Johanna Konta (born 17 May 1991) is a British 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, having represented Australia until 2012. She won four singles titles on the
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 ...
, as well as 11 singles and four 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 series of professional tennis tournaments run by the International Tennis Federation for female professional tennis players.
History
It serves as a developmental ...
. The former British no. 1 reached a career-high singles ranking of world no. 4 on 17 July 2017. She reached the semi-finals of the
Australian Open,
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
* ...
and the
French Open.
Born to
Hungarian parents in Sydney, Australia, Konta moved to England when she was 14. She has treble citizenship: Hungarian, Australian and British. She switched her sporting allegiance from Australia to Great Britain after she became a
British citizen
British nationality law prescribes the conditions under which a person is recognised as being a national of the United Kingdom. The six different classes of British nationality each have varying degrees of civil and political rights, due to the ...
in May 2012.
Konta achieved a steep rise in her
WTA ranking from the spring of 2015 to late 2016, climbing from 150th to inside the world's top ten, becoming the first Briton to be ranked amongst the WTA's top ten since
Jo Durie was ranked fifth over 30 years prior.
This period included her best
Grand Slam
Grand Slam most often refers to:
* Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves
Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to:
Games and sports
* Grand slam, winning category te ...
result up to that time, the semi-finals of the
2016 Australian Open
The 2016 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park between 18 and 31 January 2016. It was the 104th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. The tournament consisted of ev ...
,
a quarter-final appearance at the
Rio Summer Olympics and her maiden WTA title in
Stanford.
In 2017, she won the
Miami Open[ and reached the semi-final 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
* ...
.[ Konta had another successful season in 2019, reaching the semi-finals at the French Open and the quarter-finals 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
* ...
and the US Open. Konta retired on 1 December 2021, after struggling with a long-term right knee injury which led to her ranking dropping outside the top 100.
Personal life
Johanna Konta was born in Sydney, Australia, on 17 May 1991, the daughter of Hungarian parents Gábor, a hotel manager, and Gabriella, a dentist.[ Her parents had emigrated separately from Hungary and met in Australia.][ One of Konta's grandfathers, Tamás Kertész (1929–1989), played football for ]Ferencvárosi TC
Ferencvárosi Torna Club, known as Ferencváros (), Fradi, or simply FTC, is a professional football club based in Ferencváros, Budapest, Hungary, that competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the top flight of Hungarian football. Ferencváros ...
; he won two international caps
Caps are flat headgear.
Caps or CAPS may also refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters
* Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...
for Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
in the 1950s and later coached the Ghana national team. Konta has a half sister, Eva Mumford, from her father's previous marriage. Her sister is married to former Australian rules football player Shane Mumford.[
Konta's childhood was spent in Collaroy on Sydney's ]Northern Beaches
The Northern Beaches is a region within Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, near the Pacific coast. This area extends south to the entrance of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), west to Middle Harbour and north to the en ...
, where she was introduced to 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 ...
at an after-school programme at the age of eight. When she was 14, she attended the Sánchez-Casal Tennis Academy in Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
for 15 months, during which time her parents settled in Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...
, England.
Konta became a British citizen in May 2012 and concurrently switched her sporting allegiance from Australia to Great Britain.[ When her nationality became the subject of debate at the ]2016 Australian Open
The 2016 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park between 18 and 31 January 2016. It was the 104th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. The tournament consisted of ev ...
after she was labelled a Plastic Brit, Konta said it was "a compliment for you guys to be interested in my Australian roots", but that she was "very pleased to be representing Great Britain ... where I grew up essentially". Konta has three passports – British, Australian and Hungarian.
Konta lives in East Sussex, where her applications to build a home in the protected Ashdown Forest
Ashdown Forest is an ancient area of open heathland occupying the highest sandy ridge-top of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is situated some south of London in the county of East Sussex, England. Rising to an elevation
o ...
have proved controversial.
Two weeks after her retirement from professional tennis, Konta announced on Twitter that she had married her long-term boyfriend Jackson Wade. The wedding took place on 11 December 2021, and on September 12, 2022, she announced on her social accounts, the birth of her daughter Emmeline Konta-Wade.
Career
2008: $10,000 title
Konta won her first ITF singles title at a $10k tournament in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina shortly before her 17th birthday in May 2008. She commented that the best was yet to come.
2009: $25,000 title
Konta achieved a significant breakthrough at a $25k tournament in Sutton, England, in February 2009. Entering as a wildcard, she defeated the top seed, Corinna Dentoni, who was ranked 153 at the time, and two other top 250 players to reach the final where she lost in three sets to 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 ...
. Konta backed this performance up by winning the $25k Waterloo Challenger in Ontario in June, over Heidi El Tabakh
Heidi El Tabakh (born September 25, 1986) is an Egyptian-born Canadian former professional tennis player.
Her highest singles ranking by the WTA is 146, which she reached in October 2012. Her career-high of 173 in doubles, she set in February 20 ...
.
Konta then went through a difficult time in the second half of the year, losing her first match in eight of the nine tournaments entered, six of these losses going to three sets. However, with the help of the earlier results, she rose from 668 to 360 in the WTA rankings
The WTA rankings are the ratings defined by the Women's Tennis Association, introduced in November 1975.
Iga Świątek is the current world No. 1.
Ranking method
The WTA rankings are based on a rolling 52-week, cumulative system. A pla ...
during the year.
2010: $50,000 title
Konta regained some form at the start of 2010. In May, she reached the quarterfinal of the $50k tournament at Indian Harbour Beach, Florida. The following week she took the title on the green clay courts of Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southe ...
, another $50k tournament, where, the day before her 19th birthday, she defeated Lindsay Lee-Waters
Lindsay Lee-Waters (born June 28, 1977) is an American former professional tennis player.
Lee-Waters has a career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 33, achieved on 1 April 1996. She also has a career-high WTA doubles ranking of 85, achieved on 25 ...
in the final.
Highlights later in the year included another $50k quarterfinal appearance, two semifinal appearances in $25k tournaments and her second ITF singles title of the year at a $10k event in Westende, Belgium, where, in the final, she defeated Nicky Van Dyck for the loss of just one game. Konta also played her first 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 ...
event when she entered the qualifying for Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
, winning a match before exiting the event.
2011: Drop in ranking
In April 2011, she lost in three sets in the qualifying draw of Charleston to 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 i ...
. She also fell in qualifying at Fes
Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 mi ...
and Strasbourg. She reached the main draw of a WTA Tour event for the first time when she qualified at Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
in June, falling in the first round to fourth seed 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 ...
, who was ranked 38 at the time, in a match that lasted over two and a half hours.
Konta won her fifth ITF singles title at the GB Pro-Series event in Woking in July. In the final against 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 t ...
, Konta was a set up when her opponent retired.
After a patchy couple of months interrupted by injury, Konta got back to her winning ways at a $10k event in Madrid, beating Lucy Brown in the final. However, her year ended during a second meeting with Robson in the first round at Barnstaple in October, with Konta having to retire this time. She slipped from 248 to 305 in the world rankings over the course of the season, and showed an improvement of only 55 places over the previous two years.
2012: First match wins in WTA and Grand Slam events
Konta achieved some welcome results in the first half of 2012, including a $25k title at Rancho Mirage in February. She then qualified for the WTA Tour event in Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
for the second successive year, recording her first-match win in a full tour main draw over seventh seed Ksenia Pervak
Ksenia Yuryevna Pervak (russian: Ксения Юрьевна Первак; born 27 May 1991) is a retired tennis player from Russia.
Pervak won one singles title on the WTA Tour, as well as nine singles and three doubles titles on the ITF Circ ...
(then ranked 38) in the opening round, before losing to Petra Martić at the next stage. By the end of April, Konta had risen nearly 100 places to No. 211 in the rankings.
