Ekaterina Evgenyevna Alexandrova ( rus, Екатери́на Евге́ньевна Александро́ва, links=no; ; born 15 November 1994) is a Russian 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 cov ...

player. She has won three WTA singles titles, three

WTA 125 WTA 125 tournaments are an international series of professional women's tennis tournaments organized by the Women's Tennis Association since 2012. In the past (2012–2015) sometimes called the WTA Challenger seriesITF Circuit. On 26 September 2022, she reached her best singles ranking of No. 21. On 26 September 2022, she also peaked at No. 58 in the WTA doubles rankings

Personal life

Since 1996, Alexandrova has been living and training in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, Czech Republic, with her parents and two siblings, a brother and a sister. They moved after travelling to the city for a youth tournament, attracted by the local availability of tennis courts compared to Russia. According to the player, the

Russian Tennis Federation Russian Tennis Federation (russian: link=no, Федерация тенниса России) is a national governing body of tennis in Russia, founded as the All-Russia Tennis Association in 1989 and reorganized under the current name in 2002. ...

didn't know about her existence before 2016 and she has never been good enough to cause interest from the Czech one (Czech Tennis Association or cz, Český tenisový svaz) in terms of citizenship switch. However, she has long been tempted by the easier life possibility with a Czech passport, especially considering

travel visa A visa (from the Latin ''charta visa'', meaning "paper that has been seen") is a conditional authorization granted by a polity to a foreigner that allows them to enter, remain within, or leave its territory. Visas typically include limits on ...

s, but wasn't able to implement the opportunity at a certain point — after collecting all the necessary documents she couldn't decide if another citizenship is really the right decision for her, as a matter of fact. She hasn't applied for the Czech citizenship yet. Alexandrova speaks Russian and Czech fluently, and also English, to a lesser extent. Her father Evgeny is her coach and

Steffi Graf Stefanie Maria Graf ( , ; born 14 June 1969) is a German former professional tennis player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 for a record 377 weeks and won 22 major singles titles, ...

was her childhood tennis idol. Among the contemporary players, she mostly admires

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) fo ...

and

Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...

Tennis career

2016: WTA Tour debut, Grand Slam debut, first WTA 125 title

Despite starting the year as the world No. 291, Alexandrova clinched her fifth ITF title at the $10k event in

Trnava Trnava (, german: Tyrnau; hu, Nagyszombat, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a ''kraj'' ( Trnava Region) and of an '' okres'' ( T ...

. Alexandrova then made her

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 tou ...

singles debut at the

2016 Katowice Open The 2016 Katowice Open was a women's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 4th edition of the Katowice Open and an International tournament on the 2016 WTA Tour. It took place at Spodek arena in Katowice, Poland, from 4 ...

, where she qualified for the main draw after surviving the qualifying rounds as an unseeded player. In her first WTA main draw match, she defeated world No. 115,

Klára Koukalová Klára Koukalová (formerly Zakopalová; born 24 February 1982) is a retired Czech tennis player. She was born and still lives in Prague. Having turned professional in 1999, she reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 20, on 15 April ...

, before falling to eventual finalist

Camila Giorgi Camila Giorgi (; born 30 December 1991) is an Italian professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 26, achieved on 22 October 2018. She is the current Italian No. 2, after Martina Trevisan. After winning her f ...

in three sets. In the first grass-court tournament of her career, she qualified for a Grand Slam tournament for the first time at the

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is pla ...

. She was only able to enter the qualifying draw after ten players ahead of her withdrew and it was also her first Grand Slam appearance, prevailing 14-12 and 13-11 against

Stephanie Vogt Stephanie Vogt (; born 15 February 1990) is a retired tennis player from Liechtenstein. In her career, Vogt won two doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as 12 singles titles and 11 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 24 February 2014, she ...

and Harriet Dart, respectively, to reach the main draw. Overall, she played 108 games in just three matches. In the first round, she defeated former world No. 1,

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, causing one of the biggest upsets in the tournament. Immediately after her Wimbledon run, Alexandrova returned onto clay and reached the final of the

ITS Cup The ITS Cup is a tournament for professional female tennis players played on outdoor clay courts. The event is classified as a $60,000 ITF Women's Circuit tournament and has been held in Olomouc, Czech Republic, since 2009. The event had previousl ...

