Sun Tiantian
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Sun Tiantian (Chinese: 孙甜甜; pinyin: Sūn Tiántián; Mandarin pronunciation: [swə́n tʰjɛ̌n tʰjɛ̌n]; born 12 October 1981) is a Chinese tennis player. She won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in women's doubles along with her partner Li Ting.
| Country (sports) | China |
|---|---|
| Residence | Beijing |
| Born | 12 October 1981 Zhengzhou, Henan |
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) |
| Turned pro | 1999 |
| Retired | 2010 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $1,019,657 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 217–156 (58.2%) |
| Career titles | 1 WTA, 6 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 77 (19 March 2007) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 1R (2006, 2007) |
| French Open | 2R (2006) |
| Wimbledon | 2R (2004, 2006) |
| US Open | 2R (2005) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 268–154 (63.5%) |
| Career titles | 11 WTA, 13 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 16 (22 October 2007) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | QF (2007) |
| French Open | QF (2005) |
| Wimbledon | QF (2007) |
| US Open | 3R (2005) |
| Mixed doubles | |
| Career titles | 1 |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| Australian Open | W (2008) |
| French Open | SF (2007) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (2007, 2004) |
| US Open | 2R (2006) |
| Team competitions | |
| Fed Cup | 16–10 |
Medal record | |
Sun reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 77 in March 2007, winning her only WTA Tour singles title at the 2006 Tashkent Open, and a career-high doubles ranking of No. 16 in October 2007, winning eleven WTA titles and reaching the quarterfinals of three Grand Slam women's doubles tournaments, and winning the mixed doubles event at the 2008 Australian Open alongside Nenad Zimonjić.
Career
In September 2000, Sun won two successive $10k singles titles, a feat she would repeat in June 2001, when she won another two back-to-back.
In 2002, she found repeat success at the next level up, winning two $25k tournaments: firstly in April, at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (beating countrywoman Zheng Jie in the semifinal and Korean Jeon Mi-ra in the final); and then in August at Beijing (beating Zheng Jie in the semifinal again, and Rika Fujiwara in the final).
In 2003, she reached the final of a $50k tournament at Modena despite entering as a lucky loser to countrywoman Yan Zi in the final round of qualifying. Having defeated several high-quality opponents in the forms of Martina Suchá, Maret Ani and Gala León García, she lost in the final against Melinda Czink.
This year, she also gained entry into several WTA tournaments, most notably coming through qualifying at Doha by defeating Yuliana Fedak, Ľubomíra Kurhajcová and María Sánchez Lorenzo, only to lose in the deciding set of her opening round match against Nicole Pratt; and at the US Open after a narrow victory over Selima Sfar, only to lose to Saori Obata at the first hurdle in the main draw. But she finished the year ranked world No. 141.
In 2004, she qualified for the Australian Open after a win over Roberta Vinci, then qualified for Doha for the second year running. She went on to record impressive wins over Eva Birnerová and Sandra Kleinová to qualify for Miami; and over Camille Pin and Mara Santangelo to qualify for Amelia Island, where she also beat Cara Black in the main draw first round. At Wimbledon, she qualified with a win over Barbara Schwartz and won her first-round tie against Tathiana Garbin before succumbing to Anne Kremer in Round Two. At the end of the year, she lost in a tight three-set final in the first $50k Shenzhen tournament to countrywoman Li Na. Her year-end ranking had improved to world No. 118.
Sun also competed in the Summer Olympics, defeating Conchita Martínez and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain in the women's doubles final to win a gold medal along with her partner Li Ting.
In 2005, she reached her first WTA singles quarterfinal at Hyderabad, defeating Tamarine Tanasugarn 6–2, 6–1 in the second round before losing a close match against prominent German player Anna-Lena Grönefeld 6–7, 3–6. After several near-misses in qualifying, she again made her mark in August; both at Los Angeles, where she took French star Marion Bartoli to three sets in the second round, and in the US Open, where she qualified with convincing straight-sets wins over Marlene Weingärtner and Ľudmila Cervanová and went on to defeat Samantha Stosur, 6–3, 7–6 in the first round of the main draw, before succumbing to Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain. But her career-best win to date was yet to come the following month at Beijing, where she defeated former world No. 1 player Serena Williams in straight sets in the second round after an easy first-round victory over Tatiana Panova of Russia, only to be outperformed in her second WTA quarterfinal by rising star Maria Kirilenko. This run of results propelled her to a career-best ranking of world No. 88, but by the close of the year, she had slipped back slightly to world No. 105.
Early in 2006, Sun suffered some extremely tough draws, but fought every inch of the way in tight three-set losses to Amélie Mauresmo in the first round of the Australian Open and Nuria Llagostera Vives in the first round at Gold Coast, only to lose in qualifying for Doha and Dubai.
At the Tashkent Open, Sun fought her way past Iroda Tulyaganova in the final to win the first WTA Tour title of her career and became only the fourth Chinese woman to win a WTA title. On 9 October 2006, she moved to a new career high of world No. 81.