Having been granted British citizenship in May, Konta received a main-draw wildcard to 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
* ...
; she faced 28th seed 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 ...
in the opening round, being beaten 10–8 in the deciding set.
A $50k final appearance at Lexington in July helped to maintain momentum, and the following month Konta qualified for the US Open, bridging a gap of almost 150 places in the rankings to upset world No. 59, Tímea Babos
Tímea Babos (; born 10 May 1993) is a Hungarian professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles.
She is a four-time Grand Slam champion in women's doubles, having won the 2018 and 2020 Australian Opens, as well as the Fre ...
, in the first round, saving ten set points in the second set as she recorded her first career win at Grand Slam
Grand Slam most often refers to:
* Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves
Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to:
Games and sports
* Grand slam, winning category te ...
-level. In the second round, Konta let a 5–2 final set lead slip against Olga Govortsova
Olga Alekseyevna Govortsova ( be, Вольга Аляксееўна Гаварцова (Volha Alyakseyeuna Havartsova); ; born 23 August 1988) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. On 23 June 2008, she achieved a career-high singles ranki ...
and lost. This run propelled her into the world's top 150 for the first time in her career, slipping a few places to end the year with a ranking of 153.
2013: $100,000 title
At the Australian Open, Konta failed to build on her form from the US Open, losing in the second qualifying round to Zhou Yimiao
Zhou Yimiao, also spelled as Zhou Yi-Miao, (; ; born February 7, 1991) is a professional Chinese tennis player.
Zhou was born in Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is ...
of China, in three sets.
In February, Konta made her 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 ...
debut for 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 i ...
in Europe/Africa Zone Group 1 Pool B. Konta and Laura Robson won their doubles match as Britain opened with a whitewash against Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
. Konta was then rested as Britain beat Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
, before teaming up again with Robson in a losing doubles effort against Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
, though Britain ultimately won this tie 2–1.
In April, Konta played in the Fed Cup World Group II play-off against Argentina. Konta was initially nominated to represent Britain in two of the singles rubbers. However, after losing her opening match against Paula Ormaechea
Paula Ormaechea (; born 28 September 1992) is an Argentine tennis player based in Italy. She has won 16 singles and nine doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 21 October 2013, she reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 59.World Grou ...
, Great Britain captain Judy Murray
Judith Mary Murray, OBE (née Erskine; born 8 September 1959) is a Scottish tennis coach. She is the mother of professional tennis players Jamie and Sir Andy Murray.
Life and career
Murray was born on 8 September 1959 in Bridge of Allan, Sti ...
decided that 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-ter ...
would replace Konta in the Sunday reverse singles.
Konta's next tournament was the Portugal Open
The Portugal Open (formerly named Estoril Open) was an ATP and WTA clay court tennis tournament in Portugal. The event took place at the sports complex of Jamor in Oeiras, of which Estoril Court Central is the most prominent show court. In 20 ...
in Oeiras, where she beat top-100 player Yulia Putintseva
Yulia Antonovna Putintseva ( rus, Ю́лия Анто́новна Пути́нцева; , ''puh-TEEN-tseh-vah''; born 7 January 1995) is a Russian-born Kazakhstani professional tennis player. She is a three-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist (twic ...
in the first qualifying round but was then forced to retire in the second qualifying round against Stéphanie Foretz Gacon
Stéphanie is a feminine French feminine given name. Notable people with the name include:
*Stéphanie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (born 1984), Belgian noble; wife of Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg
*Princess Stéphanie ...
. Konta also reached the second qualifying round at the French Open, losing to Galina Voskoboeva
Galina Olegovna Voskoboeva (russian: Галина Олеговна Воскобоева; born 18 December 1984) is a professional Russian-born Kazakhstani tennis player. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 42 on 7 May 2012. He ...
in three sets.
In June, Konta entered the Nottingham Trophy, a $75k tournament, reaching the semifinals after victories over An-Sophie Mestach
An-Sophie Mestach (born 7 March 1994) is a Belgian retired tennis player.
In her career, Mestach won two doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as six singles titles and eight doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 14 September 2015, she reac ...
, fifth seed Misaki Doi
is a Japanese professional tennis player. Her highest WTA rankings are No. 30 in singles and No. 77 in doubles.
Doi reached two junior Grand Slam doubles finals – at Wimbledon in 2007 with Kurumi Nara, and at the Australian Open in 2008 ...
and Alison Riske
Alison Riske-Amritraj (née Riske; born July 3, 1990) is an American professional tennis player. She reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 18 in November 2019 and won her first WTA Tour title in October 2014 at the Tianjin Open. ...
. In the semifinals, Konta lost a tough battle against third seed Karolína Plíšková
Karolína Hrdličková (née Plíšková; ; born 21 March 1992) is a Czech professional tennis player. She is a former world No. 1 in singles, reaching the top of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings on 17 July 2017 and holding the posi ...
, going down in three sets. Following the event, she was handed a wildcard for the Birmingham Classic. In the first round Konta defeated qualifier Kurumi Nara
is a Japanese former professional tennis player.
She has won one singles title on the WTA Tour, as well as six singles and three doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 18 August 2014, she reached a career-high singles ranking of worl ...
to set up a meeting with French player Kristina Mladenovic
Kristina "Kiki" Mladenovic (; sr, Кристина "Кики" Младеновић, Kristina "Kiki" Mladenović, ; born 14 May 1993) is a French professional tennis player and a former world No. 1 in doubles.
She is a nine-time Grand Slam c ...
, the 12th seed at the tournament, who beat her in straight sets.
Konta also received a wildcard 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 she was drawn against 16th seed 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 ...
in the first round. She lost in straight sets against the Serbian former world number one.
Following Wimbledon, Konta started her build-up to the US Open by winning a $25k event in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where she defeated fellow British player Samantha Murray
Samantha Murray (born 25 September 1989) is an English modern pentathlete. She won the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and the bronze medal at the 2012 World Championships. In 2014, she won individual gold and team silver medals at t ...
in the final. She then kept up her form by winning the Vancouver Open
The VanOpen, currently sponsored as Odlum Brown VanOpen, is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hardcourts. It is part of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Challenger Tour, and of the ITF Women's Circuit. It is h ...
, a $100k event, where she defeated Sharon Fichman
Sharon Fichman ( ; born December 3, 1990) is a Canadian-Israeli inactive tennis player.
In 2004, at the age of 13, she was Canada's Under-18 Indoor & Outdoor National girls' champion, and also won the doubles title. In 2005, Fichman won the gol ...
in the final after eliminating top seed and world No. 41, Hsieh Su-wei
Hsieh Su-wei ( ;''Xiè 謝淑薇Shūwēi'' in Chinese mainland. Taiwanese Mandarin: ; in Standard Mandarin of Chinese mainland. born 4 January 1986) is an inactive Taiwanese professional tennis player. She has won three singles titles and 30 ...
, along the way. This propelled Konta to a then career-high ranking of 115.
At the Guangzhou International Open, Konta won two rounds of qualifying to reach the main draw. In the first round, she beat fellow qualifier Richèl Hogenkamp
Richèl Hogenkamp (born 16 April 1992) is a Dutch professional tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 94, which she reached on 24 July 2017. On the ITF Circuit, she has won 16 singles and 14 doubles titles.
Personal background
Hog ...
in straight sets, before upsetting fourth seed and world No. 38, Peng Shuai
Peng Shuai (; born 8 January 1986) is a Chinese retired professional tennis player. In February 2014, she was ranked world No. 1 doubles player by the WTA, becoming the first Chinese tennis player to achieve that ranking (in either single ...
