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Tsvetana Pironkova

Bul
Residence: Plovdiv, Bulgaria
DOB: September 13, 1987
Birthplace: Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Height: 5' 11" (1.80 m)
Weight: 143 lbs. (65 kg)
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Status: Pro (2002)
JANUARY - Reached 2r at Brisbane (l. to Errani in 3s); reached QF at Hobart (d. No.2 seed Schnyder en route, falling to Razzano; win over world No.15 Schnyder was fifth Top 20 win); reached 2r at Australian Open (l. to No.16 seed Bartoli).

FEBRUARY - Fell 1r at Paris [Indoors] (l. to Kleybanova); reached 2r at Dubai (l. to No.12 seed Cibulkova).

MARCH - Reached 2r at Indian Wells (l. to top seed Safina); fell 1r at Miami (l. to Schiavone in 3s).

APRIL - Fell 1r at Marbella (as No.8 seed, l. to Vinci in 3s); fell 1r at Barcelona (l. to Safarova in 3s); reached 2r at Stuttgart (as qualifier, l. to No.8 seed A.Radwanska).

MAY - Fell 1r at Rome (l. to No.12 seed Pennetta in 3s); fell 1r at Madrid (l. to qualifier Rezai); fell 1r at Warsaw (as No.9 seed, l. to K.Bondarenko); fell 1r at Roland Garros (l. to Craybas).

JUNE - Fell in Eastbourne qualifying; fell 1r at Wimbledon (l. to Craybas).

JULY - Fell 1r at Budapest (l. to Gallovits); fell 1r at Prague (l. to No.2 seed and eventual champion Bammer 26 76(2) 75; led 62 52); fell 1r at Istanbul (l. to Govortsova in 3s).

AUGUST - Fell in New Haven qualifying; fell 1r at US Open (l. to No.29 seed Sharapova).

SEPTEMBER - Played on ITF Circuit.

OCTOBER - Fell in Linz qualifying; reached QF at Moscow (as qualifier, d. top seed Zvonareva en route; l. to A.Bondarenko).
2002 - Played first events of career on ITF Circuit, winning one singles title.

2003 - Won three singles titles on ITF Circuit.

2004 - Continued to play on ITF Circuit.

2005 - First Top 100 season; breakthrough performances in first and third Tour main draws, reaching SF at both Istanbul (having never even contested Tour qualifying before, qualified for main draw and made it all the way to SF; l. to V.Williams) and Palermo (as direct entrant, l. to Medina Garrigues); having entered Istanbul No.220, made Top 100 debut on July 25 (after Palermo; rose from No.128 to No.99); fell in Tour qualifying five times (incl. US Open); won one singles title on ITF Circuit.

2006 - Second Top 100 season; SF at Stockholm (l. to Zheng); reached 3r at Birmingham (l. to Schiavone); reached 2r 10 more times, incl. Australian Open (d. No.10 V.Williams in 1r for first Top 10 win; also the American's first Grand Slam 1r loss in over five years), Roland Garros and Wimbledon (d. No.16 Groenefeld for second Top 20 win); fell 1r four times (incl. US Open); fell in Tour qualifying four times; made main draw debuts at all four Grand Slams.

2007 - Third straight Top 100 finish; SF at Stockholm (l. to A.Radwanska); reached 2r four more times, incl. US Open; fell 1r six times (incl. Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon); fell in Tour qualifying nine times; won one singles title on ITF Circuit.

2008 - First Top 50 season, highlighted by SF at Istanbul (as No.8 seed, d. No.4 seed Govortsova en route; l. to No.2 seed and eventual champion A.Radwanska in 3s) and QF at Rome (as qualifier, d. top seed Ivanovic en route; l. to No.6 seed Chakvetadze); fell 1r or 2r 16 times, incl. Australian Open (l. to No.2 seed Kuznetsova 76(0) 62 in 2r; led 5-2 first set w/sp at 5-3), Roland Garros (l. to No.29 seed Medina Garrigues in 3s in 2r), Wimbledon (l. to No.16 seed Azarenka in 1r), Olympics (l. to No.16 seed Cibulkova in 2r) and US Open (l. to No.26 seed Medina Garrigues in 1r); fell in Tour qualifying four times; notched third and fourth Top 20 wins at Rome (No.3 Ivanovic; also second Top 10 win) and Zürich (No.19 Cornet); made Top 50 debut on May 19 (after Rome; rose from No.64 to No.47) and Top 40 debut on June 9 (after Roland Garros; rose from No.43 to No.40); win over Obziler in Eastbourne qualifying was 200th career singles match win; withdrew from Barcelona w/right shoulder injury and from Stockholm w/right wrist injury.
SINGLES
Winner: 2007 - ITF/Bordeaux-FRA; 2005 - ITF/Rome Eur-ITA; 2003 - ITF/Orestiada-GRE, ITF/Istanbul 2-TUR, ITF/Istanbul 3-TUR; 2002 - ITF/Volos-GRE.
Semifinalist (5): 2008 - Istanbul; 2007 - Stockholm; 2006 - Stockholm; 2005 - Istanbul, Palermo.
Quarterfinalist (3): 2009 - Hobart, Moscow; 2008 - Rome.

ADDITIONAL
Bulgarian Fed Cup Team, 2003-08; Bulgarian Olympic Team, 2008.
Coached by father, Kiril Enchev (is a former canoe champion), who introduced her to tennis at age 4 ... Mother, Radosveta Nikolova, is a former swimming champion ... Has one brother, Encho, and one sister, Elisaveta ... Also enjoys listening to Bulgarian music and watching television ... Also likes swimming, canoeing ... Favorite movie is "Gladiator".

Official Website: www.tsvetanapironkova.com