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Shahar Pe'er (, ; born ) is an Israeli retired
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. Pe'er won five singles and three doubles titles on the
WTA Tour The WTA Tour (also known as the Hologic WTA Tour for sponsorship reasons) is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for women and organized by the Women's Tennis Association. The second-tier tour is the WTA 125 series, and third-tier is the ITF Wome ...
, as well as four singles and three doubles titles on the ITF circuit in her career. She reached her best singles ranking of world number 11, the highest of any Israeli tennis player in history, in January 2011. She peaked at number 14 in the doubles rankings in May 2008. Pe'er is widely regarded as the most successful Israeli female tennis player in history, having twice reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal in singles and appeared in the doubles final of the 2008 Australian Open, with
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 ...
of Belarus. She won her first senior national title at the age of 14, and won the Junior Girls’ Australian Open title when she was 16. Playing for
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
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 ...
, Pe'er has a win–loss record of 39–28. She also represented Israel in two Olympics.


Early life

Pe'er was born in
Jerusalem, Israel Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
, and is
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
. Her father is Dov "Dovik" Pe'er who was born in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
in 1955 and immigrated to
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
in 1961, and her mother is Aliza. Her paternal grandfather Solly had volunteered as a medic in Israel after the
1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...
. She began playing tennis at the age of six when she joined her brother Shlomi and her sister Shani in tennis lessons. When Shahar was one, she and her family moved to Maccabim, Israel. At the age of 19, Pe'er was enlisted as a soldier to the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
. When not abroad participating in tennis tournaments, she spent her mornings working as an administrative secretary for the IDF, and her afternoons practicing tennis.


Career


Early years

Pe'er began playing tennis competitively when she was six. Her first tournament win was in the doubles event with partner
Nicole Vaidišová Nicole Vaidišová Štěpánková (; born 23 April 1989) is a Czech former professional tennis player. Vaidišová is an Australian Open and French Open semifinalist as well as a two-time quarterfinalist at Wimbledon. She started playing te ...
at the Eddie Herr International tournament when she was 12. She also reached the singles final at that tournament. In 2001, Pe'er won the Nike Junior Tour International Masters tennis tournament and the Israeli women's tennis championship (the youngest Israeli to do so). She also won her age category at the Junior Orange Bowl. In 2002, Pe'er won in singles at the
Bat Yam Bat Yam ( ) is a city on Israel's Mediterranean Sea coast, on the Central Coastal Plain just south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area and the Tel Aviv District. In , it had a population of . History British Mandate Bat Y ...
International and in doubles at the
Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...
International. She won the Amata Cup in
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
in March 2003. Pe'er's first major victory came at the
2004 Australian Open The 2004 Australian Open was a Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia from 19 January to 1 February 2004. Andre Agassi was unsuccessful in defending his 2003 title, being defeated in the semi-finals by Mara ...
, where she won the Juniors' Championship. She beat her former partner Vaidišová in the final, and became the first Israeli woman to win a junior Grand Slam title since
Anna Smashnova Anna Aleksandrovna Smashnova (, ; born July 16, 1976) is a Soviet-born Israeli former tennis player. She retired from professional tour after Wimbledon 2007. Smashnova reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 15 in 2003. She reached ...
won 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 ...
girls' singles title in 1990.


Junior Grand Slam Records


2004–2005

Pe'er turned professional in 2004, a year during which she played both the ITF Circuit and the WTA Tour. In 2005, Pe'er first played the main draw of a Grand Slam event, reaching the third round in both 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 ...
and the US Open. Pe'er finished 2005 ranked No. 45 in the world.


