coming in the 2005 Wimbledon Championship ...
respectively. The next month she won the sixth ITF title of her career by beating
Mashona Washington Mashona Washington (born May 31, 1976) is a retired tennis player from the United States. Her career-high singles ranking is No. 50, achieved on November 8, 2004. On July 18, 2005, she peaked at No. 55 in the doubles rankings. Washington retired ...
in the final of the $25k event in Redding. In late April and early May, she represented Britain in the Fed Cup and won all three of her singles rubbers, but lost her one and only doubles match with partner, Elena Baltacha, before going on to lose in the first round of qualifying for the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
to Květa Peschke. In the run up to Wimbledon, Keothavong was given a wildcard into the main draw of the Birmingham Classic where in the first round she faced world No. 60,
Marta Marrero Marta Marrero (born 16 January 1983), a Spanish former professional tennis player, is a professional padel player. In tennis, she reached the quarterfinals of the French Open, won two WTA doubles titles, and also a total of 14 ITF singles an ...
, who she managed to beat in three sets. Keothavong came up against world No. 56,
María Sánchez Lorenzo María Antonia Sánchez Lorenzo (born 7 November 1977) is a retired tennis player from Spain. Her highest WTA ranking has been world No. 33, a position she achieved in April 2004. She played two-handed on both sides, and her favourite sur ...
(the 16th seed) in the second round and lost in three sets. She headed to the main draw of the Eastbourne International, a Tier-II event, and faced No. 8 seed,
Magdalena Maleeva Magdalena Georgieva Maleeva ( bg, Магдалена Георгиева Малеева, ; born 1 April 1975) is a Bulgarian former professional tennis player. She played on the WTA Tour competing in singles and doubles, from April 1989 to Oct ...
, and was again beaten in three sets. A wildcard granted Keothavong entry to the main draw of Wimbledon for the fourth consecutive year where she won her first-round match, beating Nicole Pratt, the world No. 41, in a performance assisted by a rain delay when Keothavong was 3–1 down in the first set. The eventual champion, Maria Sharapova, beat her in the second round. After Wimbledon, Keothavong played in two $50k events in the United States reaching the second round in one and the quarterfinals in the second, in Lexington, Kentucky where she had to withdraw due to sustaining serious ligament damage with the score at 5–7, 3–5. She did not play again that year and finished with a ranking of world No. 175.


2005

Keothavong recovered well from her injury and returned to action ahead of schedule in March at the $10k tournament in Sunderland where she suffered a three-set first-round defeat by
Verdiana Verardi Verdiana Verardi (born 16 December 1987) is an Italian former professional tennis player. Verardi has career-high WTA rankings The WTA rankings are the ratings defined by the Women's Tennis Association, introduced in November 1975. Iga Świ ...
. She then immediately reached three successive $10k finals; the first in Bolton and the second two in Bath. She won the first two by beating Veronika Chvojková and Claire Peterzan, respectively, and lost the third to compatriot,
Melanie South Melanie Jayne South (born 3 May 1986) is a former English tennis player. She won six singles and 24 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 2 February 2009, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 99. On 9 March 2009, she peaked at No. ...
. The first of the two tournaments in Bath was also the only time Keothavong competed with her sister Lena in doubles on the ITF Circuit. They reached the quarterfinals together. In late April, Keothavong competed in the Fed Cup and helped Britain avoid relegation from the Africa/Europe Zone Group I by beating
Caroline Wozniacki Caroline Wozniacki (; born 11 July 1990) is a Danish former professional tennis player. She was ranked world No. 1 in singles for a total of 71 weeks, including at the end of 2010 and 2011. She achieved the top ranking for the first time on 11 ...
to help Britain beat Denmark. This meant that although they lost ties against Serbia and Montenegro and Slovenia, they avoided a place in the relegation play-offs for another year. In May, she reached the semifinals of a $25k event in Monzón where she lost to
Angelique Kerber Angelique Kerber (; born 18 January 1988) is a German professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 1, for a total of 34 weeks, and won three major titles at the 2016 Australian Open, the 2016 US Open, and the 2018 Wi ...
. She was then given a wildcard into the main draw of the Birmingham Classic where she lost to
Laura Granville Laura Granville (born May 12, 1981) is a former American professional tennis player. During the two years she spent at Stanford University, she set the record for most consecutive singles victories with 58 and finished with an overall record of ...
in the first round. This was followed by a wildcard into the Eastbourne qualifying tournament where
Arantxa Parra Santonja Arantxa Parra Santonja (; born 9 November 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. She turned pro in 2000 and retired in 2019. In her career, Parra Santonja won eleven doubles titles on the WTA Tour The WTA Tour is a worldwid ...
defeated her in the first round. After this, another wildcard allowed Keothavong entry into the main draw of the Wimbledon Championships where she faced Mariana Díaz Oliva in the first round and lost in straight sets. After Wimbledon, Keothavong competed on the ITF Circuit for the rest of the year (except when she reached the second round of the Tier-III event, the
Bell Challenge A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...
, where she lost to Sofia Arvidsson) and won two more titles. The first was in Nottingham, a $10k event, where she beat
Karen Paterson Karen Paterson (born 18 May 1982) is a Scottish retired tennis player. She is now known as Karen Lamb. Between the years 1998 and 2007 she won a total of seven titles on the ITF Women's Circuit, reaching a career-high ranking of world No. 36 ...
in a three-set final and the second was a $25k tournament in Lagos where she defeated
Maša Zec Peškirič Maša Zec Peškirič (born 21 January 1987) is a Slovenian former tennis player. In her career, she won 14 singles titles and ten doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 15 June 2009, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 93. ...
to win the title. She also reached one more $25k final this year, also in Lagos, where she lost to
Petra Cetkovská Petra Cetkovská (; born 8 February 1985) is a retired Czech tennis player. Having turned professional in 2000, she reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 25, on 18 June 2012. Over her career, Cetkovská defeated top-ten players Mari ...
in three sets. Her year-end ranking for 2005 was world No. 239.


