Anke Huber

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Anke Huber
Anke Huber.JPG
Country (sports)Flag of Germany.svg Germany
Residence Ludwigshafen, Germany
Born (1974-12-04) 4 December 1974 (age 49)
Bruchsal, West Germany
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Turned pro1989
Retired31 October 2001
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$4,768,292
Singles
Career record447–225 (66.5%)
Career titles12 WTA, 2 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 4 (14 October 1996)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open F (1996)
French Open SF (1993)
Wimbledon 4R (1991, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2001)
US Open QF (1999, 2000)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals F (1995)
Olympic Games QF (1992)
Doubles
Career record130–129
Career titles1
Highest rankingNo. 23 (9 February 1998)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open 3R (1996, 1997, 1998)
French Open SF (1992)
Wimbledon 3R (1992, 2000)
US Open QF (2000)
Team competitions
Fed Cup W (1992)
Hopman Cup W (1995 with Boris Becker)

Anke Huber (born 4 December 1974) is a German retired professional tennis player. She was the runner-up in women's singles at the 1996 Australian Open and the 1995 WTA Finals. Huber won 12 singles and one doubles title on the WTA Tour. She finished inside the top 20 for 10 seasons and achieved a career-high ranking of four in October 1996.

Contents

Early life

Huber was born in Bruchsal, Baden-Württemberg. She started playing tennis at the age of 7 after being introduced to the game by her father Edgar. In junior competition, she won the under-12 German Championships in 1986, the under-14s in 1987, the under-16s in 1988, and the European Championships in 1989. She was also a semifinalist at Wimbledon's junior tournament in 1990. [1]

Career

Huber made her Grand Slam tournament debut at the 1990 Australian Open, a year before she graduated from high school. After defeating Maider Laval and Elise Burgin, she was defeated in the third round by 13th-seeded Raffaella Reggi. In August 1990, she defeated Marianne Werdel Witmeyer to win the Schenectady tournament, a warm-up for the US Open. Jennifer Capriati then defeated Huber in the first round of that tournament 7–5, 7–5. Huber was the runner-up in her next event, losing in Bayonne to Nathalie Tauziat in straight sets. She finished 1990 ranked world No. 34.

Huber became Germany's top female tennis player upon Steffi Graf's retirement in 1999. Two years later, Huber retired, citing a persistent ankle injury and the desire for a "normal life" as the reasons for her retirement. She planned to quit after the 2002 Australian Open, her favorite tournament, but changed her mind when she unexpectedly qualified for the year-ending Sanex Championships in Germany. "I thought there's nothing better than to celebrate saying goodbye in front of the home fans in your own country", said Huber. Huber's final match took place on 31 October 2001 against Justine Henin, which she lost 6–1, 6–2.

During her 12-year career, Huber reached 23 singles finals (winning 12 of them), 29 singles semifinals, and 50 singles quarterfinals. Her career record in singles was 447–225, and she earnedUS$4,768,292 in career prize money.

Huber represented her country at three levels: the Olympic Games in 1992 in Barcelona and in 1996 in Atlanta; the Fed Cup from 1990 through 1998 and in 2000 and 2001, helping Germany to victory in 1992 by beating Spain's Conchita Martínez in the final; and the Hopman Cup, which she won with Boris Becker in 1995.

Although she did not win a Grand Slam title, Huber felt proud of her accomplishments, especially because she had to walk in Graf's footsteps. "I recognised pretty early on that I would never have her success, but I was still always measured against her", she said. "So, whenever I got into the quarterfinals or the semis of a Grand Slam tournament, it counted for nothing. Sometimes it was good to have her because she drew the attention away from me...On the other side, there was always the pressure to be the second Steffi Graf."

In 2002, Huber accepted a role with the German Tennis Federation and became the co-tournament director for the annual Porsche Tennis Grand Prix WTA tournament in Filderstadt, Germany.

Personal life

In April 2005, Huber gave birth to her first child, a boy, with her partner Roger Wittmann. A second, a girl, followed in October 2006. [2] [3]

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Singles: (1 runner–up)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss 1996 Australian Open Hard Flag of the United States.svg Monica Seles 4–6, 1–6

Year-End Championships finals

Singles: (1 runner–up)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss 1995 New York CityCarpet (I) Flag of Germany.svg Steffi Graf 1–6, 6–2, 1–6, 6–4, 3–6

WTA Tour finals

Singles: 23 (12–11)