, equaling her best career-win in terms of ranking to this point. However, her run was stopped in the quarterfinals, losing to wild card Zhang Shuai in straight sets. A week later, at the Ningbo International Open, Konta made the quarterfinals again, but was forced to retire in her match against Johanna Larsson
Johanna Larsson (; born 17 August 1988) is a Swedish former tennis player. She won two singles and 14 doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as 13 singles and 17 doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. Her career-high WTA rankings are ...
, suffering from an abdominal strain.
She officially became the British No. 2 behind Laura Robson, after Heather Watson failed to defend her title in Osaka and ended the year ranked 112.
2014: Top 100
Konta began 2014 at the Shenzhen Open, losing to 15-year-old wildcard Xu Shilin
Xu Shilin (; ; born 10 January 1998) is a Chinese tennis player.
Xu was born in Zhongshan, and has won five singles and six doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 6 May 2019, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 190. On 22 ...
in the first qualifying round. Together with her Austrian partner Patricia Mayr-Achleitner
Patricia Mayr-Achleitner (née Mayr; born 8 November 1986 in Rum, Tyrol, Rum) is a retired Austrian tennis player.
Mayr-Achleitner won 17 singles and seven doubles titles on the International Tennis Federation, ITF Circuit in her career. On 4 May ...
, she reached the semifinals in doubles, losing to the Ukrainian sisters Lyudmyla and Nadiia Kichenok
Nadiia Viktorivna Kichenok ( uk, Надія Вікторівна Кіченок, born 20 July 1992) is a Ukrainian professional tennis player. On 6 January 2014, she reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 100. On 31 January 2022, she ...
, in straight sets. The following week, seeded third in Australian Open qualifying, Konta won her first match against Grace Min
Grace Min (born May 6, 1994) is an American tennis player who won the 2011 US Open girls' singles title.Olga Savchuk
Olga Mykolayivna Savchuk ( uk, Ольга Миколаївна Савчук; born 20 September 1987) is a retired tennis player from Ukraine. Savchuk grew up in the city of Makiyivka in Donetsk province. She resides in Nassau, Bahamas.
Her best ...
.
After retiring in her first-round match at a $25k event in Sunderland and losing in qualifying for the Open GdF Suez in Paris, Konta helped Great Britain to a 2–1 win over Latvia in their first round-robin match at 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 she battled to victory over Diāna Marcinkēviča
Diāna Marcinkēviča (born 3 August 1992) is a tennis player from Latvia.
Marcinkēviča has won seven singles and 28 doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 28 April 2014, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 196. On 26 May ...
. However, she later lost singles rubbers to Romania's world No. 10, Simona Halep
Simona Halep (; born 27 September 1991) is a Romanian professional tennis player. She has been ranked world No. 1 in singles twice between 2017 and 2019, for a total of 64 weeks, which ranks eleventh in the history of the Women's Tennis Assoc ...
, and Hungary's Tímea Babos as Britain were eliminated at the pool stage.
In May, Konta reached the final qualifying round of Roland Garros for the first time, defeating Sachia Vickery
Sachia Vickery (born May 11, 1995) is an American professional tennis player. She first entered the top 100 in 2018 and eventually reached a career-high of No. 73 in the world in the WTA rankings.
Her best results on the WTA Tour came at the 2 ...
, and Paula Kania
Paula or PAULA may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Paula, in video game ''EarthBound''
* Paula, in ''The Larry Sanders Show''
* Paula Campbell (''EastEnders''), in 2003
Film and television
* ''Paula'' (1915 film), a si ...
, before losing to Yuliya Beygelzimer
Yuliya Markovna Beygelzimer ( ua, Юлія Марківна Бейгельзимер; born 20 October 1983) is a retired tennis player from Ukraine.
Career
She is perhaps best known for nearly defeating Jennifer Capriati at the 2004 French Op ...
.
Konta then moved into the grass-court season by playing at the Birmingham Classic as a wildcard. She beat 14th seed Kurumi Nara
is a Japanese former professional tennis player.
She has won one singles title on the WTA Tour, as well as six singles and three doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 18 August 2014, she reached a career-high singles ranking of worl ...
in straight sets, before losing to Aleksandra Wozniak
Aleksandra Wozniak ( pl, Woźniak; born September 7, 1987) is a Canadian former tennis player. She turned professional in November 2005, and achieved a career-best ranking of No. 21 in June 2009, making her the fifth highest-ranked Canadian singl ...
in the second round.
Konta was awarded another wildcard to compete at 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 ...
, where she defeated 2013 Wimbledon junior champion Belinda Bencic
Belinda Bencic ( sk, Belinda Benčičová, ; born 10 March 1997) is a Swiss professional tennis player. She has a career-high ranking of No. 4 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) which she achieved in February 2020. Bencic has won six singl ...
, in straight sets. This set up a meeting with world No. 42, 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 fi ...
, who had stunned fourth seed Victoria Azarenka
Victória Fyódarauna Azárenka ( be, Вікторыя Фёдараўна Азаранка; Russian: Виктория Фёдоровна Азаренко; born 31 July 1989) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Azarenka is a former w ...
in the first round. Despite holding a match point at 5–4 up in the final set, Konta lost to the Italian. Nevertheless, her first-round success was enough to propel Konta into the top 100 as she reached a career-high of 89 in July, before falling back as she failed to replenish the ranking points won from her successes in the second half of the previous year.
Konta gained direct entry into the 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
* ...
main draw, losing a tight three-set match to Peng Shuai in the first round.
Konta's next tournament was 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 ...
, where she won through qualifying as the top seed. She was again drawn with Kurumi Nara in the first round, losing to the sixth-seeded Japanese in straight sets. She then moved across to North America to play the Connecticut Open; she also encountered a recent opponent here as she faced top seed Peng Shuai in the second qualifying round and was eliminated.
Her ranking gave her a second consecutive direct entry to a Grand Slam main draw as she played the US Open, but she suffered a 'wasted opportunity' as she was beaten in the opening round by Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er ( he, שחר פאר, ; born ) is an Israeli retired tennis player.
Pe'er won five singles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as four singles and three doubles titles on the ITF circuit in her career. She reached ...
.
Konta then suffered opening-round defeats at Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
, and in the qualifying in 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 ...
. She also played on the ITF Circuit, reaching the semifinals at Albuquerque
Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
and the second round at 2014 Open GDF Suez Nantes Atlantique – Singles, Nantes. She ended the year ranked 150.
2015: US Open run and top 50
Konta began the year by entering the qualifying of the 2015 WTA Tour, WTA Tour events at 2015 WTA Shenzhen Open – Singles, Shenzhen and 2015 Apia International Sydney – Women's singles#Qualifying, Sydney, but did not manage to progress to either of the main draws. She was also eliminated in qualifying at the 2015 Australian Open, Australian Open. Konta returned to Europe to join up with the British team for the 2015 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone#Group I, Fed Cup Euro/Africa Zone Group I. She went 2–2 in singles play as Britain topped their round-robin pool, before losing a play-off to Belarus Fed Cup team, Belarus. In the play-off, Konta suffered a heavy defeat against Olga Govortsova
Olga Alekseyevna Govortsova ( be, Вольга Аляксееўна Гаварцова (Volha Alyakseyeuna Havartsova); ; born 23 August 1988) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. On 23 June 2008, she achieved a career-high singles ranki ...
, a match that team captain Judy Murray
Judith Mary Murray, OBE (née Erskine; born 8 September 1959) is a Scottish tennis coach. She is the mother of professional tennis players Jamie and Sir Andy Murray.
Life and career
Murray was born on 8 September 1959 in Bridge of Allan, Sti ...
said 'was a catalyst for change' for Konta's success in the later part of the season.
Her sole WTA Tour event between the Australian and French Opens was at Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Indian Wells, where she again entered the qualifying competition, winning her opening match against tenth seed Misaki Doi
is a Japanese professional tennis player. Her highest WTA rankings are No. 30 in singles and No. 77 in doubles.
