Astra Sharma

Astra Sharma

Sharma at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships
Country (sports)	Australia
Residence	Perth, Western Australia
Born	(1995-09-11) 11 September 1995 (age 29) Singapore [1]
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Plays	Right (two-handed backhand)
Coach	David Taylor
Prize money	US$ 1,811,296
Singles
Career record	222–156
Career titles	1
Highest ranking	No. 84 (21 February 2022)
Current ranking	No. 151 (15 July 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	2R (2019)
French Open	2R (2020, 2021)
Wimbledon	1R (2019, 2021, 2022)
US Open	1R (2019, 2020, 2021)
Doubles
Career record	110–88
Career titles	3
Highest ranking	No. 91 (21 February 2022)
Current ranking	No. 346 (15 July 2024)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	1R (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024)
French Open	1R (2019, 2020, 2021)
Wimbledon	2R (2019)
US Open	1R (2021)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	F (2019)
Last updated on: 20 July 2024.

Astra Sharma (born 11 September 1995) is an Australian professional tennis player. She has career-high WTA rankings of 84 in singles and 91 in doubles. Sharma has won one singles title and three doubles titles on the WTA Tour. In addition, she has won one singles title on the WTA Challenger Tour as well as eight titles in singles and seven in doubles on the ITF Circuit.

In December 2017, she won the Australian Open Wildcard Playoff alongside Belinda Woolcock, their main-draw entry into the 2018 Australian Open.

At the 2019 Australian Open, she and fellow Australian John-Patrick Smith reached the final of the mixed-doubles competition after receiving a wildcard to enter the main draw.

Early life

Sharma's father, Devdutt Sharma, is a Singaporean Indian with roots from Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Northern India. ^[2] He was a high jumper. ^[3] He attended Raffles Institution and National University of Singapore. ^[3] He worked as an acoustic engineer. ^[3] Astra's mother, Susan Tan, is a Singaporean Chinese. She was a sprinter from CHIJ Saint Theresa's Convent. ^[3] Astra, named after the Astras wielded by the Hindu gods, has a younger brother Astron who also went into a tennis career. ^[2]

Astra was born and raised in Singapore, before her parents emigrated to Perth, Western Australia in 2005, when she was ten years old. ^[4] She attended Applecross Senior High School. ^[5] As a junior, she did some training at Bull Creek Tennis Club, near Willetton.

Career

2011–2014: Career beginnings

Sharma made her ITF Circuit debut in October 2011, after qualifying in Kargoorlie. In 2012, Sharma played just four tournaments, without a win. In March 2013, she reached the quarterfinals in doubles at an ITF event in Sydney. In 2014, she competed in qualifying in three tournaments across the U.S., making the main draw in just one, where she lost in the first round.

In 2015, Sharma played just three tournaments on the ITF Circuit, reaching the quarterfinal or better in all three. She won her first title in July 2015 at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Sharma ended the season with a singles rank of 787. She also received a scholarship to Vanderbilt University, graduating in 2018, majoring in medicine, Health and Society, along the way helping the Commodores win their first NCAA team tournament in 2015, with various honors such as a selection to the 2014 SEC All Freshman team and being the 2017 SEC Player of the Year. ^[6] Originally intent on becoming an orthopedic surgeon, she decided not to continue in medical school as her professional tennis career took off. ^[7] Still in 2022, she used a partnership between the WTA and the University of Florida to earn a Master's degree in Applied Physiology and Kinesiology. ^[8]

2016–2018: ITF Circuit

In 2016, Sharma competed on the European ITF Circuit. She experienced little singles success but partnering Frances Altick, won two doubles titles in July.

She commenced the next season in June, qualifying and making the main draw in Sumter, USA. Across July and August 2017, Sharma won her second and third ITF titles in Târgu Jiu and Graz. She ended the year with a singles rank of 440.

