Aleksandra Krunić

Junior events

Krunić picked up a tennis racquet aged seven.^[4] She began training tennis at the Spartak Moscow club,^[6] which spawned numerous tennis stars such as Anna Kournikova, Anastasia Myskina, Marat Safin, Igor Andreev and others. Since then Krunić has been coached by Edouard Safonov.^[4][6][7] In 2006 Krunić reached the semifinals of Junior Kremlin Cup, losing to Bulgarian Dalia Zafirova 7–6, 3–6, 1–6, who eventually fell to Ksenia Kirillova in the final.^[8] The following year she won three junior events, in Podgorica, Livorno and Maia.^[8] In 2008 Krunić reached the quarterfinals of European Junior Championships in Moscow and won the junior event in Budapest. She also played at the junior event in Kramfors, however withdrew from the final match against Croatian Silvia Njirić due to injury by a score of 6–3, 6–1 for Njirić.^[9]

In 2009, she played the second round of Australian Open in Girls' Singles, and the final of Girls' Doubles event, partnering with Sandra Zaniewska. The two lost to Christina McHale and Ajla Tomljanović 1–6, 6–2, [4–10]. She reached the second round of both girls' singles and doubles at the French Open, and lost in the first round of girls' singles at Wimbledon. Krunić also partnered with Tamara Čurović at the girls' doubles, however they lost in the first round to Tímea Babos and Ajla Tomljanović. In April 2009, she reached her highest junior ranking when she was ranked world No. 17.^[10]

Although she had decided not to play juniors anymore, Krunić took part in the European Championships organized by both ITF and Tennis Europe, along with Bojana Jovanovski and Doroteja Erić in the team of Serbia.^[1]

2008–2010: Beginning, dominance on ITF Circuit

As a member of TK Red Star, Krunić won the national club championships in 2008.^[1] She was awarded with a wildcard for tennis event in Prokuplje, Serbia organized by the ITF. On 6 July 2008, Krunić won the tournament and became the youngest title winner in 2008 by winning this event. She beat one wildcard, third seed, and next three players were qualifiers.^[6][8][11] In October 2008, she also played two ITF events in Dubrovnik, but lost both times in first round.^[12]

Krunić was invited by Serbia Fed Cup team coach Dejan Vraneš to join the team for the 2009 Fed Cup World Group Play-offs versus Spain. Jelena Janković and Ana Ivanovic secured Serbia 4–0 win.^[13] Krunić debuted in a doubles match played on 25 April 2009, along with Ana Jovanović, and they were down 6–2, 1–0 against Llagostera Vives and Domínguez Lino, when the match was cancelled due to rain.^[14] In 2009, Krunić won a total of three ITF titles, including first in doubles.^[12][15] On 14 September 2009, Krunić was ranked No. 795.

In January 2010, Krunić won her fourth ITF tournament in Quanzhou, China defeating domestic player Zhou Yi-Miao 6–3, 7–5 in the final, after beating top seed and compatriot Bojana Jovanovski in semifinal.^[16] In May, she won ITF singles title in Moscow and was the doubles runner–up. Krunić made her WTA Tour debut at Banka Koper Slovenia Open, playing doubles with world No. 2 and compatriot Janković.^[3] The two reached semifinals beating the fourth seeds Eleni Daniilidou and Jasmin Wöhr in process, but then had to withdraw from their semifinal match due to an injury of Janković.

Krunić in Prague, 2011

2011–2012: WTA Tour singles debut

In February 2011, Krunić was once again invited to play for the Serbia Fed Cup team in the World Group II rubber against Canada.^[17] She lost her debut singles match against world No. 84 Rebecca Marino in three sets. Krunić played the final doubles match with Bojana Jovanovski, beating Fichman and Pelletier 7–6, 6–4 to guarantee Serbia the spot in the World Group Play Offs.^[18] Serbia won that tie 3–2 against Slovakia, after Krunić and Janković having beaten Hantuchová and Rybáriková in three sets, 2–6, 7–5, 9–7, rallying from 2–6, 1–5.^[19] After this win, Serbia qualified for the 2012 Fed Cup World Group.

