Ágnes Szávay
Ágnes Szávay is a former professional tennis player from Hungary. The 2007 WTA Newcomer of the Year achieved her career-high ranking of world No. 13 in April 2008.
Personal life
Szávay was born in Kiskunhalas and grew up in Soltvadkert. She started to play tennis at the age of six, with her parents acting as her first coaches and managers. She worked with several coaches including Zoltán Újhidy, Levente Barátosi, Miklós Hornok, József Bocskay, Zoltán Kuharszky, Karl-Heinz Wetter and Gábor Köves. Her younger sister Blanka is five years her junior.Tennis career
2006
In 2006, she made it to the final of the Ashland Challenger tournament, but lost there to Aleksandra Wozniak in straight sets.2007
Szávay won her first career WTA-level tournament in singles in Palermo in July. The win caused her ranking to rise to world No. 37. She also won one doubles tournament, the Tier III Budapest Grand Prix, with Vladimíra Uhlířová.In August, Szávay reached the final of the Tier II tournament in New Haven, defeating Daniela Hantuchová, Alona Bondarenko, and Samantha Stosur before losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. Szávay was leading 6–4, 0–3 when she had to retire from the match because of a back injury.
Szávay then reached the quarterfinals of the US Open, defeating 32nd-seeded Michaëlla Krajicek and seventh-seeded Nadia Petrova before losing to Kuznetsova. She also reached the semifinals in women's doubles, teaming with Uhlířová.
At her first tournament after the US Open, she reached the final of the Tier II China Open. Szávay, the sixth seed, capitalized on the withdrawal of top-seeded Kuznetsova to reach the semifinals where she defeated Chinese player Peng Shuai to advance to her second career Tier II final. Szávay then defeated Jelena Janković to claim her first Tier II title. Szávay led 5–0 in the first set tiebreak before losing it 7–9. In the second set, Szávay saved a match point while trailing 5–1 with a second serve ace and then won nine consecutive games. Szávay moved into the top 20 due to this performance.
Szávay's year ended prematurely because of a thigh injury. In late September at the Tier IV Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships in Seoul, she was forced to retire from her quarterfinal match with Eleni Daniilidou while tied at one set apiece. She did not play on the tour the remainder of the year.
For her achievements she was named "2007 Hungarian Sportswoman of the Year".
2008
Szávay began the year at the Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourt in Gold Coast. Szávay and Dinara Safina, the third seeded team, won the doubles title, defeating the first and second seeded teams in the semifinals and final, respectively. In singles, Szávay was the eighth seed but lost to unseeded Yuliana Fedak in the first round.At the Australian Open in Melbourne, Szávay was seeded 20th but lost in the first round to Ekaterina Makarova of Russia.
Szávay then reached the final of the Tier II Open Gaz de France in Paris. She defeated second seeded Daniela Hantuchová in the quarterfinals and fourth seeded Elena Dementieva in the semifinals before losing to Anna Chakvetadze in the three-set final.
Szávay then lost in the first round of three consecutive tournaments. She lost to Alisa Kleybanova at the Tier II Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, Ai Sugiyama at the Tier I Qatar Total Open in Doha, and Akiko Morigami at the Tier II Dubai Tennis Championships.
She ended her four-match losing streak by winning her first round match at the Tier II Bangalore Open before losing in the second round to Akgul Amanmuradova. She then lost in the second round of the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne to Elena Vesnina.
Szávay started the spring clay court season by reaching the quarterfinals in three consecutive tournaments. At the Tier II Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Szávay lost to Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals. Going into the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, Szávay was ranked world No. 13, her highest-ever singles ranking; she reached the quarterfinals but eventually lost to Alizé Cornet in two sets. At the Tier I Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin, Szávay lost to world No. 2 Ana Ivanovic in three sets.
Then she was upset in the second round of the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome and the third round of the French Open in Paris.
At Wimbledon, Szávay was seeded 15th but lost in the fourth round to unseeded wildcard Zheng Jie of China. Zheng had upset the top seed Ana Ivanovic in the third round.
Szávay then was the top seeded player at two Tier III tournaments played on clay. At the Budapest Grand Prix, she lost in the second round after receiving a first round bye. At the Gastein Ladies tournament in Austria, she lost in the semifinals to fourth seeded Pauline Parmentier.
Szávay was upset in the early rounds of four hard court tournaments during the summer. At the Tier IV Nordea Nordic Light Open in Stockholm, Szávay was seeded second but lost in the second round. Szávay was seeded 11th at the Summer Olympics in Beijing but lost to Zheng of China in the first round in three sets. Szávay was seeded fourth at the Tier II Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, but lost in the second round to unseeded Amélie Mauresmo. Szávay was seeded 13th at the US Open but lost in the second round to Tathiana Garbin of Italy.
