Lucie Šafářová
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Lucie Šafářová (; born 4 February 1987) is a Czech 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 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 The 2015 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park from 19 January to 1 February 2015. It was the 103rd edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. Stan Wawrinka was the de ...
, 2015 French Open, 2016 US Open,
2017 Australian Open The 2017 Australian Open was a List of tennis tournaments, tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park between 16 and 29 January 2017. It was the 105th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tourname ...
and 2017 French Open, all alongside Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Šafářová won 15 doubles titles on the WTA Tour, including five at Premier Mandatory/Premier 5-level, and also finished runner-up at the 2016 WTA Finals with Mattek-Sands. She became world No. 1 for the first time in August 2017, holding the top ranking for the next six weeks. In singles, Šafářová won seven WTA Tour titles, most notably the 2015 Qatar Open, and reached her highest ranking of world No. 5 in September that year. She reached her first major singles final at the 2015 French Open, being defeated by 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 ...
. Šafářová also reached the semifinals at the
2014 Wimbledon Championships The 2014 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 128th edition of the The Championships, Wimbledon, Wimbledon C ...
, and the quarterfinals at the
2007 Australian Open The 2007 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia from 15 January until 28 January 2007. The total prize pool was set at exactly A$20 million, with the winners of both the men's and women's singles competi ...
, qualifying for the WTA Finals for the first time in 2015. She represented the Czech Republic 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 ...
from 2004 to 2019, and was a key part of the team which won the competition five times between 2011 and 2018. Šafářová also competed at the
Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...
on three occasions, winning a bronze medal in doubles at the 2016 Rio Games partnering
Barbora Strýcová Barbora Strýcová (; born 28 March 1986), formerly known as Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová, is a Czech former professional tennis player who was ranked List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles. She won two Gra ...
.


Playing style

Šafářová plays left-handed with a two-handed backhand and possesses a high topspin forehand. Her timing off the ground allows her to project groundstrokes with power, and she is quick to spot opportunities to take the initiative. Šafářová is notorious for having a volatile return that is capable of hitting clean winners, as well as unforced errors. Her preferred surface is
clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...
. She was coached by Rob Steckley until September 2016 when she split with him, ending a coaching relationship of more than three and a half years, and hired
František Čermák František Čermák (born 14 November 1976) is a Czech former professional tennis player. Career In his career, Čermák won 31 doubles titles on the ATP Tour and he was a finalist 24 times. He achieved a career-high doubles ranking of world ...
. In December 2017, Šafářová announced that she is reuniting with Rob Steckley for the 2018 season.


Career


2005–2006

Šafářová won her first WTA Tour event in May 2005 at the Estoril Open in Portugal, where she defeated fourth-seeded
Li Na Li Na (born 26 February 1982) is a Chinese former professional tennis player. She was WTA rankings, ranked world No. 2 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association. Li won nine WTA Tour-level singles titles, including two Grand Slam (t ...
in a three-sets final. In June she lost the final of the Rosmalen grass court tournament to fellow Czech
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 ...
in three sets. She won her second tournament at the Forest Hills Tennis Classic in August, which was played at the historic West Side Tennis Club, after a victory in the final against
Sania Mirza Sania Mirza (; born 15 November 1986) is an Indian former professional tennis player. A former doubles world No. 1, she won six major titles – three in women's doubles and three in mixed doubles. From 2003 until her retirement from singles ...
. Šafářová started off 2006 by upsetting world No. 6,
Patty Schnyder Patty Schnyder (born 14 December 1978)
Weltwoche, 14. September 2011
is a Swiss reti ...
, in the semifinals of the Gold Coast tournament and then winning the title with a straight-set victory. Also in 2006, she made her first Tier-II semifinal at
Amelia Island Amelia Island is a part of the Sea Islands chain that stretches along the East Coast of the United States from South Carolina to Florida; it is the southernmost of the Sea Islands, and the northernmost of the barrier islands on Florida's Atlant ...
, where she upset Nicole Vaidišová in the round of 16. She later lost to eventual champion
Nadia Petrova Nadezhda Viktorovna "Nadia" Petrova ( ; born 8 June 1982) is a Russian former professional tennis player. A former top-five player in both singles and doubles, she reached a career-high ranking of No. 3 in the world in both disciplines (doing s ...
. She then made another semifinal at the Tier-IV tournament at
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
, where she was defeated by
Anabel Medina Garrigues Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues (, ; born 31 July 1982) is a Spanish tennis coach and former professional player. As a player she reached a career-high ranking of world No. 16 in 2009, and won 11 singles and 28 doubles titles, including the 2008 ...
.


