Schiavone Francesca, whose biography is presented in this article, is one of the most famous Italian tennis players. In addition to winning the Grand Slam tournament, an athlete in the national team of her country won the Federation Cup three times.
Sports career
Francesca Schiavone was born in 1980 in the Italian city of Milan. For the first time, a girl took a tennis racket at ten, and it was “love at first sight”.
At the professional tennis competitions held under the auspices of the WTA (Women's Tennis Association), Schiavone made her debut in 1999. At that time, she was listed in the ranking of the best athletes of the world in this sport under the number 184. A year later, Francesca fell into the top 100, and in 2001 she became the 30th racket of the world.
Despite the fact that the young Italian woman did not perform very well at Grand Slam tournaments, many started talking about her. Especially fans were attracted by the unusual style of playing backhand. Francesca Schiavone is one of the few tennis players who perform this hit with one hand.
Court Achievements
The first serious success came to the athlete in 2006. Francesca Schiavone as part of the Italian team defeated Justine Henin, one of the most powerful rackets of the world at that time, and her team was able to snatch victory in the Federation Cup from Belgium.
Three years later, history repeated itself. The Italians from Schiavone again become the winners of the most prestigious international tennis tournament, this time winning the US team. And next year they successfully defended this title.
In singles, the first serious successes came to the Italian in 2003. Francesca Schiavone managed to reach the quarter finals of the Grand Slam tournament - US Open. After 6 years, she repeats this achievement on the courts of Wimbledon.
However, the most successful for Schiavone was 2010. In addition to the quarter-finals of the US Open, 30-year-old Francesca fulfilled her sports dream - she won the Grand Slam tournament. Moreover, she became the first Italian who managed to do this.
On the courts of “Roland Garros” Francesca Schiavone defeated the favorite of the meeting Samantha Stosur from Australia in the final. This victory allowed the Italian to rise to sixth place in the ranking of the best tennis players on the planet.
The following year, Schiavone reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, while improving her position in the world ranking. On January 31, Francesca set a new record for herself and Italy - she became the 4th racket of the world.
Since 2001, Schiavone has performed not only in singles, but also in doubles. In 2006, together with Czech Kveta Peshke, she made it to the semifinals of the US Open. Two years later, paired with Australian Casey Delacqua Schiavone became a finalist on the courts of Roland Garros.
Two more times - in 2009 and 2012 - Francesca became a semi-finalist in Grand Slam tournaments in doubles.
Athlete’s personal life
Schiavone Francesca, tennis for which is in the first place, tries to carefully hide his personal life. Journalists still have not been able to find out if the heart of a charming Italian is occupied.
As Francesca herself admitted, she keeps a diary and writes prose. She is also a real fan of football and very closely monitors the games of her beloved and dear to her club - Inter Milan.