2006

Keothavong started her
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 FIFA ...
season by losing in the first round of qualifying for the Brisbane International (Tier III), the final round of qualifying for the Hobart International and the second round of qualifying for the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. ...
. In February, she returned to Britain and reached the final of the ITF tournament in Jersey where she beat
Ana Vrljić Ana Vrljić (; born 1 August 1984) is an inactive professional Croatia tennis player. Vrljić has won four singles and eleven doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 24 June 2013, she reached her highest singles ranking of world No. 180. ...
to win the title. She then entered the $25k tournament in Sunderland where she beat four compatriots; Melanie South,
Rebecca Llewellyn Rebecca Llewellyn (born 5 October 1985) is a retired tennis player from Wales. In her career, she won one title in singles and seven in doubles on the ITF Women's Circuit. She reached career-high rankings of world No. 280 in singles and No. ...
, Sarah Coles and
Katie O'Brien Katie Jill O'Brien (born 2 May 1986) is a British former professional tennis player from Beverley, Yorkshire. She was briefly the British No. 1 tennis player, and reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 84 on 1 February 2010. She w ...
in straight sets to reach the final where she was beaten by Elise Tamaëla. Later in February, Keothavong reached the quarterfinals of an ITF tournament in Orange, California ($25k) and one month later, in March, she reached another ITF final, again $25k. In April, she reached the semifinals of the $25k event in Patras and competed for Great Britain in the Fed Cup where she won one of her three singles rubbers. She qualified for the Internationaux de Strasbourg, a Tier-III tournament, where she lost to
Anna Smashnova Anna Smashnova ( he, אנה סמשנובה, russian: Анна Смашнова; born July 16, 1976) is a Soviet-born Israeli former tennis player. She retired from professional tour after Wimbledon 2007. Smashnova reached her career-high single ...
in the first round. Keothavong competed in four tournaments in June: a $25k event in Surbiton, Birmingham, Eastbourne and Wimbledon. She was beaten by Laura Granville in the semifinals,
Eleni Daniilidou Eleni Daniilidou ( el, Ελένη Δανιηλίδου; ; born 19 September 1982) is a Greek former tennis player from the island of Crete. She is considered one of the best Greek tennis players of the Open Era, winning five singles titles and t ...
in round one,
Vera Dushevina Vera Yevgenyevna Dushevina ( rus, Вера Евгеньевна Душевина; born 6 October 1986) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She won one singles title and two doubles titles on the WTA Tour. As a junior, she won th ...
in the first round and Karolina Šprem in the first round respectively. During her American hardcourt season, she reached the quarterfinals of a $50k tournament in Lexington where she fell to
Camille Pin Camille Pin (born 25 August 1981) is a French former professional tennis player. Her 2006 season was rather successful, for a player ranked lower than the top 100 in the WTA Tour. After a second-round loss to Serena Williams in the Australian Op ...
of France. In August, Keothavong lost in the first round of qualifying for the US Open and followed this up with three consecutive first-round losses in WTA events. She then returned to the ITF Circuit playing $25k tournaments and won one more title, in Přerov. She also reached two semifinals (Glasgow and Opole) and a quarterfinal in Jersey. She ended the season with her world ranking at No. 168.


