Tzipora Obziler


Tzipora "Tzipi" Obziler (Hebrew: ציפורה אובזילר‎) (born April 19, 1973) is a former Israeli professional right-handed tennis player.

Tzipora Obziler
Country (sports) Israel
ResidenceGivatayim, Israel
Born (1973-04-19) April 19, 1973
Givatayim, Israel
Height1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Turned proApril 1997
RetiredAugust 2009
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$530,572
Singles
Career record370–229
Career titles0 WTA, 14 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 75 (July 9, 2007)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open2R (2004, 2005)
French Open2R (2007)
Wimbledon1R (2007, 2008)
US Open2R (2004)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games1R (2008)
Doubles
Career record151–111
Career titles0 WTA, 14 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 149 (April 10, 2000)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open1R (2008)
French Open1R (2007)
Wimbledon1R (2007)
Other doubles tournaments
Olympic Games1R (2008)

She reached her career-high singles world ranking of No. 75 in on July 8, 2007, and career-high doubles ranking of No. 149 on April 10, 2000.

In Federation Cup she is a shared world record holder for most ties played, at 61.

Early and personal life

She was born in Givatayim, Israel, and is Jewish.[1]

Obziler speaks Hebrew and English.[2] After graduating from high school, she served two years in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF; the Israeli Army).[2] Obziler is a computer BA graduate from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.[2]

She and her girlfriend Hadas have a daughter together.[3][4][5] Obziler took a break from professional tennis when the baby was born, and came back to play in 2008.

Tennis career

She won 13 singles and 13 doubles titles on the ITF circuit.[2] Despite her late run, she played her best tennis over the last few years and qualified for several grand slam events.

She started playing tennis at age 10, with friends.[2] In 1997 she won ITF tournaments in singles in Jaffa and Antalya. In 1998 she repeated in Jaffa. In 1999 she won in Guimaraes, Portugal, and Azemeis, Portugal, and two tournaments in Istanbul, Turkey. In 2000, she won tournaments in Ashkelon and Beersheba in Israel.[2]

In 2002, she won in Mumbai, India, and Nonthaburi, Thailand. In November she defeated world # 62 Emmanuelle Gagliardi of Switzerland in France. In 2003 in India she had an upset win over world No. 36 Elena Likhovtseva of Russia in straight sets.[2]

In 2004, she played world # 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne in the US Open, winning a set but losing in the second round. In 2005, she won both the singles and doubles (with Shahar Pe'er) titles in Raanana, Israel. She also upset world No. 47 Émilie Loit of France in the Australian Open in two sets.[2]

In 2006, she managed to get further than the 2nd-round of a WTA event in her first event of the year at Auckland and at Guangzhou in late September. In Auckland, she reached the quarterfinals with two good wins over Jamea Jackson and the 5th-seeded world No. 27 Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia, before falling to Daniela Hantuchová. In Guangzhou, she reached the semifinals of the tournament, along the way defeating world No. 51 Elena Vesnina of Russia and world No. 20 Li Na of China, before falling to the 4th-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues in three sets.[2]

Other than that, she qualified for the Australian Open and various WTA tour events, she won an ITF title in Washington, DC, and finally an ITF doubles title in Antalya-Manavgat partnering Romina Oprandi.[2]

In 2007, she beat 56th-ranked Aiko Nakamura of Japan in the round of 16 of the Pattaya City tournament in Thailand. She also made it to the semifinals in Bangalore and Patras. In August at the US Open she lost in the first round to world No. 86 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark. On September 30, 2007, she reached her first final on the WTA Tour, in which she lost to Virginie Razzano at the Guangzhou International Women's Open.[2]

She represented Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, in both singles and (with Shahar Pe'er) doubles.[6]

On August 13, 2009, Obziler convened a press conference to announce her retirement from professional tennis.[7]

Federation Cup

Obziler was 48–30 in Federation Cup matches for the Israel Fed Cup team between 1994 and 2007, including wins in 12 of her most recent 13 matches.[8] Obziler was part of Israel's Federation Cup team that won 10 ties in a row to reach the competition's quarterfinals in 2008 – Israel's greatest Federation Cup achievement in history. Obziler currently holds the world record for most Federation Cup Ties Played, at 61. She shares the record with compatriot Anna Smashnova.