2006–2007

In January 2006 in Canberra, Australia, she lost a marathon semifinal match (the first of her career) against Spain's
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 ...
that lasted 3 hours and 45 minutes. At the time it was one of the ten longest matches in WTA Tour history. In May 2006 she beat world no. 15
Anna-Lena Grönefeld Anna-Lena Grönefeld (also spelled Groenefeld; married name Herzgerodt; born 4 June 1985) is a German former professional tennis player. Competing as a professional from 2003 until 2019, she won one singles title on the WTA Tour, at the 2006 M ...
of Germany in the semifinals and then upset world No. 2
Anastasia Myskina Anastasia Andreyevna Myskina ( ; born 8 July 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player. Myskina won the 2004 French Open singles title, becoming the first Russian woman to win a major singles title. Due to this victory, she rose to ...
of Russia, to win in the finals of a level III event in Turkey. At the 2006 French Open, Pe'er defeated world No. 8
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 ...
of Russia in the round of 32, but lost to
Martina Hingis Martina Hingis (, ; born 30 September 1980) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 209 weeks ( fifth-most of all time) and as the world No. ...
, in their fourth-round match. Pe'er reached the fourth round of the 2006 US Open, defeating world No. 15
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 ...
, but later fell to Justine Henin Hardenne. Pe'er finished 2006 ranked 20th in the world, after winning her first three WTA singles titles that year in Pattaya, Prague, and Istanbul. 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 ...
, Pe'er made history by becoming the first Israeli woman to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event. In the fourth round she defeated world No. 4
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 ...
, but was defeated in her quarterfinal match against eventual champion
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 ...
. In March 2007 at Indian Wells, she defeated world no. 11
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 ...
of Russia before losing in the quarterfinals to eventual winner
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 ...
. The following month at the Miami Masters, Pe'er made it to her first Tier 1 tournament semifinals before losing to eventual champion Serena Williams. At the 2007 Rome Masters, Pe'er was defeated in the third round, again by
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 ...
. It was her fourth career loss to Williams, and the third in 2007. After beating Kuznetsova twice earlier in 2007, she met Kuznetsova for the third time in the fourth round of the
French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
and lost. Pe'er's impressive year soured with a disappointing appearance 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 ...
in early July, where she lost in the third round to eventual runner-up
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 ...
. This was followed by three tournaments in California (the
Bank of the West Classic The Silicon Valley Classic was a tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held on the campus of San Jose State University in San Jose, California. Started in 1971, the tournament was the oldest women's-only tournament in the world and was played on outdo ...
, the Acura Classic, and the JPMorgan Chase Open) in which Pe'er was seeded, but was ousted by an unseeded player in either the first or second round. In late August, at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, Pe'er managed to pass the first two rounds, only to be ousted again by unseeded
Virginie Razzano Virginie Razzano (born 12 May 1983) is a French former professional tennis player. She won two WTA Tour singles titles, both in 2007. Razzano reached her career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 16 on 14 September 2009. She represented France in ...
. Pe'er went into the 2007 US Open seeded 18th and suffering from a chest injury. She beat Americans
Meilen Tu Meilen Tu (traditional Chinese: 涂美倫, simplified Chinese: 涂美伦, Hanyu Pinyin: ''Tú Měilún'') (born January 17, 1978) is a former professional tennis player from the U.S. In her career, she won one singles title and four doubles title ...
and Bethanie Mattek, world No. 15 Czech
Nicole Vaidišová Nicole Vaidišová Štěpánková (; born 23 April 1989) is a Czech former professional tennis player. Vaidišová is an Australian Open and French Open semifinalist as well as a two-time quarterfinalist at Wimbledon. She started playing te ...
, and
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 ...
from Poland to reach her first US Open and second Grand Slam quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals she lost in straight sets to world No. 6, Anna Chakvetadze. Following her successful appearance at the US Open, Pe'er lost in the second round at
Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
and 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 ...
and fell in the quarterfinals of a Tier III event in
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
. Her return to center stage at the Zurich Open was again cut short with a first round loss. Finishing as a doubles runner-up in Luxembourg (partnering Victoria Azarenka) helped Pe'er achieve a career-high doubles ranking of 25 on 1 October. Pe'er finished 2007 ranked 17th in the world.


2008

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 ...
, Pe'er was seeded No. 17, and lost in the third round to No. 11 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 the doubles tournament, Pe'er and her partner Azarenka were seeded No. 12. They got to final, where they lost to Alona and
Kateryna Bondarenko Kateryna Volodymyrivna Volodko (née Bondarenko; ; born 8 August 1986) is a tennis player from Ukraine. Her career-high rankings are world No. 29 in singles and No. 9 in doubles. She was the doubles champion at the 2008 Australian Open, partneri ...
. Following her first doubles Grand Slam final appearance Pe'er achieve a career-high doubles ranking of 16. Late February, Pe'er became the first Israeli to compete in a WTA Tour event in the
Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...
when she reached the third round of the Qatar Total Open in Doha. Pe'er lost at the second round in Indian Wells, the third in Miami and the first in Berlin. 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 ...
, Pe'er was seeded No. 17 but lost in the first round to wild card recipient, Australian
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 ...
, a former top 30 player that was making a comeback from an injury. Together with partner Azarenka she reached the semifinals in both Miami and Berlin. In early May, Pe'er achieved a career-high doubles ranking of 14. 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 ...
, Pe'er advanced to the fourth round, before losing to No. 5 seed Elena Dementieva. Earlier, in the third round, Pe'er defeated the 9th seed
Dinara Safina Dinara Mubinovna Safina (, ; ; born April 27, 1986) 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 26 weeks, and world No. 8 in doubles. Safina ...
after a three-hours and 25 minutes match, the third-longest ladies' singles match in Wimbledon history. At the doubles tournament, Pe'er equaled her best result from
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 ...
, after she and Victoria Azarenka reached the quarterfinals. At the quarterfinals, Pe'er and Azarenka, the sixth seed, lost to the top-seeded team of
Cara Black Cara Cavell Black (born 17 February 1979) is a Zimbabwean former professional tennis player. Black was primarily a doubles specialist, winning 60 WTA Tour and 11 ITF Women's Circuit, ITF doubles titles. A former List of WTA number 1 ranked dou ...
and
Liezel Huber Liezel Huber (née Horn; born 21 August 1976) is a South African- American retired tennis player who represented the United States internationally since August 2007. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara B ...
. Pe'er then represented Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where she lost in the second round to  9 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 ...
of Russia. Pe'er fell ten places in the World Rankings from the start of the hardcourt season. She was dispatched in the first round of the US Open by China's
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 ...
. She finished the year 2008 ranked World No. 38 with a singles record of 26–24 and a doubles record of 19–17.


2009

Pe'er started the
year A year is a unit of time based on how long it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun. In scientific use, the tropical year (approximately 365 Synodic day, solar days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 45 seconds) and the sidereal year (about 20 minutes longer) ...
by playing in the ASB Classic in Auckland. Entering as the No. 5 seed, she defeated
Petra Cetkovská Petra Cetkovská (; born 8 February 1985) is a retired Czech tennis player. Having turned professional in 2000, she reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 25, on 18 June 2012. Over her career, Cetkovská defeated top-ten players Mari ...
in the first round and
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 ...
in the second round before losing to top seed and eventual champion Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals. 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 lost in the first round to No. 11 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 ...
. After this event, Pe'er played in Israel's first tie of the 2009 Fed Cup. She won both her singles rubbers, against
Kateryna Bondarenko Kateryna Volodymyrivna Volodko (née Bondarenko; ; born 8 August 1986) is a tennis player from Ukraine. Her career-high rankings are world No. 29 in singles and No. 9 in doubles. She was the doubles champion at the 2008 Australian Open, partneri ...
and
Alona Bondarenko Alona Volodymyrivna Bondarenko Dyachok (; born 13 August 1984) is a Ukrainian former tennis player. Her sisters Valeria and Kateryna Bondarenko are also tennis players. Her career-high singles ranking is No. 19, achieved on 14 April 2008. Alo ...