2007

The new season began in the same way as the 2006 for Keothavong; she again started her year by falling in qualifying for the WTA events in the Moorilla Hobart International and the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. ...
. In February she reached two consecutive ITF semifinals in Tipton ($25k) and St. Paul ($50k) before going on to lose in qualifying for the
Cellular South Cup Cellular may refer to: *Cellular automaton, a model in discrete mathematics *Cell biology, the evaluation of cells work and more * ''Cellular'' (film), a 2004 movie *Cellular frequencies, assigned to networks operating in cellular RF bands *Cellu ...
and in qualifying for Indian Wells in March. Keothavong again represented her country in the Fed Cup in April and won one of her three singles matches. In May, she reached the semifinals of an $25k in Antalya and lost in the second round of the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
qualifying tournament to
María Emilia Salerni María Emilia Salerni (born 14 May 1983), known as "Pitu Salerni", is a former professional tennis player from Argentina. On 25 February 2008, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 65. On 23 September 2002, she peaked at No. 45 in t ...
. As in 2006, June saw Keothavong lose in the first round of
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, the Eastbourne International and Wimbledon after she was given a wildcard into each of these events. Elena Baltacha was her conqueror in the Hastings Direct whereas
Jelena Janković Jelena Janković ( sr-Cyrl, Јелена Јанковић, ; born 28 February 1985) is a Serbian former tennis player. A former world No. 1, Janković reached the top ranking before her career-best major performance, a runner-up finish at the ...
was the victor over Keothavong in Wimbledon. After Wimbledon, Keothavong reached two consecutive finals of $50k events in Lexington and Vancouver, facing
Stéphanie Dubois Stéphanie Dubois (born October 31, 1986) is a former tennis player from Canada. She turned professional in 2004 and achieved a career-best ranking of world No. 87 in January 2012. Dubois was awarded Female Player of the Year by Tennis Canada tw ...
in the finals of both and winning once. Following this she lost in qualifying for the
Rogers Cup The Canadian Open (french: Tournoi de tennis du Canada), also known as the Canada Masters, and currently branded as the National Bank Open presented by Rogers for sponsorship reasons, is an annual tennis tournament held in Ontario and Quebec. T ...
, the US Open and
Bali Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and N ...
before going on to reach her first ever WTA Tour semifinal in the
Sunfeast Open The Sunfeast Open was an annual WTA Tour tennis tournament that was started in Kolkata in 2005. The event was a Tier III-tournament with a prize money of USD 175,000 and was played on indoors greenset. The fourth edition of the  WTA Sunfe ...
, a Tier-III tournament held in Kolkata. She did this by defeating
Sara Errani Sara Errani (; born 29 April 1987) is an Italian professional tennis player. She is a former top five player in singles and former world No. 1 in doubles. With 9 singles titles and 27 doubles titles (including 5 Grand Slam doubles championship ...
in the first round,
Sunitha Rao Sunitha Rao (born October 27, 1985) is an American former professional tennis player, who represented India in international tournaments. She won eight doubles titles on the ITF Circuit in her career. On July 7, 2008, she reached her best singl ...
in round two and Tzipi Obziler in the quarterfinals. She lost to
Mariya Koryttseva Mariya Serhiyivna Koryttseva ( uk, Марія Сергіївна Коритцева; born 25 May 1985) is a Ukrainian former tennis player. On 18 August 2008, she achieved her career-high singles ranking of world No. 50. On 23 June 2008, she ...
in the semifinals. In October, she reached the quarterfinals of the $25k tournament in Rockhampton, Queensland and her year-ending singles ranking was world No. 122.


2008

Keothavong's
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
campaign began when Keothavong failed to qualify for the Tier-II tournament, the Sydney International. She then attempted to qualify for the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. ...
and won her first match against
Jorgelina Cravero Jorgelina Cravero (born 23 January 1982) is a retired Argentine tennis player. She has career-high WTA rankings of 106 in singles (achieved on 10 September 2007) and 114 in doubles (set on 17 November 2008). Cravero has not won a title on the WT ...
before losing her second to
Monica Niculescu Monica Niculescu (born 25 September 1987) is a Romanian professional tennis player. She has been ranked by the Women's Tennis Association as high as 28 in singles and 11 in doubles. Niculescu has won several titles: three singles and ten doubl ...
. February saw her join compatriots, Melanie South, Katie O'Brien and Elena Baltacha, to represent Britain in the Fed Cup. Despite Keothavong winning each of her three singles matches in the round-robin stage, Britain was forced to fight relegation from the Europe/Africa Group I by playing Portugal. They won 2–0 thanks to yet another victory in singles from Keothavong and a singles victory from O'Brien. For the remainder of February, Keothavong competed on the ITF Circuit and reached the quarterfinals of a $25k event in Stockholm and won a $25k title in Capriolo. In early April, she lost in the final of a $50k tournament; this one in Patras where
Magdaléna Rybáriková Magdaléna Rybáriková (; born 4 October 1988) is a retired Slovak tennis player. In her career, she won four singles titles and one doubles title on the WTA Tour. Rybáriková reached the semifinals of the 2017 Wimbledon Championships and brok ...
defeated her in straight sets. Continuing competition on the ITF Circuit, she won a $50k tournament in Jounieh, Lebanon (despite break outs of fighting between Shia and Hezbollah militia less than ten miles away in Beirut). This tournament win propelled Keothavong into the top 100 for the first time in her career and guaranteed her a place in the main draw of Wimbledon for the first time in her career; the first time a British woman had entered Wimbledon on merit since 1999. She then fell in the first round of qualifying for the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
before reaching another $50k final (in Surbiton). In the run up to Wimbledon, Keothavong lost in the first round of the Birmingham Classic to
Kateryna Bondarenko Kateryna Volodymyrivna Volodko (née Bondarenko; uk, Катерина Володимирівна Бондаренко; born 8 August 1986) is a tennis player from Ukraine. She was the doubles champion in 2008 at the Australian Open, partnering ...
and in the first round of the Rosmalen Open to Sara Errani. In her first-round match in Wimbledon, she faced American, Vania King, and lost the first set. She regrouped during a toilet break at the end of the first set and came back to win the match in three sets despite being 2–0 down in the deciding set. She then lost to the eventual champion, Venus Williams, in the second round. After Wimbledon, Keothavong made a successful start to her American hardcourt season by winning three matches to qualify for the Tier II event in Stanford. She then defeated
Sania Mirza Sania Mirza (; born 15 November 1986) is an Indian professional tennis player. A former doubles world No. 1, she has won six major titles – three in women's doubles and three in mixed doubles. From 2003 until her retirement from singles ...
in the first round before giving
Marion Bartoli Marion Bartoli (; born 2 October 1984) is a French former professional tennis player. Bartoli won the 2013 Wimbledon Championships singles title after previously being runner-up in 2007, and was a semifinalist at the 2011 French Open. She also ...
a tough time in round two in a match which she eventually lost in three tight sets. In August she entered the US Open for the first time in her career and faced Alexa Glatch in round one. She won the match and then went on to beat Francesca Schiavone in the second round in three sets. However No. 5 seed, Elena Dementieva, proved too much for Keothavong in the third round; Keothavong lost. After the US Open, Keothavong won two more ITF events:
Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, but ...
($50k) and Kraków ($100k) and as a result, her year-end ranking was world No. 61.


