Jelena Pandžić

Jelena Pandžić (Croatian pronunciation: [jělena pâːndʒitɕ];[1][2] born March 17, 1983 in Split) is a retired professional tennis player from Croatia.

Jelena Pandžić
Country (sports) Croatia
ResidenceLeverkusen, Germany
Born (1983-03-17) 17 March 1983
Split, Croatia (then Yugoslavia)
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Turned pro1999
Retired2017
PlaysRight-handed (Double-handed backhand)
Prize money$134,550
Singles
Career record234–116
Career titles0 WTA, 11 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 136 (22 September 2008)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian OpenQ1 (2009)
French Open2R (2008)
WimbledonQ1 (2008)
US OpenQ2 (2008, 2010)
Doubles
Career record50–30
Career titles0 WTA, 5 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 226 (13 October 2008)

Tennis career

She began playing tennis aged seven and as a junior she was considered a very promising player for the future, being ranked as the world number one in the under 14 age bracket.[3] In the mid-nineties she was spotted by Nick Bollettieri who personally coached her for a time. In his autobiography My Aces, My Faults, published in 1996, Bollettieri writes about seeing Pandžić play for the first time at a tournament in the south of France, writing, "She played like she was from another planet."

1999–2002

Pandžić's first senior tournament on the ITF circuit was in April 1999 where she qualified and reached the quarter finals of the Makarska $10000 tournament. By 2002 she had made some progress up the rankings, winning three ITF singles titles, but had not yet fulfilled her initial promise. Her highest ranking was 374, achieved in October 2002.

2003–2006

In 2003 Pandžić only played one game of tennis before a car crash put her out of action. Over the next few years she did not play in any professional ranking tournaments. Instead, she attended university in the USA and played on the college tennis circuit, representing Fresno Pacific University.[3]

2007

In May 2007, Pandžić once more began playing on the professional circuit and this time she began to put together an impressive string of results. Despite beginning with no ranking and having to qualify for the lowest tier of events, she reached a year-end ranking of 255, having won 4 of the 13 tournaments she entered.

2008–2009

Although she began 2008 with three first-round losses, Pandžić continued her climb up the rankings. Her first appearance in the main draw of a WTA event came when she qualified for the ECM Prague Open. She lost in the first round to Melinda Czink.

In May 2008, with a ranking of 189, she was able to enter the qualifying rounds of the French Open. With wins over Eva Hrdinová, Julie Coin and Monica Niculescu, Pandžić managed to qualify for the main draw of a grand slam for the first time in her career. She then won her first round match against Séverine Brémond in three sets but was beaten heavily 6–2, 6–0 in the second round by Agnieszka Radwańska, the 14th seed.

As well as the WTA and ITF tour events, Pandžić also plays for professional teams in both Germany and the USA. She is currently part of the St. Louis Aces team for the 2008 World TeamTennis league, alongside Anna Kournikova and Andy Roddick.[4]

The end of 2008, saw Pandžić losing repeatedly in first rounds, and this continued through January 2009, when she disclosed she has been playing with a calf injury for some time, and was not sure if she will be able to continue playing professional tennis.

2010

At the end of May 2010, Pandžić started her second comeback by qualifying for and winning a 10K challenger in Sumter, South Carolina. In addition to playing well in a number of other ITF events, she has used her protected ranking of 163 to enter some WTA events as well, losing tight matches to high ranked players. In a time of just over 3 months, she has accumulated 50 points and a record of 16–5 and is ranked 548 as of early August. She entered the 2010 US Open – Women's Singles Qualifying beating Sarah Gronert 7–6, 3–6, 7–5 in the first round before losing to Alexandra Panova 2–6, 3–6 in the second.

ITF finals

Singles: 16 (11–5)
Legend
$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$15,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. 21 August 2000 Westende, Belgium Clay Lisa Fritz 2–6, 6–3, 4–6
Runner-up 2. 26 March 2001 Amiens, France Clay Sophie Erre 7–6, 3–6, 6–7
Winner 3. 15 October 2001 Makarska, Croatia Clay Petra Dizdar 1–6, 7–5, 6–1
Winner 4. 11 March 2002 Makarska, Croatia Clay Libuše Průšová 6–1, 2–6, 7–6
Winner 5. 26 August 2002 Spoleto, Italy Clay Shelley Stephens 7–5, 6–1
Runner-up 6. 3 June 2007 Houston, United States Hard (i) Asia Muhammad 3–6, 6–4, 4–6
Winner 7. 19 June 2007 Fort Worth, United States Hard Lauren Embree 6–4, 6–1
Winner 8. 26 June 2007 Edmond, United States Hard Gabriela Paz 3–6, 6–1, 6–4
Winner 9. 17 July 2007 Wichita, United States Hard Gabriela Paz 6–4, 6–4
Winner 10. 31 July 2007 St. Joseph, United States Hard Stacia Fonseca 6–3, 6–1
Winner 11. 24 May 2010 Sumter, United States Hard Alexis King 6–2, 1–6, 6–2
Runner-up 12. 13 September 2010 Redding, United States Hard Jamie Hampton 6–3, 1–6, 4–6
Runner-up 13. 18 June 2012 Cologne, Germany Clay Julia Kimmelmann 2–6, 6–1, 5–7
Winner 14. 13 August 2012 Brčko, Bosnia-Herzegovina Hard Tamara Čurović 6–3, 4–1, RET
Winner 15. 18 March 2013 Ipswich, Australia Hard Storm Sanders 7–5, 2–6, 6–2
Winner 16. 19 August 2013 San Luis Potosi, Mexico Hard Ana Sofía Sánchez 6–4, 6–4

Doubles Finals: 8 (5–3)
$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 1. 7 August 2000 Rebecq, Belgium Clay Lenka Snajdrova Debbrich Feys
Karin Kues		 6–7(5–7), 6–2, 6–4
Runner-up 2. 26 March 2001 Amiens, France Clay Bianca Cremer Olivia Cappelletti
Julie Coin		 5–7, 1–6
Runner-up 3. 13 August 2001 Koksijde, Belgium Clay Marina Lazarovska Lenka Snajdrova
Aleksandra Srndovic		 2–6, 4–6
Winner 4. 22 July 2007 Wichita, United States Hard Jennifer Elie Anna Egorova
Madina Rakhim		 6–2, 3–6, 6–1
Winner 5. 9 August 2008 Monterrey, Mexico Hard Magdaléna Rybáriková Monique Adamczak
Melanie South		 4–6, 6–4, 10–8
Winner 6. 28 September 2008 Ashland, United States Hard Līga Dekmeijere Julie Ditty
Carly Gullickson		 6–3, 3–6, 10–8
Runner-up 7. 13 September 2010 Redding, United States Hard Kim Anh Nguyen Christina Fusano
Yasmin Schnack		 2–6, 6–3, [6–10]
Winner 8. 13 August 2012 Brčko, Bosnia-Herzegovina Hard Karla Popović Dagmara Bašková
Tereza Malíková		 6–3, 6–2

References
  1. "Jèlena". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 2018-03-18. Jèlena
  2. "pȃndža". Hrvatski jezični portal (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 2018-03-18. Pȃndžić
  3. "JELENA PANDZIC". Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  4. St. Louis Aces Team Archived July 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
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