Iveta Benešová () (formerly Melzer, ; born 1 February 1983) is a
Czech former
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 began playing tennis aged seven and turned professional in 1998. She won two
WTA Tour singles and 14 doubles tournaments, and one Grand Slam title in mixed doubles, partnered with
Jürgen Melzer
Jürgen Melzer (born 22 May 1981) is an Austrian tennis coach and former professional tennis player. Melzer reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 in April 2011, and a doubles ranking of world No. 6 in September 2010. He has a youn ...
at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships. On 14 September 2012, she married Melzer and adopted his family name (until 2015 when their relationship ended). She announced her retirement from tennis on 13 August 2014.
Career
2005–2008
Benešová was the first player to be beaten by
Ana Ivanovic in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament, at the
2005 Australian Open.
At the
2006 Australian Open, for the first time, she reached the third round of a Grand Slam championship by beating fifth seed
Mary Pierce. She lost in the next round to former world No. 1
Martina Hingis.
Entering as a qualifier in the
2008 French Open, she reached the third round, beating 15th seed and compatriate
Nicole Vaidišová in the first round, but lost to
Petra Cetkovská.
2009
Benešová started the
year
A year is a unit of time based on how long it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun. In scientific use, the tropical year (approximately 365 Synodic day, solar days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 45 seconds) and the sidereal year (about 20 minutes longer) ...
by playing the first edition of the
Brisbane International. She lost in the first round to qualifier
Sesil Karatantcheva. A week later, Benešová lost in the final of the
tournament in Hobart to fellow-Czech
Petra Kvitová. At the
Australian Open, she lost in the second round to eventual semifinalist and fourth-seeded
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viacheslavovna Dementieva (, ; born 15 October 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She was WTA rankings, ranked world No. 3 in women's singles and world No. 5 in women's doubles by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA. Dem ...
.
Immediately after Australian, Benešová played in front of her home crowd in the
Fed Cup tie against Spain. Despite losing her singles rubber to
Nuria Llagostera Vives, the Czech team advanced to the semifinals after winning the tie 4–1.
At the
Open GdF Suez in Paris, she lost in the first round to world No. 1,
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American 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 Association (WT ...
. Benešová then reached the semifinals of the
tournament in Acapulco, a clay-court event. In the quarterfinals, she beat
Mathilde Johansson, before losing to defending champion
Flavia Pennetta.
On 6 April 2009, Benešová achieved her career-high singles ranking of world No. 25.
Seeded 6th at the first edition of the
Monterrey Open, she beat fellow Czech
Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová in the quarterfinals before losing in the semifinals to unseeded
Li Na.
Benešová fell to
Ana Ivanovic in the third round of 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 ...
.
At
Wimbledon, she beat
Katie O'Brien, before falling to
Jelena Janković in the second round.
2010
In singles, she defeated
Simona Halep in the final of the
Morocco Open to win her first WTA Tour trophy since 2004.
In doubles, she has won three titles. Along with Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová, she grabbed the titles in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
as their opponents
Cara Black and
Liezel Huber withdrew and
Monterrey
Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...
defeating
Anna-Lena Grönefeld and
Vania King. Partnering with
Anabel Medina Garrigues, Benešová won
Fes, making her winning both singles and doubles in the tournament.
2011
Benešová reached the fourth round of the
Australian Open, but was defeated by second seed
Vera Zvonareva.
Along with Záhlavová-Strýcová she won four titles in doubles.
At the
Wimbledon Championships, she won the
mixed doubles title with partner and later husband
Jürgen Melzer
Jürgen Melzer (born 22 May 1981) is an Austrian tennis coach and former professional tennis player. Melzer reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 in April 2011, and a doubles ranking of world No. 6 in September 2010. He has a youn ...
.
2012
Benešová once again reached the fourth round of the
Australian Open, being defeated by eventual champion
Victoria Azarenka in straight sets.
On 29 April 2012 she won her last title at the Stuttgart doubles, again with Záhlavová-Strýcová.
She paused from playing tournaments until February 2014, mainly due to shoulder problems.
2014
In her first tournament as Iveta Melzer, she and her partner Petra Cetkovská reached the final of the Acapulco doubles which they lost in the third set.
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 played the mixed doubles with her then husband Jürgen, they lost in the first round against top seeded
Alexander Peya and
Abigail Spears. It was their last Grand Slam mixed appearance together; at
Wimbledon, Jürgen Melzer partnered Anabel Medina Garrigues.
Iveta Melzer ended her career on 15 August 2014, as shoulder problems prevented her from playing her best tennis.
Personal life
On 14 September 2012, Benešová married Austrian tennis player
Jürgen Melzer
Jürgen Melzer (born 22 May 1981) is an Austrian tennis coach and former professional tennis player. Melzer reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 in April 2011, and a doubles ranking of world No. 6 in September 2010. He has a youn ...
at
Laxenburg Castle in Austria. The relationship ended in 2015 and Iveta changed her name back to Benešová.
Performance timelines
''Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.''
Singles
Doubles
Grand Slam finals
Mixed doubles: 1 title
WTA career finals
Singles: 8 (2 titles, 6 runner-ups)
Doubles: 26 (14 titles, 12 runner-ups)
ITF finals
Singles: 5 (4 titles, 1 runner–up)
Doubles: 8 (4 titles, 4 runner–ups)
Top 10 wins
Notes
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Benesova, Iveta
1983 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Most (city)
Tennis players from the Ústí nad Labem Region
Czech female tennis players
Olympic tennis players for the Czech Republic
Tennis players at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Wimbledon champions
Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles