Katie O'Brien
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Katie Jill O'Brien (born 2 May 1986) is a
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
former 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 from
Beverley Beverley is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located north-west of Hull city centre. At the 2021 census the built-up area of the town had a population of 30,930, and the smaller civil parish had ...
,
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
. 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 won four singles and two doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. In 2007, she reached the second round of her home Grand Slam,
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 ...
, by beating Sandra Klösel in round one. She lost to the No. 31 seed,
Michaëlla Krajicek Michaëlla Krajicek (; born 9 January 1989) is a Dutch former tennis player. She has won three singles and five doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as one WTA 125 tournaments, WTA 125 doubles title, and 14 titles in singles and 24 in double ...
, in the second round. In 2010, she replicated this achievement by beating
Patricia Mayr Patricia Mayr-Achleitner (née Mayr; born 8 November 1986) is a retired Austrian tennis player. Mayr-Achleitner won 17 singles titles and seven doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit in her career. On 4 May 2009, she reached her best singles r ...
to reach the second round of the Australian Open where she fell to eighth seeded
Jelena Janković Jelena Janković ( sr-Cyrl, Јелена Јанковић, ; born 28 February 1985) is a Serbian 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 W ...
.


Personal life

O'Brien's parents are Phil and Jill O'Brien. Her father is a quantity surveyor, and her mother is a nursery school teacher. Her brother James, and sister, Holly, both have been awarded the Development Coach Award, a licence to coach tennis from the
Lawn Tennis Association The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man founded in 1888. The LTA promotes all levels of lawn tennis. The organization believes tennis can provide ...
. O'Brien attended Hymers College, Hull from 1997 to 2002. She studied her A-levels at Woodhouse Grove School in
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
from 2002 to 2004. She began studying business studies with the
Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...
in 2008, pursuing studies while competing professionally.


Career


Junior (2000–2004)

O'Brien played her first match on the ITF Junior Circuit in February 2000 and her last in June 2004. During her junior career, she won two titles—the ''Team Leschly Danish Junior Cup'' in February 2002 and the ''Vierumaki Junior Cup'' in October the same year. She also reached a total of five semifinals and three quarterfinals overall. Her best result in a junior Grand Slam tournament came in the 2003 Wimbledon Championships where she reached round three before losing to
Emma Laine Emma Johanna Laine (born 26 March 1986) is a former tennis player from Finland. Laine won 11 singles and 44 doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 7 August 2006, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 50. On 30 October 2006, s ...
, 1–6, 5–7. Her career-high junior singles ranking was world No. 101, reached on 15 September 2003, and her overall win–loss record in singles was 44–34. In addition to her singles success as a junior, she also won one doubles title, lost in the final of another, reached four doubles semifinals and seven doubles quarterfinals (one of which in the 2004 Wimbledon Championships, partnering compatriot Melanie South). She reached her career–high doubles ranking of world No. 201 on 3 February 2003, and ended her junior career with a win–loss record of 17–26.


2001–2004

O'Brien played her first match 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
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
when she attempted to qualify for a $10k 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 lost in the second round of qualifying for this tournament. One year later, in September
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
, she reached her first ITF quarterfinal as a qualifier in the $10k event in Sunderland and was beaten by fellow Brit Anne Keothavong, 6–0, 6–1. This was her only quarterfinal appearance in 2002 and she finished the year with a ranking of world No. 693. In
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
she again reached only one quarterfinal, this one in the $10k tournament in Felixstowe. In every other tournament she played she either lost in the first round or the qualifying stages. As a result, her year-end ranking fell from the previous year to world No. 742. In May
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
, O'Brien played her first ever semifinal on the ITF Circuit against Elke Clijsters (the sister of former world No. 1
Kim Clijsters Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters (; born 8 June 1983) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 20 weeks, and as the world No. 1 in women's double ...
) and was beaten 6–3, 7–5. She was given a wildcard into the main draw of her home Grand Slam,
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 ...
for the first time in her career in June 2004. She lost in the first round, 4–6, 4–6 to
María Sánchez Lorenzo María Antonia Sánchez Lorenzo (born 7 November 1977) is a former professional tennis player from Spain. Her highest WTA ranking has been world No. 33, a position she achieved in April 2004. She played two-handed on both sides, and her fa ...
. Following Wimbledon, she played twelve more tournaments on the ITF Circuit, reaching the final of one (Manchester, $10k), the semifinals of three of them and the quarterfinals of two more. Her end-of-year ranking was world No. 401.


