Claire Curran (born 10 March 1978) is a former professional
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 to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
player from
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
.
She represented both
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
in the
Fed Cup
The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...
during her career. Curran is the youngest ever Irish Fed Cup player (15 years 65 days) and before attending
UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...
was largely focussed on singles, with the highest singles win percentage of any Irish Fed Cup player.
At UC Berkeley, Curran was an
Academic All-American
The Academic All-America program is a student-athlete recognition program. The program selects an honorary sports team composed of the most outstanding student-athletes of a specific season for positions in various sports—who in turn are giv ...
(Majoring in Political Science) and won the
NCAA Championship
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...
.
Serious injury resulted in her decision to focus on doubles post university. Curran reached a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 89, and won a total of 12
ITF titles over the course of her career and was a finalist in one
WTA Tour
The WTA Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for women organized by the Women's Tennis Association. The second-tier tour is the WTA 125K series, and third-tier is the ITF Women's Circuit. The men's equivalent is the ATP Tour.
WTA Tour tourna ...
event and was the key doubles players in the Great British Fed Cup teams of the mid 2000s. Her overall Fed Cup record has the highest win percentage of any British or Irish player who has played in over 25 matches.
Curran retired from professional sport in 2007 following six years of professional play.
Following her retirement, she was recruited by the
LTA and alongside
Nigel Sears
Nigel Sears (born 4 April 1957) is a British tennis coach, best known for coaching former top five players Amanda Coetzer, Daniela Hantuchová and Ana Ivanovic during his long career.
Playing career
Sears reached a career high singles ranking of ...
coached former British No. 1,
Anne Keothavong
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 Februar ...
, and subsequently
Laura Robson
Laura Robson (born 21 January 1994) is a British former professional tennis player. She debuted on the ITF Junior Circuit in 2007, and a year later won the Junior Wimbledon championships at the age of 14. As a junior, she also twice reached th ...
and the doubles team of
Jocelyn Rae
Jocelyn Rae (born 20 February 1991) is a British former tennis player.
Rae has a career-high doubles ranking of 67 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), achieved on 22 February 2016. In her career, she won one singles title and 23 doubles t ...
and
Anna Smith.
Career
Early years
Curran's tennis talent was spotted first in her native Belfast, capital of Northern Ireland. She was soon winning Ulster and all-Ireland titles and being singled out by the Irish tennis authorities for a promising amateur career on the
ITF Junior Circuit
The ITF Junior Circuit is the premier level for worldwide competition among under-18 junior tennis players. Founded in 1977 with only nine tournaments, the 2011 ITF Junior Circuit offered over 350 tournaments in 118 countries. Mirroring the ATP an ...
.
At the age of 14, during the troubled times of Northern Ireland, beset with political and religious divisions, Curran moved to Dublin. The clubhouse where she learned to play tennis in Belfast had been destroyed by a terrorist bomb in the 1970s and she herself was frequently inconvenienced on her travels between Belfast and Dublin by bombs scares.
In Dublin, she spent her teenage years under the Irish national coaching programme of Matt Doyle. Curran travelled on the Junior Circuit, playing at junior Wimbledon in 1996. She attained a singles ranking inside the top 100 and in 1993 became the youngest person to have represented Ireland in the Fed Cup, at the age of 15 years and 3 months.
1993–1996
Claire played her first adult match playing doubles for
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
in the
1993 Fed Cup
The 1993 Federation Cup was the 31st edition of the most important competition between national teams in women's tennis. Spain defeated Australia in the final, giving Spain their 2nd title. This was Australia's first final since 1984.
Qualifying ...
where she won her two doubles rubbers against competitors from
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
and
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. She played no other adult events this year.
In 1994 she again competed in the
Fed Cup
The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...
for Ireland in doubles when she and
Lesley O'Halloran
Lesley O'Halloran (born 1 November 1965) is a former professional tennis player from Ireland.
Biography
A left-handed player from Dublin, O'Halloran played college tennis in the United States before turning professional.
From 1986 to 1998 she f ...
were defeated by doubles teams from
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
and
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
. This was again the only adult event Claire played this year.
One year later she again competed in the
Fed Cup
The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...
for Ireland. She played a more prominent role this year however by competing in both singles and doubles, winning singles matches against players from
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
,
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
and
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
and also winning two doubles rubbers partnering Lesley O'Halloran. Claire played no other adult events this year.
