Regina Kulikova

After a six-month lay off, Kulikova started her 2009 on the ITF Circuit in May, falling in her opening qualifying match.[4] She then played in the qualifying event for the French Open, but lost in the first round to Vania King.[5] Kulikova returned to the ITF Circuit with more success, reaching the quarterfinals of the singles and winning the doubles title at a tournament in Galatina.[6] In her subsequent tournament, Kulikova qualified for her first grand slam at Wimbledon. She beat Karolina Šprem in the first round and then upset world number 27 Alisa Kleybanova in three sets. Kulikova's run came to an end against world number 4 Elena Dementieva in the third round, going down 6–1, 6–2 to her compatriot.[7] Despite the scoreline, Dementieva was full of praise for her opponent, commenting: "She is a very good player. She was very impressive through the whole week".[8] The rest of Regina's summer was marred by injury, as she was forced to retire in the final round of qualifying for the Banka Koper Slovenia Open. She returned to action at the US Open but lost in her first qualifying match. At the Bell Challenge, Kulikova defeated Jorgelina Cravero before falling to Lucie Šafářová 6–2, 7–5.[9] Kulikova finished 2009 by returning to the ITF Circuit where she won three titles—Las Vegas, Kansas City and Dubai. Her win at the Las Vegas Open was all the more impressive as Kulikova was suffering from a back strain during the final.[10] Regina's last match of 2009 was a win, as she defeated Sandra Záhlavová 7–6⁽⁶⁾, 6–3 to take the 11th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge in Dubai.[11] Kulikova ended the year ranked at 138.

In 2010 Kulikova came through to qualify for the first time at the Australian Open. In the first round she lost to Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová 7–6⁽⁵⁾, 6–7⁽¹⁰⁾, 6–3 in four hours and nineteen minutes, which was the second-longest women's singles match in the Open Era.[12]

Ranked 99 in the world, Kulikova entered one of the biggest events of the year at the 2010 Dubai Tennis Championships and had a tremendous run by reaching the quarter–finals. She qualified for the main draw by defeating Chanelle Scheepers 6–3, 6–0 and Alla Kudryavtseva 6–2, 7–5. She then reached the third round by defeating Maria Kirilenko 6–3, 6–0 and Stefanie Vögele 6–3, 6–0. In the third round she came from a set down and a 1–4 third set deficit to defeat World No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova 5–7, 7–6⁽²⁾, 6–4.[2] She then lost in three sets to World No. 9 Agnieszka Radwańska in the quarterfinals with a score of 3–6, 6–4, 6–3. Due to her success, she jumped 31 places in the WTA rankings to a career high of No. 68.

Hoping to continue her recent good form, Kulikova entered the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. In the qualifying rounds she lost just 3 games, defeating Sharon Fichman 6–0, 6–1 and Kathrin Wörle 6–1, 6–1 to enter the main draw. She was then defeated by World No. 55 Roberta Vinci 3–6, 6–3, 6–4 in the first round. In the first set, Kulikova came back from 0–3 to win it 6–3 and attempted to launch a comeback from 1–5 in the third set and managed to get to 4–5 30–00 but could not push for the win.

She then entered the main draw of the 2010 Barcelona Ladies Open and defeated 8th seed Lucie Šafářová in the first round 6–3, 7–6⁽⁴⁾. She was then defeated by unseeded Timea Bacsinszky in the second round 2–6, 6–2, 6–3. Despite an early loss, she rose to a new career high of No. 66.

After a short break, Kulikova resumed her clay court season with a direct entry into the 2010 Internationaux de Strasbourg. She was defeated by top seed Maria Sharapova in the first round 6–3, 3–6, 6–1.

Due to her ranking, Kulikova then competed in the main draw of the French Open without having to qualify. She drew 17th seed Francesca Schiavone in the first round and despite much determination, she was unable to beat the Italian, losing 5–7, 6–3, 6–4, the only player to take a set off the eventual champion in the tournament.