She is one of only two active players (the other is Sybille Bammer of Austria) to have a winning record against Serena Williams. In their only meeting, she defeated Williams 6–2, 7–6 in the round of 16 at Beijing in 2005.
On 27 January 2008, Sun captured her first Grand Slam title when she won the Australian Open mixed doubles crown, partnering with Nenad Zimonjić. The pair defeated Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi in two sets. They won the title with their fifth championship point.
Major finals
Grand Slam finals
Mixed doubles: 1 title
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 2008 | Australian Open | Hard | Nenad Zimonjić | Sania Mirza Mahesh Bhupathi | 7–6(4), 6–4 |
Olympic finals
Doubles: 1 gold medal
| Outcome | Year | Location | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 2004 | Athens | Hard | Li Ting | Conchita Martínez Virginia Ruano | 6–3, 6–3 |
WTA career finals
Singles: 1 title
| Legend |
|---|
| Tier I (0–0) |
| Tier II (0–0) |
| Tier III (0–0) |
| Tier IV & V (1–0) |
| Result | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 8 October 2006 | Tashkent Open | Hard | Iroda Tulyaganova | 6–2, 6–4 |
Doubles: 21 (11 titles, 10 runner-ups)
| Legend: Before 2009 | Legend: Starting in 2009 |
|---|---|
| Tier I (0–1) | Premier Mandatory (0–0) |
| Tier II (1–1) | Premier 5 (0–0) |
| Tier III (6–4) | Premier (0–0) |
| Tier IV & V (4–3) | International (0–1) |
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1. | 14 June 2003 | Austrian Open | Clay | Li Ting | Yan Zi Zheng Jie | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1. | 12 October 2003 | Tashkent Open | Hard | Li Ting | Yuliya Beygelzimer Tatiana Poutchek | 3–6, 6–7(0) |
| Win | 2. | 2 November 2003 | Tournoi de Québec | Hard(i) | Li Ting | Els Callens Meilen Tu | 6–3, 6–3 |
| Win | 3. | 9 November 2003 | Pattaya Open | Hard | Li Ting | Wynne Prakusya Angelique Widjaja | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Loss | 2. | 22 February 2004 | Bangalore Open | Hard | Li Ting | Liezel Huber Sania Mirza | 6–7(1), 4–6 |
| Win | 4. | 3 October 2004 | Guangzhou Open | Hard | Li Ting | Yang Shujing Yu Ying | 6–4, 6–1 |
| Loss | 3. | 12 February 2005 | Bangalore Open | Hard | Li Ting | Yan Zi Zheng Jie | 4–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 5. | 1 May 2005 | Estoril Open | Clay | Li Ting | Michaëlla Krajicek Henrieta Nagyová | 6–3, 6–1 |
| Win | 6. | 12 February 2006 | Pattaya Open | Hard | Li Ting | Yan Zi Zheng Jie | 3–6, 6–1, 7–6(5) |
| Loss | 4. | 4 March 2006 | Qatar Open | Hard | Li Ting | Daniela Hantuchová Ai Sugiyama | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 7. | 7 May 2006 | Estoril Open | Clay | Li Ting | Gisela Dulko María Sánchez Lorenzo | 6–2, 6–2 |
| Win | 8. | 1 October 2006 | Guangzhou Open | Hard | Li Ting | Vania King Jelena Kostanić Tošić | 6–4, 2–6, 7–5 |
| Loss | 5. | 15 April 2007 | Charleston Open | Hard | Peng Shuai | Yan Zi Zheng Jie | 5–7, 0–6 |
| Loss | 6. | 26 May 2007 | Internationaux de Strasbourg | Clay | Alicia Molik | Zheng Jie Yan Zi | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 7. | 17 June 2007 | Birmingham Classic | Grass | Meilen Tu | Chuang Chia-jung Chan Yung-jan | 6–7(3), 3–6 |
| Loss | 8. | 19 October 2007 | Guangzhou Open | Hard | Vania King | Peng Shuai Yan Zi | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 9. | 7 October 2007 | Japan Open | Hard | Yan Zi | Chuang Chia-jung Vania King | 1–6, 6–2, [10–6] |
| Win | 10. | 14 October 2007 | Bangkok Open | Hard | Yan Zi | Ayumi Morita Junri Namigata | w/o |
| Win | 11. | 9 March 2008 | Bangalore Open | Hard | Peng Shuai | Chan Yung-jan Chuang Chia-jung | 6–4, 5–7, [10–8] |
| Loss | 9. | 21 September 2008 | Guangzhou Open | Hard | Yan Zi | Mariya Koryttseva Tatiana Poutchek | 4–6, 6–4, [8–10] |
| Loss | 10. | 20 September 2009 | Guangzhou Open | Hard | Kimiko Date-Krumm | Olga Govortsova Tatiana Poutchek | 6–3, 2–6, [8–10] |
ITF Circuit finals
Singles: 11 (6–5)
| $50,000 tournaments |
| $25,000 tournaments |
| $10,000 tournaments |