2009

Keothavong began her 2009 season by launching her official website before heading to
Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about It ...
where she reached the semifinals. En route, she defeated
Mirjana Lučić Mirjana (; ) is a Slavic feminine given name meaning ′''mir''′ ("peace, world, prestige, area, space"). The name is widespread throughout Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia. Mirjana is possibly a form of Miriam ...
, No. 8 seed
Carla Suárez Navarro Carla Suárez Navarro (; born 3 September 1988, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. A former top 10 singles player, she reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 6 on 29 February 2016, and a be ...
and
Ayumi Morita is a Japanese tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of number 40 in the world in October 2011. At junior level, she reached a combined career-high ranking of world No. 3. Morita is known for strong and consistent two-handed grounds ...
before falling in a three-hour, three set battle to
Elena Vesnina Elena Sergeyevna Vesnina (born 1 August 1986) is a Russian former professional tennis player and a former world No. 1 in doubles. She is a four-time Grand Slam champion, having won the 2013 French Open, 2014 US Open, and 2017 Wimbledon Cha ...
. This was only the second time in her career that she reached the semifinals of a WTA Tour event. Keothavong then competed in the
Hobart International The Hobart International is a women's professional tennis tournament held at the Hobart International Tennis Centre in Hobart, Australia. Held since 1994, it forms a part of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour and is classed as an Intern ...
where she faced a tough draw in round one against world No. 25,
Ágnes Szávay Ágnes Szávay ( hu, Szávay Ágnes, ; born 29 December 1988) is a former professional tennis player from Hungary. The 2007 WTA Newcomer of the Year achieved her career-high ranking of world No. 13 in April 2008. Personal life Szávay was bor ...
. Nevertheless, Keothavong came through without too much difficulty, beating Szávay in two sets. She lost to
Virginie Razzano Virginie Razzano (born 12 May 1983) is a former French professional tennis player. She won two WTA Tour singles titles, both of them in 2007. Razzano reached her career-high WTA singles ranking of world No. 16 on 14 September 2009. She represe ...
in the second round. Keothavong then headed to the main draw of the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. ...
for the first time in her career where she came up against
Anna Chakvetadze Anna Djambuliovna Chakvetadze ( ; born 5 March 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player. In her career, Chakvetadze won eight WTA Tour singles titles, the biggest being the 2006 Kremlin Cup. She booked her highest singles ranking o ...
, who was the 17th seed. She lost in a controversial match where a mistake by the umpire allowed Chakvetadze to serve first in the final set, an advantage which should have gone to Keothavong. Keothavong was the fourth seed in her next tournament, the
Cellular South Cup Cellular may refer to: *Cellular automaton, a model in discrete mathematics *Cell biology, the evaluation of cells work and more * ''Cellular'' (film), a 2004 movie *Cellular frequencies, assigned to networks operating in cellular RF bands *Cellu ...
, and she followed up on this seeding by reaching the semifinals of a WTA event for the second time in 2009. She defeated
Maria Elena Camerin Maria Elena Camerin (born 21 March 1982) is a former professional tennis player from Italy. In her career, Camerin won three doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as ten singles and nine doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 11 October 2004 ...
,
Michelle Larcher de Brito Michelle Larcher de Brito (born 29 January 1993) is a Portuguese former professional tennis player. She is the former Portuguese No. 1. Larcher de Brito won four singles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit in her career. On 6 July 2009, she rea ...
and No. 5 seed
Marina Erakovic Marina Erakovic ( ; hr, Marina Eraković ; born 6 March 1988) is a retired tennis player from New Zealand. She achieved career-high rankings of 39 in singles and 25 in doubles, and won one singles title, at Memphis in February 2013, and eigh ...
on the way to being demolished by top seed Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals. Despite this crushing defeat, a semifinal run was enough to help Keothavong make the hop from world No. 52 to world No. 48, her debut in the top 50. Keothavong then endured three consecutive first round defeats in the
Indian Wells Open The Indian Wells Masters, also known as the Indian Wells Open and BNP Paribas Open is an annual tennis tournament usually held in early- and mid-March at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, United States. The owner is La ...
, the Miami Open (both Premier Mandatory tournaments) and a $100k ITF tournament in Tourhout, Belgium, where she was forced to retire due to a viral illness. Following this, Keothavong began her
clay court A clay court is one of the types of tennis court on which the sport of tennis, originally known as "lawn tennis", is played. Clay courts are made of crushed stone, brick, shale, or other unbound mineral aggregate depending on the tournament. ...
season by defeating
Maret Ani Maret Ani (born 31 January 1982) is a retired tennis player from Estonia. At the start of 2006, she was the top-ranked player in Estonia, before losing that spot to Kaia Kanepi Kaia Kanepi (; born 10 June 1985) is an Estonian professional t ...
to reach the second round of the Grand Prix in Fes, Morocco where she was defeated by
Lourdes Domínguez Lino Lourdes Domínguez Lino (; born 31 March 1981) is a retired tennis player from Spain. She reached career-high rankings of world No. 40 in singles and 45 in doubles. Tennis career In the 1999 Roland Garros, she won the junior girls' singles, de ...
. This was followed by another first-round defeat in a Premier event in the Italian Open, this one at the hands of Carla Suárez Navarro. In the Madrid Open, she beat Mariana Duque Marino in round one before losing to