, a $50k event, losing to compatriot and top seed

Elizaveta Kulichkova Elizaveta Dmitrievna Kulichkova (russian: Елизавета Дмитриевна Куличкова; born 12 April 1996) is a Russian former tennis player. She competed for her last pro match at the 2017 US Open In her career, she won seven si ...

in three sets. At the

Tournoi de Québec The Tournoi de Québec (sponsored as Coupe Banque Nationale or known as National Bank Cup in English-language media) was a WTA Tour International level tennis tournament held in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Held from 1993 to 2018, the tournament w ...

, she claimed the biggest win of her career against world No. 59,

Julia Görges Julia Görges (born 2 November 1988) is a German former professional tennis player. A former top-ten singles player, she was ranked as high as No. 9 in the world on 20 August 2018, and was ranked inside the top 15 in doubles, peaking at world No ...

, in the first round. Entering the

Open de Limoges The Open BLS de Limoges (formerly Open GDF Suez de Limoges, Open GDF Suez Région Limousin and Engie Open de Limoges) is a tournament for professional female tennis players played on indoor hard courts. The event is currently classified as a WTA 1 ...

, a WTA 125 event, as the world No. 133, Alexandrova caused a huge shock by ending the season with the biggest title of her career. En route, she defeated three big local favourites: fourth-seeded

Pauline Parmentier Pauline Parmentier (; born 31 January 1986) is a French former tennis player. Her career-high WTA singles ranking is world No. 40, which she attained on 21 July 2008. On 30 April 2012, she peaked at world No. 89 on the WTA doubles rankings. Sh ...

in the second round, second-seeded

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 ...

in the semifinals, and top-seeded world No. 24,

Caroline Garcia Caroline Garcia (, born 16 October 1993) is a French professional tennis player. She has been ranked in the top 5 in both singles at world No. 4 and in doubles at world No. 2. Garcia is the 2022 WTA Finals singles champion. She is also a two- ...

, in the final.

2017: Top 100 debut

In the 2017 season, Alexandrova continued to be a constant presence on the WTA Tour but not achieving any major success. She received direct entry into 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 Ope ...

main draw for the first time in her career, but lost to compatriot and 30th seed

Ekaterina Makarova Ekaterina Valeryevna Makarova ( rus, Екатери́на Вале́рьевна Мака́рова; ; born 7 June 1988) is a Russian former professional tennis player who was ranked world No. 1 in doubles, and world No. 8 in singles. She ...

in the first round. She made her top-100 debut with consecutive title runs a $60k events Pingshan Open and Open de Seine-et-Marne. Making her first

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 ...

main-draw appearance, she beat

Kateřina Siniaková Kateřina Siniaková (; ; born 10 May 1996) is a Czech professional tennis player who is the current world No. 1 in doubles. She is a six-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having won the 2018 and 2021 French Opens, 2018 and 2022 Wimbledon ...

before falling short of eventual semifinalist and world No. 2, Karolína Plíšková, in three sets. At the

, Alexandrova lost to eventual champion

Garbiñe Muguruza Garbiñe Muguruza Blanco (; born 8 October 1993) is a Spanish-Venezuelan professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles WTA rankings#Singles, ranking of List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Singles, world No. 1 by the ...

in the first round. Alexandrova qualified for a Premier 5 tournament for the first time at 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 ...

, but lost to world No. 6 and eventual finalist,

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 ...

, in the second round. At the

, she lost in the quarterfinals to

Antonia Lottner Antonia Lottner (; born 13 August 1996) is a German tennis player. Lottner has won seven singles titles and six doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. In June 2018, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 128. In April 2015, she p ...

as the defending champion.