2005

The
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
season started well for O'Brien; she reached the finals of her first two ITF tournaments (in
Tipton Tipton is an industrial town in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It had a population of 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham and southeas ...
and Hull) and won the second of the two. In her third tournament,
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 ...
$10k, she reached the quarterfinals but was beaten by compatriot,
Elena Baltacha Elena Sergeevna Baltacha (; 14 August 1983 – 4 May 2014) was a Ukrainian-born British professional tennis player. Being a four-time winner of the AEGON Awards, she was also a long-term British No. 1, a position she held intermittently ...
, 6–4, 6–3. Her second quarterfinal of the year was in the $10k tournament in
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
. In June, she received three wildcards into three consecutive WTA tournaments; the DFS Classic qualifying draw, the Hastings International Championships qualifying draw and
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 ...
main draw. She failed to qualify in the first two tournaments and lost to Kim Clijsters, 2–6, 3–6, in the first round of Wimbledon. Following Wimbledon she entered the $25k tournament in
Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest Containerization, containe ...
and reached the semifinals before losing to
Jarmila Gajdošová Jarmila Wolfe (née Gajdošová, formerly Groth; born 26 April 1987) is a Slovak-Australian former tennis player. In her career, she won two singles titles and one doubles title on the WTA Tour, as well as 14 singles and ten doubles titles on ...
, 4–6, 4–6. She competed in twelve more ITF tournaments that year (reaching the quarterfinals in six of them) and the qualifying tournament for the BGL-BNP Paribas Open Luxembourg where she reached the second round of qualifying. She finished the 2005 season with a ranking of world No. 263.


2006

In January, O'Brien reached yet another ITF quarterfinal, this one in the $10k tournament in Hull, and the very next month she progressed to the semifinals of the $25k tournament 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 ...
before losing, 2–6, 4–6, to Anne Keothavong. She reached the semifinals of the ITF event in
Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...
, Japan ($50k) where she was beaten by
Ayumi Morita is a Japanese former professional tennis player. She reached a career-high ranking of 40 in the world in October 2011. At junior level, she reached a combined career-high ranking of 3. Morita is known for strong and consistent two-handed gro ...
. She again spent June attempting to qualify for the DFS Classic and the Hastings Direct International Championships without success. She also competed in 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 * W ...
main draw but again lost in round one, beaten by
Tathiana Garbin Tathiana Garbin (; born 30 June 1977) is an Italian retired tennis player. She was Gold Medalist at the 1997 Mediterranean Games and Italian capitan in leading the Italian national team (composed by Jasmine Paolini, Sara Errani, Martina Tre ...
in three sets, 2–6, 7–6(2), 6–2. After this she lost to Monique Adamczak in the quarterfinals of the $25k event in
Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...
in July and she reached the final of the ITF tournament in
Changsha Changsha is the capital of Hunan, China. It is the 15th most populous city in China with a population of 10,513,100, the Central China#Cities with urban area over one million in population, third-most populous city in Central China, and the ...
($25k) in August. Two consecutive $25k finals followed in September; the second of which she won. Her good form continued into October and November when she reached the quarterfinals, semifinals and quarterfinals of $25k tournaments in
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
,
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 ...
and
Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
respectively. Her final ranking of 2006 was world No. 193.