In 1996 she was not involved in doubles in the
Fed Cup
The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...
but she did win singles rubbers against Malta and
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
as well as losing one to
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. Curran also made her debut on the ITF Circuit in 2006 in a $10,000 event in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
where she was beaten in the first round in both the singles and the doubles events (partnering
Yvonne Doyle).
1997–2000
In 1997, Claire competed in only one event. This was the $25k tournament held in Dublin where she was beaten in the first round of the singles and the doubles.
This was again the only ITF event Curran participated in during 1998 and she again experienced first round losses in the singles and doubles competitions.
The one ITF event Curran entered in 1999 was a $10k event in
Hilton Head
Hilton Head Island, sometimes referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a Lowcountry resort town and barrier island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is northeast of Savannah, Georgia, and southwest of Charleston. The island is ...
where she won four matches in the qualifying competition before losing just one match short of qualification. She went one step further in the doubles however when she and
Esther Knox qualified before losing in round one.
In 2000, Curran teamed up with Australian
Amy Jensen
Amy Jensen (born 31 July 1978) is a former professional tennis player from Australia.
Biography
Originally from Brisbane, Jensen had a successful career in American college tennis playing for UC Berkeley. From 1998 to 2000 she won three success ...
to reach the semifinals of a $10k event in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The duo then received a
wild card into the doubles competition in the
US Open where they drew the formidable pairing of
Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis (, sk, Martina Hingisová; 30 September 1980) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. Hingis is the first Swiss player, male or female, to win a major title and attain a world No. 1 ranking. She spent a total of 209 weeks a ...
and
Mary Pierce
Mary Caroline Pierce (born 15 January 1975) is a retired tennis professional who represented France internationally in team competitions and the Olympics. She was born in Canada to an American father and a French mother, and holds citizenship of ...
in the first round. They gave the seeded pair a scare by taking the first set 6–4 however Hingis and Pierce came back strong to take the match, 4–6, 6–0, 6–1.
She did not compete on the ITF or WTA Tour again this season.
2001–2002
Curran began 2001 with
Teryn Ashley as her regular partner and with her she reached the semifinals of a $10k in El Paso as qualifiers. They followed this success up with a tournament win in another $10k event in Lake Ozark, Texas, a run to the semifinals of
Mount Pleasant ($25k) and another run to the quarterfinals in Los Gatos, California ($50k). July saw Curran team with
Kristen van Elden
Kristen van Elden (born 18 September 1981) is a former professional tennis player from Australia.
Biography
A former scholarship holder at the Victorian Institute of Sport, van Elden had a best ranking on the professional tour of 262 in the wor ...
from Australia to reach the semifinals of Frinton ($10k) before again joining with Ashley to reach the quarterfinals of a $10k event in
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
before having to retire from the tournament. Curran and Swedish,
Helena Ejeson
Helena Ejeson-Gould (born 3 January 1981) is a Swedish former professional tennis player.
Biography
A right-handed player from Kalmar, Ejeson played on the professional tour in the early 2000s and was most prominent in the doubles format, with a ...
were runners-up in a $10k in London in August and after this Curran played no more matches in 2001. She had a year-end doubles world-ranking of 375.
In January 2002, Claire reached the finals of a $10k in
Hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship
* Submarine hull
Mathematics
* Affine hull, in affi ...
partnering fellow Irishwoman,
Elsa O'Riain. They lost to
Sun Tiantian
Sun Tiantian (; ; born 12 October 1981) is a Chinese former professional tennis player. She won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in women's doubles along with her partner Li Ting.
Sun reached a career-high singles ranking of worl ...
and
Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie (born 5 July 1983) is a retired tennis player from China. In May 2009, she achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 15.
Zheng is one of the most successful tennis players from China. She won four WTA singles titles – Ho ...
, 6–7, 5–7. Curran then partnered
Amanda Augustus
Amanda Augustus (born January 19, 1978) is a former professional tennis player from the United States.