WTA career finals

Singles: 1 (0–1)
Legend: Before 2009Legend: Starting in 2009
Grand Slam tournaments (0/0)
WTA Championships (0/0)
Tier I (0/0) Premier Mandatory (0/0)
Tier II (0/0) Premier 5 (0/0)
Tier III (0/0) Premier (0/0)
Tier IV & V (0/0) International (0/1)
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. Sep 2007 Guangzhou International Women's Open, Guangzhou, China Hard Virginie Razzano 0–6, 3–6

ITF Singles Circuit finals: 25 (14–11)
$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up 1. 5 November 1990 Ashkelon, Israel Clay Ilana Berger 1–6, 3–6
Runner-up 2. 14 September 1992 Haifa, Israel Hard Yael Segal 3–6, 2–6
Runner-up 3. 29 August 1994 Haifa, Israel Hard Hila Rosen 1–6, 5–7
Runner-up 4. 5 June 1995 Haifa, Israel Hard Nelly Barkan 2–6, 2–6
Winner 5. 24 February 1997 Jaffa, Israel Hard Nóra Köves 7–5, 6–4
Winner 6. 2 June 1997 Antalya, Turkey Hard Gülberk Gültekin 6–0, 6–4
Runner-up 7. 17 November 1997 Jaffa, Israel Hard Anna Smashnova 3–6, 2–6
Runner-up 8. 14 December 1997 Ismailia, Egypt Clay Selima Sfar 7–5, 5–7, 4–6
Winner 9. 16 March 1998 Jaffa, Israel Hard Nadejda Ostrovskaya 6–3, 6–3
Runner-up 10. 1 June 1998 Tashkent, Uzbekistan Hard Patricia Wartusch 3–6, 2–6
Winner 11. 24 May 1999 Guimarães, Portugal Hard Paula Hermida 6–0, 6–4
Winner 12. 30 May 1999 Oliveira de Azeméis, Portugal Hard Raluca Ciochină 6–1, 6–1
Winner 13. 21 June 1999 İstanbul, Turkey Hard Daniela Cocos 6–0, 6–2
Runner-up 14. 26 July 1999 Edinburgh, United Kingdom Clay Petra Mandula 0–6, 6–4, 5–7
Winner 15. 8 August 1999 İstanbul, Turkey Hard Nadejda Ostrovskaya 6–0, 7–5
Winner 16. 30 October 2000 Ashkelon, Israel Hard Tetiana Luzhanska 4–1, 1–3, 4–1, 4–1
Winner 17. 20 November 2000 Beersheba, Israel Hard Yevgenia Savransky 4–1, 4–0, 2–4, 4–0
Runner-up 18. 7 July 2002 Los Gatos, United States Hard Ashley Harkleroad 2–6, 2–6
Winner 19. 24 November 2002 Mumbai, India Hard Adriana Barna 6–2, 6–2
Winner 20. 1 December 2002 Nonthaburi, Thailand Hard Ivana Abramović 6–4, 6–4
Runner-up 21. 6 April 2004 Dinan, France Clay (i) Timea Bacsinszky 2–6, 1–6
Winner 22. 30 May 2005 Ra'anana, Israel Hard Margalita Chakhnashvili 6–0, 6–2
Runner-up 23. 5 December 2005 Ra'anana, Israel Hard Margalita Chakhnashvili 3–6, 5–7
Winner 24. 1 August 2006 Washington, United States Hard Camille Pin 7–5, 2–5 ret.
Winner 25. 17 March 2008 Tenerife, Spain Hard Carla Suárez Navarro 6–2, 6–3