2007: First Grand Slam quarterfinal

At the start of 2007, Šafářová elected to represent the Czech Republic in the Hopman Cup instead of defending her Gold Coast title. Due to not defending the points at that tournament, she came into the first Grand Slam of the year ranked No. 70 and unseeded. Yet she made headlines at 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 ...
, when she stunned the defending champion and No. 2 seed
Amélie Mauresmo Amélie Simone Mauresmo (; born 5 July 1979) is a French former professional tennis player, tennis coach, and tournament director. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 39 weeks. Maur ...
in the fourth round. She then lost to fellow Czech Nicole Vaidišová in the quarterfinals. After the Australian Open, her ranking rose from No. 70 to 31. Šafářová continued her good start to 2007 at the Paris indoor event. She reached the final by defeating
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 ...
in three sets and Nicole Vaidišová,
Svetlana Kuznetsova Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova (born 27 June 1985) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as high as world No. 2 in singles and world No. 3 in doubles by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA. Kuznetsova won 18 singl ...
, and
Justine Henin Justine Henin (; born 1 June 1982) is a Belgian 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 (WTA) for 117 weeks, i ...
, all in straight sets. However, she lost the final against Nadia Petrova in three sets. She pulled out of her next event in
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
due to a shoulder injury. Šafářová lost in round three of both Indian Wells and
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
to
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 ...
and
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 ...
, respectively. She defeated
Daniela Hantuchová Daniela Hantuchová (; born 23 April 1983) is a Slovak tennis commentator and retired player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first WTA Tour title at the Indian Wells Open, defeating Martin ...
in the Czech Republic vs. Slovak Republic
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 ...
encounter. She then lost in the semifinals of the Tier-IV Estoril tournament to
Victoria Azarenka Victoria Fiodaraŭna Azarenka (born 31 July 1989) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. She has been ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), having held the position for a total of 51 weeks ...
. At Roland Garros, Šafářová defeated Mauresmo in the third round, in straight sets. It was the second time in a row that she had beaten Mauresmo in a Grand Slam championship, after winning their only previous encounter in January at the Australian Open. In the next round, she lost in three sets to
Anna Chakvetadze Anna Djambuliovna Chakvetadze ( ; born 5 March 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player. In her career, Chakvetadze won eight WTA Tour singles titles. She reached her highest singles ranking of world No. 5 in September 2007, after r ...
. As the 25th seed in
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 defeated
Zuzana Ondrášková Zuzana Ondrášková (born 3 May 1980) is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. Career On 9 February 2004, she reached her highest singles ranking of world No. 74. Her career included wins over several top players, inclu ...
followed by a win over
Eleni Daniilidou Eleni Daniilidou (; ; born 19 September 1982) is a Greek former tennis player from the island of Crete. She is considered one of the best Greek tennis players of the Open Era, winning five singles titles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tou ...
, in three sets. However, in the third round, she lost to world No. 3,
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 ...
, in three sets, after coming within two points of another Grand Slam upset. The match was described as the best match of the 2007 WTA Tour up to that point and the best women's Wimbledon match in many years. Šafářová entered the US Open as the 20th seed. She defeated Jessica Moore in the first round and Andrea Petkovic in the second round. She fell to Marion Bartoli in the third round. In 2007, she advanced to the third round or better in all four Grand Slams including the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, which was the best Grand Slam result at that point of her career.


2008

At the beginning of 2008, Šafářová again decided to enter the Hopman Cup in Perth. She was ranked No. 23 and took on world No. 56
Alicia Molik Alicia Molik (born 27 January 1981) is an Australian former professional tennis player. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 8 and a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 6. Molik won a bronze medal in singles for Australi ...
of Australia. She lost the match followed by a loss with her partner on and off the court,
Tomáš Berdych Tomáš Berdych (; born 17 September 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 4 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved in May 2015. Berdych won 13 ATP Tour singles titles, i ...
, in mixed doubles. Against the team of the United States, she lost to Serena Williams in three sets. Šafářová and Berdych lost the first set of the mixed doubles and then retired from the match due to Berdych's health concerns. The Czechs closed the cup by defeating India 2-1. Šafářová won her singles match against Sania Mirza in three sets. After Berdych also won his singles match and clinched the victory, Šafářová and Berdych lost the mixed-doubles match. Šafářová's second competition of the year was the
Sydney International The Sydney International (formerly known as the Championship of New South Wales and New South Wales Open, with various title sponsors), formerly sponsored as the Apia International Sydney from 2012 to 2017, was a professional tennis tournament ...
. In the first round, she faced Alicia Molik and won in two tiebreaks. Both players had set points and match points throughout the tiebreaker, but Šafářová was able to come out on top. She subsequently pulled out of the second round against world No. 1, Justine Henin. Šafářová entered 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 ...
as the 22nd seed. In the first round, she faced Catalina Castaño of
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
and lost in 71 minutes. Later, it was revealed that a gluteal strain was plaguing her during the match. She sustained the injury during her first-round encounter against Molik at the Medibank International. Competing in Indian Wells, Šafářová, seeded 26th, lost in three sets in the second round to Ashley Harkleroad. Following that, she lost at
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
to fourth seed Jelena Janković. At the
Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...
, Šafářová competed in both singles and women's doubles. She reached the third round of the singles by beating Maret Ani and Mariya Koryttseva before losing to Sybille Bammer. In the women's doubles, she and partner
Petra Kvitová Petra Kvitová (; born 8 March 1990) is a Czech professional tennis player. Known for her powerful left-handed groundstrokes and variety, Kvitová has won 31 career singles titles, including two Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major titles ...
were knocked out in the first round. She followed the Olympics by winning the Forest Hills Tennis Classic for the second time. She became the first and only player to win the Classic more than once, as 2008 was the last edition of the tournament.


2009

Šafářová began the year with a quarterfinal showing at the hardcourt event in
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
. She defeated the Australians
Isabella Holland Isabella Holland (born 2 January 1992) is an Australian former professional tennis player. Career Holland's preferred surfaces are clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phy ...
and
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 ...
before being defeated by second-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus. After failing to qualify for the premier event in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, she reached the third round of 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 ...
by defeating Sybille Bammer and Marina Erakovic before losing to Marion Bartoli in three sets. She did not advance past the second round in any of the other Grand Slam tournaments in 2009.