Lucie Šafářová Lucie Šafářová (; born 4 February 1987) is a Czech former professional tennis player who was ranked world No. 1 in doubles, and No. 5 in singles. She is a five-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having won the 2015 Australian Open, 2015 ...
in the second round. In her very next tournament, she reached the fourth WTA Tour semifinal of her career and her third in 2009 in the
Warsaw Open The Warsaw Open, formerly the J&S Cup, was a women's tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held in Warsaw, Poland. Held since 1995, the tournament was played on outdoor clay courts. The event returned for two years to the WTA Tour in 2009 after a y ...
. She faced No. 7 seed,
Bethanie Mattek-Sands Bethanie Mattek-Sands ( Bethanie Lynn Mattek; born March 23, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. She has won nine Grand Slam titles (five in women's doubles and four in mixed doubles), and an Olympic gold medal, and is a former ...
, in round one, American veteran
Jill Craybas Jill N. Craybas (born July 4, 1974) is an American former professional tennis player. From the 2000 US Open to the 2011 US Open, Craybas competed in 45 consecutive Grand Slam main draws; her best result coming in the 2005 Wimbledon Championship ...
in the second round, qualifier
Ioana Raluca Olaru Ioana Raluca Olaru (born 3 March 1989) is a professional tennis player from Romania. The winner of 11 singles and 15 doubles ITF titles, Olaru reached one WTA singles final, at the 2009 Gastein Ladies,WTA TourPetkovic, Olaru Into Final(25 Ju ...
in the quarterfinals and was beaten by eighth seed
Alona Bondarenko Alona Volodymyrivna Bondarenko Dyachok ( uk, Альона Володимирівна Бондаренко; born 13 August 1984) is a Ukrainian former tennis player. Her younger sister Kateryna Bondarenko plays on the WTA Tour. Her career-high s ...
. Nevertheless, in reaching the semifinals she became the first British woman to reach the semifinals of a WTA clay-court event since
Jo Durie Joanna Mary Durie (born 27 July 1960) is a former world No. 5 tennis player from the United Kingdom. During her career, she also reached No. 9 in doubles, and won two Grand Slam titles, both in the mixed doubles with Jeremy Bates. Born in Bri ...
reached the semifinals of the
1983 French Open The 1983 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament ran from 23 May until 5 June. It was the 87th staging of the French Open, and the first Grand Slam ...
, 26 years before. She then came up against reigning world No. 1, Dinara Safina, in the first round of the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
and endured the dreaded "double bagel" when she was defeated, 0–6, 0–6. Keothavong began her grass court season on home turf with a victory over Sofia Arvidsson in the first round of the Birmingham Classic before losing to eventual semifinalist,
Sania Mirza Sania Mirza (; born 15 November 1986) is an Indian professional tennis player. A former doubles world No. 1, she has won six major titles – three in women's doubles and three in mixed doubles. From 2003 until her retirement from singles ...
, in round two. She was then defeated in the first round of the
Eastbourne International The Eastbourne International is a tennis tournament on the WTA Tour and the ATP Tour held at the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club, Eastbourne, United Kingdom. Held since 1974, it is classified as a WTA 500 series on the WTA Tour and an ATP Tour ...
by world No. 28,
Sybille Bammer Sybille Bammer (born 27 April 1980) is a former professional tennis player from Austria. Her career-high ranking is No. 19, which she achieved on 17 December 2007. She was one of three mothers on the WTA Tour, having taken time off at age 21 to ...
, but saw off a mugger in central London who tried to snatch her handbag before heading to Wimbledon, where she experienced a first-round loss to world No. 80,
Patricia Mayr Patricia Mayr-Achleitner (née Mayr; born 8 November 1986 in Rum) is a retired Austrian tennis player. Mayr-Achleitner won 17 singles and seven doubles titles on the ITF Circuit in her career. On 4 May 2009, she reached her best singles ranking ...
. After this, Keothavong played the Stanford Classic in California where she lost in the opening round of the singles to
Elena Dementieva Elena Viacheslavovna Dementieva (, ; born 15 October 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She won the singles gold medal at the Tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2008 Olympics in Beijing, having previously won the silver meda ...
. Keothavong also played in the doubles with
Ayumi Morita is a Japanese tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of number 40 in the world in October 2011. At junior level, she reached a combined career-high ranking of world No. 3. Morita is known for strong and consistent two-handed grounds ...
against
Julie Coin Julie Coin (; born 2 December 1982) is a retired French tennis player. Coin recorded the biggest win of her career by defeating the then- world No. 1 ranked Ana Ivanovic at the 2008 US Open. Her career-high singles ranking is world No. 60, ...
and
Marie-Ève Pelletier Marie-Ève Pelletier (; born May 18, 1982) is a Canadian former professional tennis player. She reached career-high rankings by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) of 106 in singles on June 20, 2005 and 54 in doubles on April 12, 2010. Tennis c ...
, trailing 4–6, 5–3 when she attempted to run down a drop shot and, in trying to avoid a collision with the net post, suffered a serious knee injury, rupturing her left
anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. ...
and
meniscus Meniscus may refer to: *Meniscus (anatomy), crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that partly divides a joint cavity *Meniscus (liquid), a curve in the upper surface of liquid contained in an object *Meniscus (optics) A lens is a tr ...
, a similar injury to the one she suffered in 2004 in her right knee. This injury ended Keothavong's year and as a result, her year-end ranking dropped to world No. 84.