. In the deciding doubles match (
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
won the other two singles rubbers), Pe'er teamed up with
Tzipora Obziler Tzipora "Tzipi" Obziler (; born 19 April 1973) is an Israeli former professional tennis player. She reached her career-high singles world ranking of No. 75 in on 8 July 2007, and career-high doubles ranking of No. 149 on 10 April 2000. Early a ...
, but they lost to the Bondarenkos. At the Pattaya Women's Open, Pe'er was seeded seventh. She made it to the semifinals, before losing to top seeded Vera Zvonareva. Pe'er lost in the first round of her next tournament, the Monterrey Open, to
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 ...
, the tournament's sixth-seed. She redeemed herself at the
BNP Paribas Open The BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells is an annual professional tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California, United States. It is played on outdoor hardcourts at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, and is held in March. The tournament is pa ...
, a WTA Premier event. She started the fortnight off defeating Kateryna Bondarenko, then upset 10th seeded Marion Bartoli 19th seeded Anna Chakvetadze before losing to the 8th seed and former doubles partner
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 ...
. In doubles, paired with
Gisela Dulko Gisela Dulko (; born 30 January 1985) is an Argentine former tennis player. Although she enjoyed modest success in singles, reaching a career-high ranking of world No. 26 and winning four WTA Tour, WTA titles, her speciality was doubles, where s ...
, she lost again lost to Azarenka and her partner Vera Zvonareva in the finals. Pe'er's next tournament was the
Sony Ericsson Open The Miami Open (also known as the Miami Masters and as the Miami Open presented by Itaú for sponsorship reasons) is an annual professional tennis tournament held in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. It is played on outdoor hardcourts a ...
, the WTA Tour's second Premier Mandatory event of the year. She advanced to the second round before losing to fifth–seeded
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 ...
. Pe'er reached the Estoril Open semifinals, but retired during her 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 ...
due to a leg injury. A week later she played in the Madrid Open, but had to retire again in her first round match, this time against Caroline Wozniacki. Pe'er's injury resulted in her missing 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 ...
. In the first 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 ...
, Pe'er advanced to the second round before losing to No. 10 seed
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 ...
. At the GDF Suez Grand Prix she reached the quarterfinals losing to Alona Bondarenko. She then reached the second rounds of Bad Gastein and Los Angeles. In Toronto, Pe'er advanced to the third round before losing to eventual champion Elena Dementieva. Pe'er reached the third round of the US Open before losing to the No. 6 seed,
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 ...
. In September, Pe'er ended a three-year drought without a tournament win at the Guangzhou International Women's Open in China without dropping a set. In the final, Pe'er beat Italy's
Alberta Brianti Alberta Brianti (born 5 April 1980) is a former professional tennis player from Italy. On 13 June 2011, Brianti achieved her career-high singles ranking of 55. On 13 February 2012, she peaked at No. 68 in the doubles rankings. She won one sin ...
. She went on to win 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, ...
the following week, also without dropping a set, completing 10 successive straight-sets wins in a couple of weeks. In the final she beat local hero
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 ...
. After these wins, Pe'er's world ranking increased to No. 34. Pe'er was the fifth seed in the new HP Open in Osaka. She was defeated in the first round by world No. 61
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 ...
. Pe'er then made the semi-finals of the BGL Luxembourg Open where she lost to
Sabine Lisicki Sabine Katharina Lisicki (; born 22 September 1989) is a German inactive professional tennis player. Lisicki turned professional in 2006, and her breakthrough came in 2009 when she reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 Wimbledon Championships � ...
. At the Tournament of Champions, Pe'er's final tournament of the year, she defeated
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 ...
in the first round robin match but then lost to top seed Marion Bartoli, thus failing to make the semifinal. Pe'er ended the year with a win–loss record of 41–23. She finished the year ranked No. 30 in the world.