2007

O'Brien's first tournament of the
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
season was the qualifying event 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 ...
where she beat Chen Yanchong in a marathon three-setter (3–6, 6–2, 8–7 ret.) to set up a second-round clash with
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 ...
which she lost. She then returned to the ITF Circuit until May. During this time she played in ten ITF tournaments, reaching the quarterfinal stages in four of them (two $50k events and two $25k events). She then attempted to qualify for 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 ...
but was beaten by Florence Haring, in three sets. O'Brien's
grass court A grass court is one of the types of tennis court on which the sport of tennis, originally known as "lawn tennis", is played. Grass courts are made of grasses in different compositions depending on the tournament. While grass courts are more tra ...
season began with another ITF quarterfinal, this one in
Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the Historic counties of England, historic county of ...
($25k). She then tried to qualify for the Tier III tournament, the DFS Classic but was beaten in another tough three set match, 7–6, 5–7, 7–6, by compatriot Sarah Borwell. O'Brien had more success trying to qualify for the Tier II Hastings Direct International where she beat Yuan Meng,
Tsvetana Pironkova Tsvetana Kirilova Pironkova ( ; born 13 September 1987) is a Bulgarians, Bulgarian former tennis player. Considered to be one of the best grass court players of her generation, she has been noted for her "cerebral" skills on the surface, reachi ...
and
Jill Craybas Jill N. Craybas (born July 4, 1974) is an American former professional tennis player. From the 2000 US Open to the 2011 US Open, Craybas competed in 45 consecutive Grand Slam tournament main draws; her best result coming in the 2005 Wimbledon C ...
to qualify. She faced
Vasilisa Bardina Vasilisa Alekseyevna Bardina (, born 30 November 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player. Over her career, Bardina won three singles titles and three doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit, but not any Women's Tennis Associatio ...
in the first round of the main tournament and had enough momentum carried over from the qualifying rounds to defeat her as well, 7–5, 6–3. Her opponent in the round of 16 was No. 4 seed,
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 ...
who proved too much for the Brit. She beat O'Brien by a score of 6–3, 6–4. The confidence and experience she gained helped her capitalise on a wildcard into the main draw of
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 beat Sandra Klösel in round one, 6–3, 7–5, (by coming back from 3–5 down in the second set) before being demolished in the second round by 31st seed,
Michaëlla Krajicek Michaëlla Krajicek (; born 9 January 1989) is a Dutch former tennis player. She has won three singles and five doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as one WTA 125 tournaments, WTA 125 doubles title, and 14 titles in singles and 24 in double ...
, 6–0, 6–1. O'Brien spent August trying to qualify for the East West Bank Classic (Tier II), the Roger's Cup (
Tier I The WTA Tier I tournaments were Women's Tennis Association tennis elite tournaments held from 1990 until the end of the 2008 season. From 1988 to 1990, the different levels of WTA tournaments were referred to by the term 'Category', and there ...
) and the final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open. She failed to win a match in any of these qualifying tournaments. In September she managed to reach the final round of qualifying in a Tier IV WTA tournament, the Slovenia Open in Portorož and just a few weeks later reached the quarterfinals of the main draw of a Tier IV event, the
Tashkent Open The Tashkent Open by Zeromax was a women's tennis tournament held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, ...
, for the first time in her career before losing to
Olga Govortsova Olga Alekseyevna Govortsova ( (Volha Alyakseyeuna Havartsova); ; born 23 August 1988) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. On 23 June 2008, she achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 35. On 29 August 2011, she peaked at No. 2 ...
, 2–6, 3–6. She played six more $25k tournaments that year, reaching the semifinals in four of them and the final of another. She finished 2007 with a ranking of world No. 134.