2010

Šafářová started into the season by reaching the quarterfinals of the
Brisbane International The Brisbane International established in 2009 is a professional tennis tournament played on Tennis court#Hard courts, outdoor hardcourts in Brisbane, Queensland in Australia. It is a WTA 500 tournaments, WTA 500 tournament and an ATP World T ...
, where she lost to eventual champion Kim Clijsters. She then suffered first round losses at the Hobart International, where she retired against Kateryna Bondarenko in the third set, and 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 lost to sixth seed
Venus Williams Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American inactive 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 for 11 wee ...
. She made her first final of the year indoors 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 ...
by defeating
Flavia Pennetta Flavia Pennetta (; born 25 February 1982) is an Italian former professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top-ten female singles player on 17 August 2009 and the first Italian to be ranked List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis pla ...
in the semifinals. In the final, she won the first set, but fell in three sets to top 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 ...
. In her next two tournaments, she then suffered two more first-round losses. First, at the Monterrey Open, she lost to
Julie Coin Julie Coin (; born 2 December 1982) is a retired French tennis player. Coin recorded the biggest win of her career by defeating the then- world No. 1 ranked Ana Ivanovic at the 2008 US Open. Her career-high singles ranking is world No. 60, ...
, then at Indian Wells against Julia Görges. At the Miami Open, she was unseeded. She won her first-round match against
Kaia Kanepi Kaia Kanepi (; born 10 June 1985) is an Estonian inactive professional tennis player. She achieved her career-high ranking of world No. 15 on 20 August 2012 and has won four singles titles on the WTA Tour. Described as a 'resident Grand Slam up ...
, and then defeated
María José Martínez Sánchez María José Martínez Sánchez (; born 12 August 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. In singles, she won five WTA Tour titles, her biggest being a Premier 5 title at the 2010 Italian Open where she defeated two former world ...
in the second round in three sets, after being down match points at 5–2 in the second set. She then fell to fourth seed Victoria Azarenka. At the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Šafářová upset world No. 2 and 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 ...
, in the second round. She then fell in three sets to qualifier Anna Lapushchenkova in the quarterfinals. At the Italian Open, she upset world No. 9,
Agnieszka Radwańska Agnieszka Roma Radwańska (; born 6 March 1989) is a Polish former professional tennis player and current coach. She was ranked world No. 2 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), in July 2012. Radwańska won 20 WTA Tour sing ...
, in the third round, but lost to eventual champion Martínez Sánchez, in straight sets in the quarterfinals. At the Madrid Open, she upset world No. 12
Maria Sharapova Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (, ; born 19 April 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 21 weeks. Sharapova won 36 WTA Tour-level sin ...
in the first round. She then defeated
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 ...
and
Alexandra Dulgheru Alexandra Dulgheru (; born 30 May 1989) is a former professional tennis player from Romania. On 11 April 2011, she achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 26. Her best ranking in doubles is No. 41, which she reached on 4 July 2011. ...
to advance to the quarterfinals, where she beat world No. 18 Nadia Petrova. She retired due to a thigh injury while trailing Aravane Rezaï by a set in the semifinals. 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 was seeded 24th. She defeated
Jelena Dokić Jelena Dokic (; ; born 12 April 1983) is an Australian tennis commentator, sports analyst, former professional player and public speaker. Her highest ranking as a tennis player was world No. 4, in August 2002. She won WTA Tour events on all su ...
in the first round, but was defeated by
Polona Hercog Polona Hercog (, born 20 January 1991) is a Slovenian professional tennis player. Her career-high WTA rankings are 35 in singles and 56 in doubles. She has won five titles on the WTA Tour, three in singles and two in doubles. Hercog also has had ...
in the second round. The French Open would be her best singles result at a Grand Slam in 2010 as she lost in the first round at both
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 ...
and the US Open.