2018: Maiden WTA final

Alexandrova enjoyed a breakthrough season on the WTA Tour in the year. At the

, she was beaten by fellow hard-hitting Madison Keys in the second round, winning just one game in the process. After some mediocre results, Alexandrova fell out of the top 100. However, she managed to make the semifinals of $100k events, the Slovak Open and

Ilkley Trophy The Ilkley Trophy, previously named as the Fuzion 100 Ilkley Trophy and the Aegon Ilkley Trophy, is a tennis tournament for male and female professional players played on grass courts. The event is classified as a €42,500 ATP Challenger and a ...

. Alongside a run to the final of the $100k event, the

Hungarian Open Hungarian Open may refer to: * Hungarian Open (darts) * Hungarian Open (table tennis) * Hungarian Open (tennis), an ATP World Tour event * Hungarian Challenger Open, an ATP Challenger Tour event * Hungarian Ladies Open, a WTA Tour event * Hungaria ...

, she returned to the top 100 after a brief period. She made her first WTA quarterfinal at the Korea Open, clinching her first top-10 victory over world No. 10, Jeļena Ostapenko, in straight sets. Alexandrova made an astonishing run at another international tournament, now in

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital ...

, Austria, reaching the final of a WTA tournament for the first time. Sailing through the qualifying rounds with the loss of just four games, Alexandrova beat compatriot

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Anastasia Sergeyevna "Nastia" Pavlyuchenkova (russian: Анастаси́я "Настя" Серге́евна Павлюче́нкова; born 3 July 1991) is an inactive Russian professional tennis player. A junior prodigy, Pavlyuchenkova won ...

in straight sets to reach her first WTA semifinal. There, she recovered from a bagel to beat former top-10 player

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 a ...

and booked her spot in the final. However, she was defeated by

in straight sets, but nonetheless made her return to the top 100 with her fantastic run. She ended the season by tradition at the

, winning the title for the second time in her career after beating

Evgeniya Rodina Evgeniya Sergeyevna Rodina (russian: Евгения Сергеевна Родина, born 4 February 1989) is a Russian tennis player. On 6 May 2019, she achieved a career-high singles ranking of 67. Rodina has won 13 singles titles on the ITF ...

in straight sets. This victory solidified her place in the top 100, finding herself at the 73rd spot of the rankings after the tournament.

2019: Russian No. 1

In 2019, Alexandrova continued to earn more success on the WTA Tour. She began her season at the Shenzhen Open, where she lost in the second round to eventual champion and top seed Aryna Sabalenka. Playing in a WTA tournament main draw at home for the first time, Alexandrova prevailed in the qualifying rounds before reaching the quarterfinals of the St. Petersburg Trophy where she fell to Sabalenka, in straight sets once again. She then set a new career-high ranking of No. 59 after a semifinal run at the

where she held five match points against eventual champion

Alison Van Uytvanck Alison Van Uytvanck (; born 26 March 1994) is a Belgian professional tennis player. Van Uytvanck has won five singles and two doubles WTA Tour titles and three Challenger Tour singles titles, as well as 12 singles and two doubles titles on th ...

. With her best result at a Premier Mandatory event, Alexandrova reached the third round of the Premier Mandatory

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 ...

by beating world No. 13 Wozniacki, in three sets. She did not perform well on clay-court tournaments, except at the

, reaching the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career. She beat 30th seed Mihaela Buzărnescu in the first round, before stunning 2010 finalist

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 ...

in the second round. In the grass-court season, Alexandrova made it into the quarterfinals 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 2 ...

and Rosmalen Championships, losing there to eventual champions Karolína Plíšková] and Alison Riske, respectively. A disappointing first-round exit at 2019 Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon followed, losing to

in three sets. She achieved her best run in a Premier 5 tournament at the Canadian Open, reaching the third round as qualifier. After leading throughout the majority of both sets, Alexandrova fell to

in straight sets. Alexandrova also led world No. 4, Simona Halep, by a set and a break in the second round of the Western & Southern Open, but failed to sustain her high level. She was defeated by 33rd seed