Winner – Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–1)
WTA Tour Championships (0–1)
Tier I (1–1)
Tier II (4–6)
Tier III (4–1)
Tier IV (2–0)
Tier V (1–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–6)
Grass (1–0)
Clay (4–1)
Carpet (5–4)
ResultW/LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–0 Aug 1990 Schenectady, U.S.Tier VHard Flag of the United States.svg Marianne Werdel 6–1, 5–7, 6–4
Loss1–1Sep 1990 Bayonne, FranceTier VHard (i) Flag of France.svg Nathalie Tauziat 3–6, 6–7(8–10)
Win2–1 Oct 1991 Filderstadt , GermanyTier IICarpet (i) Flag of the United States.svg Martina Navratilova 2–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–4)
Loss2–2 Jan 1993 Sydney, AustraliaTier IIHard Flag of the United States.svg Jennifer Capriati 1–6, 4–6
Win3–2Jul 1993 Kitzbühel, AustriaTier IIIClay Flag of Austria.svg Judith Wiesner 6–4, 6–1
Loss3–3 Oct 1993 Brighton, UKTier IICarpet (i) Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Jana Novotná 2–6, 4–6
Win4–3Jul 1994 Styria, AustriaTier IVClay Flag of Austria.svg Judith Wiesner 6–3, 6–3
Win5–3 Oct 1994 Filderstadt, GermanyTier IIHard (i) Flag of France.svg Mary Pierce 6–4, 6–2
Win6–3 Nov 1994 Philadelphia, U.S.Tier ICarpet (i) Flag of France.svg Mary Pierce 6–0, 6–7(4–7), 7–5
Win7–3 Sep 1995 Leipzig, GermanyTier IICarpet (i) Flag of Bulgaria.svg Magdalena Maleeva w/o
Loss7–4 Nov 1995 WTA Tour Championships, U.S.Tour finalCarpet (i) Flag of Germany.svg Steffi Graf 1–6, 6–2, 1–6, 6–4, 3–6
Loss7–5 Jan 1996 Australian Open G. SlamHard Flag of the United States.svg Monica Seles 4–6, 1–6
Win8–5 Jun 1996 Rosmalen, NetherlandsTier IIIGrass Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Helena Suková 6–4, 7–6(7–2)
Loss8–6 Aug 1996 Los Angeles, U.S.Tier IIHard Flag of the United States.svg Lindsay Davenport 2–6, 3–6
Win9–6 Sep 1996 Leipzig, GermanyTier IICarpet (i) Flag of Croatia.svg Iva Majoli 5–7, 6–3, 6–1
Loss9–7 Oct 1996 Filderstadt, GermanyTier IIHard (i) Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Martina Hingis 2–6, 6–3, 3–6
Win10–7 Oct 1996 Luxembourg Tier IIICarpet (i) Flag of Slovakia.svg Karina Habšudová 6–3, 6–0
Loss10–8 Feb 1997 Paris, FranceTier IICarpet (i) Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Martina Hingis 3–6, 6–3, 3–6
Loss10–9 Aug 1997 Toronto, CanadaTier IHard Flag of the United States.svg Monica Seles 2–6, 4–6
Win11–9 Apr 2000 Estoril, PortugalTier IVClay Flag of France.svg Nathalie Dechy 6–2, 1–6, 7–5
Win12–9 Jul 2000 Sopot, PolandTier IIIClay Flag of Spain.svg Gala León García 7–6(7–4), 6–3
Loss12–10 Feb 2001 Paris, FranceTier IICarpet (i) Flag of France.svg Amélie Mauresmo 6–7(2–7), 1–6
Loss12–11 May 2001 Strasbourg, FranceTier IIIClay Flag of Italy.svg Silvia Farina Elia 5–7, 6–0, 4–6

Doubles: 4 (1–3)

Winner – Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Tier I (0–1)
Tier II (1–2)
Tier III (0–0)
Tier IV (0–0)
Tier V (0–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–2)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (1–0)
Carpet (0–1)
ResultW/LDateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss0–1 Oct 1993 Brighton, UKCarpet (i) Flag of Latvia.svg Larisa Neiland Flag of Italy.svg Laura Golarsa
Flag of Ukraine.svg Natalia Medvedeva
3–6, 6–1, 4–6
Win1–1 Apr 1997 Hamburg, GermanyClay Flag of France.svg Mary Pierce Flag of Romania.svg Ruxandra Dragomir
Flag of Croatia.svg Iva Majoli
2–6, 7–6(7–1), 6–2
Loss1–2 Jan 1999 Sydney, AustraliaHard Flag of the United States.svg Mary Joe Fernández Flag of Russia.svg Elena Likhovtseva
Flag of Japan.svg Ai Sugiyama
3–6, 6–2, 0–6
Loss1–3 Oct 1999 Moscow, RussiaCarpet (i) Flag of France.svg Julie Halard-Decugis Flag of the United States.svg Lisa Raymond
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Rennae Stubbs
1–6, 0–6

ITF finals

Singles (2–0)

Legend
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
OutcomeNo.DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Winner1.29 May 1989Katowice, PolandClay Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Nora Bajčíková 6–1, 6–2
Winner2.26 November 1989Bulleen, AustraliaHard Flag of Australia (converted).svg Rennae Stubbs 6–4, 6–1

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Key
W F SFQF#RRRQ#DNQANH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Tournament 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Career SR
Australian Open A 3R QF QF 4R 3R 4R F 4R SF 2R 1R A0 / 11
French Open AA 3R 2R SF 4R 4R 4R 1R AA 4R 2R 0 / 9
Wimbledon A 2R 4R 3R 4R 2R 4R 3R 3R A 1R 4R 4R 0 / 11
US Open A 1R 2R 1R 3R 2R 4R 1R 3R 1R QF QF 3R 0 / 12
SR0 / 00 / 30 / 40 / 40 / 40 / 40 / 40 / 40 / 40 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 30 / 43
Year-end ranking20337141110121071421161918

Head-to-head record against other players in the top 10

Players who have been ranked world No. 1 are in boldface.

See also

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References

  1. John Barrett, ed. (1997). International Tennis Federation World of Tennis 1997. London: CollinsWillow. pp. 328–329. ISBN   9780002187145.
  2. http://de.news.yahoo.com/12072006/336/laquo-meine-familie-steht-absolut-mittelpunkt-raquo.html%5B%5D (in German)
  3. "Anke Huber wieder Mutter - Bild.T-Online.de". Archived from the original on 23 October 2006. Retrieved 19 October 2006. (in German)