Iva Majoli

Iva Majoli-Marić (born 12 August 1977) is a former professional tennis player from Croatia. She upset Martina Hingis to win the women's singles title at the French Open in 1997. Majoli also won seven other singles titles and one doubles title during her career. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4 in February 1996.[1]

Iva Majoli
Country (sports) Croatia
ResidenceZagreb, Croatia
Bradenton, Florida
Born (1977-08-12) 12 August 1977
Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Turned proAugust 1991
RetiredJune 2004
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$4,405,867
Singles
Career record316–225
Career titles8 (2 ITF)
Highest rankingNo. 4 (5 February 1996)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian OpenQF (1996)
French OpenW (1997)
WimbledonQF (1997)
US Open4R (1994)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsQF (1997)
Olympic GamesQF (1996)
Doubles
Career record99–124
Career titles1
Highest rankingNo. 24 (21 August 1995)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open3R (1998)
French Open3R (1997, 2002, 2003)
WimbledonQF (2001)
US OpenQF (1997)
Team competitions
Fed CupQF (1999, 1996)
Hopman CupW (1996)

Career

Majoli was born in Zagreb in SR Croatia, Yugoslavia and turned professional in 1991 at the age of 14. Aged 19, she won the 1997 French Open singles title, defeating Sandra Kleinová, Alexandra Fusai, Ann Grossman, Lindsay Davenport, Ruxandra Dragomir and Amanda Coetzer before beating the 16-year-old Martina Hingis in straight sets 6–4, 6–2. Majoli played aggressively from the baseline to ended Hingis's 37-match winning streak and hand her opponent her first defeat in a final of a Grand Slam.

Majoli played her best tennis as a teenager, reaching her career high ranking of World No. 4 in 1996. After a quarter-final appearance at the 1998 French Open, she failed to reach the fourth round of any subsequent Grand Slam singles tournament. In 2002, ranked World No. 58, Majoli defeated Patty Schnyder, in the final of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina. The victory increased Majoli's ranking to World No. 33, but her game steadily declined thereafter, with her ranking plummeting to World No. 131 in 2003. In the final years of her tennis career, Majoli suffered from a series of injuries – most notably a shoulder injury – and struggled to play consistently. Her jet-setting lifestyle, well documented by the press, may have contributed and on June 12, 2004, she announced her retirement from the game.

In 2006, she announced that she was engaged and pregnant with her first child. She married a local businessman, Stipe Marić, on 9 September 2006, with Jennifer Capriati and Mary Pierce attending the wedding. She gave birth to her daughter Mia on 31 October 2006.

In 2007, Majoli participated in the second season of the Croatian version of Dancing with the Stars. Her partner was Marko Herceg. She was eliminated in the fourth episode.

In 2012, she was selected to be the non-playing captain of the Croatian Fed Cup team.

Majoli made a comeback in professional tennis at the 2015 Kremlin Cup, where she received a wildcard with Anastasia Bukhanko in the doubles.

Significant finals

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (1 title)
Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1997 French Open Clay Martina Hingis 6–4, 6–2

Tier I finals

Singles: 3 (3 titles)
Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1995 Zurich Open Carpet (i) Mary Pierce 6–4, 6–4
Winner 1996 Pan Pacific Open Carpet (i) Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 6–4, 6–1
Winner 2002 Charleston Open Clay Patty Schnyder 7–6(7–5), 6–4