2010

Pe'er started her 2010 season by reaching the semifinals of the ASB Classic before losing to
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 ...
. At the
2010 Moorilla Hobart International The 2010 Moorilla Hobart International was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 17th edition of the event and is part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour. It took place at the Hobart International ...
, Pe'er made it to the finals, before losing to Alona Bondarenko in straight sets. 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 ...
, Pe'er was seeded 29th. She advanced to the third round before losing to fourth seeded Caroline Wozniacki. However, after the tournament, Pe'er's ranking moved up to world No. 22. Pe'er then competed at the Open GDF Suez where she was seeded sixth. She made it to the quarterfinals before losing to
Lucie Šafářová Lucie Šafářová (; born 4 February 1987) is a Czech professional tennis player who was ranked List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles, and No. 5 in singles. She is a five-time Grand Slam champion in doubles ...
. Pe'er continued her excellent start to the 2010 season at the Premier 5 event in
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 reached the semifinals before losing to Venus Williams. Along the way, she defeated 13th seeded
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 ...
and world No. 3 and top seed Caroline Wozniacki. Despite her semifinal defeat, Pe'er's success in Dubai moved her ranking back into the top twenty. Pe'er was seeded 17th at the
BNP Paribas Open The BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells is an annual professional tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California, United States. It is played on outdoor hardcourts at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, and is held in March. The tournament is pa ...
. She advanced to the fourth round before losing to eventual champion
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 ...
. At the
Sony Ericsson Open The Miami Open (also known as the Miami Masters and as the Miami Open presented by Itaú for sponsorship reasons) is an annual professional tennis tournament held in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. It is played on outdoor hardcourts a ...
, Pe'er made it to the third round before being defeated by world No. 16 and eventual champion Kim Clijsters. Beginning her clay court season, Pe'er made it to the semifinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix by defeating
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 ...
, world No. 8
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 ...
and world No. 3
Dinara Safina Dinara Mubinovna Safina (, ; ; born April 27, 1986) 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 26 weeks, and world No. 8 in doubles. Safina ...
to continue her exceptional wins over top players this season. She again lost to the eventual champion
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 ...
. This marked the sixth time in eight tournaments that Pe'er was defeated by eventual champions. Pe'er's next tournament was the Italian Open in Rome where she was seeded 16th. She advanced to the third round before losing to fourth seeded Venus Williams. Unseeded at the Madrid Open, a Premier Mandatory event, Pe'er caused an upset in the first round, defeating 2009 French Open Champion and fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova. She then advanced to the semifinals before losing again to Venus Williams for the third time in 2010. Pe'er was seeded 18th leading into 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 second Grand Slam of the year. She advanced to the fourth round before losing to world No. 1 Serena Williams in straight sets. Because of her showing, Pe'er achieved a new career-high ranking of world No. 14, which was also the highest ranking ever achieved by an Israeli tennis player. Beginning the grass-court season at the Aegon International at Eastbourne, Pe'er lost in the first round to
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 ...
, which marked her first first-round loss of the season. Pe'er was seeded 13th at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, and advanced to the second round before being upset by
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 three sets. Pe'er next played at the
Bank of the West Classic The Silicon Valley Classic was a tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held on the campus of San Jose State University in San Jose, California. Started in 1971, the tournament was the oldest women's-only tournament in the world and was played on outdo ...
in Stanford, the opening tournament of the 2010 US Open Series where she was seeded sixth. However, she only made it to the second round before being defeated by
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 ...
in straight sets. At the Mercury Insurance Open in San Diego, Pe'er was seeded seventh. Here she advanced to the quarterfinals before losing to 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 ...
. At the 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open in Cincinnati, Pe'er was seeded 13th. She advanced to the third round before losing to 19-year-old
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. Playing in her final US Open Series, Pe'er was seeded 14th at the Rogers Cup in Montreal, but was upset in the first round, by
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 ...
. Pe'er was seeded 16th at the US Open, the final Grand Slam of the season. She held her seeding by advancing to the round of 16, but once again lost to
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 ...
for the fourth time this season. Following the US Open, Pe'er chose not to defend the back-to-back titles she won in 2009 at the Guangzhou International Women's Open and 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, ...
. This caused her ranking to fall to world No. 19. She returned to the tour at the
Pan Pacific Open The Pan Pacific Open, currently sponsored by Toray Industries, is a women's outdoor hardcourt tennis tournament held annually in Tokyo, Japan. It is a WTA 500-level tournament. History The tournament was first held in 1973 as the Toray Sillook Ch ...
in Tokyo. As the 13th seed, Pe'er advanced to the second round before losing to world No. 25
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 ...
. Pe'er then headed to Beijing to compete in the China Open, which is the final Premier Mandatory event of the season. She advanced to the semifinals before losing to the new world No. 1 and eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki. Based on her strong showing in this tournament, her ranking increased to world No. 13, a new career-high. Due to her great success, Pe'er qualified as the second alternate at the 2010 WTA Tour Championships.