In May 2011, Krunić qualified for the ITF $100,000 Sparta Prague Open. She reached the semifinals where she lost to world No. 10 Petra Kvitová 4–6, 2–6.^[20] At Wimbledon and US Open, she lost in qualifying. Krunić qualified for her first WTA singles event in Budapest.^[21] She was leading in the first round match against Nina Bratchikova 7–5, 1–0, in the first round, when Bratchikova retired. Krunić lost her following match to the third seed Klára Zakopalová 5–7, 5–7.^[22] She played in Tashkent and after qualifications, Krunić won her second WTA professional match, losing just one game to Kamila Farhad. In second round, she lost to Sorana Cîrstea in two tight sets.

At the Australian Open, Krunić fell to qualify losing to Lesia Tsurenko in final round. In February 2012, she was a part of Serbian Fed Cup team. She lost in singles to Yanina Wickmayer, but won in doubles with Bojana Jovanovski to claim a historic victory for Serbia.^[23] In 2012 on ITF circuit, Krunić won one title and lost one final in both singles and doubles. At next Grand Slam tournaments, she failed to qualify. In Baku Krunić reached first WTA main draw of season and finished as a quarterfinalist for the first time. She beat fourth seed Andrea Hlaváčková and in second round Laura Pous Tió, but lost in three sets to eventual champion Bojana Jovanovski.

2013: First Grand Slam appearance

Krunić started the season playing at the Australian Open qualifying, losing to Maria Elena Camerin with 7–9 in third set. At WTA events in Bogotá and Acapulco Krunić tried to qualify but didn't manage. In Irapuato, Mexico, Krunić beat Olga Savchuk for first ITF title of the year and seventh overall, dropping no set the entire tournament. In clay-court season, she played four ITF tournaments and best result was in Trnava, Slovakia when she went to semifinal. There she beat top 100 player and top seed Jana Čepelová in first round, but Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová was better in two sets in semifinal. At French Open she lost to Mariana Duque Marino in second qualifying round, although she won second set 6–1.

After missing Wimbledon, Krunić played in WTA events in Budapest and Baku without qualifications. In Baku she was the only player who won a set against eventual champion Elina Svitolina. In doubles, Krunić played alongside Eleni Daniilidou and went to first WTA doubles final where they lost in three sets. US Open was the first Grand Slam tournament where she qualified for the main draw – she beat Carina Witthöft, Daria Gavrilova and Louisa Chirico to do it, all in two sets. But in first round, great server CoCo Vandeweghe was better in two sets, 6–4, 7–6. Week after US Open, she played an ITF in Trabzon, Turkey and won her last ITF title of the season, beating Stéphanie Foretz Gacon in the final. In WTA events in Linz and Luxembourg City she played qualifications. In Linz, she qualified but lost to lucky loser Maryna Zanevska in three sets. In doubles, Krunić won three ITF titles and lost in two finals during the season.

2014: Breakthrough – Top 100, US Open fourth round and first WTA doubles title

In first round of qualifications at the Australian Open, Krunić lost to Zarina Diyas in three sets. In January, Krunić qualified for the PTT Pattaya Open, but lost to Nicha Lertpitaksinchai 3–6, 3–6 in the first round. Next she played three ITF events and best result was quarterfinal where she lost to Timea Bacsinszky. In WTA event in Katowice, Krunić didn't qualify for main draw, but at least she beat former top 30 player Tamira Paszek. In Kuala Lumpur she didn't need qualifications, but in first round she lost to Karolína Plíšková in two sets. On clay, she made it to the semifinal at two ITF tournaments. At French Open and Wimbledon she failed to qualify. In Bucharest, she played the WTA event. In first round she beat Alexandra Panova, but in second round she lost to world No. 3 and domestic player Simona Halep in a match full of breaks. Last prepare for US Open was in an ITF in Poland. There she lost in early round of singles, but won doubles title alongside Barbora Krejčíková.