ITF Doubles Circuit finals: 27 (14–13)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents in the final Score in the final
Runner-up 1. 17 May 1993 Tortosa, Spain Clay Limor Zaltz Maria Inés Araiz
María Fernanda Landa		 6–4, 3–6, 4–6
Runner-up 2. 31 May 1993 Cáceres, Spain Hard Limor Zaltz Eleni Rossides
Heidi Sprung		 6–0, 2–6, 2–6
Runner-up 3. 9 August 1993 College Park, United States Hard Limor Zaltz Susan Gilchrist
Vickie Paynter		 2–6, 3–6
Runner-up 4. 22 August 1993 Haifa, Israel Hard Nataly Cahana Shiri Burstein
Hila Rosen		 0–6, 4–6
Runner-up 5. 29 August 1993 Haifa, Israel Hard Nataly Cahana Shiri Burstein
Hila Rosen		 5–7, 5–7
Runner–up 6. 10 October 1994 Burgdorf, Switzerland Carpet (i) Ilana Berger Lenka Cenková
Adriana Gerši		 6–4, 3–6, 4–6
Runner–up 7. 11 March 1996 Tel Aviv, Israel Hard Limor Gabai Shiri Burstein
Hila Rosen		 3–6, 6–7(2–7)
Runner–up 8. 20 April 1997 Bari, Italy Clay Anna Smashnova Sandra Načuk
Dragana Zarić		 4–6, 2–6
Runner–up 9. 17 November 1997 Jaffa, Israel Hard Anna Smashnova Nataly Cahana
Maaike Koutstaal		 2–6, 1–6
Runner–up 10. 3 May 1999 Beersheba, Israel Hard Nataly Cahana Nadejda Ostrovskaya
Tatiana Poutchek		 1–6, 4–6
Winner 11. 24 May 1999 Guimarães, Portugal Hard Kelly Liggan Sabina da Ponte
Giana Gutiérrez		 6–3, 6–1
Winner 12. 31 May 1999 Azeméis, Portugal Hard Kelly Liggan Mariana Mesa
Jorgelina Torti		 6–4, 4–6, 7–6(8–6)
Winner 13. 19 July 1999 Dublin, Ireland Carpet Surina De Beer Hannah Collin
Tina Hergold		 7–5, 4–6, 6–2
Winner 14. 1 November 1999 Jaffa, Israel Hard Hila Rosen Kristie Boogert
Michelle Gerards		 6–4, 1–6, 6–4
Runner-up 15. 14 February 2000 Midland, United States Hard (i) Surina De Beer Nannie de Villiers
Rika Hiraki		 1–6, 6–1, 1–6
Winner 16. 27 March 2000 Norcross, United States Hard Julia Abe Jessica Steck
Lindsay Lee-Waters		 5–7, 7–6(9–7), 6–4
Winner 17. 19 May 2002 Tel Aviv, Israel Hard Hila Rosen Lauren Breadmore
Natalie Neri		 4–6, 6–3, 6–2
Winner 18. 1 December 2002 Mumbai, India Hard Katarina Mišić Shelley Stephens
Scarlett Werner		 6–3, 4–6, 7–5
Winner 19. 8 November 2004 Ramat HaSharon, Israel Hard Danielle Steinberg Pemra Özgen
Gabriela Velasco Andreu		 7–5, 6–3
Winner 20. 21 November 2004 Deauville, France Clay Virág Németh Vanessa Henke
Květa Peschke		 6–4, 6–1
Winner 21. 5 December 2004 Ra'anana, Israel Hard Shahar Pe'er Bahia Mouhtassine
İpek Şenoğlu		 6–3, 6–0
Winner 22. 30 May 2005 Ra'anana, Israel Hard Shahar Pe'er Daniela Klemenschits
Sandra Klemenschits		 7–6(7–2), 1–6, 6–2
Winner 23. 7 May 2006 Antalya, Turkey Clay Romina Oprandi Matea Mezak
İpek Şenoğlu		 4–6, 6–4, 6–0
Runner-up 24. 18 November 2006 Deauville, France Clay (i) Silvia Disderi Yuliya Beygelzimer
Yuliana Fedak		 5–7, 4–6
Winner 25. 19 March 2007 Ra'anana, Israel Hard Evgenia Linetskaya Martina Babáková
Veronica Spiegel		 6–1, 6–2
Runner-up 26. 17 March 2008 Tenerife, Spain Hard Mervana Jugić-Salkić Julie Coin
Violette Huck		 4–6, 3–6
Winner 27. 31 March 2008 Patras, Greece Clay Anastasiya Yakimova María José Martínez Sánchez
Arantxa Parra Santonja		 7–5, 6–1

See also

References
  1. "Jews in the Olympics: 63 Athletes, 7 Countries". Jewishinstlouis.org. Archived from the original on April 7, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  2. Tzipora Obziler | WTA Tennis
  3. Tzipora Obziler
  4. Tzipora Obziler cuelga la raqueta... pero la descolgará para jugar en Fed Cup: En su palmarés tiene 28 títulos ITF (14 en individuales y 14 en dobles) · Disputó los Juegos Olímpicos de Pekín 2008 con Israel · Confesó abiertamente su homosexualidad y tiene junto a su pareja (Hadas) una hija de dos años (Lihi)
  5. OBZILER CALLS TIME ON CAREER: The late-blooming Israeli and Fed Cup stalwart is looking forward to family life and civic duties.
  6. Tzipora Obziler Bio, Stats, and Results | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com
  7. Hipsh, Rami (August 13, 2009). "Tennis / Dudi Sela stumbles, Andy Ram advances, Obziler set to retire". Haaretz. Retrieved August 13, 2009.
  8. http://www.fedcup.com/en/players/player/profile.aspx?playerid=20004418
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