2011

Šafářová began the year at the
Brisbane International The Brisbane International established in 2009 is a professional tennis tournament played on Tennis court#Hard courts, outdoor hardcourts in Brisbane, Queensland in Australia. It is a WTA 500 tournaments, WTA 500 tournament and an ATP World T ...
where she made it to the quarterfinals after tough matches against
Akgul Amanmuradova Akgul Charievna Amanmuradova (; born June 23, 1984) is an inactive professional tennis player from Uzbekistan. At 1.90 metres in height, she is one of the tallest female tennis players in history. Amanmuradova has won two doubles titles ...
and Shahar Pe'er where she 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 ...
, in three sets. As the 31st seed at 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 struggled through her first two rounds, but defeated
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 ...
and Klára Zakopalová, respectively. In the third round, she lost in two sets to 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 ...
, despite having had a set point in the second set. Following the Australian Open, Šafářová defeated
Daniela Hantuchová Daniela Hantuchová (; born 23 April 1983) is a Slovak tennis commentator and retired player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first WTA Tour title at the Indian Wells Open, defeating Martin ...
in the
2011 Fed Cup The 2011 Fed Cup (also known as the 2011 Fed Cup by BNP Paribas for sponsorship purposes) was the 49th edition of the tournament between national teams in women's tennis. The final took place at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia, on 5–6 N ...
, but retired in her second rubber against
Jana Čepelová Jana Čepelová (; born 29 May 1993) is a Slovak former professional tennis player. Čepelová won seven singles and three doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 12 May 2014, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 50. On 18 Ma ...
. Her next tournament was the Paris Indoor, where she fell to a resurgent Jelena Dokić in the first round. A week later at the Dubai Championships, she again exited in the first round by losing to Klára Zakopalová. Her performance at the Qatar Open was more positive, as she defeated world No. 10, Agnieszka Radwańska in two sets, before losing in three sets in the second round to Flavia Pennetta. She had her best result in 2011 at the Malaysian Open, where she reached the final against an in-form Jelena Dokić. She held two championship points in the second-set tiebreaker, but was unable to convert either chance and succumbed in three sets. She reached the second round in Indian Wells by beating Kristina Barrois, while serving a WTA season-high 18 aces, before losing a close match to 21st seed Andrea Petkovic. The following week as the 31st seed, she had a bye in round one in
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
. She then defeated Patty Schnyder and lost to fourth seed Sam Stosur. Šafářová was forced to pull out of the Czech Fed Cup tie against Belgium the following week due to a left thigh problem. She attempted to play at
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
, but lost to Barrois. She pulled out of
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 c ...
with the same leg injury. Her next tournament was the Premier Madrid Open. She defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues by coming back from match point down in the third set. She followed this victory with a three-set win over seventh seed Jelena Janković in round two and a two-set win over
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 ...
in round three. These victories meant that for the second consecutive year, she had made the quarterfinals in Madrid. In the quarterfinals, she lost a hard-fought match to fourth seed Victoria Azarenka in three sets. In
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
the following week, she began with a win over
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 second round, she fell to Jelena Janković. Unseeded 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 ...
, Šafářová opened with an easy win over
Kirsten Flipkens Kirsten "Flipper" Flipkens (; born 10 January 1986) is a Belgian tennis coach and a former professional player. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 13 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Flipkens has won one singles title on the WTA T ...
. In round two, she was up a set and a break against 17th seeded German Julia Görges, but eventually succumbed in three sets. In the doubles event, she and
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 ...
opened with a win over Miami champions Radwańska and Hantuchová, and then defeated
Pauline Parmentier Pauline Parmentier (; born 31 January 1986) is a French former tennis player. Her career-high WTA singles ranking is 40, which she attained on 21 July 2008. On 30 April 2012, she peaked at No. 89 on the WTA doubles rankings. She won four singl ...
and
Kristina Mladenovic Kristina "Kiki" Mladenovic (born 14 May 1993) is a French professional tennis player and a former List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles. Her best singles ranking is world No. 10. She is a nine-time Grand Slam ...
before falling to fifth-seeded Madrid Champions Victoria Azarenka and
Maria Kirilenko Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko ( rus, Мари́я Ю́рьевна Кириле́нко, p=mɐˈrʲijə kʲɪrʲɪˈlʲenkə, a=Ru-Maria_Kirilenko.ogg; born 25 January 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player. A junior Grand Slam champio ...
. Reaching the third round marked her best doubles result at the French Open up to that point in her career. As the fourth seed in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
, Šafářová made a series of tough three-set wins by never winning the first set. However, after beating
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. ...
,
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 ...
, Zhang Shuai, and
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 ...
(after trailing by a set and 4–0), she lost the final to home favourite and world No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki. She then traveled to
Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...
, where she lost in the opening round to eventual champion
Marion Bartoli Marion Bartoli (; born 2 October 1984) is a French former professional tennis player. Bartoli won the 2013 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles, 2013 Wimbledon Championships singles title, after previously being runner-up in 2007 Wimbledo ...
despite holding a match point. 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 ...
, Šafářová was seeded 31st. She defeated fellow Czech
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 ...
in the first round in three sete. This victory was her first win at Wimbledon since 2007. She was defeated by another Czech, Klára Zakopalová, in the second round. She next played on clay in
Båstad Båstad () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Båstad Municipality, Scania County, Sweden, with approximately 5,000 permanent residents. It is however one of Sweden's most typical summer resorts. The population is presumably mor ...
, but was taken out by
Vesna Dolonc Vesna Ratkovna Dolonc (Serbian Cyrillic and ; née Manasieva, Манасиева; born 21 July 1989) is a retired Serbian tennis player. She earned career-highs of 84 in singles and 93 in doubles. Career Dolonc began competing on the ITF Circ ...
in straight sets in the first round. She then pulled out of tournaments in
Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
and
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
before returning to the tour in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
. Following wins over Polona Hercog and
Simona Halep Simona Halep (; born 27 September 1991) is a Romanian 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 (WTA) for 64 w ...
, she took out eighth seeded
Francesca Schiavone Francesca Schiavone (; born 23 June 1980) is an Italian former professional tennis player. She had career-high rankings of world No. 4 in women's singles and No. 8 in women's doubles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Schiavone won eight W ...
to reach her second Toronto quarterfinal. She lost this match to eventual champion Serena Williams in three sets. In
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
the following week, she defeated Klára Zakopalová in the first round, but lost her second round match to the fifth seed, Li Na. Seeded 27th at the US Open, Šafářová began by defeating
Magdaléna Rybáriková Magdaléna Rybáriková (; born 4 October 1988) is a Slovak former professional tennis player. In her career, she won four singles titles and one doubles title on the WTA Tour. Rybáriková reached the semifinals of the 2017 Wimbledon Champion ...
. The victory was her first US Open win since 2007. She then defeated wild card
Madison Keys Madison Keys (born February 17, 1995) is an American professional tennis player. She has been WTA rankings, ranked as high as world No. 5 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA. Keys has won ten WTA Tour-level career singles ...
before a disappointing third round loss to
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
Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...
the week following the US Open, she lost in round two to
Andrea Hlaváčková Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that ...
as the second seed. After taking a small break, she re-entered the tour in
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
, but lost in the first round to Petkovic. She followed this tournament up with a semifinal appearance in
Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...
, Austria, where she lost to
Dominika Cibulková Dominika Cibulková (; born 6 May 1989) is a Slovak former professional tennis player. She is the 2016 WTA Finals champion, becoming the fourth player (after Serena Williams in 2001 WTA Tour Championships, 2001, Maria Sharapova in 2004 WTA Tour ...
. The following week in the premier
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
event, she took out second-seed Agnieszka Radwańska in round two before losing to
Kaia Kanepi Kaia Kanepi (; born 10 June 1985) is an Estonian inactive professional tennis player. She achieved her career-high ranking of world No. 15 on 20 August 2012 and has won four singles titles on the WTA Tour. Described as a 'resident Grand Slam up ...
in the semifinals in three sets. To finish the year, Šafářová was a part of the Czech Fed Cup team that had qualified for the final against
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. Despite losing both her matches to the higher-ranked Svetlana Kuznetsova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, she and the Czech team won 3–2 to win their first championship as the Czech Republic (Czechoslovakia had previously won five Fed Cup titles).


