Paola Suárez
Paola Suárez is a retired tennis player from Argentina. She was one of the most prominent women's doubles players throughout the early and mid-2000s, winning eight Grand Slam titles, all of them with Virginia Ruano Pascual, and holding the No. 1 doubles ranking for 87 non-consecutive weeks. She was also a singles semifinalist at the 2004 French Open.
Career
Suárez began playing professional tennis at the age of 15. In 1994, she joined the professional tour as a singles player.Suárez won four WTA titles and 12 other minor tournaments. In 2004, she reached her only Grand Slam singles semi-final by defeating the 18th seed and future Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova, but lost to Elena Dementieva. That year, she reached her highest WTA ranking of No. 9, to become the highest-ranked Argentine women's player since Gabriela Sabatini achieved the No. 3 ranking in 1989. Also in 2004, she won the bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Athens for the women's doubles with Patricia Tarabini.
She had the best results in doubles, playing with Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain for 32 of her 39 titles. They won the French Open on four occasions, the US Open three times, the Australian Open in 2004. Suárez and Ruano Pascual were the No. 1 female pair for three consecutive years after 9 September 2002 and were the WTA Tour Doubles Team of the Year in 2002, 2003 and 2004. They also reached nine straight Grand Slam finals, two short of Navratilova and Shriver's record of eleven.
In 2005, she announced her forthcoming retirement for personal reasons. In June 2005, she went on labrum hip clinical intervention, with a recovery time of three to four months. She restarted playing in Sydney in January 2006 with Ruano Pascual, reaching the final, but suffered a calf injury short after. Later that year, she also reached the final of Wimbledon with Ruano Pascual, marking her third appearance in a final there.
Suárez returned to the circuit with a victory over Dinara Safina, ranked No. 15, in the San Diego singles tournament.
On 1 September 2007, Suárez retired after losing in the mixed doubles second round at the US Open. She partnered Kevin Ullyett and lost to Jamie Murray and Liezel Huber, 5–7, 4–6.
She briefly returned to the WTA doubles tour in 2012, partnering her fellow Argentinian Gisela Dulko. The pair played at the London Summer Olympics but lost in the first round.
In her career, Suárez earned more than $5.2 million, with four singles titles on the WTA Tour, and eight doubles Grand Slam titles.
Significant finals
Grand Slam tournaments
Doubles: 14 (8–6)
Mixed doubles: 2 (0–2)
Olympic games
Doubles: 1 (1–0)
WTA career finals
Singles 8 (4–4)
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Winner | 1. | 22 February 1998 | Bogotá | Clay |  Sonya Jeyaseelan | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 17 May 1999 | Madrid | Clay |  Lindsay Davenport | 6–1, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 20 February 2000 | São Paulo | Clay |  Rita Kuti-Kis | 4–6, 6–4, 7–5 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 7 January 2001 | Auckland | Hard | Meilen Tu | 7–6, 6–2 |
| Winner | 2. | 25 February 2001 | Bogotá | Clay | Rita Kuti-Kis | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 4. | 3 March 2002 | Acapulco | Clay |  Katarina Srebotnik | 6–7, 6–4, 6–2 |
| Winner | 3. | 14 June 2003 | Vienna | Clay |  Karolina Šprem | 7–6, 2–6, 6–4 |
| Winner | 4. | 17 January 2004 | Canberra | Hard |  Silvia Farina Elia | 3–6, 6–4, 7–6 |
Doubles: 69 (44–25)
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Winner | 1. | 5 May 1996 | Bol | Clay |  Laura Montalvo |  Alexia Dechaume-Balleret Alexandra Fusai | 6–7, 6–3, 6–4 |
| Winner | 2. | 18 January 1998 | Hobart | Hard |  Virginia Ruano Pascual | Julie Halard-Decugis Janette Husárová | 7–6, 6–3 |
| Winner | 3. | 22 February 1998 | Bogotá | Clay | Janette Husárová | Melissa Mazzotta Ekaterina Sysoeva | 3–6, 6–2, 6–3 |
| Winner | 4. | 26 April 1998 | Budapest | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual |  Cătălina Cristea Laura Montalvo | 4–6, 6–1, 6–1 |
| Winner | 5. | 3 May 1998 | Bol | Clay | Laura Montalvo |  Joannette Kruger Mirjana Lučić | w/o |
| Winner | 6. | 10 May 1998 | Rome | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Amanda Coetzer Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | 7–6, 6–4 |
| Winner | 7. | 12 July 1998 | Maria Lankowitz | Clay | Laura Montalvo | Tina Križan Katarina Srebotnik | 6–1, 6–2 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 21 February 1999 | Bogotá | Clay | Laura Montalvo |  Christína Papadáki Seda Noorlander | 6–4, 7–6 |
| Winner | 8. | 23 May 1999 | Madrid | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual | María Fernanda Landa Marlene Weingärtner | 6–2, 0–6, 6–0 |
| Winner | 9. | 18 July 1999 | Sopot | Clay | Laura Montalvo | Gala León García María Sánchez Lorenzo | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Winner | 10. | 10 October 1999 | São Paulo | Clay | Laura Montalvo | Janette Husárová Florencia Labat | 6–7, 7–5, 7–5 |