At the US Open Krunić started campaign in qualifications. As it was last year at US Open, Krunić again qualified at the same Grand Slam tournament for her second main-draw appearance. She beat Petra Martić, Denisa Allertova and tenth seed of qualifications Kateřina Siniaková to qualify. In that final round against Siniakova, Krunić won 7–5, 0–6, 6–0. In the first round of the main draw she played against good friend Katarzyna Piter and won her first ever main-draw match at a Grand Slam tournament, in two sets. In the second round, 27th seed Madison Keys awaited. Although they finished the match with the same amount of points, Krunić won in three sets. Next she faced third seed and reigning Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitová in the third round. And Krunić's fairytale run continued – she won 6–4, 6–4.^[24] With that win, she was guaranteed a world ranking in the top 100 for the first time. In the round of 16, Krunić lost to 16th seed and two time US Open finalist Victoria Azarenka, 6–4, 4–6, 4–6.^[25] 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova said of Krunić during the match "what a find she is, what an athlete".^[26] During the tournament, Krunić's compatriots Janković, Ivanovic and Jovanovski gave her advice and support. She was nominated a "Rising star of the month", but Belinda Bencic had more votes by 5%. Also, match against Azarenka was one of ten matches nominated for Grand Slam match of the year award.

The Asian swing started for Krunić in Tashkent. Despite losing to Lesia Tsurenko in the first round of singles, Krunić managed to capture her first WTA title playing doubles alongside Kateřina Siniaková. They beat all opponents in three sets en route to the final, where they declassed Russians Margarita Gasparyan and Alexandra Panova 6–2, 6–1. In her hometown Moscow, she beat Caroline Garcia but lost to Tsvetana Pironkova in second round. In doubles, Krunić and Siniakova beat top-seeded top 10 players Makarova and Vesnina in the first round.

2015

Krunić in her first-round match at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships

Prior to the 2015 season, Krunić won an ITF in Ankara in late December as a top seed, saving a few match points en-route. At first event in Shenzhen, Krunić qualified and then in second round won thrilling match against Anna Schmiedlova, rallying from 3–6, 2–5 and saving match points. In quarterfinal, eventual champion Simona Halep was better in straight sets. At Australian Open Krunić played first Grand Slam event without qualifying, and was beaten in first round by Lauren Davis. She beat Schmiedlova in Acapulco again, but lost her next four matches on hard court. In Prague on clay, she upset Mirjana Lučić-Baroni, but lost narrowly to Yanina Wickmayer. At French Open, she lost to Yulia Putintseva after winning first set.

Krunić started grass-court season playing in Birmingham, where she qualified for main draw and beat Heather Watson in first round, but lost next to Svetlana Kuznetsova. She then had her best result of the year in terms of importance, as she reached third round of Wimbledon with wins over 19th seed Sara Errani and former world No. 11 Roberta Vinci. She lost to Venus Williams in straight sets.

Krunić returned to clay playing in Bucharest where she reached quarterfinals. She beat Elizaveta Kulichkova and Vinci again, losing just two games, but lost to Polona Hercog. However, she didn't win a match at her next six tournaments, including US Open loss to Danka Kovinic. She also played doubles alongside Janković and they reached third round but somehow lost match for quarterfinal against fourth seeds Dellacqua and Shvedova, as they led 6–2, 4–2 and also 4–2 in third set.

She won first match since six-match losing streak in Tashkent, beating Anett Kontaveit who reached US Open fourth round, but lost to Jovanovski. At next tournament, she won five matches to reach third quarterfinal of the year in Linz. First she won three qualifying rounds, including win over Kaia Kanepi, and beat then Roberta Vinci for the third time in only five months, and then Mona Barthel. This time win over Vinci was even more significant then last time, as she reached US Open final after famous win over Serena Williams. Krunić then lost to eventual champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. She played at next event in Moscow but lost to Lesia Tsurenko.