Doi reached two junior Grand Slam doubles finals – at Wimbledon in 2007 with Kurumi Nara, and at the Australian Open in 2008 ...
, but being beaten in the final round of qualifying by Kateryna Kozlova. During this period she focused instead on the ITF Circuit, winning her first-round match in each tournament she entered, reaching three quarterfinals, one semifinal and the final of the event in Jackson, Mississippi (lost to Anhelina Kalinina).
Konta made her debut in the main draw at the 2015 French Open, French Open against Denisa Allertová after she won her way through 2015 French Open – Women's singles qualifying, qualifying without losing a set. Konta narrowly lost to Allertová. Konta then returned to the UK, where she was granted wildcards to the WTA Tour grass-court events in 2015 Nottingham Open, Nottingham, 2015 Aegon Classic, Birmingham and 2015 Aegon International, Eastbourne. At Nottingham, Konta recorded her first top 100 win of 2015 in the opening round as she beat world No. 59 and seventh seed for the event, Magdaléna Rybáriková. Konta would also beat Monica Puig before exiting in the quarterfinals to eventual tournament runner-up Monica Niculescu. Konta then played the WTA Premier tournaments, WTA Premier event in Birmingham. She beat Jarmila Gajdošová in the first round before running into sixth seed Karolína Plíšková; Konta took the opening set off Plíšková, then ranked 13 in the world, but would eventually lose in three sets in a match played over two days. Konta's conqueror ended the tournament as the runner-up for the second week in a row.
Konta's next event was in her hometown of Eastbourne. In the opening round, she upset Zarina Diyas, before claiming a 'major scalp' by beating world No. 8 and recent Grand Slam semifinalist, Ekaterina Makarova, who was the fourth seed for the event, in the second round. Konta continued her run by beating 14th seed Garbiñe Muguruza, before losing to Belinda Bencic in a three-set quarterfinal. Bencic became the third consecutive player to beat Konta en route to the final of an event, as the rising Swiss star won the Eastbourne title.
The draw for 2015 Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon paired Konta, who entered with a wildcard, with former champion Maria Sharapova. The match was scheduled for Centre Court, with Sharapova winning efficiently. After Wimbledon, Konta returned to action at the ITF event in 2015 Challenger Banque Nationale de Granby, Granby, Quebec; she entered as the top seed, and took the title without dropping a set. Konta's next event saw her reclaim the 2015 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open – Women's singles, Vancouver singles crown, beating Kirsten Flipkens in the final, and also secure the 2015 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open – Women's doubles, doubles title with Maria Sanchez.
The Vancouver singles victory moved Konta back into the world top-100 players ahead of the 2015 US Open (tennis), US Open, which she entered at the qualifying stage as the third seed. She progressed to the 2015 US Open – Women's singles, main draw with wins against Réka Luca Jani, Naomi Osaka and Tamira Paszek. Prior to this, Konta had won just one Grand Slam main draw match in her career, but now added victories over Louisa Chirico, ninth seed Muguruza, and 18th seed Andrea Petkovic, extending her winning streak to 16 matches and setting up a last-16 meeting with two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitová. The match against Muguruza lasted 3 hours and 23 minutes, the longest women's match at the US Open since the tie-break was introduced in 1970. It was also Konta's second top-ten win, and increased her head-to-head record against the Spaniard to 2–0. Czech fifth seed Kvitová ended Konta's run, winning in two tight sets. The points accrued during the North American swing lifted Konta to a new career-high singles ranking of world No. 58.
Konta's first event after the US Open was the 2015 Wuhan Open, Wuhan Open, a 2015 WTA Premier tournaments#Premier 5, Premier-5 event, the second highest level on the WTA Tour. Having won through qualifying, Konta was drawn against Andrea Petkovic in the opening round, a rematch of their New York meeting. She won once again to advance to a second-round encounter with Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1, Victoria Azarenka, who retired after losing the first set. In the third round, Konta faced top seed and world No. 2, Simona Halep, who came into the match leading the WTA in hardcourt victories. Halep established a 5–1 lead in the deciding set, only for Konta to
take six consecutive games as she came back to win. She exited in the quarterfinals after a three-set battle with Venus Williams, who would go on to win the tournament. Konta's run in Wuhan saw her break into the top 50 for the first time, as her ranking reached another new career high at world No. 49. She also took over from Heather Watson as the British number one.
Konta's final event of the season was the Linz Open. She entered in qualifying, where she was the top seed, but lost to Klára Koukalová in the final round, her first defeat against a lower-ranked player since May. However, Konta received an entry to the main draw despite the loss, as she was awarded a lucky loser spot after Anna Karolína Schmiedlová withdrew due to illness. She eased past Annika Beck in the opening round, but went out at the next stage to Madison Brengle. Her year-end ranking was 47. Konta's successful year was recognized by being nominated at the annual WTA Awards. She was a finalist in the WTA Most Improved Player of the Year, Most Improved Player category, but missed out on the award to French Open semifinalist Timea Bacsinszky.
2016: First Grand Slam semifinal, top-ten debut, first WTA title
Konta had a slow start to 2016 as she was eliminated in the first round at 2016 WTA Shenzhen Open – Singles, Shenzhen, where she was the fifth seed (her first seeding at WTA Tour level) and also at 2016 Hobart International – Singles, Hobart.
Konta's next event saw her make her main-draw debut at the 2016 Australian Open – Women's singles, Australian Open. In the opening round she faced Venus Williams, who was seeded eighth. The match was played on Rod Laver Arena, with Konta winning in straight sets. Konta backed up her win by beating Zheng Saisai and Denisa Allertová, setting up a fourth-round clash with 21st seed Ekaterina Makarova. Konta recovered from a set behind to defeat the Russian and reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. Konta defeated qualifier Zhang Shuai in the last-eight before her run ultimately came to an end in the semifinals, where she lost to eventual champion Angelique Kerber in straight sets. Nonetheless, she became the first British female player to reach a Grand Slam singles semifinal in 32 years. Konta also teamed up with countrywoman Heather Watson to play the 2016 Australian Open – Women's doubles, doubles. They beat a seeded pair in the opening round before exiting at the next stage. Konta was at new career highs in the post-tournament rankings, moving up to world No. 28 for singles and breaking into the top 100 for the first time in doubles, at world No. 95. She also passed the $1 million mark for career earnings.
Konta took a brief break due to illness following the Australian Open, returning to action for the spring North American hardcourt swing. She was the fourth seed for the 2016 Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Mexican Open in Acapulco, where she exited in the second round, and also for the 2016 Monterrey Open, Monterrey Open, where she reached the quarterfinals and lost to Kirsten Flipkens. Konta then moved to the United States to participate in the WTA Premier tournaments, Premier-Mandatory events, the highest level on the WTA Tour, at 2016 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells and 2016 Miami Open, Miami. She was seeded 25th at Indian Wells, which gave her a bye into the second round where she defeated Madison Brengle. Konta then beat Denisa Allertová, before exiting in the fourth round to 18th seed Karolína Plíšková. Konta moved on to Miami, where she was seeded 24th, which again saw her benefit from a bye to the second round. Wins over Danka Kovinić and Elena Vesnina took Konta to the last 16, where she beat 32nd seed Monica Niculescu. She lost in the quarterfinals to Victoria Azarenka, who was en route to completing the Indian Wells/Miami Double. Konta's form in North America saw her rise to a new career-high ranking of 21.
The WTA Tour then made its spring switch to Clay court#Spring clay season, clay. Konta had a disappointing start on the surface as she lost her opening match in 2016 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Stuttgart, before retiring with illness during the first round in 2016 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid. Her form improved in 2016 Italian Open – Women's singles, Rome as she beat Johanna Larsson and then upset world number seven Roberta Vinci, before exiting in the third round to Misaki Doi. Konta moved on to Paris for the 2016 French Open, French Open. She was 20th seed, the first time she had been seeded at a Grand Slam, but was eliminated in the opening round by Julia Görges.
