Paola Suárez
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox tennis biography
Paola Suárez (Template:IPA; born 23 June 1976) is a retired tennis player from Argentina. She was one of the most prominent women's doubles players throughout the early and mid-2000s, winning eight Grand Slam titles, all of them with Virginia Ruano Pascual, and holding the No. 1 doubles ranking for 87 non-consecutive weeks. She was also a singles top ten player and semifinalist at the 2004 French Open.
Career
Suárez began playing professional tennis at the age of 15. In 1994, she joined the professional tour as a singles player.
Suárez won four WTA titles (2004 Canberra, 2003 Vienna, 1998 & 2001 Bogotá) and 12 other minor tournaments. In 2004, she reached her only Grand Slam singles semi-final by defeating the 18th seed and future Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova, but lost to Elena Dementieva. That year, she reached her highest WTA ranking of No. 9, to become the highest-ranked Argentine women's player since Gabriela Sabatini achieved the No. 3 ranking in 1989. Also in 2004, she won the bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Athens for the women's doubles with Patricia Tarabini. Suárez and Ruano Pascual would end their grand slam season by winning their 3rd consecutive 2004 US Open women’s doubles title, becoming the only team in the Open Era (since 1968) to do so. If fact, individually, they are the only two women in the Open Era who have won 3 consecutive women’s doubles titles at the US Open.
She had success in singles but her best results came in doubles, winning more than half a dozen titles partnering fellow Argentine Laura Montalvo. However Suárez's more long-standing doubles partnership was with the Spaniard Virginia Ruano Pascual, with whom she won 32 of her 39 titles. Besides numerous WTA Tour titles, they won the French Open on four occasions, the US Open three times, and the Australian Open in 2004. Suárez and Ruano Pascual were the No. 1 female pair for three consecutive years after 9 September 2002 and were the WTA Tour Doubles Team of the Year in 2002, 2003 and 2004. They also reached nine straight Grand Slam finals, two short of Navratilova and Shriver's record of eleven.
In 2005, Suárez announced her forthcoming retirement for personal reasons. In June of that year, she underwent a labrum hip clinical intervention, with a recovery time of three to four months. She restarted playing in Sydney in January 2006 with Ruano Pascual, reaching the final, but suffered a calf injury short after. Later that year, she also reached the final of Wimbledon with Ruano Pascual, marking her third appearance in a final there.
Suárez returned to the circuit with a victory over Dinara Safina, ranked No. 15, in the San Diego Open singles tournament.
On 1 September 2007, Suárez retired after losing in the mixed doubles second round at the US Open. She partnered Kevin Ullyett and lost to Jamie Murray and Liezel Huber, 5–7, 4–6. She briefly returned to the WTA doubles tour in 2012, partnering her fellow Argentinian Gisela Dulko. The pair played at the London Summer Olympics but lost in the first round.<ref>Suárez Back On Court, Plays First Match Back Template:Webarchive</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In her career, Suárez earned more than $5.2 million, with four singles titles on the WTA Tour, and eight doubles Grand Slam titles.