In 2018, Sharma competed mostly on ITF events across North America. In March, she reached the final of the ITF Orlando. In June and July, she won her fourth and fifth singles titles in Baton Rouge and Gatineau, Canada. In October, she returned to Australia and reached the quarterfinals in three consecrative tournaments. Sharma ended 2018 with a singles rank of 225.

2019: First WTA Tour final

In January 2019, Sharma qualified for the Australian Open and won her first-round match over fellow Australian Priscilla Hon, before losing in the second round. ^[9] In mixed doubles, she and John-Patrick Smith made it through to the final, after they defeated the second seed team of Bruno Soares and Nicole Melichar in the semifinals, but lost to the third seeds, Barbora Krejčíková and Rajeev Ram. ^[10] In March, Sharma won the $25k singles and doubles at Irapuato, Mexico. In April, Sharma reached her first WTA Tour final, losing to Amanda Anisimova at the Copa Colsanitas. In May, she qualified for and reached the second round of the Strasbourg International, and later lost in the first round at the French Open. Sharma competed in qualifying events across the European grass-court season and lost in the first round of Wimbledon. In August, she travelled to North America and qualified for Cincinnati. At the US Open, Sharma lost in the first round. She ended the year with a singles rank of 108, and a doubles rank of 136.

2020: French Open match win

Sharma started 2020, losing in the singles and doubles first rounds of both Hobart International and Australian Open. For the mixed doubles, she partnered again with John-Patrick Smith, and they reached the semifinals in Melbourne. In March, Sharma reached the second round of the Monterrey Open and the quarterfinal of the ITF event in Irapuato, Mexico, before the tour was stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[11]

At the US Open, Sharma lost in the first round to 19th seed Dayana Yastremska in a third set tie-breaker.

She qualified for the French Open and reached the second round of this year's much later held event.

2021: WTA Tour title, rank No. 98

Sharma defeated top seed Ons Jabeur to win the Charleston Open, her first career title. ^[12]

In May, she made the second round of the French Open for a second consecutive year. In June, she entered Wimbledon as a lucky loser and was defeated by Kristýna Plíšková in the first round.^{[ citation needed ]}

At the US Open, she qualified before losing to eighth seed Barbora Krejčíková in the first round.^{[ citation needed ]} In October, she reached the second round at the Indian Wells Open.^{[ citation needed ]}

Sharma ended 2021 with a singles ranking of 98, a career year-end high, and a doubles ranking of world No. 107.^{[ citation needed ]}

2022–2024

In 2022, Sharma reached the second round at Indian Wells with a win over Magda Linette, ^[13] before losing to 13th seed Victoria Azarenka. ^[14]

In 2024, she entered the Charleston Open as a lucky loser and defeated compatriot Arina Rodionova ^[15] and 16th seed Lesia Tsurenko ^[16] to reach the round of 16 where she lost to third seed Maria Sakkari. ^[17]

Partnering Veronika Erjavec, Sharma was runner-up in the doubles at the WTA 125 2024 Canberra Tennis International, losing to Veronika Erjavec and Darja Semeņistaja in the final. ^[18]

Performance timelines

Key

W

F

SF

QF

#R

RR

Q#

P#

DNQ

A

Z#

PO

G

S

B

NMS

NTI

P

NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Billie Jean King Cup, United Cup, Hopman Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records. ^[19]

Singles

Current through the 2024 US Open.