Konta entered the Grass court#Summer grass season, grass-court season as world No. 18 as her ranking climbed to a new high despite her opening-round loss at Roland Garros. After early losses at the 2016 Nottingham Open, Nottingham Open and the 2016 Aegon Classic, Birmingham Classic, Konta reached the semifinal in 2016 Aegon International, Eastbourne, the site of her breakout performance in 2015. Her run included a victory over two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitová in the third round, but was ended in the last four by Karolína Plíšková.
Konta was the first home player to be seeded in the ladies singles at 2016 Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon in over 30 years as she took the No. 16 spot. She recorded her first ever win at the venue by beating Monica Puig in a rain-affected opening round match, but went out at the next stage to former finalist Eugenie Bouchard. Following Wimbledon, Konta changed surface to hardcourts to play the 2016 Bank of the West Classic, Stanford Classic. In the semifinals she beat Dominika Cibulková, who had led the WTA in match wins at the time. Konta then defeated two-time former champion Venus Williams in the final to claim her first WTA title. The following week, she reached the quarterfinals of the 2016 Rogers Cup, Canadian Open, the women's portion of which was held in Uniprix Stadium, Montreal. She was within one victory of breaking into the top ten, but missed out on the landmark after suffering a surprise defeat to Kristina Kučová.
The Tennis at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio Olympics was Konta's next event, as she represented Great Britain at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Britain in singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles. She was seeded tenth in singles, easing past Stephanie Vogt (Liechtenstein at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Liechtenstein) and Caroline Garcia (France at the 2016 Summer Olympics, France) in the first and second round respectively. Konta reached the quarterfinals after she beat Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Russia) in the third round, but was knocked out in the last eight by Angelique Kerber (Germany at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Germany). Konta partnered Heather Watson in doubles, reaching the second round before exiting to Chinese Taipei at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Chinese Taipei (Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan). She teamed up with Jamie Murray in the mixed, losing in the opening round to the eventual gold medallists (the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics, United States pairing of Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jack Sock).
After Rio, the WTA Tour resumed with the 2016 Western & Southern Open, Cincinnati Open. Konta reached the third round before going out to Agnieszka Radwańska. She moved on to the 2016 US Open (tennis), US Open recording victories in the opening two rounds over Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Tsvetana Pironkova. The win over Pironkova came despite a health scare towards the end of the second set, Konta collapsing on court and requiring medical attention before she could continue. Konta took just 52 minutes to beat 24th seed Belinda Bencic in the third-round, matching her run to the last 16 from the previous year. She was eliminated at that stage by Anastasija Sevastova.
The final weeks of the season saw Konta with the opportunity of breaking into the top ten and qualifying for the 2016 WTA Finals, WTA Finals for the first time. Her first event on the Far Eastern leg of the WTA Tour was the 2016 Wuhan Open, Wuhan Open. A repeat of her Australian Open quarterfinal victory over Zhang Shuai took Konta to the third round. There she defeated Carla Suárez Navarro to record her fifth top ten win of 2016 and set up a last-eight meeting with Petra Kvitová, where she was knocked out of the competition. The following week saw Konta in Beijing for the 2016 China Open (tennis), China Open. She was drawn to face Sevastova in the opening round in a re-match of their US Open meeting of a few weeks prior, Konta gaining revenge for the defeat in New York. Victory over Tímea Babos at the next stage set up a third-round clash with Karolína Plíšková, which Konta won, reversing a previous 0–5 head-to-head record against the Czech. Konta progressed to the semifinal by beating Chinese number one, Zhang Shuai, for the second successive week. She defeated Madison Keys in the last four to reach her first Premier Mandatory final. Victory over Keys saw Konta enter the top ten for the first time in her career, making her the first British woman since Jo Durie in 1984 to be ranked amongst the elite of the WTA. It also lifted her into a qualifying place for the WTA Finals. Konta was beaten in the final by Agnieszka Radwańska.
Konta attempted to consolidate her Tour Finals place in 2016 Hong Kong Tennis Open, Hong Kong, but an abdominal strain forced her to pull out of her second-round match. She slipped outside the qualifying spots when Dominika Cibulková won the tournament in 2016 Generali Ladies Linz, Linz, which secured the last place for the Slovak. However, the subsequent withdrawal of Serena Williams gave Konta another chance. She had already travelled to Singapore to practice, only to be pipped for the final place less than 24 hours before the start of the event when Svetlana Kuznetsova won the title in 2016 Kremlin Cup, Moscow. Konta remained at the venue as an alternate, but was unused. If Konta was to have qualified in the Tour Finals, she would become the first British woman since Jo Durie in the 1984 Virginia Slims Championships. Following her eventual absence from the WTA Finals' lineup, Konta entered the 2016 WTA Elite Trophy, WTA Elite Trophy a week later in Zhuhai, China. She was placed in the Azalea Group alongside Sam Stosur and Caroline Garcia. Konta opened with a win over Stosur that guaranteed she would finish the season ranked inside the WTA's top ten, the first Briton to achieve this since 1983. She then beat Garcia to top the group and progress to a semifinal against Elina Svitolina, which Svitolina won to end Konta's season.
Konta led the 2016 WTA Tour in points won behind second serve, and sat third for top-ten wins, hardcourt-match wins and tie-breaks won. She also featured in the top ten of a number of other statistical categories. Konta was nominated as one of the WTA's WTA Most Improved Player of the Year, Most Improved Players for the second successive year, winning the award comfortably on this occasion with over 80% of the vote. Her end-of-season ranking was No. 10.
After the conclusion of the season, Konta announced that she was parting company with her coaching team of Esteban Carril and Jose-Manuel Garcia, despite her 'stellar year'.
2017: Miami Open champion, Wimbledon semifinalist
Konta started working with Belgian coach Wim Fissette during pre-season training. Their professional relationship began with Konta's reaching the semifinals of her first event of the new campaign in 2017 WTA Shenzhen Open – Singles, Shenzhen, before being beaten in the last-four by eventual champion, Kateřina Siniaková. The following week in 2017 Apia International Sydney – Women's singles, Sydney, she claimed her second WTA title, avenging her Beijing loss to world number three Agnieszka Radwańska in the final. Konta did not lose a set in the entire tournament.
Ahead of the 2017 Australian Open, Australian Open Konta was widely regarded as a contender for the title. She recorded victories over Kirsten Flipkens, Naomi Osaka, former world No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki, where she hit 31 winners to six and did not face a single break point on serve, and 30th seed Ekaterina Makarova to reach the quarterfinals without dropping a set. Konta was then beaten in the last eight by the eventual champion, Serena Williams.
Her next action was in the 2017 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone#Group I, Fed Cup Euro/Africa Zone Group I. Konta won her three singles matches in the round-robin pool as Great Britain Fed Cup team, Britain reached a promotion play-off against Croatia Fed Cup team, Croatia. In the play-off Konta suffered a surprise singles defeat against Ana Konjuh, but then teamed up with Heather Watson to beat Konjuh and Darija Jurak in the decisive doubles and send Britain forward to a 2017 Fed Cup#World Group II Play-offs, World Group II play-off later in the year.