Significant finals
Grand Slam tournaments
Doubles: 14 (8 titles, 6 runner-ups)
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 2000 | French Open | Clay | Template:Flagicon Virginia Ruano Pascual | Template:Flagicon Martina Hingis Template:Flagicon Mary Pierce |
2–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 2001 | French Open | Clay | Template:Flagicon Virginia Ruano Pascual | Template:Flagicon Jelena Dokić Template:Flagicon Conchita Martínez |
6–2, 6–1 |
| Win | 2002 | French Open | Clay | Template:Flagicon Virginia Ruano Pascual | Template:Flagicon Lisa Raymond Template:Flagicon Rennae Stubbs |
6–4, 6–2 |
| Loss | 2002 | Wimbledon | Grass | Template:Flagicon Virginia Ruano Pascual | Template:Flagicon Serena Williams Template:Flagicon Venus Williams |
2–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 2002 | US Open | Hard | Template:Flagicon Virginia Ruano Pascual | Template:Flagicon Elena Dementieva Template:Flagicon Janette Husárová |
6–2, 6–1 |
| Loss | 2003 | Australian Open | Hard | Template:Flagicon Virginia Ruano Pascual | Template:Flagicon Serena Williams Template:Flagicon Venus Williams |
6–4, 4–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 2003 | French Open | Clay | Template:Flagicon Virginia Ruano Pascual | Template:Flagicon Kim Clijsters Template:Flagicon Ai Sugiyama |
7–6(7–5), 2–6, 7–9 |
| Loss | 2003 | Wimbledon | Grass | Template:Flagicon Virginia Ruano Pascual | Template:Flagicon Kim Clijsters Template:Flagicon Ai Sugiyama |
4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 2003 | US Open | Hard | Template:Flagicon Virginia Ruano Pascual | Template:Flagicon Svetlana Kuznetsova Template:Flagicon Martina Navratilova |
6–2, 6–3 |
| Win | 2004 | Australian Open | Hard | Template:Flagicon Virginia Ruano Pascual | Template:Flagicon Svetlana Kuznetsova Template:Flagicon Elena Likhovtseva |
6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 2004 | French Open | Clay | Template:Flagicon Virginia Ruano Pascual | Template:Flagicon Svetlana Kuznetsova Template:Flagicon Elena Likhovtseva |
6–0, 6–3 |
| Win | 2004 | US Open | Hard | Template:Flagicon Virginia Ruano Pascual | Template:Flagicon Svetlana Kuznetsova Template:Flagicon Elena Likhovtseva |
6–4, 7–5 |
| Win | 2005 | French Open | Clay | Template:Flagicon Virginia Ruano Pascual | Template:Flagicon Cara Black Template:Flagicon Liezel Huber |
4–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
| Loss | 2006 | Wimbledon | Grass | Template:Flagicon Virginia Ruano Pascual | Template:Flagicon Yan Zi Template:Flagicon Zheng Jie |
3–6, 6–3, 2–6 |
Mixed doubles: 2 (2 runner-ups)
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 2001 | French Open | Clay | Template:Flagicon Jaime Oncins | Template:Flagicon Tomás Carbonell Template:Flagicon Virginia Ruano Pascual |
5–7, 3–6 |
| Loss | 2002 | Australian Open | Hard | Template:Flagicon Gastón Etlis | Template:Flagicon Daniela Hantuchová Template:Flagicon Kevin Ullyett |
3–6, 2–6 |
Olympic Games
Doubles: 1 (bronze medal)
| Result | Year | Location | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 2004 | Athens | Hard | Template:Flagicon Patricia Tarabini | Template:Flagicon Shinobu Asagoe Template:Flagicon Ai Sugiyama |
6–3, 6–3 |
WTA Tour finals
Singles: 8 (4 titles, 4 runner-ups)
| Legend |
|---|
| Tier I |
| Tier II |
| Tier III (2/2) |
| Tier IV & V (2/2) |
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Feb 1998 | Bogotá, Colombia | Clay | Template:Flagicon Sonya Jeyaseelan | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1–1 | May 1999 | Madrid, Spain | Clay | Template:Flagicon Lindsay Davenport | 6–1, 6–3 |
| Loss | 1–2 | Feb 2000 | São Paulo, Brazil | Clay | Template:Flagicon Rita Kuti-Kis | 4–6, 6–4, 7–5 |
| Loss | 1–3 | Jan 2001 | Auckland, New Zealand | Hard | Template:Flagicon Meilen Tu | 7–6(12–10), 6–2 |