2009
Szávay began the year by competing in the JB Group Classic exhibition event in Hong Kong, representing Europe. She then played the Moorilla Hobart International tournament as the fifth seed. She lost in the first round to the United Kingdom's Anne Keothavong. At the Australian Open, Szávay was seeded 23rd in women's singles but lost in the first round to Galina Voskoboeva.In February, Szávay played in Fed Cup for Hungary, losing for the second time in 2009 to Keothavong. Szávay, with doubles partner Katalin Marosi, also lost against Melanie South and Sarah Borwell and the United Kingdom won the tie 3–0. The next tie was against Luxembourg. Szávay beat Mandy Minella, and in doubles, Szávay and Marosi beat Minella and Claudine Schaul, giving Hungary a 2–1 win in the tie.
Her next tournament was the GDF Suez Open, held on indoor courts in Paris. In 2008 Szávay was the runner-up, but in 2009 she lost in the first round Li Na. At Dubai, she lost to Frenchwoman Camille Pin.
Her next event was the Abierto Mexicano Telcel tournament in Acapulco. Despite losing in qualifications, Szávay entered the main draw as a lucky loser and got off to an encouraging start by beating Anna Orlik in the first round. She then had her best win for over six months with a two-set victory over Roberta Vinci. She then lost to eventual champion Venus Williams in three sets. Szávay then played in Monterrey defeating Pauline Parmentier in the first round, showing signs of slowly getting back to form but lost to Vania King after leading a set and 4–1. Szávay continued to show signs of a return to form at the Premier Mandatory tournament in Indian Wells. She beat Edina Gallovits and Kristina Barrois. However, against the tenth ranked player in the world, Agnieszka Radwańska, Szávay once again showed she was lacking confidence, as she lost in three sets, having led 3–1 in the third set with four points to go ahead 4–1 on Radwańska's serve. In Miami, she continued to show sings of playing better, defeating Francesca Schiavone and then seventh-seeded Ana Ivanovic. She fell in the fourth round to eventual champion Victoria Azarenka. After a three-week break, she returned in Stüttgart, beating Ai Sugiyama in the first round and losing to Elena Dementieva in the second round.
At the Madrid Masters, Szávay upset Flavia Pennetta in the first round. She defeated Aravane Rezaï in the second round in three sets and then beat No. 9 in the world, Victoria Azarenka, in the third round, before eventually losing to Amélie Mauresmo in the quarterfinals.
At the 2009 French Open, Szávay was seeded 29th and upset world No. 3, Venus Williams, beating her in the third round. She was defeated in straight sets by Dominika Cibulková in the fourth round.
Szávay was seeded 30th at the Wimbledon Championships, but was eliminated in the first round by Kirsten Flipkens. She then won the third title of her career in her hometown at GDF Suez Grand Prix defeating top seed Patty Schnyder in the final. She was defeated in first round at Los Angeles by Elena Vesnina and then reached the second round at Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open where she was defeated by Flavia Pennetta. She also reached the second round at the Rogers Cup where she fell to Agnieszka Radwańska. She fell in the first round at the US Open to Shahar Pe'er. However, Szávay qualified for the Tournament of Champions.
2010
She trained intensely during the off-season, and started to play better than she had been in 2010. At the Brisbane International, she reached the second round beating Peng Shuai before losing to Daniela Hantuchová. At the Sydney International, where she qualified to reach the main draw. She won her first round match again, beating Jelena Janković for her first top ten win since defeating Venus Williams at the 2009 French Open, before losing in a close two-set match to Aravane Rezaï in the second round. She finished the month at the Australian Open reaching the second round again, beating Stéphanie Dubois before falling to 16th seed Li Na.Szávay then played the Open GDF Suez and reached her first quarterfinal of the year. She beat Olga Govortsova and Petra Martić before losing to Melanie Oudin. Next was the Abierto Mexicano TELCEL in Acapulco. Ágnes was the second seed and played well to reach the quarterfinals, beating Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová and Renata Voráčová. However, she was forced to retire while playing eighth-seeded Polona Hercog in the quarterfinals due to a left adductor strain. She also competed in the doubles tournament with Gisela Dulko, however they lost in the first round to Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci.