2011

Pe'er started the year by playing 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 ...
, where she defeated
Sophie Ferguson Sophie Ferguson (born 19 March 1986) is a former professional Australian tennis player. She won nine titles on the ITF Women's Circuit (six in doubles) and played on the WTA Tour. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 109 on 1 ...
, 6–4, 6–2, but lost to
Lucie Šafářová Lucie Šafářová (; born 4 February 1987) is a Czech professional tennis player who was ranked List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles, and No. 5 in singles. She is a five-time Grand Slam champion in doubles ...
in the second round. She played 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 ...
next, winning against
Sybille Bammer Sybille Bammer (born 27 April 1980) is a former professional tennis player from Austria. Her career-high ranking is No. 19, which she achieved on 17 December 2007. She was one of three mothers on the WTA Tour, having taken time off at age 21 to ...
, but losing the second round to Victoria Azarenka. In the 2011 Australian Open, which she started as the No. 10 seed, Pe'er won her first round match against Mathilde Johansson, 6–1, 6–1. In the second round she defeated
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 ...
in straight sets. However, she lost in the third round to
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 ...
. After the tournament, Pe'er's ranking rose to No. 11, her highest in her career so far, due to
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 ...
and Justine Henin leaving the WTA rankings. Pe'er played herself into form at the
Dubai Tennis Championships The Dubai Tennis Championships (also known as the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for sponsorship reasons) (formerly known for sponsorship reasons as the ''Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships'' and the ''Dubai Duty Free Men's and Women's Champ ...
, where she reached the semifinals in
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
, losing in the quarterfinals to top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki. She then lost in the second round of the Qatar Ladies Open to
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 ...
6–1, 6–0. In March, she reached
BNP Paribas Open The BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells is an annual professional tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California, United States. It is played on outdoor hardcourts at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, and is held in March. The tournament is pa ...
quarterfinal after beating
Bethanie Mattek-Sands Bethanie Mattek-Sands ( Bethanie Lynn Mattek; born March 23, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. She has won nine Grand Slam titles (five in women's doubles and four in mixed doubles), and an Olympic gold medal, and is a former w ...
,
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 ...
and 2010 French Open champion
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 ...
, all in marathon three-set matches. In the quarterfinals, she lost to
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 ...
in straight sets, 6–3, 6–3. In April, she had a chance to become a top 10 player if she could defeat world No. 35
Julia Görges Julia Görges (born 2 November 1988) is a German former professional tennis player. A former top-ten singles player, she was ranked as high as No. 9 in the world on 20 August 2018, and was ranked inside the top 15 in doubles, peaking at world No ...
in the third round at the
Family Circle Cup 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 ...
in Charleston, but she lost to the German 6–2, 6–3. Pe'er's best result in the next several tournaments came at the Italian Open where she reached the third round before losing 6–2, 6–2 to eventual champion
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 ...
. Coming into the French Open, Pe'er possessed a 14–10 win–loss record on the season. However, her loss to Sharapova began a five-match losing streak, including in the first rounds of Roland Garros 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 ...
, and a loss to world No. 429
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 ...
. Pe'er came into Wimbledon as the 22nd seed before her three-set loss to unseeded Russian
Ksenia Pervak Ksenia Yuryevna Pervak (; born 27 May 1991) is a former tennis player from Russia. Pervak won one singles title on the WTA Tour, as well as nine singles and three doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. On 19 September 2011, she reached her best si ...
in the first round. Pe'er entered into the Citi Open as the top seed in College Park, Maryland, one of the two opening events for the
2011 US Open Series In tennis, the eighth edition of the US Open Series (known as Olympus US Open Series for sponsorships reasons), includes ten hard court tournaments that start on July 18, 2011 in Atlanta and will end in Winston-Salem for the men and in New Haven ...
. She won two successive matches in straight and won her match against
Tamira Paszek Tamira Shelah Paszek (born 6 December 1990) is an Austrian tennis player. On 11 February 2013, she reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 26. On 6 May 2013, she peaked at No. 93 in the doubles rankings. Paszek has won three single ...
3–6, 7–6, 6–4 after around 3 hours marathon. In the final she lost to the second seed Nadia Petrova, 5–7, 2–6.


2012

Pe'er began her 2012 season 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 ...
. She lost in the first round to second seed and last year finalist,
Andrea Petkovic Andrea Petkovic (, ; born 9 September 1987) is a German former professional tennis player. Born in Tuzla, SFR Yugoslavia, to Serbian father Zoran and Bosniak mother Amira, she moved to Germany at six months old and turned professional in 2006 ...
. Seeded sixth at the Moorilla Hobart International, she reached the semifinals where she was defeated by top seed Yanina Wickmayer. 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 was eliminated in the second round by fourteenth seed Sabine Lisicki. In February, Pe'er competed at the Open GDF Suez in France. She was beaten in the first round by sixth seed Julia Görges. At the Qatar Open, she upset eighth seed Jelena Janković in the second round. She lost in the third round to
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 ...
.


2014–2015

Pe'er competed at the
2015 Wimbledon Championships The 2015 Wimbledon Championships was a Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tennis tournament which took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom, from 29 June to 12 July 2015. It was the 129th edit ...
.