| Winner | 11. | 20 February 2000 | Bogotá | Clay | Laura Montalvo | Rita Kuti-Kis Petra Mandula | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Winner | 12. | 27 February 2000 | São Paulo | Clay | Laura Montalvo | Janette Husárová Florencia Labat | 5–7, 6–4, 6–3 |
| Winner | 13. | 23 April 2000 | Hilton Head | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Conchita Martínez Patricia Tarabini | 7–5, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 11 June 2000 | French Open | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual |  Martina Hingis Mary Pierce | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Winner | 14. | 16 July 2000 | Klagenfurt | Clay | Laura Montalvo |  Barbara Schett Patty Schnyder | 7–6, 6–1 |
| Winner | 15. | 23 July 2000 | Sopot | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual |  Åsa Carlsson Rita Grande | 7–5, 6–1 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 21 August 2000 | New Haven | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Julie Halard-Decugis Ai Sugiyama | 6–4, 5–7, 6–2 |
| Runner-up | 4. | 8 October 2000 | Tokyo | Hard | Nana Miyagi | Julie Halard-Decugis Ai Sugiyama | 6–0, 6–2 |
| Runner-up | 5. | 19 February 2001 | Bogotá | Clay | Laura Montalvo | Tathiana Garbin Janette Husárová | 6–4, 2–6, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 6. | 4 March 2001 | Acapulco | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Anabel Medina Garrigues María José Martínez Sánchez | 6–4, 6–7, 7–5 |
| Runner-up | 7. | 11 March 2001 | Indian Wells | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Nicole Arendt Ai Sugiyama | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 8. | 22 April 2001 | Charleston | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Lisa Raymond Rennae Stubbs | 5–7, 7–6, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 9. | 20 May 2001 | Rome | Clay | Patricia Tarabini |  Cara Black Elena Likhovtseva | 6–1, 6–1 |
| Winner | 16. | 26 May 2001 | Madrid | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Lisa Raymond Rennae Stubbs | 7–5, 2–6, 7–6 |
| Winner | 17. | 10 June 2001 | French Open | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual |  Jelena Dokić Conchita Martínez | 6–2, 6–1 |
| Winner | 18. | 15 July 2001 | Vienna | Clay | Patricia Tarabini | Vanessa Henke Lenka Němečková | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Winner | 19. | 24 February 2002 | Bogotá | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Tina Križan Katarina Srebotnik | 6–2, 6–1 |
| Winner | 20. | 3 March 2002 | Acapulco | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Tina Križan Katarina Srebotnik | 7–5, 6–1 |
| Runner-up | 10. | 1 April 2002 | Miami | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Lisa Raymond Rennae Stubbs | 7–6, 6–7, 6–3 |
| Winner | 21. | 19 May 2002 | Rome | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Conchita Martínez Patricia Tarabini | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Winner | 22. | 9 June 2002 | French Open | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Lisa Raymond Rennae Stubbs | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Runner-up | 11. | 24 June 2002 | Wimbledon | Grass | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Serena Williams Venus Williams | 6–2, 7–5 |
| Winner | 23. | 18 August 2002 | Montreal | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Rika Fujiwara Ai Sugiyama | 6–4, 7–6 |
| Winner | 24. | 8 September 2002 | US Open | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Elena Dementieva Janette Husárová | 6–2, 6–1 |
| Winner | 25. | 14 September 2002 | Bahia | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Émilie Loit Rossana de los Ríos | 6–4, 6–1 |
| Runner-up | 12. | 24 September 2002 | Leipzig | Carpet | Janette Husárová | Alexandra Stevenson Serena Williams | 6–3, 7–5 |
| Runner-up | 13. | 13 October 2002 | Filderstadt | Hard | Meghann Shaughnessy | Lindsay Davenport Lisa Raymond | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 14. | 13 January 2003 | Australian Open | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Serena Williams Venus Williams | 4–6, 6–4, 6–3 |
| Winner | 26. | 13 April 2003 | Charleston | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Janette Husárová Conchita Martínez | 6–0, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 15. | 20 April 2003 | Amelia Island | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Lindsay Davenport Lisa Raymond | 7–5, 6–2 |
| Winner | 27. | 11 May 2003 | Berlin | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual |  Kim Clijsters Ai Sugiyama | 6–3, 4–6, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 16. | 8 June 2003 | French Open | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Kim Clijsters Ai Sugiyama | 6–7, 6–2, 9–7 |
| Runner-up | 17. | 6 July 2003 | Wimbledon | Grass | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Kim Clijsters Ai Sugiyama | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Winner | 28. | 23 August 2003 | New Haven | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Alicia Molik Magüi Serna | 7–6, 6–3 |
