Çağla Büyükakçay
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Çağla Büyükakçay (; born 28 September 1989) is a Turkish professional
tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
player. She won her first title at her home tournament in
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
becoming the first Turkish woman to lift a
WTA Tour The WTA Tour (also known as the Hologic WTA Tour for sponsorship reasons) is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for women and organized by the Women's Tennis Association. The second-tier tour is the WTA 125 series, and third-tier is the ITF Wome ...
title. She has won 12 singles and 15 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 developmenta ...
. In September 2016, she reached her highest singles ranking of world No. 60. On 29 February 2016, she peaked at world No. 111 in the WTA doubles rankings. Playing for
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
in the Billie Jean King Cup, Büyükakçay has a win–loss record of 42–33 (as of July 2024). Büyükakçay was the first tennis player to represent Turkey at the Olympic Games. She competed at the Rio Olympics. She was the top-ranked tennis player at Istanbul's multi-sports club Enkaspor.


Career

She did not contest many junior tournaments, only playing four before competing at the senior level. After a few aborted starts, Büyükakçay played her first professional match at an ITF event in Istanbul in May 2004. Losing in the qualifying draw, she would play two more tournaments during the 2004 season. She won her first ever
Fed Cup The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...
match in 2005, partnering
Pemra Özgen Pemra Özgen (born 8 May 1986) is a Turkish tennis player. Özgen has won 18 singles and 23 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 26 August 2019, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 182. On 14 October 2013, she peaked at No. 179 ...
to defeat Stephanie Pace and Stephanie Sullivan of
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
. She made her WTA debut at the İstanbul Cup, but lost to
Elena Vesnina Elena Sergeyevna Vesnina (born 1 August 1986) is a Russian former professional tennis player who was List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles. Vesnina is a four-time Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam champion, h ...
in the first round. She continued to compete in $10k and $25k events for the remainder of the year. Büyükakçay began the 2006 season in Ramat HaSharon, but fell there in qualifying to Katariina Tuohimaa. She did not win a main-draw match until April, when she made it to the second round of a $10k tournament in
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
. She again played for Turkey in
Fed Cup The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...
, registering a straight-sets win over Olfa Dhaoui of Tunisia. She partnered again with Pemra Özgen, this time double bageling Sigurlaug Sigurdardottir and Iris Staub of Iceland. She reached her first singles and doubles finals simultaneously in Antalya, losing the singles final but winning the doubles with Alena Bayarchyk. She continued mainly on the ITF Circuit but would not reach another final until September, when she made it to the final of in Istanbul. Büyükakçay continued to gain experience during the 2007 season, recording her first ever singles title in Istanbul. In 2008, Büyükakçay won her second singles title in Gaziantep. She proceeded to enter a mix of lower and higher-level ITF tournaments with some success, including a quarterfinal appearance at a $50k tournament in Penza, going down to Julia Glushko in a tough three-set match. She ended the season on a high, capturing the doubles title with Lucía Sainz in Vinaròs. Büyükakçay recorded her first singles title of the 2009 season in Istanbul before returning to the city two weeks later. Having been awarded a wildcard into the 2009 İstanbul Cup, she drew
Lucie Hradecká Lucie Hradecká (; born 21 May 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. A three-time Grand Slam doubles champion and 26-time WTA Tour doubles titlist, she reached her career-high doubles ranking of world No. 4 in October 2012. She w ...
and led the Czech by a set before succumbing in three sets. She did not compete in any other WTA tournaments for the rest of the year. Büyükakçay had an exceptional 2010 season – she remained undefeated during the
Fed Cup The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...
, winning three singles matches and dropping only four games in the process. She followed up her Fed Cup success the following week, winning the biggest singles title of her career at a $25k tournament in Kharkiv. She won another $25k title in Valladolid in July before returning to Istanbul to play at the İstanbul Cup. Having bowed out in the first round to Elena Baltacha, she entered the doubles draw with Pemra Özgen and reached the semifinals. It was the first WTA-level semifinal in her career – in singles or doubles. She went on to make history when she entered the US Open qualifying draw. Although she lost in the qualifying first round, it was a major achievement in that no other Turkish woman had previously entered qualifying of a Grand Slam tournament. She continued on the tour and reached another final in Esperance, Western Australia, losing to Sacha Jones of New Zealand. Her first 2011 tournament was the