2010

After six months out of action due to her knee injury, Keothavong returned to competitive action in February
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull, Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A ...
at the Fed Cup. She faced Patricia Mayr of
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous c ...
in her first match back and was beaten in straight sets. She partnered
Sarah Borwell Sarah Leah Borwell (born 20 August 1979) is an English former professional tennis player who enjoyed her greatest success in doubles. She was the British number one in doubles. Her career-high doubles ranking is 65, set on 9 August 2010 an ...
to take on Mayr and
Yvonne Meusburger Yvonne Meusburger Garamszegi (née Meusburger, born 3 October 1983) is an Austrian retired tennis player. Meusburger won one singles title on the WTA Tour, as well as fifteen singles and nine doubles titles on the ITF Circuit in her career. O ...
in the doubles, and again lost in straight sets. However Keothavong did manage to claim victory in her other two singles ties against players from Belarus and the Netherlands. Keothavong then returned to the tour at the
Dow Corning Tennis Classic The Dow Tennis Classic or Dow Corning Tennis Classic (DCTC) is a WTA 125 level tennis tournament. It is played in October–November each year in Midland, Michigan. From 2010 to 2020, it used to be held as a $100,000 tournament as part of the IT ...
in Michigan in the 100k event. She battled past
Ivana Lisjak Ivana Lisjak (Croatian pronunciation: �ʋana lǐsjaːk born March 17, 1987) is a former tennis player from Croatia. She turned professional at the age of 14, peaked at No. 95 on the WTA rankings The WTA rankings are the ratings defined by the ...
in three sets before only dropping two games in a drubbing of Daniilidou. She then faced
Marta Domachowska Marta Domachowska (; born 16 January 1986) is a former tennis player from Poland. She was ranked world No. 37 in singles (2006) and No. 62 in doubles (2006), and reached 2008 Australian Open fourth round in singles and won 2006 Canberra Interna ...
and went down in three sets after she won the first. At the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Keothavong reached the semifinals, on her return to the main tour. By defeating
Kristina Barrois Kristina Barrois (born 30 September 1981) is a retired German tennis player. Barrois won 15 singles and 16 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit in her career. On 9 May 2011, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 57. On 20 February 20 ...
,
Michelle Larcher de Brito Michelle Larcher de Brito (born 29 January 1993) is a Portuguese former professional tennis player. She is the former Portuguese No. 1. Larcher de Brito won four singles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit in her career. On 6 July 2009, she rea ...
, and Karolina Šprem in three impressive wins, all in straight sets. She then fell in three sets to Sofia Arvidsson in the semifinals, after battling back from a set down lost she lost the decider. Keothavong then competed in two Premier tournaments, the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open. Keothavong crashed out in round one in both tournaments, to Anna Chakvetadze in three sets, after winning the first to continue her losing record against her in Indian Wells. And under sad circumstances in Miami, as she lost in straight sets to
Tamira Paszek Tamira Shelah Paszek (born 6 December 1990) is an Austrian tennis player. Paszek has won three singles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as four singles and four doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. She realized her greatest success so far ...
and said afterwards "Frankly tennis didn’t seem that important today" after receiving news before the match that her grandmother had died. Less than a week after her loss in Miami, Keothavong bounced back in a 75k event in Monzón, Spain. She reached the quarterfinals after beating two Asian players,
Yurika Sema is a former Japanese tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord t ...
in straight sets and
Tamarine Tanasugarn Tamarine Tanasugarn ( th, แทมมารีน ธนสุกาญจน์, , ; born 24 May 1977) is a Thai former tennis player. Born in Los Angeles, she turned professional in 1994, and has been in the top 20 in both singles and doubl ...
in three after losing a tight first set. She bowed out to Maria Elena Camerin in straight sets. Keothavong then moved on to Torhout, Belgium for a $50k event. She made it to the semifinals after taking out Shapatava,
Kristina Antoniychuk Khrystyna Antoniichuk or Khrystyna Antoniychuk ( uk, Христина Антонійчук; born 4 September 1990 in Kolomyia) is a former professional tennis player from Ukraine. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 172, which she reached on 22 ...
and
Valérie Tétreault Valérie Tétreault (born January 21, 1988) is a Canadian former professional tennis player. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 112 in February 2010, and peaked at No. 307 in the doubles rankings in April of the same year. Te ...
, in straight sets. In the semifinals, she faced another Canadian,
Rebecca Marino Rebecca Catherine Marino (born December 16, 1990) is a Canadian professional tennis player. On 11 July 2011, she reached her highest WTA singles ranking of 38. Marino was awarded ''Female Player of the Year'' by Tennis Canada two times, in 2010 ...
, Keothavong lost. At Wimbledon, she was defeated in the first round by
Anastasia Rodionova Anastasia (from el, Ἀναστασία, translit=Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the mos ...
. Keothavong entered the Luxembourg Open using a protected ranking and reached the semifinals after beating Virginie Razzano, Patty Schnyder and
Iveta Benešová Iveta Benešová () (formerly Melzer, cs, Melzerová; born 1 February 1983) is a Czech former tennis player. She began playing tennis at age of seven and turned professional in 1998. She won two WTA Tour singles and 14 doubles tournaments, and ...
but was beaten by Roberta Vinci, preventing Keothavong from making her first WTA Tour final. This year, Keothavong and Laura Robson, as members of Team Aegon, received the equivalent of £48k to provide them with personal coaches plus a £12k travel budget.