Tournament	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	SR	W–L	Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	2R	1R	1R	1R	Q2	Q2	0 / 4	1–4	20%
French Open	1R	2R	2R	1R	A	Q3	0 / 4	2–4	33%
Wimbledon	1R	NH	1R	1R	A	Q1	0 / 3	0–3	0%
US Open	1R	1R	1R	Q3	Q1	Q2	0 / 3	0–3	0%
Win–loss	1–4	1–3	1–4	0–3	0–0	0–0	0 / 14	3–14	18%
WTA 1000
Dubai / Qatar Open [a]	A	A	A	Q1	A	A	0 / 0	0–0	–
Indian Wells Open	A	NH	2R	2R	A	A	0 / 2	2–2	50%
Miami Open	A	NH	Q1	1R	A	A	0 / 1	0–1	0%
Madrid Open	A	NH	A	A	A	Q2	0 / 0	0–0	–
Italian Open	A	A	A	A	A	Q1	0 / 0	0–0	–
Canadian Open	Q1	NH	Q1	A	A	A	0 / 0	0–0	–
Cincinnati Open	1R	Q2	Q1	A	A		0 / 1	0–1	0%
Wuhan Open	A	NH			A		0 / 0	0–0	–
China Open	Q1	NH			A		0 / 0	0–0	–
Guadalajara Open	NH			A	A		0 / 0	0–0	–
Career statistics
Tournaments	10	5	12	11	1	0	Career total: 39
Titles	0	0	1	0	0	0	Career total: 1
Finals	1	0	1	0	0	0	Career total: 2
Overall win–loss	7–10	2–5	12–11	3–11	0–1	0–0	1 / 39	24–39	38%
Year-end ranking	108	128	96	231	120		$1,599,235

Doubles

Current through the 2024 French Open.

Tournament	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	SR	W–L	Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	1R	1R	1R	1R	A	1R	1R	0 / 6	0–6	0%
French Open	A	1R	1R	1R	A	A	A	0 / 3	0–3	0%
Wimbledon	A	2R	NH	A	1R	A	A	0 / 2	1–2	33%
US Open	A	A	A	1R	A	A		0 / 1	0–1	0%
Win–loss	0–1	1–3	0–2	0–3	0–1	0–1	0–1	0 / 12	1–12	8%
Career statistics
Tournaments	1	6	5	13	9	1	1	Career total: 36
Titles	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	Career total: 3
Finals	0	1	0	2	1	0	0	Career total: 4
Overall win–loss	0–1	4–5	2–5	11–12	8–8	0–1	0–1	3 / 36	25–33	44%
Year-end ranking	327	136	109	107	117	204

Mixed doubles

Tournament	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	SR	W–L	Win %
Australian Open	F	SF	1R	1R	A	0 / 4	7–4	64%
French Open	A	NH	A	A	A	0 / 0	0–0	–
Wimbledon	A	NH	A	A	A	0 / 0	0–0	–
US Open	A	NH	A	A	A	0 / 0	0–0	–
Win–loss	4–1	3–1	0–1	0–1	0–0	0 / 4	7–4	64%

Grand Slam tournament finals

Mixed doubles: 1 (runner-up)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	2019	Australian Open	Hard	John-Patrick Smith	Barbora Krejčíková Rajeev Ram	6–7(3–7), 1–6

WTA Tour finals

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

Legend Grand Slam WTA 1000 WTA 500 WTA 250 [b] (1–1)

Finals by surface Hard (0–0) Grass (0–0) Clay (1–1) Carpet (0–0)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Apr 2019	Copa Colsanitas, Colombia	International	Clay	Amanda Anisimova	6–4, 4–6, 1–6
Win	1–1	Apr 2021	Charleston Open, United States	WTA 250	Clay	Ons Jabeur	2–6, 7–5, 6–1

Doubles: 4 (3 titles, 1 runner-up)

Legend Grand Slam WTA 1000 WTA 500 WTA 250 (3–1)

Finals by surface Hard (1–0) Grass (0–0) Clay (2–1) Carpet (0–0)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1–0	Apr 2019	Copa Colsanitas, Colombia	International	Clay	Zoe Hives	Hayley Carter Ena Shibahara	6–1, 6–2
Win	2–0	Mar 2021	Abierto Zapopan, ​Mexico	WTA 250	Hard	Ellen Perez	Desirae Krawczyk Giuliana Olmos	6–4, 6–4
Loss	2–1	Jul 2021	Hamburg European Open, Germany	WTA 250	Clay	Rosalie van der Hoek	Jasmine Paolini Jil Teichmann	0–6, 4–6
Win	3–1	Apr 2022	Copa Colsanitas, Colombia (2)	WTA 250	Clay	Aldila Sutjiadi	Emina Bektas Tara Moore	4–6, 6–4, [11–9]