2012

Šafářová reached the quarterfinals in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, but lost to Li Na in two sets. She was taken out in the first round of 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 ...
by
Christina McHale Christina Maria McHale (born May 11, 1992) is an American professional tennis player. Her career-high WTA rankings are world No. 24 in singles and No. 35 in doubles. Known for an aggressive baseline game, McHale was recognized by ''The New Yor ...
. On 23 March 2012 at the Miami Open, she lost to
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 ...
of Great Britain in a match lasting one hour, 20 minutes. The young British player was ranked No. 129 in the world. At the London Olympics, Šafářová competed in the women's singles and the women's doubles, but lost in the first round of both competitions. She reached the semifinals of the Canadian Open in Montreal, where she lost to Li Na in three sets. With this result, she was ranked well within the top 20 for the first time in her career. In 2012, she also helped the Czech team defend its
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 ...
title. She won both her singles matches against Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Janković in the final against
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
. Her victory against Janković clinched a 3–1 victory for the Czechs.


2013

In 2013, Šafářová did not advance past the second round at any of the Grand Slams in singles. She was more successful in doubles. Partnering with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, they reached the quarterfinals at both 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 ...
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 ...
. The week following the US Open, Šafářová won her fifth WTA singles title at the Challenge Bell.


2014: First major semifinal

Šafářová had a match point in the third round of 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 ...
against Li Na, but was eventually beaten in three sets as Li went on to win her second major title. At the Miami Open, she lost in three tight sets to Maria Sharapova in the third round. She would go on to lose to Sharapova again in the first round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. At Roland Garros, she was the 23rd seed and defeated the in-form Ana Ivanovic in the third round, but lost in the next round to Svetlana Kuznetsova, in straight sets. 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 reached her first ever Grand Slam semifinal, where she lost in two sets to fellow Czech Petra Kvitová. In November, Šafárová was a part of the Czech Fed Cup team that played the final against
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. In front of the home crowd at the O2 Arena in Prague, she won her singles match against
Angelique Kerber Angelique Kerber (; born 18 January 1988) is a German 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 (WTA) for 34 wee ...
in straight sets, which contributed to a 3–1 victory for the Czech team.


2015: Grand Slam doubles titles, singles final & top-5 player, struggles with illness