2008

O'Brien's first tournament of the season 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 ...
where she entered qualifying as the No. 15 seed. After being gifted an easy first round victory over Darya Kustova when Kustova had to retire with the score at 6–3, 1–0 in O'Brien's favour, O'Brien was forced to fight hard in her second qualifying match against
Yanina Wickmayer Yanina Wickmayer (born 20 October 1989) is a Belgian professional tennis player. She reached the semifinals at the 2009 US Open – Women's singles, 2009 US Open, and a career-high WTA ranking of No. 12, on 19 April 2010. In doubles, she achieve ...
. She eventually won, 4–6, 6–3, 8–6, to set up a final round qualifying match against the No. 11 seed in the qualifying tournament, Yuan Meng. O'Brien was defeated 6–4, 6–2. In early February, she competed as part of the Great Britain Fed Cup team in the
Fed Cup The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...
and was given tough opponents. She challenged
Patty Schnyder Patty Schnyder (born 14 December 1978)
Weltwoche, 14. September 2011
is a Swiss reti ...
but eventually lost, 6–7, 5–7, and also lost to
Ágnes Szávay Ágnes Szávay (, ; born 29 December 1988) is a former professional tennis player from Hungary. The 2007 WTA Newcomer of the Year achieved her career-high ranking of world No. 13 in April 2008. Personal life Szávay was born in Kiskunhalas an ...
and
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 ...
. However, she and Anne Keothavong managed to save Britain from relegation from the Europe/Africa Group I by winning two singles matches against
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
. This was followed by O'Brien's first appearance on the ITF circuit in 2008 which came at the $75k event in Midland where she was the No. 5 seed. She faced the No. 2 seed,
Laura Granville Laura Granville (born May 12, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. During the two years she spent at Stanford University, she set the record for most consecutive singles victories with 58 and finished with an overall record o ...
, in the quarterfinals and was beaten, 1–6, 6–3, 6–1. O'Brien then attempted to qualify for four consecutive WTA events, 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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
and Indian Wells. She lost in round one of qualifying in each of them with the exception of Indian Wells where she lost in the round two of qualifying to
Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová Barbora (; ) is a Czech and Slovak female given name. It was derived from the Greek word ''barbaros'' () meaning "foreign", a variant of " Barbara". It is the 36th most popular given name in the Czech Republic (as of 2007). Notable people with th ...
. Over March and April she reached the quarterfinals of two ITF tournaments:
Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...
($25k) and
Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo language, Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. The Fortification, walled city on the English Channel coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth ...
($100k). In May, O'Brien entered 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 ...
qualifying draw and beat fellow Brit, Melanie South in the opening round. She fell in round two to Kristina Barrois, 4–6, 2–6, and then headed to the DFS Classic where she beat
Alla Kudryavtseva Alla Alexandrovna Kudryavtseva (; born 3 November 1987) is a retired Russian tennis player. Kudryavtseva won one singles title and nine doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as two singles titles and 15 doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circ ...
in the first round before falling to
Yaroslava Shvedova Yaroslava Vyacheslavovna Shvedova (; born 12 September 1987) is a Kazakhstani former professional tennis player. Before 2008, she represented her country of birth, Russia. She won one singles title and 13 doubles titles on the WTA Tour, plus o ...
in round two. A wildcard allowed O'Brien entry into the
International Women's Open The Eastbourne Open (also known as Eastbourne International, formerly Rothesay) 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 ...
(previously the Hastings Direct International) where she lost to
Samantha Stosur Samantha Jane Stosur (born 30 March 1984) is an Australian former professional tennis player. She is a former List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles, a ranking which she first achieved on 6 February 2006 and ...
.
Shahar Pe'er Shahar Pe'er (, ; 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 International Tennis Federation, ITF circuit in her career ...
beat O'Brien in the first round of
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 ...
. Following the third Grand Slam of the season, O'Brien participated in the Internazionali di Palermo where Lourdes Domínguez Lino beat O'Brien in round one. Two weeks later she reached the second round of the Slovenia Open by beating No. 5 seed, Tsvetana Pironkova, in round one. She lost to
Vera Dushevina Vera Yevgenyevna Dushevina (; born 6 October 1986) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She won one singles title and two doubles titles on the WTA Tour. As a junior, she won the Wimbledon Championships, beating Maria Sharapova in ...
in the second round. In August, she reached the second round of qualifying for the US Open before being knocked out by home favourite, Alexa Glatch. September saw O'Brien fall to Ioana Raluca Olaru in round one of the
Tashkent Open The Tashkent Open by Zeromax was a women's tennis tournament held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, ...
and in October she reached the semifinals of the $50k in
Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...
where she lost to Anne Keothavong. She reached two more ITF quarterfinals in 2008, in Phoenix and Saint-Denis, both $25k. Her year-end ranking was world No. 154.