Zhang Shuai Zhang Shuai (; ; born 21 January 1989) is a Chinese professional tennis player. She is a two-time Grand Slam champion in women's doubles, having won the 2019 Australian Open and the 2021 US Open, both alongside Samantha Stosur. Zhang als ...

in the second round of the US Open, a player whom she defeated in Cincinnati earlier on. Nonetheless, she became the highest-ranked Russian after this tournament. Alexandrova reached her second career WTA semifinal at the Korea Open, where she beat Kristie Ahn in the quarterfinals by hitting a personal-record 22 aces. Another strong run came at the Premier Mandatory event, the China Open. There, she stunned world No. 5, Halep, in straight sets after her disappointment in Cincinnati, claiming the biggest win of her career. However, she was defeated by compatriot Daria Kasatkina in straight sets. Defending finalist points at the Linz Open, Alexandrova rolled into the semifinals but failed to convert her match points against Jeļena Ostapenko and leading in both the second and final sets. Making her main-draw debut at the Kremlin Cup, the Russian made the quarterfinals although her run was eventually stopped by the in-form Karolína Muchová. For the third time in her career, Alexandrova closed out her season with a triumph at the

, this time lifting the trophy as the top seed.

2020: First WTA title, Fed Cup debut

Alexandrova started the 2020 season at the Shenzhen Open. Seeded fifth, she won her first WTA singles title beating seventh seed Elena Rybakina in the final. As a result, she became the first player to win a WTA tournament in the new decade. At the

where she was seeded at a Grand Slam event for the first time, she reached the third round where she lost to seventh seed and last year finalist,

Petra Kvitová Petra Kvitová, OLY ( , ; born 8 March 1990) is a Czech professional tennis player. Known for her powerful left-handed groundstrokes and variety, Kvitová has won 29 career singles titles, including two major titles at Wimbledon in 2011 and ...

. Alexandrova then represented Russia for the first time in her career, leading the team against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

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 chan ...

as the Russian No. 1. On her debut, she led Russia to a tight 3-2 win over the home team, defeating

Elena-Gabriela Ruse Elena-Gabriela Ruse (born 6 November 1997) is a Romanian tennis player. She has career-high WTA rankings of 51 in singles and 55 in doubles. She won her maiden WTA Tour singles title at the 2021 Hamburg European Open. She has also won six singl ...

in straight sets and

Ana Bogdan Ana Bogdan (born 25 November 1992) is a Romanian professional tennis player. Having made her tour debut in 2007, she peaked at No. 46 in the WTA rankings in October 2022. Bogdan had a successful junior career, reaching world No. 2 on 5 January ...

in a tight three-setter, helping to book Russia's spot in the inaugural Fed Cup Finals. She next participated at the St. Petersburg Trophy, where she reached the semifinals losing in three sets to defending champion and eventual champion,

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 ...

. At the Qatar Open, she suffered a first-round exit at the hands of

Amanda Anisimova Amanda Anisimova ( ; , ; born August 31, 2001) is a Russian-American professional tennis player. She has a career-high WTA ranking of No. 21 in the world, and has been ranked in the top 100 since shortly after turning 17 years old. Anisimova has ...

. The WTA Tour was suspended from March through July due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. When the WTA resumed tournament play in August, Alexandrova competed at the Palermo Ladies Open. Seeded eighth, she lost in the second round to eventual champion

Fiona Ferro Fiona Ferro (born 12 March 1997) is a French professional tennis player born in Belgium. Ferro has won two singles titles on the WTA Tour and four singles titles on the ITF Circuit. She has career-high WTA rankings of No. 39 in singles, attaine ...

. Seeded fifth at the

Prague Open In tennis, Prague Open may refer to: * Prague Open (1987–1999) * ATP Prague Open * WTA Prague Open The Prague Open (currently branded as the Livesport Prague Open for sponsorship reasons) is a professional women's tennis tournament held in Pr ...