Šafářová had a slow start to the year with a first-round loss at the
Sydney International The Sydney International (formerly known as the Championship of New South Wales and New South Wales Open, with various title sponsors), formerly sponsored as the Apia International Sydney from 2012 to 2017, was a professional tennis tournament ...
to Samantha Stosur. At 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 suffered another first-round exit to Yaroslava Shvedova. Despite the early loss in singles, she rebounded by capturing her first Grand Slam title in doubles. Partnering with Bethanie Mattek-Sands, they defeated the 14th seeded team of
Chan Yung-jan Latisha Chan (born 17 August 1989), formerly known by her Chinese name Chan Yung-jan (; ), is a Taiwanese professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. She has won 33 career titles in doubles, including a Grand Slam title ...
and
Zheng Jie Zheng Jie (born 5 July 1983) is a Chinese former professional tennis player. In May 2009, she achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 15. Zheng is one of China's most successful tennis players. She won four singles titles on the ...
. Šafářová then played at
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
and lost in the quarterfinals to fellow Czech
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 ...
. She next traveled to
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 ...
where she made it to the quarterfinals by upsetting defending champion Venus Williams along the way. However, in the quarterfinals she lost again to Plíšková. At the Qatar Open, she defeated former Grand Slam champion Samantha Stosur, fifth seed
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 ...
, sixth seed Andrea Petkovic, and ninth seed Carla Suárez Navarro en route to her first final in over a year. In the final, she defeated former No. 1, Victoria Azarenka, in straight sets to win her first
WTA Premier tournaments WTA Premier tournaments was a category of tennis tournaments in the Women's Tennis Association, WTA Tour, implemented from the reorganization of the schedule in 2009 until 2020. In 2020, Premier events included: * Four "Premier Mandatory" events ...
title. She then lost early at both the Indian Wells and the Miami Open to
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 ...
and
Johanna Larsson Johanna Larsson (; born 17 August 1988) is a Swedish former tennis player. In her career, she won two singles and 14 doubles titles on the WTA Tour, with 13 singles and 17 doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. Her career-high WTA rankin ...
, respectively. Next, she played for the Czech Republic in the semifinals against France 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 ...
, where she beat
Caroline Garcia Caroline Garcia (, born 16 October 1993) is a French professional tennis player. She had a career-high WTA rankings, ranking of world No. 4 in singles and world No. 2 in doubles. Garcia was the 2022 WTA Finals – Singles, 2022 WTA Finals champi ...
in three sets after saving five match points. The Czech Republic would go on to win the tie to advance to the finals for the fourth time in five years. Šafářová began her clay season in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
where she lost in the second round to eventual finalist Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets, but she would go on to win the doubles title with Mattek-Sands. She then played at the
Prague Open In tennis, Prague Open may refer to: * Prague Open (1987–1999) * 1992 HTC Prague Open, HTC Prague Open, held only in 1992 * BVV Prague Open (1993–1994) * I.ČLTK Prague Open, Advantage Cars Prague Open * WTA Prague Open, Livesport Prague Open * ...
and lost in the first round to
Tereza Smitková Tereza Smitková (born 10 October 1994) is a Czech tennis player. Smitková has won one singles WTA 125 title as well as eight singles and seven doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 6 April 2015, she reached her best singles ranking of world ...
. Next, she played at the Madrid Open and made it to the quarterfinals, where she lost to eventual finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova in three sets. In that match, she had been up 5–2 in the second set tiebreak and also failed to convert two match points on her own serve in the third set. She then lost in the second round at the Italian Open to
Alexandra Dulgheru Alexandra Dulgheru (; born 30 May 1989) is a former professional tennis player from Romania. On 11 April 2011, she achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 26. Her best ranking in doubles is No. 41, which she reached on 4 July 2011. ...
in three sets. Šafářová started her
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 ...
singles campaign by defeating long time friend Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in two tiebreakers. She went on to defeat
Kurumi Nara is a Japanese former professional tennis player. In her career, she won one singles title on the WTA Tour, with seven singles and three doubles titles on the ITF Women's World Tennis Tour, ITF Women's Circuit. On 18 August 2014, she achieved he ...
and 20th seed Sabine Lisicki, which set up a clash with the defending champion Maria Sharapova in the fourth round. She won the match in straight sets. It was Sharapova's earliest French Open loss since 2010. In the quarterfinals, she played the 21st seed Garbiñe Muguruza and won in straight sets to advance to her second semifinal in a major. With her quarterfinal win, she secured her place in the top 10. She then defeated former champion Ana Ivanovic in two tight sets to advance to her first ever Grand Slam tournament final, which she lost to Serena Williams in three sets. In doubles she and Mattek-Sands claimed their second Grand Slam title of the year by beating
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 ...
and
Casey Dellacqua Casey Dellacqua ( ; born 11 February 1985) is an Australian former professional tennis player and current commentator. Her best singles results on the WTA Tour have been semifinal appearances at the 2012 Texas Tennis Open and 2014 Birmingham ...
in three sets in the final. With this win she moved up to No. 5 in doubles. Šafářová began the grass-court season by playing in Eastbourne International. She lost her first match to Dominika Cibulková, in straight sets. Next, she played at the Wimbledon Championships. She reached the fourth round, but was then defeated by unseeded CoCo Vandeweghe in two tiebreakers. In the North American hard court season, Šafářová participated in the Rogers Cup, but lost in the second round to Daria Gavrilova after receiving a first round bye. This loss occurred despite having a 6–4, 5–5, 30–0 lead on her serve. She then reached the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open, where she lost to Elina Svitolina in three sets. Šafářová reached the final of the Connecticut Open, but lost to defending champion Petra Kvitová. She then lost in the first round of the US Open to Lesia Tsurenko in straight sets. The rest of Šafářová's season was blighted by a bacterial infection which hospitalized her. As a result, she was unable to play for most of the autumn and early winter. She managed to play in the Linz Open and the Moscow Open, but she lost her opening matches in both tournaments. Since Serena Williams withdrew from the tournament, Šafářová was able to play the WTA Finals for the first time in her career. She failed to advance to the semifinals as she lost to Muguruza and Kvitová in round-robin matches, but she did get a win by beating eventual world No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam champion, Angelique Kerber, in straight sets to finish the round with a record of 1–2. She closed the year once again in the Fed Cup Finals, where the Czech Republic won their fourth title in five years. She was not chosen to play in any of the matches.


2016: Continuous struggles with injuries, first Olympic medal and US Open doubles title