Watson went from teammate to opponent as Konta won an all-British clash in the second round at 2017 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, before exiting at the next stage against Caroline Garcia. The WTA Tour then traversed the United States to 2017 Miami Open, Miami, where Konta progressed to a quarterfinal meeting with third seed Simona Halep. Halep was twice two points from victory, when serving for the match at 5–4 in the second set and again in the subsequent tie-break, but both times Konta recovered and eventually won in three sets. She then defeated Venus Williams in the semifinal to progress through to her second Premier Mandatory final. There, she defeated Wozniacki to win the biggest title of her career to date, ensuring her re-entry into the WTA's top ten at a new career-high ranking of No. 7. With Premier Mandatory events second only to Grand Slams in terms prestige, some commentators rated Konta's Miami triumph as the most notable title for a British women since Virginia Wade had won 1977 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles, Wimbledon 40 years previously.
Following her Miami triumph, Konta returned to Europe and joined back-up with the Great Britain Fed Cup team, British Fed Cup team as they travelled to face Romania Fed Cup team, Romania in the 2017 Fed Cup#World Group II Play-offs, World Group II Play-offs. The tie was marked by a number of incidents involving Romanian captain Ilie Năstase, culminating in him being first removed from the court and then having his accreditation revoked, effectively excluding him from the venue for the remainder of the tie, after he verbally abused Konta and British team skipper Anne Keothavong during the former's opening day singles rubber against Sorana Cîrstea. Konta broke down in tears over the abuse following Nastase's ejection, with play being suspended to allow her time to compose herself. Konta had been trailing in the second set prior to the interruption, but on resumption won five successive games to overturn the deficit and win the match, which levelled the tie at one rubber each. Konta subsequently lost to Simona Halep as Romania won by three rubbers to two. Năstase was later fined and banned for his behavior.
In the wake of the controversial Fed Cup tie Konta returned to WTA play for the clay-court season. Her first event on the surface was at 2017 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Stuttgart, where she was eliminated in the second round by Anastasija Sevastova. She also lost in the opening round in 2017 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid to Laura Siegemund, and the third round in 2017 Italian Open – Women's singles, Rome to Venus Williams. Konta was seeded seventh in the 2017 French Open, French Open, but was upset by Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei
Hsieh Su-wei ( ;''Xiè 謝淑薇Shūwēi'' in Chinese mainland. Taiwanese Mandarin: ; in Standard Mandarin of Chinese mainland. born 4 January 1986) is an inactive Taiwanese professional tennis player. She has won three singles titles and 30 ...
the first round. She remained yet to win a main draw match in Stade Roland Garros, Paris.
Konta began the grass-court swing in 2017 Nottingham Open, Nottingham, where she was the top seed. She reached the final, her first at Tour level on home soil and on grass, but was upset by Donna Vekić in the title match. The following week saw Konta eliminated in the second round in 2017 Aegon Classic Birmingham, Birmingham. She then competed at the Eastbourne International. Following a bye into the second round, Konta beat Sorana Cîrstea, 2017 French Open – Women's singles, French Open champion Jeļena Ostapenko and world No. 1, Angelique Kerber, to reach the semifinals. She pulled out of the tournament on the morning of her semifinal because of a back injury she sustained in her quarterfinal match against Kerber, raising questions over her fitness for 2017 Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon the following week.
Konta showed no ill-effects of the injury as she faced Hsieh Su-wei in the opening round of a Grand Slam championship for the second time in a row, defeating her in straight sets. In the second round, she recorded a three-set victory over Donna Vekić in a rematch of the Nottingham final. Wins against Maria Sakkari and Caroline Garcia saw Konta reach the quarterfinals, where she defeated second seed Simona Halep, denying Halep the world No. 1 ranking and becoming the first British woman to reach the Wimbledon singles semifinals since Virginia Wade in 1978. She was beaten in the last four by Venus Williams. Konta's ranking reached a new career high of world number four.
Having opted to skip the defence of her 2017 Bank of the West Classic – Singles, Stanford title, Konta began her North American hard court swing in 2017 Rogers Cup, Toronto. Her opening match was against Ekaterina Makarova, which she lost despite holding match points in the second set. The following week in 2017 Western & Southern Open, Cincinnati, she reached the quarterfinals with wins over Kiki Bertens and Dominika Cibulková, before losing to Simona Halep in the quarterfinal.
Konta then lost her first match in her next four tournaments. She lost to Aleksandra Krunić at the 2017 US Open (tennis), US Open, to Barbora Strýcová in 2017 Toray Pan Pacific Open, Tokyo, to Ashleigh Barty in 2017 Wuhan Open, Wuhan and to Monica Niculescu in 2017 China Open (tennis), Beijing. As a result, on 9 October her ranking had fallen to No. 10. After withdrawing from the Kremlin Cup in Moscow as a result of a foot injury, she narrowly missed out on qualification for the WTA Finals for the second year running, with Caroline Garcia claiming the final spot at the year-end championships. On 18 October, Konta revealed that she and coach Wim Fissette would be parting and she would be ending her season, passing up being a reserve for the Finals or playing in the WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai. She confirmed the rest of her team would remain the same and she would be looking for a new coach "as soon as possible", and thanked Fissette for his "patience, hard work and expertise". Konta's end-of-season ranking was No. 9.
For being the first woman since 1978 to reach the Wimbledon semifinal and the first to win a Miami Open (tennis), Premier Mandatory title, Konta was nominated for the 2017 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, placing 11th of the 12 nominees on the public's vote.
2018: Struggle with form
Konta hired Michael Joyce as her new coach during the off-season. In her first tournament of the year in Brisbane International, Brisbane, Konta reached her first quarterfinal since August 2017 before retiring with a hip injury. She was unable to defend her title at Sydney International, Sydney the following week, losing in the first round. At the 2018 Australian Open, Australian Open, Konta was knocked out in the second round by world No. 123, lucky loser Bernarda Pera.
Following the Australian Open, Konta played for Great Britain Fed Cup team, Britain in the 2018 Fed Cup, Fed Cup 2018 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone#Group I, Europe/Africa Group 1. Following a straightforward win over Maria João Koehler, Konta 'survived a scare' to beat Anett Kontaveit as Britain beat hosts Estonia Fed Cup team, Estonia to set up a play-off against Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
. Konta beat Fanny Stollár as Britain progressed to the 2018 Fed Cup World Group II Play-offs, World Group II play-offs. Britain were hoping to be drawn at home for the first time since 1993, but instead were handed a tie away to Japan Fed Cup team, Japan.
On resuming WTA play, Konta was eliminated prior to the quarterfinals of her next three tournaments, before failing to defend her title in 2018 Miami Open, Miami, losing in the fourth round to Venus Williams. She also exited early in the clay-court event at 2018 Volvo Car Open, Charleston.
Konta next played in Britain's Fed Cup tie with Japan. She won both her singles rubbers, beating Kurumi Nara
is a Japanese former professional tennis player.
She has won one singles title on the WTA Tour, as well as six singles and three doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 18 August 2014, she reached a career-high singles ranking of worl ...
and recently crowned 2018 BNP Paribas Open – Women's singles, Indian Wells champion Naomi Osaka. However Britain were beaten in the other two singles rubbers to send the tie to a deciding doubles. Konta and Heather Watson were brought in as late replacements to play this, and though they won the opening set against the Japanese pairing of Miyu Kato (tennis), Miyu Kato and Makoto Ninomiya, the hosts fought back to win the rubber and claim overall victory.
After the Fed Cup Konta returned to clay court action. Her struggles on the surface continued as she suffered an early defeat in 2018 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid. Her form picked up in 2018 Italian Open, Rome, where she reached the third round before exiting to Jeļena Ostapenko. Konta lost in the first round of the 2018 French Open, French Open to No. 93 Yulia Putintseva
Yulia Antonovna Putintseva ( rus, Ю́лия Анто́новна Пути́нцева; , ''puh-TEEN-tseh-vah''; born 7 January 1995) is a Russian-born Kazakhstani professional tennis player. She is a three-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist (twic ...
in straight sets. At the time, she had never won a main-draw match at the French Open and in her post-match press conference she launched a scathing attack on the media.
