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German tennis player
Sylvia Hanika Country (sports) West Germany (1959–1990) Germany (1990–present)Residence La Manga , SpainBorn (1959-11-30 ) 30 November 1959 (age 64) Munich , West GermanyHeight 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) Turned pro 1977 Retired 1990 Plays Left-handed (one handed-backhand) Prize money US$ 454,347Career record 378–223 (62.9%) Career titles 6 Highest ranking No. 5 (12 September 1983) Australian Open QF (1983) French Open F (1981) Wimbledon 4R (1982, 1987) US Open QF (1979, 1981, 1983, 1984) Tour Finals W (1982)Career record 47–48 Career titles 1 Highest ranking No. 92 (14 August 1989)
Sylvia Hanika (born 30 November 1959) is a former professional tennis player from Germany. She is remembered for finishing as the runner-up at the French Open in 1981 and for winning the Year End Championships in 1982. She was ranked as high as No. 5 in the world.
Hanika turned professional in 1977. In 1981, Hanika reached the women's singles final at the French Open, where she was defeated 6–2, 6–4 by Hana Mandlíková .
In 1982, Hanika posted the biggest win of her career when she defeated world No. 2 Martina Navratilova 1–6, 6–3, 6–4 in the final of the Avon Series Championships at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Garden was also the site of Hanika's last big singles win: a 6–4, 6–4 defeat of No. 3 Chris Evert in the first round of the Virginia Slims Championships in 1987.
Hanika won her final top-level singles title in Athens, Greece in 1986. She retired from the tour in 1990, having won six professional singles titles and one doubles title.
Between serves, she was known to bounce the ball more than anyone tennis commentator and historian Bud Collins remembers: "as many as into the 30s. If she faulted on the first, it was awful, another 30 or so bounces."[1]
Major finals [ edit ]
Grand Slam final [ edit ]
Singles: 1 (0 titles, 1 runner–up) [ edit ]
Result
Year
Tournament
Surface
Opponent
Score
Loss
1981
French Open
Clay
Hana Mandlíková
2–6, 4–6
Year-End Championships final [ edit ]
Singles: 1 (1 title, 0 runners-up) [ edit ]
Result
Year
Tournament
Surface
Opponent
Score
Win
1982
New York City
Carpet (I)
Martina Navratilova
1–6, 6–3, 6–4
WTA career finals [ edit ]
Singles: 24 (6–18) [ edit ]
Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–1)
WTA Tour Championships (1–0)
Tier I (0–0)
Tier II (0–0)
Tier III (0–0)
Tier IV (0–0)
Tier V (0–2)
Virginia Slims, Avon, Other (6–15)
Titles by surface
Hard (0–2)
Grass (0–1)
Clay (2–7)
Carpet (4–8)
Result
W/L
Date
Tournament
Surface
Opponent
Score
Loss
1.
Jul 1978
Båstad
Clay
Elly Appel-Vessies
2–6, 4–6
Loss
2.
Jul 1978
Kitzbühel
Clay
Virginia Ruzici
4–6, 3–6
Loss
3.
Nov 1978
Christchurch
Grass
Regina Maršíková
2–6, 1–6
Win
1.
Jan 1979
Boise
Carpet (i)
Sherry Acker
6–3, 6–2
Loss
4.
May 1979
Rome
Clay
Tracy Austin
4–6, 6–1, 3–6
Loss
5.
Jul 1979
Kitzbühel
Clay
Hana Mandlíková
6–2, 5–7, 3–6
Loss
6.
Jan 1981
Cincinnati
Carpet (i)
Martina Navratilova
2–6, 4–6
Win
2.
Feb 1981
Seattle
Carpet (I)
Barbara Potter
6–2, 6–4
Loss
7.
May 1981
French Open
Clay
Hana Mandlíková
2–6, 4–6
Loss
8.
Jul 1981
Kitzbühel
Clay
Claudia Kohde-Kilsch
5–7, 6–7
Win
3.
Jul 1981
Monte Carlo
Clay
Hana Mandlíková
2–6, 6–3, 5–6 ab.
Loss
9.
Mar 1982
Los Angeles
Carpet (i)
Mima Jaušovec
2–6, 6–7(4–7)
Win
4.
Mar 1982
Avon Championships
Carpet (i)
Martina Navratilova
1–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss
10.
Jan 1983
Washington
Carpet (i)
Martina Navratilova
1–6, 1–6
Loss
11.
Jan 1983
Houston
Carpet (i)
Martina Navratilova
3–6, 6–7(5–7)
Loss
12.
Feb 1983
Oakland
Carpet (i)
Bettina Bunge
3–6, 3–6
Loss
13.
Mar 1983
Boston
Carpet (I)
Wendy Turnbull
4–6, 6–3, 4–6
Loss
14.
Sep 1983
Hartford
Carpet (i)
Kim Shaefer
4–6, 3–6
Win
5.
Oct 1984
Brighton
Carpet (I)
JoAnne Russell
6–3, 1–6, 6–2
Win
6.
Sep 1986
Athens
Clay
Angelikí Kanellopoúlou
7–5, 6–1
Loss
15.
Feb 1987
San Francisco
Carpet (i)
Zina Garrison
5–7, 6–4, 3–6
Loss
16.
Aug 1987
Mahwah
Hard
Manuela Maleeva
6–1, 4–6, 1–6
Loss
17.
Feb 1988
Wichita
Hard (i)
Manuela Maleeva
6–7(5–7) , 5–7
Loss
18.
Jul 1988
Aix-en-Provence
Clay
Judith Wiesner
1–6, 2–6
Doubles: 3 (1–2) [ edit ]
Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Tier I (0–0)
Tier II (0–0)
Tier III (0–0)
Tier IV (0–0)
Tier V (1–0)
Virginia Slims, Avon, Other (0–2)
Titles by surface
Hard (1–0)
Grass (0–1)
Clay (0–0)
Carpet (0–1)
Grand Slam singles performance timeline [ edit ]
Key
W
F
SF
QF
#R
RR
Q#
DNQ
A
NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]
^ "Strange Habits of Highly Successful Tennis Players" by Christopher Clarey, 21 June 2008 in The New York Times .
External links [ edit ]