| Winner | 29. | 7 September 2003 | US Open | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Svetlana Kuznetsova Martina Navratilova | 6–2, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 18. | 19 October 2003 | Zürich | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Kim Clijsters Ai Sugiyama | 7–6, 6–2 |
| Winner | 30. | 10 November 2003 | Los Angeles | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Kim Clijsters Ai Sugiyama | 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 19. | 5 January 2004 | Auckland | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual |  Mervana Jugić-Salkić Jelena Kostanić Tošić | 7–6, 3–6, 6–1 |
| Winner | 31. | 1 February 2004 | Australian Open | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Svetlana Kuznetsova Elena Likhovtseva | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Winner | 32. | 21 March 2004 | Indian Wells | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Svetlana Kuznetsova Elena Likhovtseva | 6–1, 6–2 |
| Winner | 33. | 18 April 2004 | Charleston | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Martina Navratilova Lisa Raymond | 6–4, 6–1 |
| Runner-up | 20. | 10 May 2004 | Rome | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Nadia Petrova Meghann Shaughnessy | 2–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
| Winner | 34. | 3 June 2004 | French Open | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Svetlana Kuznetsova Elena Likhovtseva | 6–0, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 21. | 26 July 2004 | San Diego | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Cara Black Rennae Stubbs | 4–6, 6–1, 6–4 |
| Winner | 35. | 11 September 2004 | US Open | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Svetlana Kuznetsova Martina Navratilova | 6–4, 7–5 |
| Runner-up | 22. | 17 October 2004 | Moscow | Carpet | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Anastasia Myskina Vera Zvonareva | 6–3, 4–6, 6–2 |
| Runner-up | 23. | 24 October 2004 | Zürich | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Cara Black Rennae Stubbs | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Winner | 36. | 31 October 2004 | Luxembourg City | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Jill Craybas Marlene Weingärtner | 6–1, 6–7, 6–3 |
| Winner | 37. | 5 March 2005 | Dubai | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Svetlana Kuznetsova Alicia Molik | 6–7, 6–2, 6–1 |
| Winner | 38. | 19 March 2005 | Indian Wells | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Nadia Petrova Meghann Shaughnessy | 7–6, 6–1 |
| Winner | 39. | 4 June 2005 | French Open | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Cara Black Liezel Huber | 4–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 24. | 17 January 2006 | Sydney | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Corina Morariu Rennae Stubbs | 6–3, 5–7, 6–2 |
| Runner-up | 25. | 8 July 2006 | Wimbledon | Grass | Virginia Ruano Pascual |  Zheng Jie Yan Zi | 6–3, 3–6, 6–2 |
| Winner | 40. | 13 August 2006 | Los Angeles | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Daniela Hantuchová Ai Sugiyama | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Winner | 41. | 24 September 2006 | Beijing | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Anna Chakvetadze Elena Vesnina | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Winner | 42. | 1 October 2006 | Seoul | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual |  Chuang Chia-jung Mariana Díaz Oliva | 6–2, 6–3 |
| Winner | 43. | 6 January 2007 | Auckland | Hard | Janette Husárová | Hsieh Su-wei Shikha Uberoi | 6–0, 6–2 |
| Winner | 44. | 25 February 2007 | Bogotá | Clay | Lourdes Domínguez Lino | Flavia Pennetta Roberta Vinci | 1–6, 6–3, |
Grand Slam singles performance timeline
Doubles performance timeline
Record against top-10 players
Suárez's match record against players who have been ranked in the top 10, with those who have been ranked No. 1 in boldface- Patty Schnyder 5–4
- Mary Pierce 4–2
- Barbara Schett 3–2
- Jelena Dokic 2–0
- Anna Kournikova 2–0
- Svetlana Kuznetsova 2–0
- Alicia Molik 2–0
- Dinara Safina 2–0
- Daniela Hantuchová 2–1
- Francesca Schiavone 2–1
- Nadia Petrova 2–2
- Sandrine Testud 2–2
- Magdalena Maleeva 2–3
- Amélie Mauresmo 2–3
- Ai Sugiyama 2–3
- Vera Zvonareva 2–3
- Anke Huber 1–0
- Maria Kirilenko 1–0
- Barbara Paulus 1–0
- Lucie Šafářová 1–0
- Maria Sharapova 1–0
- Nathalie Tauziat 1–0
- Andrea Temesvári 1–0
- Serena Williams 1–0
- Jelena Janković 1–1
- Iva Majoli 1–1
- Anastasia Myskina 1–1
- Mary Joe Fernandez 1–2
- Chanda Rubin 1–2
- Elena Dementieva 1–3
- Amanda Coetzer 1–5
- Victoria Azarenka 0–1
- Anna Chakvetadze 0–1
- Zina Garrison 0–1
- Julie Halard-Decugis 0–1
- Justine Henin 0–1
- Brenda Schultz-McCarthy 0–1
- Irina Spîrlea 0–1
- Helena Suková 0–1
- Marion Bartoli 0–2
- Conchita Martínez 0–2
- Monica Seles 0–2
- Venus Williams 0–2
- Natasha Zvereva 0–2
- Jennifer Capriati 0–3
- Kim Clijsters 0–3
- Steffi Graf 0–3
- Dominique Monami 0–4
- Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 0–4
- Lindsay Davenport 0–7