, she was defeated in the first round by qualifier Lesia Tsurenko. At the Western & Southern Open, she lost in the second round to American qualifier

Christina McHale Christina Marietta McHale (born May 11, 1992) is an American former professional tennis player. Her highest-ever WTA rankings were No. 24 in singles and No. 35 in doubles. Known for an aggressive baseline game, McHale was recognized by ''The New ...

. The tournament was held at the USTA BJK National Tennis Center for the first time, lowering the risk of the transmission of the virus behind closed doors. At the same competition ground, she stunned the returning former world No. 1 and three-time champion,

Kim Clijsters Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters (; born 8 June 1983) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. Clijsters reached the world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles, having held both rankings simultaneously in 2003. She won six major titles, ...

, in the first round of the US Open after recovering from a set down. However, she failed to back up her good win as she fell short to

Caty McNally Catherine "Caty" McNally (born November 20, 2001) is an American tennis player. She achieved her highest doubles ranking of world No. 11 on 4 April 2022. On 7 November 2022, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 94. She is best known ...

in the second round. At the

Italian Open Italian Open may refer to: *Italian Open (tennis), a Masters 1000 level tennis tournament played in Rome each year. *Italian Open (golf) The DS Automobiles Italian Open ( it, Open d'Italia) is the men's national open golf championship of Italy. I ...

in Rome, Alexandrova was defeated in the first round by tenth seed Elena Rybakina. Seeded seventh at the

Internationaux de Strasbourg The Internationaux de Strasbourg (formally known as the Strasbourg Grand Prix) is a professional women's tennis tournament held in Strasbourg, France. It is an International-level outdoor event of the WTA Tour played on clay courts. The tournamen ...

, she lost in the second round to Kateřina Siniaková. Seeded 27th at the

, she made it to the third round in which she was defeated by third seed Elina Svitolina. At the first edition of the J&T Banka Ostrava Open, Alexandrova lost in the first round to eighth seed Anett Kontaveit. Her final tournament of the year was the Upper Austria Ladies Linz. Seeded fourth, she reached the semifinals where she was defeated by second seed

Elise Mertens Elise Mertens (; born 17 November 1995) is a Belgian professional tennis player. She is a former world No. 1 in doubles. Mertens is a three-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having won the 2019 US Open and 2021 Australian Open partnering ...

. Alexandrova ended the season ranked 33.

2021: Olympics debut, BJK Cup champion, biggest career final at home

Alexandrova started her season at the first edition of the Abu Dhabi Open. Seeded 17th, she lost in the third round to second seed Elina Svitolina. Seeded ninth at the first edition of the Gippsland Trophy, she upset top seed Simona Halep in her quarterfinal match after defeating French Open champion

Iga Świątek Iga Natalia Świątek (; born 31 May 2001) is a Polish professional tennis player. She is currently ranked world No. 1 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Świątek is a three-time major singles champion, having won the French Open in 20 ...

. She was defeated in the semifinal by

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 speci ...

. Seeded 29th at the

, she lost in the third round to top seed

Ashleigh Barty Ashleigh is the feminine form of the Old English name Ashley, which means "dweller near the ash tree forest". It is most common in the United States and United Kingdom. Notable people B *Ashleigh Ball (born 1983), Canadian voice actress * Ashle ...

. As the top seed in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

, Alexandrova was defeated in the first round by qualifier and eventual champion,

Clara Tauson Clara Tauson (born 21 December 2002) is a Danish professional tennis player. In 2016, at age 13, she became the youngest Danish champion in tennis. Caroline Wozniacki held the previous record when she won at age 14. Her career-high rankings are ...

. At the Dubai Championships, she lost in a three-set first round battle to

Coco Gauff Cori Dionne "Coco" Gauff (born March 13, 2004) is an American professional tennis player. She has a career-high ranking of world No. 4 in singles, reached on October 24, 2022, and world No. 1 in doubles, achieved on August 15, 2022. Gauff won h ...

after saving multiple match points and having match points of her own. Competing as the top seed at the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy, she reached the quarterfinals where she was defeated by compatriot and eventual finalist,

Margarita Gasparyan Margarita Melikovna Betova (née Gasparyan; rus, Маргари́та Ме́ликовна Гаспаря́н, , mərɡɐˈrʲitə ɡəspɐˈrʲan, Ru-Margarita Gasparyan.ogg, hy, Մարգարիտա Մելիքի Գասպարյան; born 1 Sept ...