Australian Open The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
, winning one qualifying match before going down to Corinna Dentoni. She began to combine her schedule with more WTA events but did not reach another final until July, when she lost to
Garbiñe Muguruza Garbiñe Muguruza Blanco (; born 8 October 1993) is a Venezuelan-born Spanish former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Asso ...
in Caceras. At the US Open, she lost in the second round of qualifying to
Mandy Minella Mandy Minella (born 22 November 1985) is a Luxembourgish politician and former professional tennis player. Having made her debut on the WTA Tour in 2001, she peaked at No. 66 in the WTA singles rankings in September 2012, and No. 47 in doubles ...
of Luxembourg. In October, she lost in the final of a $25k event in Netanya, narrowly losing to Dinah Pfizenmaier in three sets. However, she did win the doubles crown with Pemra Özgen for her 15th doubles title. In 2012, Büyükakçay managed to record appearances in the finals of three $25k tournaments in Moscow, Zwevegem, and Istanbul, but lost each one to Margarita Gasparyan, Anastasija Sevastova, and
Richèl Hogenkamp Richèl Hogenkamp (born 16 April 1992) is a Dutch former professional tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 94, which she reached on 24 July 2017. On the ITF Circuit, she won 16 singles and 14 doubles titles. Personal background H ...
. She experienced more success in
Fed Cup The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...
play, winning three singles and one doubles match for Turkey. Büyükakçay was in touching distance of a main-draw berth at the 2013 Australian Open, but lost in the final round of qualifying to Lesia Tsurenko in straight sets. She reached the semifinals of a $25k event in Namangan but was defeated by Oksana Kalashnikova in close three-set encounter. At the
French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
, she scraped past Nastassja Burnett in the first qualifying round, but was soundly beaten in the second by Arantxa Parra Santonja. She would rebound; however, when she reached the final of another $25k tournament in Moscow the following week, finishing runner-up to young Anett Kontaveit of Estonia. She maintained her solid performance for the rest of the season, picking up doubles titles in Shrewsbury, Loughborough, Istanbul, and Ankara. Büyükakçay experienced a shaky start to the 2014 season – suffering three-set losses to
Ashleigh Barty Ashleigh Jacinta Barty (born 24 April 1996) is an Australian former professional tennis player and cricketer. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Assoc ...
and
Kateřina Siniaková Kateřina Siniaková (; born 10 May 1996) is a Czech professional tennis player. She is the current List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles. She also has a best singles WTA rankings, ranking of No. 27 by the W ...
in Australia. Although she advanced to the quarterfinals at a $25k event in
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...
, she only managed to win one singles 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 cha ...
in Hungary. She was then granted wildcards into the prestigious WTA tournaments in
Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...
and
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
, but was beaten in the first round of both by
Karolína Plíšková Karolína Plíšková (; born 21 March 1992) is a Czech professional tennis player. She has been ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), holding the position for a total of eight weeks, and has been ...
and
Zhang Shuai Zhang Shuai ( zh , s = 张帅 , p = Zhāng Shuài ; ; born 21 January 1989) is a Chinese professional tennis player. She has a career-high doubles WTA rankings, ranking of world No. 2, achieved in July 2022 and a singles ranking of No. 22 re ...
, respectively. She began to pick up form in April, when she won her first singles title in nearly four years in Edgbaston, defeating Frenchwoman Pauline Parmentier. A week later, she advanced to her first ever WTA quarterfinal in
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
and at the
French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
, she again came close to a spot in the main draw, but was defeated in the final round of qualifying by
Aleksandra Wozniak Aleksandra Wozniak (; 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 singles player of ...
. 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 * W ...
, she was beaten in the first round of qualifying and only managed to win one match during the entire grass-court season.