WTA Tour finals

Singles: 17 (8–9)
Winner — Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (1–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Tier I (3–0)
Tier II (4–5)
Tier III, IV & V / International (0–4)
Titles by surface
Hard (1–1)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (3–3)
Carpet (4–5)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. 7 February 1994 Osaka Carpet (i) Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere 1–6, 6–4, 5–7
Runner-up 2. 18 April 1994 Barcelona Clay Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 0–6, 2–6
Runner-up 3. 24 October 1994 Essen Carpet (i) Jana Novotná 2–6, 4–6
Runner-up 4. 24 April 1995 Barcelona Clay Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 7–5, 0–6, 2–6
Winner 1. 2 October 1995 Zürich Carpet (i) Mary Pierce 6–4, 6–4
Winner 2. 9 October 1995 Filderstadt Hard (I) Gabriela Sabatini 6–4, 7–6(7–4)
Winner 3. 29 January 1996 Tokyo Carpet (i) Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 6–4, 6–1
Runner-up 5. 12 February 1996 Paris Carpet (i) Julie Halard-Decugis 5–7, 6–7(4–7)
Winner 4. 19 February 1996 Essen Carpet (i) Jana Novotná 7–5, 1–6, 7–6(8–6)
Runner-up 6. 30 September 1996 Leipzig Carpet (i) Anke Huber 7–5, 3–6, 1–6
Winner 5. 17 February 1997 Hanover Carpet (i) Jana Novotná 4–6, 7–6(7–2), 6–4
Winner 6. 28 April 1997 Hamburg Clay Ruxandra Dragomir 6–3, 6–2
Winner 7. 26 May 1997 French Open Clay Martina Hingis 6–4, 6–2
Runner-up 7. 6 November 2000 Kuala Lumpur Hard Henrieta Nagyová 4–6, 2–6
Runner-up 8. 17 September 2001 Quebec City Carpet (i) Meghann Shaughnessy 1–6, 3–6
Winner 8. 15 April 2002 Charleston Clay Patty Schnyder 7–6(7–5), 6–4
Runner-up 9. 29 April 2002 Bol Clay Åsa Svensson 3–6, 6–4, 1–6

Doubles: 5 (1–4)
Winner — Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Tier I (0–1)
Tier II (1–2)
Tier III, IV & V / International (0–1)
Titles by surface
Hard (0–1)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (0–2)
Carpet (1–1)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1 20 February 1995 Linz Carpet (i) Petra Schwarz Meredith McGrath
Nathalie Tauziat		 1–6, 2–6
Runner-up 2. 24 April 1995 Barcelona Clay Mariaan de Swardt Larisa Neiland
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario		 5–7, 6–4, 5–7
Runner-up 3. 14 August 1995 Toronto Hard Martina Hingis Gabriela Sabatini
Brenda Schultz-McCarthy		 6–4, 0–6, 3–6
Runner-up 4. 28 April 1997 Hamburg Clay Ruxandra Dragomir Anke Huber
Mary Pierce		 6–4, 6–7(1–7), 2–6
Winner 1. 5 February 2001 Paris Carpet (i) Virginie Razzano Kimberly Po
Nathalie Tauziat		 6–3, 7–5

Grand Slam singles performance timeline
Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# A NH
(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)
Tournament1992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004Career SRW–L
Australian Open A A A A QF 1R 3R A A 3R 2R 1R A 0 / 6 9–6
French Open A 4R 4R QF QF W QF A 2R 1R 2R 2R A 1 / 10 28–9
Wimbledon A A 1R 1R A QF 2R A A 1R 3R 1R A 0 / 7 7–7
US Open 2R 2R 4R 1R 1R 2R 2R 1R A 3R 3R 1R A 0 / 11 11–11
Win–Loss 1–1 4–2 6–3 4–3 8–3 12–3 8–4 0–1 1–1 4–4 6–4 1–4 0–0 1 / 34 55–33
Year End Ranking 50 46 13 9 8 6 25 163 73 42 32 131 315

References
  1. "Iva Majoli, 1997 French Open champ, calls it quits". Sports Illustrated. June 29, 2004. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
Awards
Preceded by
Debbie Graham		 WTA Newcomer of the Year
1993		 Succeeded by
Irina Spîrlea
Preceded by
Sabine Appelmans		 Comeback Player of the Year
2000		 Succeeded by
Barbara Schwartz
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