Ivana Lisjak

Ivana Lisjak (Croatian pronunciation: [ǐʋana lǐsjaːk]; born March 17, 1987) began playing tennis at the age of three when her sister, Slađana, introduced her to the sport at their tennis club.  Ivana turned professional at the age of fourteen and quickly became a force on the pro circuit and received the highest Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) career ranking of 95^th globally.[1] Ivana is known for her piercing blue eyes and has three tattoos in three different languages that are homage to different points in her life and career.  While on the court wearing her signature neon top, white shorts and Asics shoes, she can be heard criticize herself in her native Croatian language after missing shots but and can be cordial, charming and candid off the court.[2] The 5’11” (180cm) tall, athletic tennis player suffered from a chronic lower-back injury in that prevented her from playing consistency at the top levels she was accustomed, which led to her retirement in 2013.

Ivana Lisjak

Country (sports)	Croatia
Residence	Los Angeles, California
Born	(1987-03-17) March 17, 1987 Čakovec, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Turned pro	pro
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	$285,501
Singles
Career record	218–148
Career titles	7 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 95 (5 June 2006)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	Q3 (2007)
French Open	3R (2006)
Wimbledon	1R (2006)
US Open	3R (2005)
Doubles
Career record	49–39
Career titles	1 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 209 (3 March 2008)
Grand Slam Doubles results
US Open	1R (2006)

Ivana has remained active in the tennis world by taking on selective individual coaching engagements; focusing on high-performing pre-teen and teenagers who are looking to enter the pro-circuit. Several of these students have became top ranked in the USA.  Outside of the tennis world, Ivana has taken from her global travels the design, cultural, and architectural diversity to influence her own interior design philosophies[3] and advises companies who are interested in understanding and engaging the weekend warriors and professional athletes.

Tennis Career

After picking up the tennis racket at the age of three, Ivana quickly climbed up the tennis ranks in Croatia where she was No.1 in the girls under 10, 12, 14, and 16.  Ivana was also ranked No.1 in Europe under 12 and 14 and played for the Croatia junior and national tennis team (FED CUP) for seven years.

Turning a professional at the age of 14, the right-handed Ivana quickly became a force on the pro circuit as a baseliner who preferred the hardcourts. Ivana played in all Grand Slam tournaments, won 8 International Tennis Federation (ITF) pro circuit tournaments, and was a14 times a runner up in ITF tournaments. Ivana received her highest career ranking of 95 WTA[1] in 2006. This ranking was when she had reached the third round of the French Open but where she lost to former No.1 world player Martina Hingis of Switzerland.

Early in 2011, Ivana took time off from tennis to heal her chronic lower-back injury.  The summer of 2013 Ivana launch a comeback after spending over two years trying to control her back pain that "[w]hen it would (flair up), I would not be able to walk," lamented Lisjak.[2] Ivana was able to win her matches against many former top 100 rank players at the $50,000 FSP Gold River Women’s Challenger. During this come back she was able to participate in three tournaments and got her ranking back to the Top 300 over the course of one month. She attributes this quick rise to be an able to look at the game from the coach's eyes and being able to approach the stressful moments in the match in a calmer way. She says she was able to use her coaching experience to identify the dynamics of the game and use different kinds of strategies and tactics against her opponents. Unfortunately her back flared up again and she decided to retire for good, but this short comeback was some of the most enjoyable tennis she ever played.

Tennis Coaching

In 2013, Ivana obtained her WTA coaching license, which is only available to players that were able to break Top 100 in their professional career. Ivana also has her USTA and PTR coaching license.  Her coaching career began after being seen practicing at local tennis clubs.  She has been approached several times by parents to see if she was interested in being a personal coach and mentor to their children aspiring to be better tennis players.  Ivana decided that as a coach she would only take one student at a time so that she can fully focus on that person, their needs, and feel truly vested in them as a person and player.  Her coaching philosophy is regimenting schedules, strong work ethic, dedication, persistent, and resilience.  Ivana believes that talent can get you only so far, but that the physical conditioning and resilience on the court is critical for players to take their careers to the next level.   Several of these students have become top ranked players in the USA.  