. Seeded 30th in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, she lost in the third round to fifth seed Elina Svitolina. At the

Porsche Tennis Grand Prix The Stuttgart Open, also known by its sponsored name Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, is a women's tennis tournament held in Stuttgart, Germany (until 2005, in Filderstadt, a southern suburb of Stuttgart). Held since 1978, the tournament is the oldest w ...

, Alexandrova made it to the quarterfinals in a WTA clay tournament for the first time in her career where she was defeated by second seed Simona Halep. In

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, she lost in the first round to 12th seed Victoria Azarenka. At the

, she was defeated in the third round by Jessica Pegula. Seeded third at the

, she reached the quarterfinals where she lost to fifth seed and eventual champion,

Barbora Krejčíková Barbora Krejčíková (; born 18 December 1995) is a Czech professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2, achieved on 28 February 2022, and on 22 October 2018, she became world No. 1 in doubles. Krejčíková ...

. Seeded 32nd at the

, she beat seven-time Grand Slam champion

Venus Williams Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American professional tennis player. A former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, Williams has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open. She is ...

in the first round. She was defeated in the second round by eventual champion Krejčíková. Alexandrova played only one grass-court tournament to prepare for Wimbledon. At the

German Open German Open is a name given to many sports events established in Germany, and include: *German Open (badminton), an annual badminton tournament held since 1955. * German Open (golf), was a golf tournament on the European Tour *German Masters, a snoo ...

, she stunned second seed Elina Svitolina in the second round for her second top 10 win of the year. She lost in the quarterfinals to fifth seed and eventual finalist, Belinda Bencic. Seeded 32nd at Wimbledon, she was shocked by qualifier María Camila Osorio Serrano in the second round. Representing Russia at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

, Alexandrova lost in the second round to

Nadia Podoroska Nadia Natacha Podoroska (; born 10 February 1997) is an Argentine professional tennis player. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Podoroska has won one doubles title on the WTA Tour, along with 14 singles titles and seven doubles titles on ...

after upsetting

in the first round. Alexandrova lost in the opening rounds of the Western & Southern Open and the Tennis in the Land events to

Jennifer Brady Jennifer Elizabeth Brady (born April 12, 1995) is an inactive American professional tennis player. She reached a career-high singles WTA ranking of world No. 13 on 22 February 2021, and a career-high doubles ranking of 44 on 19 August 2019. Br ...

and

Irina-Camelia Begu Irina-Camelia Begu (born 26 August 1990) is a Romanian professional tennis player. She reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 22 in the world, in August 2016. Two years later, she reached her highest WTA doubles ranking, also No. 22. Begu ...

respectively. She ended a three-match losing streak at the US Open, defeating former Grand Slam finalist

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in the first round with 42 winners. However, she was stunned by lucky loser Kamilla Rakhimova in the second round. She lost to Tauson for the second time in 2021 at the Luxembourg Open before she retired in the final qualifying round of the Ostrava Open. After recuperating for more than a month, Alexandrova returned for the Kremlin Cup. She took the first set against top-10 player

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in the first round before her opponent was forced to retire. The Russian then defeated

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in straight sets to reach her first quarterfinal since June. She then sealed a huge upset over world No. 2, Aryna Sabalenka, in straight sets before earning her third top 10 win of the tournament over

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when the Greek was forced to retire down 1–4 in the opening set. Leading 6–4, 4–0 in the final set against Anett Kontaveit, she was unable to close out the victory and eventually lost in three sets. Alexandrova was part of the Russia team that won the inaugural Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Prague. She lost the only match she competed in the week against

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, but Russia was still able to defeat France 2–1 in that tie and win the title at the end of the week.