2009

O'Brien started her
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
season by attempting to qualify for the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. She came up against the No. 2 seed in the qualifying tournament,
Ayumi Morita is a Japanese former professional tennis player. She reached a career-high ranking of 40 in the world in October 2011. At junior level, she reached a combined career-high ranking of 3. Morita is known for strong and consistent two-handed gro ...
, and lost in three sets, 6–3, 2–6, 7–5. Her next tournament was the qualifying event for the first Grand Slam of the year, 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 beat Sandra Záhlavová, Julie Ditty and Betina Jozami to gain entry into the main draw for the first time in her career. She faced
Monica Niculescu Monica Niculescu (born 25 September 1987) is a Romanian professional tennis player. She has been WTA rankings, ranked by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA as high as No. 28 in singles and No. 11 in doubles. She has won three singles and 10 dou ...
in round one but lost, 4–6, 4–6. Nevertheless, the 2009 Australian Open marked the first time since the 1992 US Open that four British women had competed in the main draw of a Grand Slam other than
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 ...
. O'Brien's three compatriots were Anne Keothavong, Melanie South and fellow qualifier,
Elena Baltacha Elena Sergeevna Baltacha (; 14 August 1983 – 4 May 2014) was a Ukrainian-born British professional tennis player. Being a four-time winner of the AEGON Awards, she was also a long-term British No. 1, a position she held intermittently ...
. Following the Australian Open, O'Brien returned to ITF action as the No. 3 seed at the $25k event in
Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...
. She won four matches in straight sets before defeating wildcard
Johanna Konta Johanna Konta (born 17 May 1991) is a British-Australian former professional tennis player. Konta won four singles titles on the WTA Tour, along with eleven titles in singles and four in doubles on the ITF Women's Circuit. She was British No. ...
, 3–6, 6–2, 6–4, in the final to win her first title since September 2006 and the third ITF singles title of her career. Between this and 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 reached the semifinals of ITF tournaments in Midland ($75k), Biberach ($50k) and
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
($100k) as well as reaching the quarterfinals of a $100k+H event in
Torhout Torhout (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Torhout proper, the villages of Wijnendale and Sint-Henri ...
. She also won a $25k in
Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...
and was the runner-up in another $25k event, this one in
Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
. In May she reached the final round of qualifying for 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 ...
before losing to
Arantxa Rus Arantxa Rus (; born 13 December 1990) is a Dutch professional tennis player. She won one WTA Tour singles title at the 2023 Hamburg European Open – Women's singles, 2023 Hamburg Open and four in doubles. Her biggest singles successes to date ...
, 4–6, 6–7, however she gained entry to the main draw as a
lucky loser A lucky loser is a sports competitor (player or team) who loses a match in a knockout tournament or loses in qualifying, but who then enters the main draw. This can occur when another competitor withdraws during the tournament because of illness ...
when No. 6 seed
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 ...
withdrew from the tournament due to injury. O'Brien lost to
Olga Govortsova Olga Alekseyevna Govortsova ( (Volha Alyakseyeuna Havartsova); ; born 23 August 1988) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. On 23 June 2008, she achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 35. On 29 August 2011, she peaked at No. 2 ...
1–6, 1–6, in the first round. O'Brien began her grass court season as the No. 5 seed in a $50k in
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
but she was beaten in the second round by
Naomi Cavaday Naomi Kathleen Cavaday (born 24 April 1989) is a British people, British former professional tennis player from Sidcup, London. She retired in April 2011 to take up a coaching role with the Lawn Tennis Association. At the time of her retirement ...
, 6–2, 6–3. She was then given a wildcard into the main draw of the
Aegon Classic The Lexus Birmingham Open (previously sponsored by Rothesay (insurer), Rothesay) is a WTA 125 tournaments, WTA 125 women's tennis tournament on the Women's Tennis Association, WTA Tour, and an ATP Challenger Tour 125 men's tournament since 20 ...
where she was drawn to face fellow British wild card, Melanie South. O'Brien eventually lost in three sets, 6–4, 1–6, 7–6. Immediately following this she went on to fall in the second round of qualifying for the Aegon International to the world No. 46,
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 ...
, 4–6, 2–6. Another wildcard then granted O'Brien entry to the main draw of
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 ...
where she lost, 2–6, 7–5, 4–6, in round one to world No. 35,
Iveta Benešová Iveta Benešová () (formerly Melzer, ; born 1 February 1983) is a Czech former tennis 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 tit ...
. After Wimbledon, a number of first and second round defeats followed before O'Brien reached the final of another $25k in July. She was beaten in the final by fellow Brit Georgie Stoop. In August, O'Brien was the No. 3 seed in the qualifying tournament for the US Open but she was stopped in round two of qualifying by lower-ranked
Anna Tatishvili Anna Tatishvili ( ka, ანა ტატიშვილი, tr, ; born February 3, 1990) is a Georgian-American former professional tennis player. In her career, Tatishvili won one doubles title on the WTA Tour, 2014 at the Linz Open, partneri ...
. In late September, she reached the final of a $75k in
Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...
as the sixth seed where she came up against fellow Brit and fifth seed
Elena Baltacha Elena Sergeevna Baltacha (; 14 August 1983 – 4 May 2014) was a Ukrainian-born British professional tennis player. Being a four-time winner of the AEGON Awards, she was also a long-term British No. 1, a position she held intermittently ...
. O'Brien lost in three sets, 3–6, 6–4, 3–6, but this result was enough to move both finalists into the top 100 for the first time in their careers. Over the course of her final few tournaments of the year, O'Brien reached another $100k semifinal as well as the second round of the HP Open where she was swept aside 6–0, 6–1 by top seed
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 ...
. She finished the year inside the top 100 with a ranking of world No. 90.