WTA Challenger finals

Singles: 1 (title)

Result	W-L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Sep 2023	Open Romania Ladies, Romania	Clay	Sara Errani	0–6, 7–5, 6–2

Doubles: 1 (runner-up)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Jan 2024	Canberra International, Australia	Hard	Kaylah McPhee	Veronika Erjavec Darja Semeņistaja	2–6, 4–6

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 13 (8 titles, 5 runner–ups)

Legend $60,000 tournaments (1–2) $40,000 tournaments (0–1) $25,000 tournaments (4–1) $10/15,000 tournaments (3–1)

Finals by surface Hard (6–2) Clay (2–3)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Jul 2015	ITF Sharm El Sheikh, ​Egypt	10,000	Hard	Ola Abou Zekry	6–3, 2–6, 6–0
Win	2–0	Jul 2017	ITF Târgu Jiu, ​Romania	15,000	Clay	Belinda Woolcock	1–6, 6–2, 7–5
Win	3–0	Aug 2017	ITF Graz, ​Austria	15,000	Clay	Vendula Žovincová	2–6, 6–3, 6–2
Loss	3–1	Oct 2017	ITF Toowoomba, ​Australia	25,000	Hard	Eri Hozumi	5–7, 2–6
Loss	3–2	Mar 2018	ITF Orlando, ​United States	15,000	Clay	Sophie Chang	3–6, 6–7(6–8)
Win	4–2	Jun 2018	ITF Baton Rouge, ​United States	25,000	Hard	Maria Mateas	6–2, 6–1
Win	5–2	Jul 2018	Challenger de Gatineau, ​Canada	25,000	Hard	Victoria Rodríguez	3–6, 6–4, 6–3
Win	6–2	Sep 2018	ITF Cairns, ​Australia	25,000	Hard	Destanee Aiava	0–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–1
Win	7–2	Mar 2019	ITF Irapuato, ​Mexico	25,000	Hard	Verónica Cepede Royg	6–7(3–7), 6–4, 6–3
Loss	7–3	Jun 2023	ITF Ystad, Sweden	40,000	Clay	İpek Öz	1–6, 3–6
Loss	7–4	Jul 2023	Open de Montpellier, France	60,000	Clay	Clara Burel	3–6, 5–7
Win	8–4	Oct 2023	Playford International, Australia	60,000	Hard	Joanna Garland	7–6(6), 6–0
Loss	8–5	Oct 2023	Sydney Open, Australia	60,000	Hard	Destanee Aiava	3–6, 4–6

Doubles: 12 (7 titles, 5 runner–ups)

Legend $100,000 tournaments (0–1) $80,000 tournaments (0–1) $60,000 tournaments (1–1) $40,000 tournaments (2–0) $25,000 tournaments (2–2) $10,000 tournaments (2–0)

