Anna Smashnova

Anna Smashnova (Hebrew: אנה סמשנובה‎, Russian: Анна Смашнова; born July 16, 1976) is a Belarusian-born Israeli former tennis player. She retired from professional tour after Wimbledon 2007.

Anna Smashnova
Country (sports) Israel
Born (1976-07-16) July 16, 1976
Minsk, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union
Height1.57 m (5 ft 2 in)
Turned proJanuary 1991
RetiredJuly 2007
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$2,274,431
Singles
Career record401–304
Career titles12 WTA, 7 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 15 (February 3, 2003)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open3R (1995, 2003, 2005)
French Open4R (1995, 1998)
Wimbledon3R (2000)
US Open3R (1994)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals1R (2002)
Olympic Games1R (2004)
Doubles
Career record31–45
Highest rankingNo. 275 (July 10, 2006)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open1R (2006, 2007)
French Open1R (2005, 2006)
Wimbledon1R (2005, 2006)
US Open2R (2005)

Smashnova reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 15 in 2003. She was in 13 finals, and won 12 of them. In addition, she won a junior Grand Slam title, the 1991 French Open girls' singles championship.

Early life

Smashnova was born in Minsk, Belarus SSR, is of Russian-Jewish descent.[1][2][3] Her father Sasha is an engineer, and her mother is Zinal. She has a brother, Yura, who is a software analyst.[1] Smashnova graduated from American International High School outside Tel Aviv in 1995.[1] She completed her service in the Israel Defense Forces in 1997.[1]

Her family immigrated to Israel in September 1990, after Freddy Krivine, one of the founders of the Israel Tennis Centers, invited her to immigrate.[1][4]

Tennis career

Smashnova began playing tennis when she was six. She became the No. 1 junior in the Soviet Union at the age of ten.[5] She was the number one junior in the Soviet Union from age ten until she moved to Israel at age 14.[1] She won the girls' Soviet Union youth championship in 1989 at the age of 14.[4]

After immigrating to Israel at age 15, Smashnova trained at the Israel Tennis Centers.[5][6] In 1991, she won the girls' singles title at the French Open at age 14.[7][1]

Smashnova was named Tennis Magazine/Rolex Watch Female Rookie of the Year in 1994.[1] At the 1994 French Open she upset world No. 5 Jana Novotná, 6–4, 6–2.[7] At the US Open in that year, she upset world No. 14 Lori McNeil in straight sets.[7] She reached the fourth round of the French Open in 1995 and 1998.[7][8]

At the 1996 Australian Open, she defeated world No. 15 Natasha Zvereva in three sets.[7] She won her first top-level WTA Tour singles title in 1999 at Tashkent. She won her second career title in 2000, winning the Sanex Trophy in Belgium. Smashnova defeated Anna Kournikova in straight sets in her semifinal match, and went on to win the final against top-seed Dominique Van Roost.[7][8]

She had a breakthrough in 2002, winning four titles and beating 11 players ranked in the top 20, including Jelena Dokić, Justine Henin, and Kim Clijsters. In January 2002, Smashnova defeated Tatiana Panova in the ASB Classic at Auckland and top-seeded Tamarine Tanasugarn at the Canberra Classic. In March 2002, she upset world No. 13 Meghann Shaughnessy at Indian Wells. In April, she defeated world No. 7 Justine Henin in Miami, and world No. 9 Jelena Dokić in Charleston. In May at the German Open, she upset world No. 3, Kim Clijsters, and world No. 14, Daniela Hantuchová, both in three sets.[7]

On June 16, 2002, Smashnova defeated defending champion Iroda Tulyaganova at the Wien Energie Grand Prix. In August, she beat world No. 13 Elena Dementieva in San Diego. In September 2002, she beat Anna Kournikova in the finals of the Shanghai Open. According to The New York Times, Smashnova "was precise and controlled throughout the match, hitting perfect winners in stride... Kournikova didn't score a point until the third game of the first set when Smashnova hit a shot wide. 'She was like a wall today, hitting everything back', Kournikova said."[8] In October, she beat world No. 13 Chanda Rubin in Zurich. She played in the 2002 WTA Tour Championships, and lost in the first round to world No. 1 Serena Williams.[7]

On December 7, 2002, Anna married Claudio Pistolesi, her former coach (whom she later divorced), and played for a period of time as Anna Pistolesi and Anna Smashnova-Pistolesi.[8][4]

She won the 2003 Idea Prokom Open in Poland, beating Klára Koukalová in the finals in straight sets. Smashnova eliminated Karolina Šprem in the Nordic Light Open semifinal in Helsinki and defeated Jelena Kostanić in the final. At the Pilot Pen Tennis in New Haven, she posted wins against Anastasia Myskina and Vera Zvonareva.[8] In October 2003, she defeated then world No. 13 Nadia Petrova in Moscow.[7]

She was on the Israeli Olympic Team in 2004.[1]

At the 2005 Australian Open, Smashnova defeated María Sánchez Lorenzo in the first round and Tamarine Tanasugarn in the second. She lost to Venus Williams (seeded eighth) in the third round.[8] In July 2006, Smashnova won her 12th tour title at Budapest, maintaining a 100% winning record in WTA Tour finals – a record she held alone for players who had won double-digit titles. This streak ended in August 2006, when she lost in the final of the Forest Hills Tennis Classic women's event to Meghann Shaughnessy.[7]