2015

Büyükakçay played her first tournament of the year in
Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...
, where she came through qualifying to make the main draw. She defeated Lara Arruabarrena in the first round. However, in the second round, she was defeated by former world No. 2,
Vera Zvonareva Vera Igorevna Zvonareva ( rus, Вера Игоревна Звонарёва, p=ˈvʲerə ˈiɡərʲɪvnə zvənɐˈrʲɵvə, a=Vera zvonareva.ogg; born 7 September 1984) is a Russian former professional tennis player. Her career-high singles ran ...
, in straight sets. Büyükakçay made her way to Australia, where she competed to qualify for the main draw for the
Australian Open The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
. She defeated Nigina Abduraimova and
Viktorija Golubic Viktorija Golubic (; ; born 16 October 1992) is a Swiss professional tennis player. On 28 February 2022, she reached her career-high singles WTA ranking of No. 35. On 17 April 2023, she peaked at No. 61 in the doubles rankings. She is the curre ...
, but then lost to Tatjana Maria in the final round of qualifying, in straight sets. In February, Büyükakçay represented Turkey at the 2015 Fed Cup in Group 1 Europe/Africa, in which she had great success. Her most notable wins came when she defeated both
Heather Watson Heather Miriam Watson (born 19 May 1992) is a British professional tennis player. A former British No. 1, Watson has won nine titles over her career, including the mixed-doubles title at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships – Mixed doubles, 2016 ...
and
Elina Svitolina Elina Mykhailivna Svitolina (, ; born 12 September 1994) is a Ukrainian professional tennis player. She reached career-high rankings of world No. 3 in singles and No. 108 in doubles by the WTA rankings, WTA. Svitolina has won 18 WTA Tour single ...
, who both were ranked in the top 50. Büyükakçay won all of her singles matches during the 2015 Fed Cup. Her excellent performance was recognized when she was nominated and won the Fed Cup Heart Award, in which she was given the opportunity to donate $1,000 to her chosen charity. Büyükakçay donated the money to the Association of Supporting the Civil Life.