Grass brought an upturn as Konta reached her first final of the year in 2018 Nottingham Open, Nottingham, after defeating defending champion Donna Vekić in the semifinals in a rerun of the 2017 final of the same event. She was looking to become the first British player to win a WTA Tour level title on home soil since Sue Barker in 1981, but was beaten in the final by Ashleigh Barty. However the resurgence in form was temporary as following this Konta suffered a first round loss in 2018 Birmingham Classic, Birmingham, a second round loss in 2018 Eastbourne International, Eastbourne, and a second round loss at 2018 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles, Wimbledon. Post-Wimbledon, her ranking dropped to 50 – her lowest since September 2015.
Konta's first tournament after Wimbledon was in 2018 Silicon Valley Classic, San Jose. She was paired her with multiple List of Grand Slam women's singles champions#Most Grand Slam tournament singles titles (5 or more), Grand Slam champion Serena Williams in the first round and handed Williams the heaviest defeat of her career, the Briton winning 6–1, 6–0. She then beat Sofia Kenin, before losing to fourth seed Elise Mertens in the quarterfinals. She followed this by reaching the third round in 2018 Rogers Cup, Canadian Open, before losing to Elina Svitolina and then losing in the first round of 2018 Western & Southern Open, Cincinnati to Aryna Sabalenka. Konta's struggles had seen ranking had slip outside the top 32, leading to her being drawn against sixth seed Caroline Garcia in the opening round of the 2018 US Open (tennis), US Open; she lost to continue a poor run of form in Grand Slam matches since her Wimbledon semifinal run of the previous year.
Post the US Open Konta entered the 2018 Toray Pan Pacific Open, Pan Pacific Open in Japan where she lost in the second round to Donna Vekić in two tight sets. She lost to Ashleigh Barty in the first round of the 2018 Wuhan Open, Wuhan. She also lost to Julia Görges in the opening round of the 2018 China Open (tennis), Beijing. Following these defeats Konta split with coach Michael Joyce and agreed a trial with Dimitri Zavialoff for the final event of the regular WTA season in 2018 Kremlin Cup, Moscow. This provided an upbeat ending for Konta as she defeated Elise Mertens, Daria Gavrilova and Aliaksandra Sasnovich to reach her second semifinal of the year. She lost to Daria Kasatkina in the last four, who went on to win the tournament. This run moved Konta's end-of-year ranking up to 39 in the world. Following the successful trial at the Kremlin Cup, Konta hired Zavialoff as her coach on a permanent basis.
2019: Return to top 20, deep runs in majors
Konta started the year at the Brisbane International by defeating third seed Sloane Stephens before losing to Ajla Tomljanović in the second round. She received a lucky loser berth from qualifying for the Sydney International but withdrew with a neck injury. At the 2019 Australian Open – Women's singles, Australian Open she defeated Tomljanovic in a rematch of their Brisbane meeting, before losing in the second round to Muguruza in a marathon three set match that had the latest start in Australian Open history and ended after 3am local time.
Konta's next played the 2019 Fed Cup, Fed Cup. Britain's ties in 2019 Fed Cup Europe/Africa Zone#Group 1, Europe/Africa Group 1 took place in Bath, Somerset, Bath after the Lawn Tennis Association, LTA were awarded co-hosting rights. This was the first time that the Great Britain Fed Cup team, British Fed Cup team had played on home soil in 26 years. Konta recorded wins over Dalila Jakupović, Maria Sakkari and Anna Bondár as Britain topped their opening round pool with a 100% record to set up a promotional play-off with Serbia Fed Cup team, Serbia. Following a victory for teammate Katie Boulter in the opening rubber, Konta beat Aleksandra Krunić in a dramatic match to seal Britain's progress to a 2019 Fed Cup World Group II Play-offs, World Group play-off despite collapsing off-court after the end of the second set and requiring a medical timeout. Konta won a Fed Cup Heart Award for her efforts.
Konta opted not to play in either Doha or Dubai, instead returning to WTA action for the North American spring hardcourt swing. Her first event was in 2019 Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Acapulco where she defeated Laura Siegemund in the first round, followed by victory over Varvara Flink before losing in the quarterfinals to Donna Vekić. At Indian Wells, she defeated Pauline Parmentier and 27th seed Hsieh Su-wei, but went out to Kiki Bertens in the third round. In Miami, she lost in the second round to Wang Qiang (tennis), Wang Qiang of China.
Konta returned to Europe to rejoin Britain's Fed Cup team for their World Group II play-off against Kazakhstan Fed Cup team, Kazakhstan. This was played at the Copper Box Arena in London. It was the first time the venue had hosted international team Tennis. In the play-off Konta twice recovered from a set down to beat Zarina Diyas and Yulia Putintseva. Konta's two victories took her winning run in Fed Cup singles play up to 11 matches. Teammate Boulter completed Britain's victory by three rubbers to one as she beat Diyas. Britain were therefore promoted to World Group II for 2020.
After returning from Fed Cup duties Konta entered the 2019 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem, Morocco Open as the seventh seed. She saved three match points during her first round match against Wang Yafan before rallying to outlast the Chinese player in three sets and progress to a second round encounter with Ana Bogdan. She beat Bogdan and followed that by ousting Hsieh, the tournament's second seed, to reach the semifinals. There she defeated Tomljanovic to reach her first ever clay-court final; Konta lost in the final to Maria Sakkari despite being a set and a break up.
At the 2019 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid Open, she defeated American Alison Riske
Alison Riske-Amritraj (née Riske; born July 3, 1990) is an American professional tennis player. She reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 18 in November 2019 and won her first WTA Tour title in October 2014 at the Tianjin Open. ...
to advance to a second-round match against third seed Simona Halep, which she lost in straight sets. The following week in 2019 Italian Open, Rome, Konta once again defeated Riske in the first round, moving on to face seventh seed Sloane Stephens. She lost the first set, however came back to win in three. Her third round match came later the same day due to a rain delay. She defeated Venus Williams to move into her first WTA Premier tournaments, Premier level clay court quarterfinal. Konta defeated Czech teenager Markéta Vondroušová to reach the semifinals. Konta advanced to the final after defeating Madrid Open champion Bertens; in the final, she was beaten by Karolína Plíšková
Karolína Hrdličková (née Plíšková; ; born 21 March 1992) is a Czech professional tennis player. She is a former world No. 1 in singles, reaching the top of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings on 17 July 2017 and holding the posi ...
, in straight sets. Following her Italian Open run, Konta's ranking improved to 26 in the world, securing her a seeding at the upcoming 2019 French Open, French Open.
Konta came to the French Open having not won a main-draw match at the venue in four previous attempts. She finally broke her 'curse' by beating Antonia Lottner in the first round, and went on to advance to the semifinals. Her run included victory over Vekic in the fourth round and a third win of the year against Stephens in the quarterfinals. By reaching the semifinals, Konta became the first British female player to reach that stage of the French Open since Jo Durie in 1983. Konta was defeated in the semifinal by the unseeded Vondrousova in two tight sets. She returned to the Top 20 in the WTA rankings after this run.
Konta started her grass-court campaign with a win over Anett Kontaveit in the first round of the Birmingham Classic. She lost to Jeļena Ostapenko in the second round. At Eastbourne, Konta reached the third round before losing to Ons Jabeur. She was seeded 19th at 2019 Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon and went on to reach the quarterfinals, picking up her fourth win of the season against Stephens and defeating two-time former champion Petra Kvitová en route. Konta was upset in the last eight by Barbora Strýcová.
