Paola Suárez

Paola Suárez (American Spanish: [paˈola ˈswaɾes]; born 23 June 1976) 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.

Paola Suárez
Country (sports) Argentina
ResidenceMunro, Argentina
Born (1976-06-23) 23 June 1976
Pergamino, Argentina
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Turned pro1 March 1991
Retired2007, 2014
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$5,217,775
Singles
Career record371–239
Career titles4 WTA, 12 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 9 (7 June 2004)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open4R (2001)
French OpenSF (2004)
WimbledonQF (2004)
US OpenQF (2003)
Doubles
Career record513–192
Career titles44 WTA, 7 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 1 (9 September 2002)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian OpenW (2004)
French OpenW (2001, 2002, 2004, 2005)
WimbledonF (2002, 2003, 2006)
US OpenW (2002, 2003, 2004)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian OpenF (2002)
French OpenF (2001)
Wimbledon3R (2000, 2003)
US Open2R (2000, 2003, 2007)
Medal record
Olympic Games
2004 Athens Women's doubles

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 (2004 Canberra, 2003 Vienna, 1998 & 2001 Bogotá) 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.[1][2][3]

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)
Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up2000French OpenClay Virginia Ruano Pascual Martina Hingis
Mary Pierce		2–6, 4–6
Winner2001French OpenClay Virginia Ruano Pascual Jelena Dokić
Conchita Martínez		6–2, 6–1
Winner2002French OpenClay Virginia Ruano Pascual Lisa Raymond
Rennae Stubbs		6–4, 6–2
Runner-up2002WimbledonGrass Virginia Ruano Pascual Serena Williams
Venus Williams		2–6, 5–7
Winner2002US OpenHard Virginia Ruano Pascual Elena Dementieva
Janette Husárová		6–2, 6–1
Runner-up2003Australian OpenHard Virginia Ruano Pascual Serena Williams
Venus Williams		6–4, 4–6, 3–6
Runner-up2003French OpenClay Virginia Ruano Pascual Kim Clijsters
Ai Sugiyama		7–6(7–5), 2–6, 7–9
Runner-up2003WimbledonGrass Virginia Ruano Pascual Kim Clijsters
Ai Sugiyama		4–6, 4–6
Winner2003US OpenHard Virginia Ruano Pascual Svetlana Kuznetsova
Martina Navratilova		6–2, 6–3
Winner2004Australian OpenHard Virginia Ruano Pascual Svetlana Kuznetsova
Elena Likhovtseva		6–4, 6–3
Winner2004French OpenClay Virginia Ruano Pascual Svetlana Kuznetsova
Elena Likhovtseva		6–0, 6–3
Winner2004US OpenHard Virginia Ruano Pascual Svetlana Kuznetsova
Elena Likhovtseva		6–4, 7–5
Winner2005French OpenClay Virginia Ruano Pascual Cara Black
Liezel Huber		4–6, 6–3, 6–3
Runner-up2006WimbledonGrass Virginia Ruano Pascual Yan Zi
Zheng Jie		3–6, 6–3, 2–6

Mixed doubles: 2 (0–2)
Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up2001French OpenClay Jaime Oncins Tomás Carbonell
Virginia Ruano Pascual		5–7, 3–6
Runner-up2002Australian OpenHard Gastón Etlis Daniela Hantuchová
Kevin Ullyett		3–6, 2–6

Olympic games

Doubles: 1 (1–0)
Outcome Year Location Surface Partner Opponents Score
Bronze2004AthensHard Patricia Tarabini Shinobu Asagoe
Ai Sugiyama		6–3, 6–3

WTA career finals

Singles 8 (4–4)
Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0/0)
WTA Championships (0/0)
Tier I (0/0)
Tier II (0/0)
Tier III (2/2)
Tier IV & V (2/2)
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(12–10), 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(1–7), 6–4, 6–2
Winner 3. 14 June 2003 Vienna Clay Karolina Šprem 7–6(7–0), 2–6, 6–4
Winner 4. 17 January 2004 Canberra Hard Silvia Farina Elia 3–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–5)

Doubles: 69 (44–25)
Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (8–6)
WTA Championships (1–0)
Tier I (9–9)
Tier II (5–6)
Tier III (10–2)
Tier IV & V (11–2)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 1. 5 May 1996 Bol Clay Laura Montalvo Alexia Dechaume-Balleret
Alexandra Fusai		 6–7(5–7), 6–3, 6–4
Winner 2. 18 January 1998 Hobart Hard Virginia Ruano Pascual Julie Halard-Decugis
Janette Husárová		 7–6(8–6), 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(7–1), 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(7–5)
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(1–7), 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(7–5), 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(5–7), 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(7–5), 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(7–4)
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(7–4), 6–7(4–7), 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(7–4)
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 (i) 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(5–7), 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(8–6), 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 (i) Virginia Ruano Pascual Kim Clijsters
Ai Sugiyama		 7–6(7–3), 6–2
Winner 30. 10 November 2003 Los Angeles Hard (i) 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(8–6), 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 (i) Virginia Ruano Pascual Cara Black
Rennae Stubbs		 6–4, 6–4
Winner 36. 31 October 2004 Luxembourg City Hard (i) Virginia Ruano Pascual Jill Craybas
Marlene Weingärtner		 6–1, 6–7(1–7), 6–3
Winner 37. 5 March 2005 Dubai Hard Virginia Ruano Pascual Svetlana Kuznetsova
Alicia Molik		 6–7(7–9), 6–2, 6–1
Winner 38. 19 March 2005 Indian Wells Hard Virginia Ruano Pascual Nadia Petrova
Meghann Shaughnessy		 7–6(7–3), 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, [11–9]

Grand Slam singles performance timeline
Tournament19941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007
Australian Open A A A 2R 2R 1R 1R 4R 1R 3R 3R A A LQ
French Open 1R 2R 2R 1R 2R 2R 1R 2R QF 3R SF 1R A LQ
Wimbledon 1R A 1R 1R 1R 1R 3R 1R 1R 4R QF A A LQ
US Open 2R 1R 2R 3R 1R 2R 1R 1R 2R QF 3R A A LQ

Doubles performance timeline
Tournament1994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012SRW–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A QF 2R 2R 2R QF 3R F W A QF 1R A A A A A 1 / 10 23–9
French Open A A 1R 1R 2R 2R F W W F W W 2R 1R A A A A 2R 4 / 13 38–9
Wimbledon A A 1R 1R 2R 3R QF SF F F SF A F 1R A A A A 1R 0 / 12 29–11
US Open A A 1R 2R SF 2R 1R 3R W W W A QF 1R A A A A A 3 / 11 28–8
Win–Loss 0–0 0–0 0–3 4–4 7–4 5–4 9–4 15–3 19–2 20–3 21–1 6–0 11–4 0–4 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–2 8 / 46 118–37
Olympic Games
Summer Olympics Not Held 1R Not Held 2R Not Held SF-B Not Held A Not Held 1R 0 / 4 6–4
Year-end championships
Tour Championships A A A A A A QF SF QF W SF A A A A A A A A 1 / 5 3–4

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

References
  1. Suárez Back On Court, Plays First Match Back Archived 20 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 April 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 April 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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