2016: Historic WTA Tour title and top 100 debut

Her first tournaments were the Shenzhen Open, where she lost in the second round of qualifying to Yaroslava Shvedova, and the Australian Open, where she was defeated in the first round of qualifying by
Maria Sakkari Maria Sakkari (, ; born 25 July 1995) is a Greek professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 3 by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA, which she first achieved on 21 March 2022, making her the highest-ranked Greek player ...
. After reaching the second round in the ITF event in
Andrézieux-Bouthéon Andrézieux-Bouthéon (; ) is a commune of the Loire department, France. It lies on the right bank of the river Loire, at its confluence with the river Furan, 13 km north of the city of Saint-Étienne. Population Sights * Le Château Bo ...
and losing in the first round of qualifying at the
Dubai Tennis Championships The Dubai Tennis Championships (also known as the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for sponsorship reasons) (formerly known for sponsorship reasons as the ''Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships'' and the ''Dubai Duty Free Men's and Women's Champ ...
, Büyükakçay received a wildcard for the Qatar Ladies Open. She defeated Lucie Hradecká before upsetting No. 7 seed and defending champion
Lucie Šafářová Lucie Šafářová (; born 4 February 1987) is a Czech professional tennis player who was ranked List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles, and No. 5 in singles. She is a five-time Grand Slam champion in doubles ...
in straight sets. In the third round, she lost to Roberta Vinci. Her next tournament was the Malaysian Open, where she defeated Laura Siegemund and
Chang Kai-chen Chang Kai-chen ( zh, t=張凱貞, p=Zhāng Kǎizhēn; ; born January 13, 1991), also known as Kelly Chang, is a Taiwanese former professional tennis player.https://www.wtatennis.com/players/313923/- Career Her father is Chang Chin-lai and mo ...
before losing to eventual finalist
Eugenie Bouchard Eugenie "Genie" Bouchard (; , ; born February 25, 1994) is a Canadian professional tennis and pickleball player. At the 2014 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles, 2014 Wimbledon Championships, she became the first Canadian-born player repr ...
. She then played at the Miami Open where she lost in the first round of qualifying to
Naomi Broady Naomi Broady ( ; born 28 February 1990) is a British former tennis player. She won one WTA Tour doubles title, as well as nine singles titles and 20 doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 7 March 2016, she reached her best singles ranki ...
. She also lost in the first round at an ITF event in Osprey. At the
Charleston Open The Charleston Open, currently sponsored by Credit One, is a WTA Tour-affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1973. It is the oldest professional all-women's tournament in America with a $1,064,510 purse. The t ...
, she reached the first round as a qualifier (beating
Julia Boserup Julia Boserup (born September 9, 1991) is an American retired tennis player. Boserup was born in Santa Monica, California to two Danish parents and began working with famed coach Robert Lansdorp at the age of 6. She moved to Boca Raton, Florid ...
and Ysaline Bonaventure) where she lost to Danka Kovinić. At the İstanbul Cup, she beat Marina Melnikova,
Sorana Cîrstea Sorana Mihaela Cîrstea (; born 7 April 1990) is a Romanian professional tennis player. In singles, she achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 21 on 12 August 2013. In doubles, her career-best ranking is No. 35, which she reached on 9 March ...
, Nao Hibino and
Stefanie Vögele Stefanie Vögele (born 10 March 1990) is a Swiss professional tennis player. She achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 42 on 11 November 2013. Her highest WTA rankings, WTA ranking in doubles is 100, which she reached on 5 January ...
en route. She then avenged her loss to Kovinic, beating the Montenegrin in three sets and becoming the first Turkish woman to lift a WTA title. She was also the first Turkish woman to break into the WTA singles top 100 by setting a new career-high of world No. 82 on 25 April 2016. Prior to the French Open, Büyükakçay reached the second round of an ITF tournament in Trnava, losing to Kateřina Siniaková. At the second Grand Slam tournament of the year, she entered as qualifier (beating Elitsa Kostova,
Petra Martić Petra Martić (; born 19 January 1991) is a Croatian professional tennis player. She has a career-high WTA rankings, singles ranking of world No. 14, achieved in January 2020. Martić has won two singles titles on the WTA Tour, one singles and o ...
and
Klára Koukalová Klára Koukalová (formerly Zakopalová; born 24 February 1982) is a Czech former 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 2 ...
en route) and became the first Turkish woman to win a Grand Slam match by beating
Aliaksandra Sasnovich Aliaksandra Aliaksandraŭna Sasnovich (born 22 March 1994) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. She achieved her best singles ranking of world No. 29 on 19 September 2022, and peaked at No. 39 in the WTA doubles rankings on 23 August 2021 ...
in three sets but then lost to
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Anastasia Sergeyevna "Nastia" Pavlyuchenkova (; born 3 July 1991) is a Russian professional tennis player. She reached a career-high singles WTA rankings, ranking of world No. 11 on 8 November 2021. Pavlyuchenkova has won twelve singles titles ...
. She started her grass-court season at the Nottingham Open where she lost to
Caroline Wozniacki Caroline Wozniacki (; born 11 July 1990) is an inactive Danish professional tennis player. She has been ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA, hold ...
in the first round. Her next three tournaments, including Wimbledon, also ended in early exits. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Büyükakçay faced
Ekaterina Makarova Ekaterina Valeryevna Makarova (; ; born 7 June 1988) is a Russian former professional tennis player who was ranked List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles, and world No. 8 in singles. She is a four-time Gra ...
in the first round and lost in three sets. She was the first Turkish woman to compete at the Olympics for tennis.


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 2021 US Open''. Notes


WTA Tour finals


Singles: 1 (title)


Doubles: 2 (runner-ups)


ITF Circuit finals


Singles: 32 (12 titles, 20 runner–ups)


Doubles: 24 (15 titles, 9 runner–ups)


Fed Cup

Büyükakçay debuted for the Turkey Fed Cup team in 2004. Since then, she has a 28–18 singles record and a 13–14 doubles record (41–32 overall).


Singles (26–16)


Doubles (13–14)

* RR = Round robin * PPO = Promotional play-off * RPO = Relegation play-off * PO = Play-off


Top-10 wins


See also

*
Turkish women in sports Turkish women have an active participation in many sports branches and have won several important trophies, especially in Athletics (sport), athletics, Olympic weightlifting, weightlifting, combat sports, volleyball and basketball. Participati ...


References


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Buyukakcay, Cagla 1989 births Living people Turkish female tennis players Sportspeople from Adana Enkaspor tennis players Olympic tennis players for Turkey Tennis players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Turkey Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Turkey Competitors at the 2009 Mediterranean Games Competitors at the 2013 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in tennis 21st-century Turkish sportswomen