| Win | 2–3 | Feb 2001 | Bogotá, Colombia | Clay | Template:Flagicon Rita Kuti-Kis | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Loss | 2–4 | Mar 2002 | Acapulco, Mexico | Clay | Template:Flagicon Katarina Srebotnik | 6–7(1–7), 6–4, 6–2 |
| Win | 3–4 | Jun 2003 | Vienna, Austria | Clay | Template:Flagicon Karolina Šprem | 7–6(7–0), 2–6, 6–4 |
| Win | 4–4 | Jan 2004 | Canberra, Australia | Hard | Template:Flagicon Silvia Farina Elia | 3–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–5) |
Doubles: 69 (44 titles, 25 runner-ups)
| Legend |
|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments (8–6) |
| WTA Championships (1–0) |
| Tier I (9–9) |
| Tier II (5–6) |
| Tier III (10–2) |
| Tier IV & V (11–2) |
ITF Circuit finals
| Legend |
|---|
| $50,000 tournaments |
| $25,000 tournaments |
| $10,000 tournaments |
Singles (12–4)
| Result | No. | Date | Location | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1. | 14 October 1991 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Clay | Template:Flagicon María Luciana Reynares | 2–6, 7–6, 6–1 |
| Win | 2. | 4 November 1991 | Florianópolis, Brazil | Clay | Template:Flagicon Cintia Tortorella | 6–3, 6–3 |
| Loss | 1. | 24 November 1991 | Novo Hamburgo, Brazil | Clay | Template:Flagicon Svetlana Komleva | 2–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 3. | 27 April 1992 | Lerida, Spain | Clay | Template:Flagicon Sarah Pitkowski-Malcor | 4–6, 6–4, 6–1 |
| Win | 4. | 4 May 1992 | Balaguer, Spain | Clay | Template:Flagicon Svetlana Krivencheva | 3–6, 6–3, 6–0 |
| Win | 5. | 17 May 1992 | Barcelona, Spain | Clay | Template:Flagicon Catherine Barclay | 6–4, 6–1 |
| Win | 6. | 18 May 1992 | Tortosa, Spain | Clay | Template:Flagicon Irina Sukhova | 3–6, 6–4, 6–1 |
| Win | 7. | 21 November 1992 | La Plata, Argentina | Clay | Template:Flagicon Vanessa Matthys | 7–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 2. | 23 October 1995 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Clay | Template:Flagicon Mariana Díaz Oliva | 6–2, 4–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 8. | 19 November 1995 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Clay | Template:Flagicon Miriam D'Agostini | 6–2, 6–1 |
| Loss | 3. | 17 December 1995 | Tacuman, Argentina | Clay | Template:Flagicon Florencia Labat | 2–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 9. | 11 October 1998 | Santiago, Chile | Clay | Template:Flagicon Conchita Martínez Granados | 3–6, 6–4, 6–1 |
| Win | 10. | 25 October 1998 | Montevideo, Uruguay | Clay | Template:Flagicon Antonella Serra Zanetti | 7–5, 6–4 |
| Loss | 4. | 8 November 1998 | Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil | Clay | Template:Flagicon Janette Husárová | 2–6, 6–2, 1–6 |
| Win | 11. | 22 November 1998 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Clay | Template:Flagicon Andreea Ehritt-Vanc | 4–6, 6–1, 6–4 |
| Win | 12. | 19 September 1999 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Clay | Template:Flagicon Florencia Labat | 6–0, 7–5 |
Doubles (7–6)
Performance timelines
Singles
| Tournament | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 4R | 1R | 3R | 3R | A | A | LQ |
| French Open | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 2R | QF | 3R | SF | 1R | A | LQ |
| Wimbledon | 1R | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 4R | QF | A | A | LQ |
| US Open | 2R | 1R | 2R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 2R | QF | 3R | A | A | LQ |
Doubles
| Tournament | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | ... | 2012 | SR | W–L | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | A | QF | 2R | 2R | 2R | QF | 3R | F | W | A | QF | 1R | A | 1 / 10 | 23–9 | |||||||||
| French Open | A | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | F | W | W | F | W | W | 2R | 1R | 2R | 4 / 13 | 38–9 | |||||||||
