Julia Apostoli

Julia Sergeyevna Apostoli (born 13 August 1964) is a Soviet-born former professional tennis player from Greece.

Julia Apostoli
Full nameJulia Sergeyevna Apostoli
(born Salnikova)
Country (sports) Soviet Union
 Greece
Born (1964-08-13) 13 August 1964
Moscow, Russia, USSR
Prize money$38,157
Singles
Highest rankingNo. 194 (15 October 1990)
Doubles
Highest rankingNo. 130 (13 April 1992)

Biography

Apostoli was born in Moscow, the daughter of Russian football player and manager Sergei Salnikov. Her father was a member of the Soviet team which won the gold medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics and at club level he both played and managed FC Spartak Moscow.[1]

She debuted for the Soviet Union Fed Cup team in the 1980 quarter-final loss to the United States, featuring in the doubles with Olga Zaitseva, a dead rubber which they lost to the Americans. Over the next two years she competed in all ties for the Soviet Union. In 1981 she played the opening rubber in each tie and won them all, over Denmark's Tine Scheuer-Larsen, Czechoslovakia's Renáta Tomanová and Britain's Virginia Wade, the latter in the Soviet Union's quarter-final loss. She extended her singles record to five wins from five matches in 1982 when she beat her Spanish and Peruvian opponents, also appearing in a live doubles rubber to win the second round tie against Peru.[2] In the 1982 quarter-final she suffered her only singles loss, to Dianne Fromholtz, as the Soviet Union went down to Australia.[3]

At the Friendship Games in 1984, Apostoli won a gold medal in women's doubles, as well as a bronze in the singles.

She rarely featured in international tennis for the remainder of the 1980s in order to concentrate on her studies, graduating with a journalism degree from Moscow State University in 1990.[4]

Apostoli returned to tennis in 1990 under the flag of Greece, having taken up citizenship through her marriage to Greek tennis coach Apostolos Tsitsipas. She played on the WTA Tour until 1992.[4]

Her eldest son, Stefanos Tsitsipas, competes on the professional tour.[5]

ITF finals

Singles: 4 (3–1)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. 12 March 1990 Reims, France Clay Marie-Pierre Villani 7–5, 4–6, 6–0
Runner-up 2. 14 May 1990 Marsa, Malta Clay Nadin Ercegović 3–6, 2–6
Winner 3. 6 August 1990 Paderborn, West Germany Clay Heike Thoms 6–1, 6–0
Winner 4. 4 April 1994 Athens, Greece Clay Irina Zvereva 6–0, 6–3

Doubles: 4 (1–3)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 1. 21 August 1989 Neumünster, West Germany Clay Agnese Blumberga Catarina Bernstein
Annika Narbe		 6–1, 6–2
Runner-up 2. 12 March 1990 Reims, France Clay Kaye Hand Leona Lásková
Michaela Peterová		 2–6, 6–3, 3–6
Runner-up 3. 6 August 1990 Paderborn, West Germany Clay Anna Mirza Heike Thoms
Tanja Hauschildt		 3–6, 1–6
Runner-up 4. 8 May 1995 Le Touquet, France Clay Sylvie Sabas Amélie Mauresmo
Amanda Wainwright		 4–6, 2–6

Other finals

Singles (0-1)
Outcome No. Year Tournament Location Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. 1985 USSR Tennis National Championship Tbilisi, Georgian SSR Svetlana Parkhomenko 7–6, 4–6, 2–6

Doubles (0-2)
Outcome No. Year Tournament Location Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1. 1983 USSR Tennis National Championship Jūrmala, Latvian SSR Natasha Reva Svetlana Parkhomenko
Larisa Savchenko		 2–6, 0–6
Runner-up 2. 1984 USSR Tennis National Championship Tashkent, Uzbek SSR Elena Eliseenko Svetlana Parkhomenko
Larisa Savchenko		 1–6, 2–6

Mixed (2-1)
Outcome No. Year Tournament Location Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1. 1982 USSR Tennis National Championship Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR Aleksandr Bogomolov Natasha Chmyreva
Sergey Leonyuk		 0–6, 5–7
Winner 2. 1984 USSR Tennis National Championship Tashkent, Uzbek SSR Ģirts Dzelde Larisa Savchenko
Alvis Zilgalvis		 7–5, 6–2
Winner 3. 1985 USSR Tennis National Championship Tbilisi, Georgian SSR Ģirts Dzelde Elena Eliseenko
Sergey Leonyuk		 7–6, 7–5
gollark: ***mine***
gollark: I'd want it as a hatchling, personally.
gollark: Would it not make more sense to abandon it?
gollark: That does look good. I should try the same pairing.
gollark: I mean, eventually, I'm locked for ages.

References
  1. "Greece's tennis ace Stefanos Tsitsipas aims high". AGONAsport.com. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  2. "Untitled". United Press International. 22 July 1982. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  3. "Germans exploit Turnbull loss". The Age. 26 July 1982. p. 25. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  4. "Julia Salnikova: "Vi presento Tsitsipas e non solo.."". Spazio Tennis. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  5. "Stefanos Tsitsipas a tout pour plaire au Moselle Open". Le Republicain Lorrain (in French). 19 September 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
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