In March 2007, Smashnova announced on Israeli radio that she would retire from professional tennis after Wimbledon.[9] As it turned out, she lost in the first round to German Martina Müller by the "double bagel" scoreline, 0–6, 0–6.[7]

Fed Cup

She was on the Israeli Fed Cup team from 1992-2005.[1] Smashnova holds the record for most ties played in Fed Cup competition – 61. Her win-loss record is 43–30 in Fed Cup competition for Israel from 1992–2006, including 7–3 on hard courts in singles.[10]

WTA career finals

Singles 13 (12–1)
Legend
Grand Slam (0)
Tour Championships (0)
Tier I (0)
Tier II (0)
Tier III (3)
Tier IV and V (9)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. June 13, 1999 Tashkent, Uzbekistan Hard Laurence Courtois 6–3, 6–3
Winner 2. July 23, 2000 Knokke-Heist, Belgium Clay Dominique van Roost 6–2, 7–5
Winner 3. January 6, 2002 Auckland, New Zealand Hard Tatiana Panova 6–2, 6–2
Winner 4. January 13, 2002 Canberra, Australia Hard Tamarine Tanasugarn 7–5, 7–6(7–2)
Winner 5. June 16, 2002 Vienna, Austria Clay Iroda Tulyaganova 6–4, 6–1
Winner 6. September 15, 2002 Shanghai, China Hard Anna Kournikova 6–2, 6–3
Winner 7. August 2, 2003 Sopot, Poland Clay Klára Zakopalová 6–2, 6–0
Winner 8. August 10, 2003 Helsinki, Finland Clay Jelena Kostanić 4–6, 6–4, 6–0
Winner 9. May 22, 2004 Vienna, Austria Clay Alicia Molik 6–2, 3–6, 6–2
Winner 10. July 17, 2005 Modena, Italy Clay Tathiana Garbin 6–6 ret.
Winner 11. August 31, 2005 Budapest, Hungary Clay Catalina Castaño 6–2, 6–2
Winner 12. July 30, 2006 Budapest, Hungary Clay Lourdes Domínguez Lino 6–1, 6–3
Runner-up 1. August 26, 2006 Forest Hills, United States Hard Meghann Shaughnessy 6–1, 0–6, 4–6

ITF finals

Singles: 17 (7–10)
$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. 25 November 1991 Ramat HaSharon, Israel Hard Tessa Price 4–6, 3–6
Winner 2. 11 July 1993 Erlangen, Germany Clay Isabel Cueto 6–3, 6–1
Runner-up 3. 29 November 1993 Ramat HaSharon, Israel Hard Petra Thorén 3–6, 3–6
Runner-up 4. 2 June 1997 Tashkent, Uzbekistan Hard Angélica Gavaldón 3–6, 2–6
Runner-up 5. 14 July 1997 Getxo, Spain Clay Ségolène Berger 6–3, 3–6, 1–6
Winner 6. 17 November 1997 Jaffa, Israel Hard Tzipora Obziler 6–3, 6–2
Runner-up 7. 6 October 1997 Indian Wells, United States Hard Miho Saeki 1–6, 4–6
Runner-up 8. 29 March 1998 Woodlands, United States Hard Elena Pampoulova 6–2, 1–6, 5–7
Winner 9. 12 April 1998 Athens, Greece Clay Rita Kuti-Kis 1–6, 6–2, 6–2
Runner-up 10. 4 May 1997 Cardiff, Great Britain Clay Květa Peschke 5–7, 4–6
Winner 11. 17 May 1998 Porto, Portugal Clay Alexia Dechaume-Balleret 6–2, 6–2
Winner 12. 4 October 1998 Santa Clara, United States Hard Amy Frazier 2–6, 6–4, 6–2
Runner-up 13. 3 October 1999 Santa Clara, United States Hard Cara Black 2–6, 1–6
Winner 14. 17 October 1999 Largo, United States Hard Marissa Irvin 7–6(7–2), 6–1
Runner-up 15. 9 September 2001 Fano, Italy Clay Zuzana Ondrášková 6–3, 1–6, 5–7
Runner-up 16. 16 September 2001 Bordeaux, France Clay Lubomira Bacheva 6–4, 1–6, 0–6
Winner 17. 11 June 2006 Prostějov, Czech Republic Clay Romina Oprandi w/o

Doubles: 2 (0–2)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1. 20 April 1997 Bari, Italy Clay Tzipora Obziler Sandra Načuk
Dragana Zarić		 4–6, 2–6
Runner-up 2. 17 November 1997 Jaffa, Israel Hard Tzipora Obziler Nataly Cahana
Maaike Koutstaal		 2–6, 1–6

Head-to-head records against other players

Smashnova's win-loss records against certain players who have been ranked world No. 10 or higher is as follows:

Players who have been ranked world No. 1 are in boldface.

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See also

References
  1. "Anna Smashnova" | WTA Tennis
  2. Day by Day in Jewish Sports History - Bob Wechsler
  3. American Jewish Year
  4. "Smashnova ends distinguished career with 6-0, 6-0 loss to Germany's Muller" - Haaretz
  5. "Sporting Heroes for 60 years: No. 17 Anna Smashnova," The Jerusalem Post.
  6. ITC Champions Archived October 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Anna Smashnova" | WTA Tennis
  8. "Smashnova, Anna (aka Anna Pistolesi)". Jews In Sports. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  9. "Smashnova to retire," Ynetnews.
  10. Fed Cup – Player Profile
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