2011

At the beginning of the year in Australia, Keothavong reached the second round of the Auckland Open losing to Kateryna Bondarenko, and the second round of the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. ...
, where she qualified, losing to 30th seed
Andrea Petkovic Andrea Petkovic (, ; born 9 September 1987) is a German former professional tennis player. Born in Tuzla, SFR Yugoslavia, to Serbian father Zoran and Bosniak mother Amira, she moved to Germany at six months old and turned professional in 2006 ...
in three sets. Keothavong then played several ITF Circuit events with limited success. She then entered the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
where she lost a closely fought match in the first round to
Vesna Dolonc Vesna Ratkovna Dolonc (Serbian Cyrillic and russian: link=yes, Весна Ратковна Долонц; née Manasieva, Манасиева; born 21 July 1989) is a retired Serbian tennis player. She earned career-highs of 84 in singles and 93 ...
. She then moved onto grass in her home country and won a round at the $100k event in Nottingham, before losing to
Stéphanie Dubois Stéphanie Dubois (born October 31, 1986) is a former tennis player from Canada. She turned professional in 2004 and achieved a career-best ranking of world No. 87 in January 2012. Dubois was awarded Female Player of the Year by Tennis Canada tw ...
. At Eastbourne, Keothavong entered the qualifying round, defeating eighth seed
Alizé Cornet Alizé Cornet (; born 22 January 1990) is a French professional tennis player. Cornet has won six singles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as three singles and three doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 16 February 2009, she ...
and
Sorana Cîrstea Sorana Mihaela Cîrstea (; born 7 April 1990) is a Romanian professional tennis player. In singles, she achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 21 on 12 August 2013. In doubles, her career-high ranking is No. 35, which she reached on 9 March ...
before losing in the final round to
Mirjana Lučić Mirjana (; ) is a Slavic feminine given name meaning ′''mir''′ ("peace, world, prestige, area, space"). The name is widespread throughout Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia. Mirjana is possibly a form of Miriam ...
. At Wimbledon, Keothavong defeated fellow Brit
Naomi Broady Naomi Broady (; born 28 February 1990) is a British tennis player. She has won one WTA doubles title, as well as nine singles titles and 20 doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 7 March 2016, she reached her best singles ranking of wor ...
in the first round before losing in the second round to No. 8 seed and eventual champion, Petra Kvitová. Keothavong had little success during the
US Open Series The US Open Series is the name given by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) to a series of North American professional tennis tournaments leading up to and including the US Open. It is part of the "North American hard court season". Emira ...
, but the majority of her successes for 2011 came during the European hardcourt series towards the end of the year. Keothavong qualified and reached the second round of the Ladies Linz, losing a close match to third seed Jelena Janković. Keothavong then qualified again and this time reached the semifinals of the Luxembourg Open, defeating
Ana Ivanovic Ana Schweinsteiger ( sr, Ана Швајнштајгер / ''Ana Švajnštajger''; born 6 November 1987), professionally known by her birth name Ana Ivanovic (Ана Ивановић / ''Ana Ivanović'', ), is a Serbian former world No. 1 tenn ...
in straight sets along the way before losing a close match to Monica Niculescu. Keothavong then won back-to-back ITF events. She won the $75k event in Barnstaple, defeating Marta Domachowska in the finaland she also won the doubles event with Eva Birnerová. She then won the singles title in the $50k event in Ismaning, defeating Yvonne Meusburger in the final and again winning the doubles title as well, this time with
Kiki Bertens Kiki Bertens (; born 10 December 1991) is a Dutch former professional tennis player. Her career-high WTA singles ranking was world No. 4, which she reached on 13 May 2019, becoming the highest ranked Dutch female player ever. Her career-high do ...
.