Biography
Augustus, who grew up in Los Angeles County, attended UC Berkeley and was one of the most successful tennis players in California ...
to reach the final in the first week of a four-week $40k circuit in Australia. They lost to
Sarah Stone and
Samantha Stosur
Samantha Jane Stosur ( ; born 30 March 1984) is an Australian professional tennis player. She is a former world No. 1 in doubles, a ranking which she first achieved on 6 February 2006 and held for 61 consecutive weeks. Also a former top ten s ...
before heading to the second week of this circuit and reaching the semifinals. In April, she competed in doubles for Ireland in the
Fed Cup
The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...
where she and O'Riain won their three doubles rubbers in the Europe/Africa Group II round robins against
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
and
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
. They then went on to beat a doubles team from
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...
in the promotion play-offs. Curran did not compete much more this year due to problems with injuries, having to retire from a number of matches. At the end of 2002 her doubles world-ranking had fallen to 562.
2003
Curran teamed with O'Riain for her first four tournaments of the year (all $10k), resulting in one title and three losses in the semifinals. In the
Fed Cup
The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...
, she and O'Riain were beaten by doubles teams from
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
but managed a victory against
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. Following this she teamed up with Brit,
Anna Hawkins
Anna Hawkins (born 7 July 1984) is an English former professional tennis player.
In her career, Hawkins won sixteen doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit
The ITF Women's World Tennis Tour, previously known as the ITF Women's Circuit, is a ...
, to reach the final of a $10k in Bournemouth and then the final of a $10k in Edinburgh where the result was a walkover. Curran then went on to reach the semifinals in Dublin ($10k) and win the event in London ($10k), both partnering O'Riain. Helena Ejeson was again her partner in early September when the duo took the title in a $10k in Sunderland. Claire teamed with
İpek Şenoğlu
İpek Şenoğlu (born 8 June 1979), nicknamed İpeko, is a former Turkish tennis player.
She first made history in June 2004, when she was accepted into the women's doubles qualifying for The Championships, Wimbledon, Wimbledon. Though Şenoğl ...
for her next five tournaments and took one title ($25k), reached two semifinals (both $25k) and two quarterfinals (one $25k and one $50k). Curran reached the quarterfinals of a $50k in Shenzhen with
Tzipi Obziler in her final tournament of the year. At the end of 2003, Curran's doubles world-ranking was up to 244.
2004
Curran won her first three ITF event of the year and went on to reach the semifinals in her fourth, giving her a winning streak of 14 matches at the start of the season. In June, she partnered
Jane O'Donoghue
Jane O'Donoghue (born 29 March 1983) is a retired British tennis player who turned professional in 2000 and played her last match on the pro circuit in 2007. During her career, she won three ITF singles and six ITF doubles titles. In July 2006 ...
in the qualifying tournament for
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
where they lost in the first round but were given a spot in the main draw as
lucky losers
''Lucky Losers'' is a 1950 comedy film starring The Bowery Boys. The film was released on May 14, 1950 by Monogram Pictures and is the eighteenth film in the series. It had the working title of ''High Stakes''.
Plot
Slip and Sach's boss, David J ...
where they were beaten in straight sets. In August she took the title in Lexington, Kentucky ($50k) with
Natalie Grandin
Natalie Grandin (born 27 February 1981) is a retired tennis player from South Africa.
She achieved a career-high singles ranking of 144 as of 12 September 2005. On 14 May 2012, she peaked at No. 22 in the doubles rankings. In her career, she ...
and the two of them were also runners up in their next event in Louisville, Kentucky and semifinalists in their next in the Bronx (both $50k). Curran and Grandin then entered the
Tier III Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic
The Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic was a tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held in Bali, Indonesia in 2007 and 2008. During the period 1994–2006 it was known as Wismilak International, organized successively in Surabaya (1994–1997), Kuala Lu ...
in Bali where they were beaten in the first round by
Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko (; born 30 January 1985) is a retired Argentine tennis player. Although she enjoyed modest success in singles, reaching a career-high ranking of world No. 26 and winning four WTA titles, her speciality was doubles, where she achiev ...
and
Milagros Sequera
Milagros Sequera Huss (; born 30 September 1980) is a Venezuelan-Australian former professional tennis player.
Career
She joined the WTA Tour in 1999 and was ranked world No. 48 in July 2007. Her coach was Larry Willens. She was introduc ...
, 6–0, 6–1. In her final tournament of 2004, Curran partnered Senoglu again to reach the final of a $25k in Glasgow. Her year-end doubles world-ranking was 163.
2005
In February 2005, Curran partnered
Kim Kilsdonk
Kim Kilsdonk (born 31 March 1979) is a Dutch former professional tennis player.