Tournaments in Dubai, 2009–2010

In February 2009, Pe'er (ranked No. 45 in the world at the time) was prevented from playing at the
Dubai Tennis Championships The Dubai Tennis Championships (also known as the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for sponsorship reasons) (formerly known for sponsorship reasons as the ''Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships'' and the ''Dubai Duty Free Men's and Women's Champ ...
by the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
(UAE), which denied her a visa. The UAE did not have diplomatic relations with
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
at that time. A number of players, among them Venus Williams, condemned the visa rejection. The 2008 winner of the men's singles,
Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen Roddick (born August 30, 1982) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 13 weeks, including as the year-end No. 1 in ...
, withdrew from the tournament and chose not to defend his title (with prize money of over $2 million) to protest the UAE's refusal to grant Pe'er a visa. "I really didn't agree with what went on over there", Roddick said. In protest, the
Tennis Channel Tennis Channel is an American sports digital cable and satellite television network owned by the Sinclair Television Group subsidiary of the Sinclair Broadcast Group. It is devoted to events and other programming related to the game of tennis, al ...
decided not to televise the event and ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' dropped its sponsorship. WTA chief Larry Scott said that he had considered cancelling the tournament, but chose not to after consulting Pe'er. Tournament director Salah Tahlak said that Pe'er was refused on the grounds that her appearance could incite anger in the Arab country after she had already faced protests at the ASB Classic over the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict. The WTA said that it would review future tournaments in Dubai. Following the protests over the
UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...
's decision to refuse her visa in 2009, Pe'er was granted a visa in 2010 but was placed under very strict restrictions. She was not allowed to mix with other players off the court, was required to exercise in a separate gym, and was under strict guard on her way from the hotel to the court. To add to the pressure, the tournament took place at the time when Dubai authorities were investigating the killing of
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
military commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, which the UAE blamed on Israeli agents, some posing as European tennis fans. Pe'er was widely praised by her fellow competitors for her composure under pressure during the tournament. In particular, Venus Williams remarked: "I can't imagine playing so well with these kinds of circumstances. I just have to give her congratulations and props. She's courageous. I don't think anyone else on the WTA Tour could do what she's doing".


Playing style

Pe'er originally played with a "counter-puncher" style, but by 2010 she had adopted a more attacking style of play. Her forehand uses a semi-western grip, which makes her good in facing big top-spin opponents. Her backhand is two-handed and is one of the best on the women's tour. It is consistent and finds various angles throughout the court. She loves to take many points with the inside out shot on her backhand. She originally used a kick serve that lacked the drive needed to penetrate deep, but she changed it to more of a slice serve, which works great for her now and even generates aces. She has a good volley and doesn't have a problem going to the net. During matches, she often turns her back to her opponent between points, faces the back of the court, closes her eyes and tries to wipe the mental slate clean.


Federation Cup

Pe'er is 21–12 in
Fed Cup The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...
matches for
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
in 2002–09, having won 13 of her last 16 singles matches.Shahar PEER profile, Fed Cup
. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
She tasted victory again in 2009 beating both the Bondarenko sisters of
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
in
Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.
. However,
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
fell short in the series 2–3 losing in the decisive doubles match.


After retirement

Pe'er retired in February 2017, one year after her last match.">"Shahar Pe'er announces her retirement from professional tennis,"
''The Jerusalem Post''.
A chronic shoulder injury limited her over her prior two-and-a-half years, and that coupled with a loss of desire to play tennis and lead the life of a professional tennis player led her to decide to retire. In 2018, Pe'er married Dr. Eilon Ram. They had a son in 2019 and a daughter in 2021. In 2021, she participated in the second season of the show '' The Singer in the Mask'' (the Israeli production of '' The Masked Singer'') as the Parrot and was the first to be eliminated.


Career statistics


Grand Slam singles performance timeline


Grand Slam tournament finals


Doubles: 1 (0-1)


See also

* List of select Jewish tennis players *
List of Israelis Israelis ( ''Yiśraʾelim'') are the citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel. The largest ethnic groups in Israel are Israeli Jews, Jews (75%), followed by Arab-Israelis, Palestinians and Arabs (20%) and other minorities (5%). _ ...
*
Sport in Israel Sport in Israel plays an important role in Israeli culture and is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Sport (Israel), Ministry of Culture and Sport. The most popular sports in Israel have traditionally been Association football (mainly) and ...


References


External links

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pe'er, Shahar 1987 births Living people Israeli female tennis players Jewish tennis players Jewish Israeli sportspeople Olympic tennis players for Israel Israeli people of Slovak-Jewish descent Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Grand Slam (tennis) champions in girls' singles Australian Open (tennis) junior champions Sportspeople from Jerusalem Sportspeople from Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut 21st-century Israeli sportswomen