2022: Top 20 Debut, 2 WTA Titles

Alexandrova started her season at

2022 Adelaide International 1 The 2022 Adelaide International 1 was a tennis tournament on the 2022 ATP Tour and 2022 WTA Tour. It was a combined ATP Tour 250 and WTA 500 tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the redeveloped Memorial Drive Tennis Centre in Adelaide, S ...

. She lost in the first round to

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which is followed by a second round exit to

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

. Unseeded at the

, she lost to Bernarda Pera in the first round. After defeating

, she was defeated by

in the second round of St. Petersburg. Alexandrova suffered early exits in both Indian Wells and

losing to Simona Halep and Victoria Azarenka, respectively in the second rounds. Alexandrova eventually turned her underwhelming season around and reached the semifinals of 2022 Credit One Charleston Open – Singles defeating

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, Zheng Qinwen, Karolina Pliskova and Magda Linette in route. She lost to the eventual champion

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in straight sets. Following a second round exit in

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to Anett Kontaveit, she reached her first WTA 1000 semifinals in

from qualies cruising past Ostapenko and Anisimova in route. She lost to the eventual champion

in the semifinal. However, it was followed by a second round appearance in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

to Maria Sakkari. Seeded 30th in the

, she lost to

in the second round. She won her second WTA title at the 2022 Libéma Open cruising past Dayana Yastremska,

, Veronika Kudermetova and Aryna Sabalenka dropping only one set in route. Following a second round loss to Daria Kasatkina in 2022 WTA German Open – Singles, Berlin, she suffered a wrist injury and took a break. She suffered some early exits after returning from injury, losing in the second rounds of 2022 Western & Southern Open – Women's singles, Cincinnati and 2022 Tennis in the Land – Singles, Cleveland. Seeded 28th in the 2022 US Open – Women's singles, US Open, she reached the second round where she was defeated by Lauren Davis in three sets. Alexandrova won her second title of the 2022 season in 2022 Korea Open – Women's singles, Seoul defeating Jelena Ostapenko in the final. She continued her great run of form in 2022 Ostrava Open – Singles, Ostrava as she surges into the semifinals with wins over Victoria Azarenka, Daria Kasatkina and Tereza Martincová. In the semifinals, she was ultimately defeated by World No. 1

in three sets. After reaching the semifinals in Ostrava, she made her top twenty debut in the WTA Rankings on 10th October 2022. Seeded 15th in 2022 Guadalajara Open Akron – Singles, Guadalajara, she struggled with the high altitude as she lost to Camila Osorio in the first round.

Sponsorships

Alexandrova has been endorsed by Fila for apparel and shoes since 2020. She was sponsored by Lotto Sport Italia, Lotto earlier in her career. She is also endorsed by Wilson Sporting Goods, Wilson for rackets, specifically using Wilson blade range.

Performance timelines

''Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup/Billie Jean King Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.''

Singles

''Current after the 2023 Adelaide International 1 – Women's singles, 2023 Adelaide International.''

Doubles

''Current through the 2022 Portoroz.''

WTA career finals

Singles: 5 (3 titles, 2 runner-ups)

Doubles: 1 (1 title)

WTA 125 tournament finals

Singles: 3 (3 titles)

Doubles: 1 (runner-up)

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 15 (7 titles, 8 runner–ups)

Billie Jean King Cup participation

Singles: 3 (2–1)

WTA Tour career earnings

''Current after the 2022 Korea Open – Women's singles, 2022 Korea Open.''

Head-to-head records

Record against top 10 players

''Active players are in boldface.''

Top 10 wins

Awards

;National *The Russian Cup (tennis), Russian Cup in the nominations: **Olympians-2020; **Team of the Year: 2021.

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexandrova, Ekaterina 1994 births Living people Russian expatriate sportspeople in the Czech Republic Russian female tennis players Tennis players from Chelyabinsk Olympic tennis players of Russia Tennis players at the 2020 Summer Olympics