In her career, she won one singles title and 30 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. Her highest singles ranking is world No. 347, which she reached in February 1999. ...
and the duo lost in the first round of the
Tier-II event in Paris, the
Open Gaz de France
Open GDF Suez, formerly Open Gaz de France, was a Premier level tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held in Paris, France. Held from 1993 till 2014, the tournament was played indoors, originally on carpet until 2000, then on hardcourts. The 2014 Op ...
. They were beaten, 6–4, 6–3, by
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 ...
and
Květa Peschke
Květoslava Peschke (née Hrdličková; born 9 July 1975) is a Czech retired professional tennis player who was ranked world No. 1 in doubles.
She reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 26 in November 2005, winning one WTA singles title ...
. Following this they headed to Antwerp to compete in the
Proximus Diamond Games
The Diamond Games (due to sponsorship known for the last time as BNP Paribas Fortis Diamond Games and before that Proximus Diamond Games, GDF-Suez Diamond Games and Thomas Cook Diamond Games) was a professional women's tennis tournament organis ...
, another Tier-II tournament. They won two matches to qualify and then went on to beat
Francesca Lubiani
Francesca Lubiani (born 12 July 1977) is a former professional tennis player
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 ...
and
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 ...
in the first round, 6–3, 7–6. They lost to
Anabel Medina Garrigues
Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues (, ; born 31 July 1982) is a Spanish tennis coach and former professional player.
As a player she reached a career-high ranking of world No. 16 in 2020, and won 11 singles and 28 doubles titles, including the 2008 ...
and
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mubinovna Safina (; ; tt-Cyrl, Динара Мөбин кызы Сафина; born April 27, 1986) is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis player. Safina was runner-up in singles at the 2008 French Open, 2009 Australian Open, and the ...
, 4–6, 2–6, in the quarterfinals. After this she reached a number of quarterfinals and semifinals of higher-level ITF events before winning in a $50k in Saint-Gaudens (with Grandin) in May. This was followed by a run to the semifinals at the
İstanbul Cup
The İstanbul Cup is a WTA tennis tournament held in Istanbul, Turkey, organised for professional female tennis players. It is classified as an International-level tournament on the WTA Tour. Held annually since May 2005, it was played on outdoo ...
(Tier III) partnering Kim Kilsdonk where they lost, 3–6, 3–6, to
Sandra and
Daniela Klemenschits
Daniela Klemenschits (13 November 1982 – 9 April 2008) was an Austrian professional tennis player. She won a total of 23 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit in her career.
Early life
Daniela and twin sister Sandra (fellow pro-player) were born ...
. June saw Curran and Grandin knocked out in the first round of the women's doubles at
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
by
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna "Nadia" Petrova (russian: Надежда Викторовна Петрова ; born 8 June 1982) is a Russian former professional tennis player. A former top-five player in both singles and doubles, she reached a career-high ...
and
Meghann Shaughnessy
Meghann Shaughnessy (born April 13, 1979 in Richmond, Virginia) is an American former professional tennis player. She achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 in 2001 and won six titles on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour. H ...
. Curran then partnered Kilsdonk to reach the final at the $50k in Pétange before reaching three successive WTA quarterfinals: the
Budapest Grand Prix
The Budapest Grand Prix (also Hungarian Grand Prix) is a women's tennis tournament held in Budapest, Hungary. This WTA Tour event is an International-level tournament and is played on outdoor clay courts.
The tournament was formerly known as ...
(with
Rika Fujiwara
is a retired Japanese tennis player.
On 22 August 2005, Fujiwara reached her best singles ranking of world No. 84. On 11 November 2002, she peaked at No. 13 in the WTA doubles rankings.
At the 2002 Australian Open, Fujiwara partnered with S ...
), the
Nordic Light Open
The Nordic Light Open (sponsored by Nordea) was a women's tennis tournament held in Stockholm, Sweden (in 2002 and 2003 the tournament was played in Espoo, Finland on clay courts). Held from 2002 to 2008, this Women's Tennis Association, WTA Tour ...
(partnering
María José Martínez Sánchez
María José Martínez Sánchez (; born 12 August 1982) is a Spanish retired professional tennis player. In singles, she has won five WTA singles titles, her biggest being a Premier 5 title at the 2010 Italian Open where she defeated two form ...