Despite losing in the first round of both her 2019 US Open Series, US Open warm-up events, once at the US Open, Konta went on the best run of her career to date at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, venue, beating former top ten player Daria Kasatkina and third seed Karolína Plíšková
Karolína Hrdličková (née Plíšková; ; born 21 March 1992) is a Czech professional tennis player. She is a former world No. 1 in singles, reaching the top of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings on 17 July 2017 and holding the posi ...
en route to the quarterfinals, where she lost to Elina Svitolina. She did not play in another tournament following the US Open, and finished the year as No. 12.
2020: Mixed results, steady ranking
Starting her season at the 2020 Brisbane International – Singles, Brisbane International, Konta lost in the first round to Barbora Strýcová. She then participated at the 2020 Australian Open – Women's singles, Australian Open, where she suffered a shock first-round exit to Ons Jabeur. Her next tournament was at 2020 St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy – Singles, St. Petersburg, where, in receipt of a first round bye, she lost to qualifier Océane Dodin in the second round. Her next tournament was at 2020 Monterrey Open – Singles, Monterrey, where she reached the semifinals, defeating Kim Clijsters, Tatjana Maria, and Anastasia Potapova, before falling to eventual runner-up Marie Bouzková. She was scheduled to play at Indian Wells, but the tour was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her first event upon the tour's resumption was at 2020 Top Seed Open – Singles, Lexington, where she lost in the first round to Bouzková in straight sets for the second consecutive meeting. She reached the semifinals at the 2020 Western & Southern Open, Western & Southern Open, which was held in New York due to the pandemic. She defeated Kirsten Flipkens, Vera Zvonareva, and Maria Sakkari, before falling to the eventual champion, Victoria Azarenka
Victória Fyódarauna Azárenka ( be, Вікторыя Фёдараўна Азаранка; Russian: Виктория Фёдоровна Азаренко; born 31 July 1989) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Azarenka is a former w ...
. At the 2020 US Open – Women's singles, US Open she beat her compatriot Heather Watson in the first round before losing to Sorana Cîrstea in the second round. Her next tournament was at 2020 Italian Open – Women's singles, Rome, where she defeated Irina-Camelia Begu, before falling to Garbiñe Muguruza in the third round. She then participated at the 2020 French Open – Women's singles, French Open, where she lost in the first round to Coco Gauff. She ended the year ranked No. 14 in the world.
2021: Nottingham title, struggles with form, rankings drop, retirement
At the 2021 Gippsland Trophy – Singles, Gippsland Trophy in Melbourne, Konta won her first match of the year against Bernarda Pera, before losing to Irina-Camelia Begu. 2021 Australian Open – Women's singles, Australian Open, Konta retired from her first-round match against Kaja Juvan with an abdominal injury. Konta lost in the first round to Shelby Rogers in 2021 Adelaide International, Adelaide, second round to Petra Kvitová in 2021 Miami Open, Miami, second round to Anastasija Sevastova in 2021 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid, and first round to Jeļena Ostapenko in 2021 Italian Open (tennis), Rome. Konta lost in the first round of the 2021 French Open, French Open to Sorana Cîrstea.
Konta won her first title in four years at the 2021 Nottingham Open, Nottingham Open on grass, beating Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove, Kateryna Kozlova, Alison Van Uytvanck and Nina Stojanović to reach the final, where she beat Zhang Shuai in under an hour.
Konta had to withdraw from 2021 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles, Wimbledon because one of her team tested positive for COVID-19, forcing her to endure a quarantine.
At the 2021 National Bank Open in Montreal, Konta defeated Zhang Shuai in the first round, following her retirement in the second set. She then played third seed Elina Svitolina in the second round. Konta claimed her first win against Svitolina after losing their first 5 matches. In the third round, Konta was forced to withdraw against Coco Gauff.
Konta next played in the 2021 Western & Southern Open, but lost in the first round to Karolína Muchová in three sets. She withdrew from the 2021 US Open (tennis), US Open, and she did not play another match for the rest of the season. Her ranking had dropped to No. 82 in October 2021, and, after residual points from the 2019 season were dropped, her ranking fell to No. 113 in the world by 29 November 2021, her lowest ranking since August 2015.
On 1 December 2021, Konta announced her retirement from professional tennis, after suffering from a long-term right knee injury.
Playing style
Konta was an Tennis strategy#Baseliner strategies, aggressive baseliner, with her game centered around her flat, quick, and powerful groundstrokes. Konta was known for creating sharp angles, being able to hit winners from any position on the court. According to WTA match stats in 2016, she was fourth in ace counts, won 62% of her service points, 74.8% of service games and won most of the second serve points at 52.7%. She preferred to attack from the baseline, rather than to come to the net to volley. Konta was often criticized by commentators for a lack of mental toughness and a lack of variety or a "plan B" in tough match situations, but after hiring Dimitri Zavialoff as her coach, she utilised more drop shots and tried to come in more often although she retained an uncomfortable relationship with the net and never looked truly comfortable there. Grass was her favourite surface, but the majority of her success came on hard courts.
Endorsements
Konta's clothing sponsor was Asics until 2019, when she switched to Ellesse. Her racquet sponsor was Babolat. She endorsed the Babolat Pure Aero range of racquets. In 2017, she became the first UK ambassador of Nature Valley cereal bars as part of their British Tennis partnership. In 2019 British accessories brand Radley named Konta as its second celebrity brand ambassador, as the face of its Radley Spirit campaign. In addition to fronting the Radley Spirit campaign ahead of Wimbledon, Konta also curated a collection of her favourite pieces from the spring/summer 2019 collection, the Johanna Konta collection.
Coaching
Konta initially trained at the Sánchez-Casal Academy in Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, before her parents decided to settle in Great Britain in 2005, and at the Roddick Lavalle Academy in Texas. She trained at the National Tennis Academy in Roehampton with LTA-supplied coaches Louis Cayer and, from mid-2012, Julien Picot. In December 2012, the Lawn Tennis Association announced that Konta was one of 21 players set to receive the LTA's funding next season, which is supported through Team Aegon UK, Aegon.
At the start of 2014, she split from Picot for personal reasons. In August 2014, when the LTA decided to close the National Tennis Centre as a base for elite players, Konta began working with Spanish coach Esteban Carril. At the end of 2014, Konta began receiving help from mental coach Juan Coto, a friend of Carril's based in London. A dramatic cut in her LTA funding for 2015 encouraged Konta to move her training base to Gijón in northern Spain, where Esteban Carril and José Manuel García oversaw an increasingly rapid rise up the rankings. Supporters of the LTA's austerity drive argued this was a benefit of their tough love policy, though Konta disagreed that that was the case. After her mental coach Coto died suddenly in November 2016, Konta maintained that she would continue to benefit from his influence: "He's still very much a part of everything that I do, everything that I will continue to do in this sport and this career. He has gifted me with an incredible amount of tools and habits".
Konta split with Carril and Garcia in December 2016. Prior to the 2017 season, Konta recruited Belgian Wim Fissette to be her main coach. Konta and Fissette mutually ended this partnership in October 2017 after a poor run in the Asian tournaments. Konta retained the rest of her team and said she would spend the off-season looking for a new coach. On 6 December 2017, Konta announced she was hiring Michael Joyce for the 2018 season. On 10 October 2018, Konta announced that she had split with Joyce. She immediately commenced a trial period with Dimitri Zavialoff, a former coach of Stanislas Wawrinka, hiring him on a permanent basis 3 weeks later.
Career statistics
Grand Slam performance timelines
Singles
Doubles
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Konta, Johanna
1991 births
Australian emigrants to England
Australian female tennis players
Australian people of Hungarian descent
Australian expatriate sportspeople in England
Australian expatriate sportspeople in Spain
English expatriate sportspeople in Spain
British female tennis players
British people of Hungarian descent
Living people
Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom
Olympic tennis players of Great Britain
Tennis players from Sydney
Sportswomen from New South Wales
Tennis players at the 2016 Summer Olympics