Šafářová skipped the whole Australian series, including 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 ...
and thus failing to defend her doubles title, due to the same bacterial infection which hospitalized her at the end of 2015. She returned to tennis at the Qatar Open, where she was the defending champion. However, she lost to Turkish wild card
Çağla Büyükakçay Çağla Büyükakçay (; born 28 September 1989) is a Turkish professional tennis player. She won her first title at her home tournament in Istanbul becoming the first Turkish woman to lift a WTA Tour title. She has won 12 singles and 1 ...
. In Indian Wells, Šafářová lost to Yaroslava Shvedova in the second round after receiving a bye as the 11th seed. Šafářová then partnered Ekaterina Makarova in doubles as the fifth seed, but they lost to
Andreja Klepač Andreja Klepač (born 13 March 1986) is a Slovenian former tennis player. On 14 July 2008, she reached her career-high singles rankings of world No. 99. On 11 April 2022, she peaked at No. 11 in the WTA doubles rankings. She qualified also with ...
and
Katarina Srebotnik Katarina Srebotnik (born 12 March 1981) is a Slovenian former professional tennis player. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 20, on 7 August 2006. On 4 July 2011, she became the No. 1 of the WTA doubles rankings, holding thi ...
in the first round. As the 11th seed in the Miami Open, Šafářová received a bye into the second round where she faced Yanina Wickmayer. However, she lost the match in straight sets. For doubles, she partnered with her usual partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands for their first tournament together in 2016. They defeated
Sloane Stephens Sloane Stephens (born March 20, 1993) is an American professional tennis player. She has achieved a career-best ranking of world No. 3 by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA. Stephens has won eight WTA Tour-level singles titles, including the 2 ...
and Madison Keys and then Daria Kasatkina Elena Vesnina to set up a blockbuster meeting with Australian Open finalists Andrea Hlaváčková and Lucie Hradecká, who are known as "The Silent-Hs". Mattek-Sands and Šafářová prevailed in straight sets, and dominated Chinese pairing
Xu Yifan Xu Yifan (; ; born 8 August 1988), nicknamed Julie, is a Chinese professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 7 in doubles, on 13 January 2020. On 13 July 2015, she peaked at No. 148 in the s ...
and
Zheng Saisai Zheng Saisai or Zheng Sai-Sai (; born 5 February 1994) is a Chinese tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 34, achieved on 2 March 2020, and a doubles ranking of No. 15, achieved on 11 July 2016. In her career, she wo ...
in the semifinals. They then defeated the fourth seeds
Tímea Babos Tímea Babos (; born 10 May 1993) is a Hungarian professional tennis player who is a former List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles. She has won three WTA Tour titles in singles and 27 in doubles. Babos is a f ...
and Yaroslava Shvedova in the final, winning their first title together of the year. Šafářová's next tournament was 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 ...
. As the fourth seed in singles, she lost to
Louisa Chirico Louisa Chirico (born May 16, 1996) is an American tennis player. On 24 October 2016, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 58. On 6 March 2017, she peaked at No. 184 in the WTA doubles rankings. Chirico has won seven singles titles ...
in her opening singles match after receiving a first-round bye. Top-seeded in doubles, Šafářová and Mattek-Sands proceeded to the final after winning all their matches in straight sets, but then lost to Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic. Next, she played in the Stuttgart Open and lost in the first round to
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 ...
. Šafářová turned her season around by winning her seventh career title at the
Prague Open In tennis, Prague Open may refer to: * Prague Open (1987–1999) * 1992 HTC Prague Open, HTC Prague Open, held only in 1992 * BVV Prague Open (1993–1994) * I.ČLTK Prague Open, Advantage Cars Prague Open * WTA Prague Open, Livesport Prague Open * ...
. She won her first singles match of the year in the first round against Duque Mariño, whom she beat in three sets. She followed this result up with a second-round win over compatriot Lucie Hradecká 6–4, 2–0 (ret.). In the quarterfinal she beat
Hsieh Su-wei Hsieh Su-wei (; ; born 4 January 1986) is a Taiwanese professional tennis player. A former List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in Doubles tennis, doubles with nine Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam titles, she is rega ...
in straight sets. In the semifinals she avenged her Stuttgart defeat to compatriot Karolína Plíšková by beating her in straight sets. In the final she delighted a home crowd by coming from a set down to beat Grand Slam champion Samantha Stosur. This result ended her title drought of more than a year since her Doha win. Next, she played in the Madrid Open. She defeated CoCo Vandeweghe in the first round, but withdrew from the tournament, both from singles and doubles due to gastrointestinal illness. At the
Rio Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...
, she won her first-round singles match, but retired in her second round match after losing the first set. However, she recovered in time for doubles and on 13 August 2016, she won her first ever Olympic medal, which was a bronze with her partner
Barbora Strýcová Barbora Strýcová (; born 28 March 1986), formerly known as Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová, is a Czech former professional tennis player who was ranked List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles. She won two Gra ...
. At the US Open, Šafářová was unseeded in singles. She won in the first round against Daria Gavrilova, but lost in the second round to fifth seed Simona Halep. In doubles, she teamed once again with Mattek-Sands. They were seeded 12th and would go on to win their third Grand Slam title together. In the semifinals they defeated the fifth seeded Russian team of Makarova and Vesnina, who had just defeated Mattek-Sands and Šafářová the month before in the semifinals of the Olympics and gone on to win the gold medal. In the final, Mattek-Sands and Šafářová defeated the French team of Garcia and Mladenovic, who had won the French Open earlier in the year. Šafářová and Mattek-Sands would team up to win two more tournaments in 2016,
Wuhan Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...
and
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
. Their performance during the season qualified them for the WTA Finals, where they made the finals, but lost to Makarova and Vesnina. Šafářová ended the year ranked sixth in doubles.