Finals by surface Hard (2–3) Clay (5–2)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1–0	Jul 2016	ITF Amstelveen, ​Netherlands	10,000	Clay	Frances Altick	Erika Vogelsang Mandy Wagemaker	6–4, 6–2
Win	2–0	Jul 2016	ITF Knokke, ​Belgium	10,000	Clay	Frances Altick	Déborah Kerfs Kelly Versteeg	6–4, 6–4
Loss	2–1	Oct 2017	ITF Cairns, ​Australia	25,000	Hard	Belinda Woolcock	Naiktha Bains Abigail Tere-Apisah	6–4, 2–6, [6–10]
Win	3–1	Jun 2018	ITF Sumter, ​United States	25,000	Hard	Luisa Stefani	Julia Elbaba Xu Shilin	2–6, 6–3, [10–5]
Loss	3–2	Jun 2018	ITF Baton Rouge, ​United States	25,000	Hard	Gabriela Talabă	Hayley Carter Ena Shibahara	3–6, 4–6
Win	4–2	Mar 2019	ITF Irapuato, ​Mexico	25,000	Hard	Paige Hourigan	Verónica Cepede Royg Renata Voráčová	6–1, 4–6, [12–10]
Loss	4–3	Apr 2019	Dothan Pro Classic, ​United States	80,000	Clay	Destanee Aiava	Usue Maitane Arconada Caroline Dolehide	6–7(5), 4–6
Loss	4–4	Nov 2020	ITF Charleston Pro, ​United States	100,000	Clay	Mayar Sherif	Magdalena Fręch Katarzyna Kawa	6–4, 4–6, [2–10]
Win	5–4	May 2023	ITF Naples, United States	60,000	Clay	Christina Rosca	Sophie Chang Angela Kulikov	6–1, 7–6(15-13)
Win	6–4	Jun 2023	ITF Ystad, Sweden	40,000	Clay	Valeriya Strakhova	Jenny Dürst Fanny Östlund	4–6, 7–6(7–3), [11–9]
Win	7–4	Sep 2023	ITF Kuršumlijska Banja, Serbia	40,000	Clay	Valeriya Strakhova	Anastasia Gasanova Ekaterina Makarova	6–1, 6–4
Loss	7–5	Oct 2023	Playford International, Australia	60,000	Hard	Kaylah McPhee	Talia Gibson Priscilla Hon	1–6, 2-6

Notes

1. The first Premier 5 event of the year has switched back and forth between the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Ladies Open since 2009. Dubai was classified as a Premier 5 event from 2009 to 2011 before being succeeded by Doha for the 2012–2014 period. In 2015, Dubai regained its Premier 5 status while Doha was demoted to Premier status. The Premier 5 tournaments were reclassified as WTA 1000 tournaments in 2021.
2. The WTA International tournaments were reclassified as WTA 250 tournaments in 2021.

References

1. Tennis Australia. "Astra Sharma: "I'm super thrilled at my progress"".
2. Reddy, Vishnu (29 June 2019). "I chose the name 'Astra' which means the weapon of God and she has indeed lived up to that name!' – Mr Devdutt Sharma shares a brief perspective as a parent on the journey of Astra Sharma". Indian Tennis Daily.
3. Brijnath, Rohit (26 January 2019). "A Grand Slam finalist with Singapore links". The Straits Times.
4. "Australian Open: Singapore-born Astra Sharma through to mixed doubles final". The Straits Times. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
5. "Specialist Tennis Program". Applecross Senior High School. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
6. Astra Sharma: From Currey Tennis Center to the Australian Open Finals
7. Medical school? Vanderbilt star Astra Sharma is going pro in tennis after postseason
8. GAME, SET, MATCH: WTA AND UF'S WINNING PARTNERSHIP
9. "SHARMA, HIVES, BIRRELL OPEN WITH AO VICTORIES". Tennis Australia. 14 January 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
10. "'Who's got my beers?': Australian doubles delight". The Age. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
11. "ITF ANNOUNCES POSTPONEMENT OF ALL ITF EVENTS UNTIL 20 APRIL". www.itftennis.com.
12. "Sharma overcomes Jabeur in Charleston to claim first WTA singles title". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
13. "Magda Linette vs Astra Sharma". Tennis Majors. 9 November 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
14. "Indian Wells: Two-time champ Azarenka advances past lucky loser Sharma". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
15. "Lucky loser Sharma prevails in all-Aussie Charleston first round". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
16. "Lucky loser Sharma books Round of 16 spot in Charleston". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
17. "Sakkari eases past Sharma, into Charleston quarterfinals". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
18. "Champions crowned at Workday Canberra International 2024". Tennis Australia. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
19. "Astra Sharma [AUS]| Australian Open". ausopen.com. Archived from the original on 26 June 2020.

External links

• Astra Sharma at the Women's Tennis Association
• Astra Sharma at the International Tennis Federation
• Astra Sharma at Tennis Australia
• Vanderbilt University profile