Krunić set a new career-high ranking at No. 62 in July, but however finished the year at No. 96.

Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Sep 2017	Guangzhou Open, China	International	Hard	Zhang Shuai	2–6, 6–3, 2–6
Win	1–1	Jun 2018	Rosmalen Championships, Netherlands	International	Grass	Kirsten Flipkens	6–7(0–7), 7–5, 6–1

Doubles: 4 (2 titles, 2 runners-up)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Jul 2013	Baku Cup, Azerbaijan	International	Hard	Eleni Daniilidou	Irina Buryachok Oksana Kalashnikova	6–4, 6–7(3–7), [4–10]
Win	1–1	Sep 2014	Tashkent Open, Uzbekistan	International	Hard	Kateřina Siniaková	Margarita Gasparyan Alexandra Panova	6–2, 6–1
Win	2–1	Apr 2016	Morocco Open, Morocco	International	Clay	Xenia Knoll	Tatjana Maria Raluca Olaru	6–3, 6–0
Loss	2–2	Jun 2016	Rosmalen Championships, Netherlands	International	Grass	Xenia Knoll	Oksana Kalashnikova Yaroslava Shvedova	1–6, 1–6

Team competition: 1 (1 runner–up)

Result	Date	Team competition	Surface	Partner/Team	Opponents	Score
Loss	Nov 2012	Fed Cup, Czech Republic	Hard (i)	Ana Ivanovic Jelena Janković Bojana Jovanovski	Petra Kvitová Lucie Šafářová Lucie Hradecká Andrea Hlaváčková	1–3

Singles: 1 (1 title)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Jun 2017	Bol Open, Croatia	Clay	Alexandra Cadanțu	6–3, 3–0 ret.

Singles: 12 (9 titles, 3 runners–up)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Jul 2008	ITF Prokuplje, Serbia	10,000	Clay	Tanya Germanlieva	6–4, 6–1
Loss	1–1	Jul 2009	ITF Prokuplje, Serbia	10,000	Clay	Dalia Zafirova	3–6, 6–7(3–7)
Win	2–1	Aug 2009	ITF Velenje, Slovenia	10,000	Clay	Nika Ožegović	6–3, 6–1
Win	3–1	Oct 2009	ITF Dubrovnik, Croatia	10,000	Clay	Karin Morgošová	6–0, 6–3
Win	4–1	Jan 2010	ITF Quanzhou, China	50,000	Hard	Zhou Yimiao	6–3, 7–5
Win	5–1	May 2010	ITF Moscow, Russia	25,000	Clay	Natalia Ryzhonkova	6–4, 4–6, 6–2
Loss	5–2	May 2012	ITF Caserta, Italy	25,000	Clay	Bianca Botto	1–6, 0–6
Win	6–2	Jun 2012	ITF Lenzerheide, Switzerland	25,000	Clay	Chiara Scholl	6–3, 6–3
Win	7–2	Mar 2013	ITF Irapuato, Mexico	25,000	Clay	Olga Savchuk	7–6(7–4), 6–4
Win	8–2	Sep 2013	ITF Trabzon, Turkey	50,000	Hard	Stéphanie Foretz	1–6, 6–4, 6–3
Win	9–2	Dec 2014	ITF Ankara, Turkey	50,000	Hard	Akgul Amanmuradova	3–6, 6–2, 7–6(8–6)
Loss	9–3	Jun 2017	ITF Manchester, United Kingdom	100,000	Grass	Zarina Diyas	4–6, 4–6