2017: Australian and French Open doubles champion and world No. 1 in doubles

In
Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...
, Šafářová defeated
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 ...
in the first round, but then she lost to qualifier
Risa Ozaki is a former professional Japanese tennis player. In her career, Ozaki won seven singles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 24 April 2017, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 70. On 6 March 2017, she peaked at No. 246 in the WT ...
. At 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 ...
, Šafářová defeated Yanina Wickmayer in the first round, after defending nine match points. In the second round, she lost to eventual champion Serena Williams. In doubles, Šafářová and Mattek-Sands won their fourth Grand Slam title, defeating Andrea Hlaváčková and
Peng Shuai Peng Shuai (; ; born 8 January 1986) is a Chinese former professional tennis player. In February 2014, she was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 doubles player by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA ...
in the final. Šafářová reached the semifinals in
Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...
, where she lost to Peng. She played for the Czech Republic in the Fed Cup quarterfinals against
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
in a dead rubber alongside
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 ...
. They lost to María José Martínez Sánchez and
Sara Sorribes Tormo Sara Sorribes Tormo (; born 8 October 1996) is a Spanish professional tennis player. She achieved her career-high singles WTA rankings, ranking of world No. 32 on 7 February 2022 and No. 17 in doubles on 6 May 2024. She has won two singles titl ...
. In
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
, Šafářová lost in the final to Tímea Babos. These two players were the top seeds of the tournament. They also partnered in doubles, where they withdrew before the semifinal match. Šafářová and Mattek-Sands would continue their doubles success in the spring. They won at Charleston, and then won another Grand Slam title 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 ...
. Šafářová would not have as much success in singles during this time. She lost in the first round at the French and then in the second round 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 ...
. Also at Wimbledon, Mattek-Sands injured her knee in a singles match causing the duo to withdraw from the tournament after winning a first round match. At the US Open, Šafářová defeated
Anett Kontaveit Anett Kontaveit (; born 24 December 1995) is an Estonian former professional tennis player. She was WTA rankings, ranked as high as world No. 2 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), which she first achieved on 6 June 2022 to become the highes ...
,
Nao Hibino is a Japanese professional tennis player. She has been ranked as high as world No. 56 in singles and No. 43 in doubles by the WTA. Hibino has won three singles titles and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour. She has also won nine singles and ...
and
Kurumi Nara is a Japanese former professional tennis player. In her career, she won one singles title on the WTA Tour, with seven singles and three doubles titles on the ITF Women's World Tennis Tour, ITF Women's Circuit. On 18 August 2014, she achieved he ...
, before losing to CoCo Vandeweghe in the fourth round.


2018: Struggles with injuries and health

Šafářová started the new season in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
. In singles, she lost in the first round to Angelique Kerber. In doubles, she played alongside Barbora Strýcová. They withdrew before their semifinal match against
Gabriela Dabrowski Gabriela "Gaby" Dabrowski (; , ; born April 1, 1992) is a Canadian professional tennis player. She reached her career-high doubles ranking of world No. 3 on 15 July 2024. A three-time Grand Slam champion, she won the 2023 US Open doubles title, ...
and
Xu Yifan Xu Yifan (; ; born 8 August 1988), nicknamed Julie, is a Chinese professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 7 in doubles, on 13 January 2020. On 13 July 2015, she peaked at No. 148 in the s ...
. At 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 ...
, Šafářová defeated Ajla Tomljanović and
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 ...
, before losing to Karolína Plíšková in the third round. In doubles, Šafářová and Strýcová lost in the quarterfinals to Hsieh Su-wei and Peng Shuai. In Wimbledon, she defeated Bondarenko and Radwańska, losing in the third round to Makarova in three sets. Playing doubles with Mattek-Sands, they were losing in the quarterfinals. In
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
, Šafářová lost in second round to Julia Görges. In doubles with Mattek-Sands, they lost in the first round 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
Demi Schuurs Demi Schuurs (; born 1 August 1993) is a Dutch professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. On 22 October 2018, she peaked at No. 7 in the doubles rankings. In February 2015, she reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 512. ...
.


2019-2024: Retirement & comeback

On 10 November 2018, Šafářová announced she would retire from the singles and doubles at 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 stated, the decision was based on her health issues. However, on 4 January 2019, she announced that due to body ailments, she would be pulling out of the Australian Open and her farewell tournament would come at a later date. In March 2019, she stated her final tournament would be at the Prague Open. However, she later said that she would retire at the
2019 French Open The 2019 French Open was a Grand Slam (tennis), major tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was held at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from 26 May to 9 June, comprising singles, doubles and mixed doubles play. Junior and ...
. She partnered there with Dominika Cibulková, and they lost in the first round 4–6, 0–6 to
Sofia Kenin } Sofia Anna "Sonya" Kenin (born November 14, 1998) is an American professional tennis player. She has been WTA rankings, ranked as high as world No. 4 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA, and No. 26 in doubles. Kenin was named the ...
and Andrea Petkovic. In 2023, she entered the tournament Internationaux de Reims-Champagne and won her first-round match but later withdrew from playing because participating in the tournament by the rules was qualified as “official comeback to professional tennis” which this, by her words, wasn’t. She returned to the WTA Tour at the 2024 Prague Open as a wildcard pair partnering Bethanie Mattek-Sands and reached the final where they lost to top seeds
Barbora Krejčíková Barbora Krejčíková (; born 18 December 1995) is a Czech professional tennis player. She has been WTA rankings, ranked as high as world No. 2 in singles and List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles by the Wome ...
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 ...
.


Personal life

Apart from her native
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...
, Šafářová also can speak
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
and English. On 4 July 2019, Šafářová posted on her Instagram that she was excited to be expecting a baby with former
NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
player
Tomáš Plekanec Tomáš Plekanec (born 31 October 1982) is a Czech former professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre. He played most of his National Hockey League (NHL) career for the Montreal Canadiens, and briefly played for the Toronto Maple Leafs. ...
. She announced the birth of her daughter later that year. Šafářová married Plekanec in 2021 and they announced birth of their son later in 2022.


Career statistics


Grand Slam tournament performance timelines


Singles


Doubles


Grand Slam tournament finals


Singles: 1 (runner-up)


Doubles: 5 (5 titles)


Tour Championships finals


Doubles: 1 (runner-up)


References


External links


Official website
* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Safarova, Lucie 1987 births Living people Tennis players from Brno People from Monte Carlo Czech female tennis players Hopman Cup competitors Olympic tennis players for the Czech Republic Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Australian Open (tennis) champions Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles French Open champions US Open (tennis) champions Czech expatriate sportspeople in Monaco Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists for the Czech Republic in tennis Olympic bronze medalists for the Czech Republic WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players