2012

Keothavong played her first event of the 2012 season at the Auckland Open where she was the top-seed in the qualifying tournament. She defeated Australian wildcard Emily Fanning in the first round, and followed this with a victory over Varvara Lepchenko. In the third round Keothavong lost to
Jamie Hampton Jamie Lee Hampton (born January 8, 1990) is a former American professional tennis player. In July 2013, she reached her highest singles ranking of world No. 24. Early life Hampton was born in Frankfurt, West Germany, because her father, a caree ...
. Keothavong went straight into the main draw at the
Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. ...
, but had to retire due to illness from her first-round match after losing the first set to
Mona Barthel Mona Barthel (born 11 July 1990) is a German tennis player. Barthel has won four singles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour, one doubles title on the WTA Challenger Tour as well as five singles titles and one doubles title on the ITF Ci ...
. Keothavong was selected for the British Fed Cup team to play in the Europe/Africa Group 1 match at Eilat, Israel on 1–4 February 2012. In the group stages she played singles, defeating opponents from Portugal, and Israel in the group stages but losing to the Netherlands. The team qualified for a play-off against Austria in which Keothavong beat Patricia Mayr-Achleitner and Great Britain won 2–0 to secure a place in the World Group II play-off to be held in April 2012. Keothavong lost in straight sets to
Melinda Czink Melinda Czink (born 22 October 1982) is a former professional tennis player from Hungary. On 21 September 2009, she reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 37. Czink reached two WTA Tour singles finals. In 2005, she lost to Ana Iva ...
in the first round of the
French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...
. In Wimbledon, Keothavong lost her second-round match against Sara Errani, 1–6, 1–6. At the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, she was knocked out in the first round by Caroline Wozniaki, and she and team-mate Elena Baltacha were also knocked out in the first round of the women's doubles.


2013

Keothavong made a disappointing start to 2013, losing in the first round qualifier in the Australian Open to
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,
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and Johanna Konta to face Portugal, Hungary and Bosnia. Keothavong reached her first WTA final with doubles partner
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, surprisingly reaching the doubles final of the Brasil Tennis Cup. They were, however, beaten by top seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Yaroslava Shvedova. She played her final match of her career at the Wimbledon Championships, losing in the first round to teenager
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, in straight sets.


Retirement

On 24 July 2013, she announced her retirement from professional tennis. In December 2016, Keothavong was selected as the new captain for the
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, replacing Judy Murray. She was involved in controversy in 2017 when Ilie Năstase, captain of the
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, used obscene language towards her and the British team during a match. At the pre-match dinner the day before, Nastase asked for Keothavong's room number. Keothavong was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the
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for services to tennis.


Playing style

Keothavong's greatest strength is her powerful forehand which she uses to try to dominate play from the baseline and she adds as much
topspin In ball sports, topspin or overspin is a property of a ball that rotates forwards as it is moving. Topspin on a ball propelled through the air imparts a downward force that causes the ball to drop, due to its interaction with the air (see Magnu ...
as possible to increase the probability of the ball landing in court. As well as her forehand, she can rely on her first- serve to get her some easy points as she often has a high first-serve percentage and usually wins the majority of points on her first-serve. She rarely has a match where she serves no
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at all, and in her second round match at the 2008 US Open she served a total of seven aces.


WTA career finals


Doubles: 1 (runner-up)


ITF Circuit finals


Singles: 30 (20–10)


Doubles: 11 (8–3)


Performance timelines


Singles


Doubles


Mixed doubles


Fed Cup participation


Record against top 10 players


References


External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Keothavong, Anne 1983 births Living people British people of Laotian descent People from Hackney Central Tennis players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic tennis players of Great Britain English female tennis players Tennis people from Greater London Members of the Order of the British Empire