Doubles: 16 (6–10)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	1.	11 July 2009	Prokuplje, Serbia	Clay	Ema Polić	Aleksandra Josifoska Cristina Stancu	6–2, 7–6(7–3)
Runner–up	1.	21 May 2010	Moscow, Russia	Clay	Marina Shamayko	Anna Arina Marenko Ekaterina Yakovleva	2–6, 2–6
Runner–up	2.	18 May 2012	Caserta, Italy	Clay	Viktorija Golubic	Katarzyna Piter Romana Tabak	2–6, 4–6
Winner	2.	23 June 2012	Lenzerheide, Switzerland	Clay	Ana Vrljić	Ksenia Lykina Isabella Shinikova	6–2, 6–4
Runner–up	3.	9 March 2013	Irapuato, Mexico	Clay	Amra Sadiković	Alla Kudryavtseva Olga Savchuk	2–6, 4–6
Winner	3.	26 April 2013	Tunis, Tunisia	Clay	Katarzyna Piter	Réka Luca Jani Eugeniya Pashkova	6–2, 3–6, [10–8]
Winner	4.	10 August 2013	Izmir, Turkey	Hard	Katarzyna Piter	Kristi Boxx Abigail Guthrie	6–2, 6–2
Winner	5.	13 September 2013	Trabzon, Turkey	Hard	Oksana Kalashnikova	Ani Amiraghyan Dalila Jakupović	6–2, 6–1
Runner–up	4.	20 December 2013	Ankara, Turkey	Hard	Eleni Daniilidou	Yuliya Beygelzimer Çağla Büyükakçay	3–6, 3–6
Runner-up	5.	20 February 2014	Kreuzlingen, Switzerland	Carpet (i)	Amra Sadiković	Eva Birnerová Michaëlla Krajicek	1–6, 6–4, [6–10]
Runner-up	6.	26 April 2014	Istanbul, Turkey	Hard	Michaëlla Krajicek	Petra Krejsová Tereza Smitková	6–1, 6–7(2–7), [9–11]
Runner-up	7.	19 July 2014	Olomouc, Czech Republic	Clay	Barbora Krejčíková	Petra Cetkovská Renata Voráčová	2–6, 6–4, [7–10]
Winner	6.	26 July 2014	Sobota, Poland	Clay	Barbora Krejčíková	Anastasiya Vasylyeva Maryna Zanevska	3–6, 6–0, [10–6]
Runner-up	8.	9 May 2015	Trnava, Slovakia	Clay	Petra Martić	Yuliya Beygelzimer Margarita Gasparyan	3–6, 2–6
Runner-up	9.	8 May 2016	Cagnes-sur-Mer, France	Clay	Xenia Knoll	Andreea Mitu Demi Schuurs	4–6, 5–7
Runner-up	10.	14 July 2017	Budapest, Hungary	Clay	Nina Stojanović	Mariana Duque Mariño María Irigoyen	6–7(3–6), 5–7

Girls' Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	2009	Australian Open	Hard	Sandra Zaniewska	Christina McHale Ajla Tomljanović	1–6, 6–2, [4–10]

Singles

This table is current through the 2018 China Open.

Notes

• ¹ The first Premier 5 event of the year has switched back and forth between the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Open since 2009. The Dubai Championships were classified as a Premier 5 event from 2009–2011 before being succeeded by the Qatar Open for the 2012–2014 period. In 2015, the Dubai Championships regained its Premier 5 status while the Qatar Open was demoted to Premier status. The two tournaments have since alternated status every year.
• ² In 2014, the Pan Pacific Open was downgraded to a Premier event and replaced by the Wuhan Open.
• ³ Tournament appearances include Grand Slam, WTA Tour main draw tournaments and the Summer Olympics. They do not include Fed Cup matches.
• ⁴ Overall W–L include Grand Slam, WTA Tour main draw, Summer Olympics and Fed Cup matches. They do not include qualifying matches.