Post-tennis Career

While a professional tennis player, Ivana received a Bachelors in Sports Management and a Bachelors in Business and Economics (Business Administration) where she had several academic accomplishments including being a member of Sigma Alpha Pi and the Honor Society. Ivana is taking this academic background and drive as a professional athlete to make her mark in business. She is an interior designer and project manager[3] for residential to commercial projects both within the U.S. and abroad. She also consults to companies who are looking to engage with consumers ranging from the weekend athlete to the aspiring professional athletes.  

ITF titles

$100,000 tournaments

$75,000 tournaments

$50,000 tournaments

$25,000 tournaments

$10,000 tournaments

Singles: 15 (7–8)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1.	October 7, 2002	Makarska, Croatia	Clay	Tina Hergold	4–6, 2–6
Winner	2.	October 13, 2002	Makarska, Croatia	Clay	Tina Hergold	7–6^(7–5), 5–7, 6–3
Runner-up	3.	April 28, 2003	Maglie, Italy	Clay	Lenka Němečková	7–5, 1–6, 6–7
Runner-up	4.	March 27, 2005	Redding, United States	Hard	Lucie Šafářová	2–6, 3–6
Runner-up	5.	April 19, 2005	Bol, Croatia	Clay	Sanja Ančić	5–7, 4–6
Winner	6.	May 22, 2005	Caserta, Italy	Clay	Olga Blahotová	6–3, 7–5
Winner	7.	June 19, 2005	Gorizia, Italy	Clay	Alice Canepa	6–2, 6–3
Runner-up	8.	November 20, 2006	Poitiers, France	Hard	Aravane Rezaï	6–7, 1–6
Runner-up	9.	June 5, 2007	Zagreb, Croatia	Clay	Kyra Nagy	6–2, 6–7, 2–6
Runner-up	10.	December 15, 2007	Valašské Meziříčí, Czech Republic	Hard (i)	Petra Kvitová	4–6, 0–6
Winner	11.	June 7, 2009	Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina	Clay	Ana Jovanović	6–0, 7–6^(12–10)
Winner	12.	August 9, 2009	Monteroni, Italy	Clay	Claudia Giovine	6–4, 6–2
Winner	13.	October 3, 2010	Clermont-Ferrand, France	Hard (i)	Iryna Brémond	6–4, 6–1
Winner	14.	October 10, 2010	Limoges, France	Hard (i)	Yuliya Beygelzimer	6–0, 6–3
Runner-up	15.	July 8, 2013	Yakima, United States	Hard	Nicole Gibbs	1–6, 4–6

Doubles: 7 (1–6)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1.	19 April 2005	Bol, Croatia	Clay	Sanja Ančić	Mari Andersson Kristina Andlovic	3–6, 2–6
Winner	2.	1 May 2005	Cavtat, Croatia	Clay	Korina Perkovic	Meta Sevšek Ana Skafar	6–4, 7–6^(7–2)
Runner-up	3.	22 May 2005	Caserta, Italy	Clay	Nadja Pavić	Olga Vymetálková Soledad Esperón	5–7, 5–7
Runner-up	4.	14 December 2007	Valašské Meziříčí, Czech Republic	Hard (i)	Darija Jurak	Andrea Hlaváčková Lucie Hradecká	2–6, 1–6
Runner-up	5.	11 February 2008	Stockholm, Sweden	Hard (i)	Neda Kozić	Johanna Larsson Anna Smith	0–6, 5–7
Runner-up	6.	22 February 2008	Capriolo, Italy	Carpet (i)	Darija Jurak	Kelly Anderson Sarah Borwell	6–7^(7–9), 4–6
Runner-up	7.	28 March 2011	Monzón, Spain	Hard	Margalita Chakhnashvili	Elena Bovina Valeria Savinykh	1–6, 6–2, 4–6

References

1. "Ivana Lisjak | Player Stats & More – WTA Official". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 2020-03-14.
2. Bauman, Paul. "Croatia's colorful Lisjak ousts top seed Sanchez". Retrieved 2020-03-14.
3. "Homepage". Rismondo. Retrieved 2020-03-14.

External links

• Ivana Lisjak at the Women's Tennis Association
• Ivana Lisjak at the International Tennis Federation