2010

O'Brien started 2010 by attempting to qualify for the WTA ASB Classic in Auckland but lost her opening match 1–6, 5–7 to Canadian Valérie Tétreault. She moved onto the WTA Premier event in Sydney and lost 3–6, 3–6 to
Anastasia Rodionova Anastasia Ivanovna Rodionova (; born 12 May 1982) is a Russian-born Australian former professional tennis player. Rodionova has won 11 doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as eight singles and 13 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 16 Au ...
in the first round of qualifying. On 11 January O'Brien, achieved a new career-high ranking of 87. Playing in the main draw of the Australian Open for the second successive year, O'Brien defeated Austrian
Patricia Mayr Patricia Mayr-Achleitner (née Mayr; born 8 November 1986) is a retired Austrian tennis player. Mayr-Achleitner won 17 singles titles and seven doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit in her career. On 4 May 2009, she reached her best singles r ...
6–3, 6–3 in the opening round for her second career-victory in a Grand Slam. In the second round, O'Brien faced the eighth seed and former world number one,
Jelena Janković Jelena Janković ( sr-Cyrl, Јелена Јанковић, ; born 28 February 1985) is a Serbian 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 W ...
, and put in a spirited performance but went down 2–6, 2–6. O'Brien is expected to move to a new career-high ranking after the Australian Open.


2011

O'Brien kicked off her 2011 season at the ASB Classic in Auckland. Her ranking was not high enough for her to be directly accepted into the main draw so she entered the qualifying tournament. In the first round, she defeated Emily Fanning of New Zealand, 6–2, 6–2, and in the second round defeated No. 4 seed 7–5, 6–3, but lost to
Noppawan Lertcheewakarn Noppawan "Nok" Lertcheewakarn (; born 18 November 1991) is a former professional Thai tennis player. At 2009 Wimbledon Championships, she won the junior singles title. She reached career-high WTA rankings of 149 in singles and 97 in doubles. ...
and did not win a place in the main draw. O'Brien then got a wildcard into the
2011 Wimbledon Championships The 2011 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London in the United Kingdom. It was the 125th edition of the The Championships, Wimbledon, Wimbledon C ...
, where she faced
Kimiko Date-Krumm is a Japanese former professional tennis player. She reached the semifinals of the 1994 Australian Open, the 1995 French Open and the 1996 Wimbledon Championships, and won the Japan Open a record four times. She reached a career-high ranking ...
in the first round. However, she lost in under an hour, and became the first player eliminated from the main draw in the tournament. On 12 August 2011, she announced her retirement at the age of 25.


ITF Circuit finals


Singles: 15 (4 titles, 11 runner-ups)


Doubles: 11 (2 titles, 9 runner-ups)


Performance timelines


Singles


Doubles


Mixed doubles


Fed Cup


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Katie 1986 births Living people People educated at Woodhouse Grove School People educated at Hymers College Sportspeople from Beverley Tennis players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for England English female tennis players British female tennis players Tennis players from the East Riding of Yorkshire 21st-century English sportswomen