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1. | 16 April 2000 | ITF Shenyang, China | Hard | Li Na | 0–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 2. | 4 June 2000 | ITF Shenzhen, China | Hard | Kim Eun-ha | 4–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 3. | 4 September 2000 | ITF Hangzhou, China | Hard | Zheng Jie | 6–2, 6–2 |
| Win | 4. | 17 September 2000 | ITF Hohhot, China | Hard | Ding Ding | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 5. | 17 June 2001 | ITF Seoul, South Korea | Hard | Choi Jin-young | 3–6, 6–3, 6–1 |
| Win | 6. | 24 June 2001 | ITF Inchon, South Korea | Hard | Chung Yang-jin | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 7. | 14 April 2002 | ITF Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | Hard | Jeon Mi-ra | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 8. | 13 May 2002 | ITF Shanghai, China | Hard | Zheng Jie | 2–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 9. | 6 August 2002 | ITF Beijing, China | Hard | Rika Fujiwara | 6–3, 6–0 |
| Loss | 10. | 20 July 2003 | ITF Modena, Italy | Clay | Melinda Czink | 3–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 11. | 31 October 2004 | ITF Shenzhen, China | Hard | Li Na | 3–6, 6–4, 2–6 |
Doubles: 21 (13–8)
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partnering | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1. | 13 June 1999 | ITF Shenyang, China | Hard | Chen Yan | Chen Yin Tuo Qi | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 2. | 10 September 2000 | ITF Zhejiang, China | Hard | Chen Yan | Zheng Jie Yan Zi | 6–3, 7–5 |
| Win | 3. | 10 September 2000 | ITF Hohhot, China | Clay | Chen Yan | Ding Ding Tang Yan | 6–0, 6–3 |
| Loss | 4. | 4 June 2001 | ITF Hohhot, China | Hard | Chen Yan | Zheng Jie Yan Zi | 4–6, 6–2, 3–6 |
| Loss | 5. | 29 July 2001 | ITF Guangzhou, China | Hard | Chen Yan | Li Ting Tong Ka-po | 5–7, 3–6 |
| Win | 6. | 27 January 2002 | ITF Hull, United Kingdom | Hard (i) | Zheng Jie | Claire Curran Elsa O'Riain | 7–6(4), 7–5 |
| Loss | 7. | 10 February 2002 | ITF Redbridge, United Kingdom | Hard (i) | Helen Crook | Magda Mihalache Ekaterina Sysoeva | 6–4, 4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 8. | 11 August 2002 | ITF Beijing, China | Hard | Li Ting | Yan Zi Zheng Jie | 7–5, 6–3 |
| Win | 9. | 23 February 2003 | ITF Columbus, United States | Hard (i) | Li Ting | Bruna Colósio Joana Cortez | 6–3, 6–1 |
| Win | 10. | 2 March 2003 | ITF Saint Paul, United States | Hard | Li Ting | Teryn Ashley Abigail Spears | 6–3, 6–1 |
| Win | 11. | 30 March 2003 | ITF Atlanta, United States | Hard | Li Ting | Leanne Baker Francesca Lubiani | 4–6, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 12. | 16 June 2003 | ITF Gorizia, Italy | Clay | Li Ting | Yan Zi Zheng Jie | 6–7(5), 6–1, 4–6 |
| Win | 13. | 23 June 2003 | ITF Fontanafredda, Italy | Clay | Li Ting | Maria Geznenge Dragana Zarić | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Loss | 14. | 30 June 2003 | ITF Orbetello, Italy | Clay | Li Ting | Yan Zi Zheng Jie | 2–6, 5–7 |
| Winner | 15. | 13 July 2003 | ITF Modena, Italy | Clay | Li Ting | Rika Fujiwara Trudi Musgrave | 3–6, 7–5, 7–5 |
| Winner | 16. | 30 November 2003 | ITF Changsha, China | Hard | Li Ting | Yan Zi Zheng Jie | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Winner | 17. | 7 December 2003 | ITF Shenzhen, China | Hard | Li Ting | Yan Zi Zheng Jie | 6–3, 3–6, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 18. | 6 June 2005 | ITF Beijing, China | Hard | Li Ting | Yan Zi Zheng Jie | 1–6, 5–7 |
| Winner | 19. | 16 August 2005 | Bronx Classic, United States | Hard | Li Ting | Tatiana Poutchek Anastasiya Yakimova | 2–6, 6–2, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 20. | 17 May 2009 | Open de Saint-Gaudens, France | Clay | Kimiko Date | Rika Fujiwara Chanelle Scheepers | 5–7, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 21. | 10 August 2009 | ITF Quanzhou, China | Hard | Hao Jie | Han Xinyun Kao Shao-yuan | 6–1, 2–6, [6–10] |
See also
References
- Chinese duo win Olympic tennis gold, China Daily 2004-08-23
External links
- Sun Tiantian at the Women's Tennis Association
- Sun Tiantian at the International Tennis Federation
- Sun Tiantian at the Billie Jean King Cup