Doubles

Participating (20)

Singles (6–4)

Edition	Round	Date	Venue	Against	Surface	Opponent	W/L	Result	Team result
2011 Fed Cup	World Group II	5 February 2011	Novi Sad	Canada	Hard (i)	Rebecca Marino	Lose	3–6, 6–3, 5–7	Win (3–2)
2012 Fed Cup	World Group QF	5 February 2012	Charleroi	Belgium	Hard (i)	Yanina Wickmayer	Lose	1–6, 0–6	Win (3–2)
2015 Fed Cup	Europe/Africa Zone Group I Round Robin	4 February 2015	Budapest	Austria	Hard (i)	Patricia Mayr-Achleitner	Win	6–2, 6–2	Win (3–0)
		5 February 2015		Hungary		Tímea Babos	Win	7–6(8–6), 0–6, 7–6(7–5)	Win (2–1)
	Europe/Africa Zone Group I Play-offs	7 February 2015		Croatia		Donna Vekić	Win	6–1, 6–1	Win (2–0)
	World Group II Play-offs	18 April 2015	Novi Sad	Paraguay	Hard (i)	Verónica Cepede Royg	Win	6–1, 6–3	Win (4–1)
		19 April 2015				Montserrat Gonzalez	Win	6–0, 6–2
2016 Fed Cup	World Group II Play-offs	16 April 2016	Belgrade	Belgium	Clay (i)	Kirsten Flipkens	Win	6–4, 7–6(10–8)	Loss (2–3)
		17 April 2016				Yanina Wickmayer	Lose	6–1, 5–7, 6–8
2017 Fed Cup	World Group II Play-offs	22 April 2017	Zrenjanin	Australia	Hard (i)	Ashleigh Barty	Lose	4–6, 3–6	Loss (0–4)

Doubles (5–3)

Edition	Round	Date	Venue	Partnering	Against	Surface	Opponents	W/L	Result	Team result
2009 Fed Cup	World Group Play-offs	26 April 2009	Lleida	Ana Jovanović	Spain	Clay	Lourdes Domínguez Lino Nuria Llagostera Vives	Cancelled	2–6, 0–1	Win (4–0)
2011 Fed Cup	World Group II	6 February 2011	Novi Sad	Bojana Jovanovski	Canada	Hard (i)	Sharon Fichman Marie-Ève Pelletier	Win	7–6(7–5), 6–4	Win (3–2)
	World Group Play-offs	17 April 2011	Bratislava	Jelena Janković	Slovakia	Clay (i)	Daniela Hantuchová Magdaléna Rybáriková	Win	2–6, 7–5, 9–7	Win (3–2)
2012 Fed Cup	World Group QF	5 February 2012	Charleroi	Bojana Jovanovski	Belgium	Hard (i)	Alison van Uytvanck Yanina Wickmayer	Win	7–6(7–2), 4–6, 6–1	Win (3–2)
	World Group Semifinals	22 April 2012	Moscow	Bojana Jovanovski	Russia	Hard (i)	Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Elena Vesnina	Lose	4–6, 0–6	Win (3–2)
2013 Fed Cup	World Group QF	10 February 2013	Niš	Vesna Dolonc	Slovakia	Hard (i)	Jana Čepelová Magdaléna Rybáriková	Win	walkover	Lose (2–3)
	World Group Play-offs	21 April 2013	Stuttgart	Vesna Dolonc	Germany	Clay (i)	Anna-Lena Grönefeld Sabine Lisicki	Lose	2–6, 4–6	Lose (2–3)
2015 Fed Cup	Europe/Africa Zone Group I Round Robin	4 February 2015	Budapest	Ivana Jorović	Austria	Hard (i)	Julia Grabher Sandra Klemenschits	Win	6–1, 6–3	Win (3–0)
		5 February 2015			Hungary		Tímea Babos Réka-Luca Jani	Lose	6–4, 6–7(2–7), 2–6	Win (2–1)
	World Group II Play-offs	19 April 2015	Novi Sad	Ivana Jorović	Paraguay	Hard (i)	Verónica Cepede Royg Montserrat Gonzalez	Win	6–1, 6–4	Win (4–1)