) and the
Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic
The Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic was a tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held in Bali, Indonesia in 2007 and 2008. During the period 1994–2006 it was known as Wismilak International, organized successively in Surabaya (1994–1997), Kuala Lu ...
(with Grandin). Curran ended the year with a doubles world-ranking of 107.
2006
In Claire's first tournament of the year, she and Natalie Grandin teamed up to reach the quarterfinals in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
. Then, partnering
Līga Dekmeijere
Līga Dekmeijere (born 21 May 1983) is a Latvian tennis player.
She has won one doubles title on the WTA Tour, as well as 19 doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 26 August 2002, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 287. On ...
, she reached the final of the
Canberra International
The Canberra International (sponsored by Richard Luton Properties), was a women's tennis tournament held in Canberra, Australia. The event was affiliated with the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), and was classed variously as a Tier III (2001), a ...
, a
Tier-IV event. They were defeated by
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 Intern ...
and
Roberta Vinci
Roberta Vinci (; born 18 February 1983) is an Italian professional padel and former tennis player. In doubles tennis, she won five major tournaments and reached the world No. 1 position. She also reached a career-high ranking of world No. 7 in ...
, 7–6, 6–3. This was followed by a number of first-round losses in WTA tournaments before she competed with
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
Fed Cup
The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...
representing Great Britain. They won their three doubles rubbers and then also went on to win their doubles rubber in the promotion play-offs. In June she joined
Shenay Perry
Shenay Perry (born July 6, 1984) is a retired tennis player from the U.S. She is the current coach of professional tennis player Kristie Ahn
Kristie Hyerim Ahn (born June 15, 1992) is an American former professional tennis player.
She has won ...
to reach the quarterfinals of the
Aegon 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 they were beaten by
Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber (née Horn; born 21 August 1976) is a South African-American retired tennis player who represented the United States internationally since August 2007. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Blac ...
and
Martina Navratilova
Martina Navratilova ( cs, Martina Navrátilová ; ; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech–American, former professional tennis player. Widely considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 major singles titles, 31 maj ...
, 6–4, 6–2. She then competed in
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
with
Jamea Jackson
Jamea Jackson ( ; born September 7, 1986) is an American former Women's Tennis Association (WTA) player and current United States Tennis Association (USTA) coach. She reached a singles ranking of 45 in the world at the end of 2006.
Jackson was b ...
but was again beaten in the first round. She did however reach the second round of the
mixed doubles
Mixed doubles or mixed pairs is a form of mixed-sex sports that consists of teams of one man and one woman. This variation of competition is prominent in curling and racket sports, such as tennis, table tennis and badminton (where it is known as ...
with
James Auckland
__NOTOC__
James Auckland (born 1 April 1980) is a former professional British tennis player.
His highest ATP singles ranking was 282nd, which he reached on 6 February 2006. While his career high in doubles was at 57 set at 9 April 2007.
Auckla ...
. After Wimbledon, Claire did not compete again in 2006 and her doubles world-ranking at the end of the year was 201.
2007
In February 2007, Claire teamed with Anne Keothavong to win the title in London ($25k) and in March, she and
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. ...
were runners-up in another $25k, this one in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. In April, Curran again teamed with Baltacha to represent Britain in the
Fed Cup
The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...
. They won doubles rubbers against
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
and
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
but lost one against
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and also lost one in the promotion play-offs against
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. In July, Curran and Keothavong took on the might of
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
and
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...
in the first round of
Wimbledon doubles and lost, 1–6, 3–6. For the second year in a row she reached the second round of the
mixed doubles
Mixed doubles or mixed pairs is a form of mixed-sex sports that consists of teams of one man and one woman. This variation of competition is prominent in curling and racket sports, such as tennis, table tennis and badminton (where it is known as ...
with Auckland but after Wimbledon decided that her career as a professional tennis player had come to an end.
WTA career finals
Doubles: 1 (runner-up)
ITF Circuit finals
Doubles: 21 (12–9)
Grand Slam performance timelines
Doubles
Mixed doubles
Fed Cup
For Ireland
For Great Britain
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curran, Claire
1978 births
Living people
British female tennis players
British tennis coaches
Irish female tennis players
Irish tennis coaches
Sportspeople from Belfast
Tennis players from Northern Ireland
California Golden Bears women's tennis players