Szávay entered the Monterrey Open as the fifth seed, where she defeated Germans Julia Görges and Anna-Lena Grönefeld. However, she fell in the quarterfinals against fourth-seeded Dominika Cibulková. She then played at the BNP Paribas Open and Sony Ericsson Open reaching the third round of both events losing to Carla Suárez Navarro and Svetlana Kuznetsova. At the European Clay season she fell to Dinara Safina in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix and suffered a back to back loss at the Estoril Open and Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, which caused her to drop out of the top 40. At the French Open, she lost to Nadia Petrova in the second round.
At the grass-court season, Szávay played at the Aegon International losing to Marion Bartoli in the second round. And at Wimbledon, she lost to Ekaterina Makarova in the very first round. However, she followed it up with back-to-back titles in GDF Suez Grand Prix upsetting Alexandra Dulgheru in the semifinals and a repeat of last year's final defeating Patty Schnyder and in ECM Prague Open defeating Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová in three sets.
2011
Szávay missed the Australian Open and the Australian season because of illness. Her next scheduled tournament was the Open GdF Suez but she withdrew because of a back injury. She came back at the BNP Paribas Open where she won her first match in nearly five months by beating American veteran Jill Craybas. She lost to Alisa Kleybanova in the second round. Her next tournament was the Sony Ericsson Open but she lost again in the second round, to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Her next tournament was the Andalucia Tennis Experience where she lost in the second round to Svetlana Kuznetsova. She then missed the Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem and the Barcelona Ladies Open due to the back injury. At the French Open, Szávay lost in the first round to qualifier Olga Govortsova.For the remainder of the year, Szávay took time off to recover from the back injury, which was career-threatening.
2012
Her first tournament of 2012 was the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in April. However, she fell in the first round of qualifying to Austrian Yvonne Meusburger. Next, Szávay played the Olympics, losing in the first round to home favorite Elena Baltacha. Partnering Tímea Babos, she lost in the first round of doubles. In August, she headed to the United States for the New Haven Open at Yale, where she lost to Carla Suárez Navarro in the first round. In the doubles competition, she and partner Kimiko Date-Krumm were also knocked out in the first round. But to make matters worse Ágnes was forced to retire at 6–4, 3–2 in her first-round match at the US Open against countrywoman Gréta Arn.2013
On 6 February 2013, Szávay announced retirement from professional tennis due to ongoing back problems.WTA career finals
Singles: 7 (5–2)
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Winner | 1. | 16 July 2007 | Palermo, Italy | Clay |  Martina Müller | 6–0, 6–1 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 25 August 2007 | New Haven, United States | Hard |  Svetlana Kuznetsova | 6–4, 0–3 ret. |
| Winner | 2. | 23 September 2007 | Beijing, China | Hard |  Jelena Janković | 6–7, 7–5, 6–2 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 10 February 2008 | Paris, France | Hard | Anna Chakvetadze | 3–6, 6–2, 2–6 |
| Winner | 3. | 12 July 2009 | Budapest, Hungary | Clay |  Patty Schnyder | 2–6, 6–4, 6–2 |
| Winner | 4. | 11 July 2010 | Budapest, Hungary | Clay | Patty Schnyder | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Winner | 5. | 18 July 2010 | Prague, Czech Republic | Clay |  Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová | 6–2, 1–6, 6–2 |
Doubles: 8 (2–6)
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Runner-up | 1. | 8 July 2004 | Budapest, Hungary | Clay |  Virág Németh | Petra Mandula  Barbara Schett | 3–6, 2–6 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 24 October 2005 | Hasselt, Belgium | Hard |  Michaëlla Krajicek |  Émilie Loit  Katarina Srebotnik | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 20 February 2006 | Bogotá, Colombia | Hard |  Jasmin Wöhr |  Gisela Dulko  Flavia Pennetta | 6–7, 1–6 |
| Runner-up | 4. | 3 March 2007 | Doha, Qatar | Hard | Vladimíra Uhlířová | Martina Hingis Maria Kirilenko | 1–6, 1–6 |
| Winner | 1. | 23 April 2007 | Budapest, Hungary | Clay | Vladimíra Uhlířová | Martina Müller Gabriela Navrátilová | 7–5, 6–2 |
| Runner-up | 5. | 23 July 2007 | Bad Gastein, Austria | Clay | Vladimíra Uhlířová | Lucie Hradecká Renata Voráčová | 3–6, 5–7 |
| Winner | 2. | 5 January 2008 | Gold Coast, Australia | Hard | Dinara Safina |  Yan Zi Zheng Jie | 6–1, 6–2 |
| Runner-up | 6. | 18 July 2010 | Prague, Czech Republic | Clay |  Monica Niculescu | Timea Bacsinszky Tathiana Garbin | 5–7, 6–7 |