| Wimbledon | A | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | 3R | QF | SF | F | F | SF | A | F | 1R | 1R | 0 / 12 | 29–12 | |||||||||
| US Open | A | A | 1R | 2R | SF | 2R | 1R | 3R | W | W | W | A | QF | 1R | A | 3 / 11 | 28–8 | |||||||||
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 4–4 | 7–4 | 5–4 | 9–4 | 15–3 | 19–2 | 20–3 | 21–1 | 6–0 | 11–4 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 8 / 46 | 118–38 | |||||||||
| Olympic Games | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Summer Olympics | Not Held | A | Not Held | 2R | Not Held | SF-B | Not Held | 1R | 0 / 4 | 6–4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Year-end championships | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tour Championships | A | A | A | A | A | A | QF | SF | QF | W | SF | A | A | A | A | 1 / 5 | 3–4 | |||||||||
Record against top-10 players
Suárez's match record against players who have been ranked in the top 10, with those who have been ranked No. 1 in boldface Template:Div col
- Template:Flagicon Patty Schnyder 5–4
- Template:Flagicon Mary Pierce 4–2
- Template:Flagicon Barbara Schett 3–2
- Template:Flagicon Jelena Dokic 2–0
- Template:Flagicon Anna Kournikova 2–0
- Template:Flagicon Svetlana Kuznetsova 2–0
- Template:Flagicon Alicia Molik 2–0
- Template:Flagicon Dinara Safina 2–0
- Template:Flagicon Daniela Hantuchová 2–1
- Template:Flagicon Francesca Schiavone 2–1
- Template:Flagicon Nadia Petrova 2–2
- Template:Flagicon Sandrine Testud 2–2
- Template:Flagicon Magdalena Maleeva 2–3
- Template:Flagicon Amélie Mauresmo 2–3
- Template:Flagicon Ai Sugiyama 2–3
- Template:Flagicon Vera Zvonareva 2–3
- Template:Flagicon Anke Huber 1–0
- Template:Flagicon Maria Kirilenko 1–0
- Template:Flagicon Barbara Paulus 1–0
- Template:Flagicon Lucie Šafářová 1–0
- Template:Flagicon Maria Sharapova 1–0
- Template:Flagicon Nathalie Tauziat 1–0
- Template:Flagicon Andrea Temesvári 1–0
- Template:Flagicon Serena Williams 1–0
- Template:Flagicon Jelena Janković 1–1
- Template:Flagicon Iva Majoli 1–1
- Template:Flagicon Anastasia Myskina 1–1
- Template:Flagicon Mary Joe Fernández 1–2
- Template:Flagicon Chanda Rubin 1–2
- Template:Flagicon Elena Dementieva 1–3
- Template:Flagicon Amanda Coetzer 1–5
- Template:Flagicon Victoria Azarenka 0–1
- Template:Flagicon Anna Chakvetadze 0–1
- Template:Flagicon Zina Garrison 0–1
- Template:Flagicon Julie Halard-Decugis 0–1
- Template:Flagicon Justine Henin 0–1
- Template:Flagicon Brenda Schultz-McCarthy 0–1
- Template:Flagicon Irina Spîrlea 0–1
- Template:Flagicon Helena Suková 0–1
- Template:Flagicon Marion Bartoli 0–2
- Template:Flagicon Conchita Martínez 0–2
- Template:Flagicon Monica Seles 0–2
- Template:Flagicon Venus Williams 0–2
- Template:Flagicon Natasha Zvereva 0–2
- Template:Flagicon Jennifer Capriati 0–3
- Template:Flagicon Kim Clijsters 0–3
- Template:Flagicon Steffi Graf 0–3
- Template:Flagicon Dominique Monami 0–4
- Template:Flagicon Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 0–4
- Template:Flagicon Lindsay Davenport 0–7
References
External links
- 1976 births
- Living people
- Argentine female tennis players
- Australian Open (tennis) champions
- French Open champions
- Olympic bronze medalists for Argentina
- Olympic medalists for Argentina in tennis
- Olympic tennis players for Argentina
- Sportspeople from Pergamino
- Tennis players from Buenos Aires Province
- Tennis players at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- Tennis players at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Tennis players at the 2012 Summer Olympics
- US Open (tennis) champions
- Hopman Cup competitors
- Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles
- Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players
- ITF World Champions