Katie O'Brien

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Kate O'Brien, Katharine O'Brien, Katherine O'Brien, Kathleen O'Brien, or Cathy O'Brien.

Katie O'Brien
O'Brien in 2012
Full nameKatie Jill O'Brien
Country (sports) United Kingdom
England England
ResidenceLondon, England
Born (1986-05-02) 2 May 1986 (age 37)
Beverley, England
Height1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Turned pro2004
Retired12 August 2011[1]
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$525,141
Singles
Career record283–231
Career titles4 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 84 (1 February 2010)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open2R (2010)
French Open1R (2009, 2010)
Wimbledon2R (2007)
US OpenQ3 (2010)
Doubles
Career record101–119
Career titles2 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 174 (8 October 2007)
Grand Slam doubles results
Wimbledon1R (2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Wimbledon2R (2008)

Katie Jill O'Brien (born 2 May 1986) is a British former professional tennis player from Beverley, Yorkshire. She was briefly the British No. 1 tennis player, and reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 84 on 1 February 2010. She won four singles and two doubles titles on the ITF Circuit.

In 2007, she reached the second round of her home

Patricia Mayr to reach the second round of the Australian Open where she fell to eighth seeded Jelena Janković.[2]

Personal life

O'Brien's parents are Phil and Jill O'Brien.[3] Her father is a quantity surveyor, and her mother is a nursery school teacher.[3] Her brother James, and sister, Holly both have been awarded the Development Coach Award, a licence to coach tennis from the Lawn Tennis Association.[4]

O'Brien attended Hymers College, Hull from 1997 to 2002. She studied her A-levels at Woodhouse Grove School in Leeds from 2002 to 2004.[4] She began studying business studies with the Open University in 2008, pursuing studies while competing professionally.[5]

Career

Junior (2000–2004)

O'Brien played her first match on the ITF Junior Circuit in February 2000 and her last in June 2004. During her junior career, she won two titles—the Team Leschly Danish Junior Cup in February 2002 and the Vierumaki Junior Cup in October the same year. She also reached a total of five semifinals and three quarterfinals overall. Her best result in a junior Grand Slam tournament came in the 2003 Wimbledon Championships where she reached round three before losing to Emma Laine, 1–6, 5–7. Her career-high junior singles ranking was world No. 101, reached on 15 September 2003, and her overall win–loss record in singles was 44–34.[6]

In addition to her singles success as a junior, she also won one doubles title, lost in the final of another, reached four doubles semifinals and seven doubles quarterfinals (one of which in the 2004 Wimbledon Championships, partnering compatriot Melanie South). She reached her career–high doubles ranking of world No. 201 on 3 February 2003, and ended her junior career with a win–loss record of 17–26.[6]

2001–2004

O'Brien played her first match on the

Sunderland. She lost in the second round of qualifying for this tournament.[7]

One year later, in September 2002, she reached her first ITF quarterfinal as a qualifier in the $10k event in Sunderland and was beaten by fellow Brit Anne Keothavong, 6–0, 6–1. This was her only quarterfinal appearance in 2002 and she finished the year with a ranking of world No. 693.[7]

In 2003 she again reached only one quarterfinal, this one in the $10k tournament in Felixstowe. In every other tournament she played she either lost in the first round or the qualifying stages. As a result, her year-end ranking fell from the previous year to world No. 742.[7]

In May

world No. 1 Kim Clijsters) and was beaten 6–3, 7–5. She was given a wildcard into the main draw of her home Grand Slam, Wimbledon for the first time in her career in June 2004. She lost in the first round, 4–6, 4–6 to María Sánchez Lorenzo.[8] Following Wimbledon, she played twelve more tournaments on the ITF Circuit, reaching the final of one (Manchester, $10k), the semifinals of three of them and the quarterfinals of two more. Her end-of-year ranking was world No. 401.[7]

2005

The

Sunderland $10k, she reached the quarterfinals but was beaten by compatriot, Elena Baltacha, 6–4, 6–3. Her second quarterfinal of the year was in the $10k tournament in Oxford
.

In June, she received three wildcards into three consecutive WTA tournaments; the

DFS Classic qualifying draw, the Hastings International Championships qualifying draw and Wimbledon main draw. She failed to qualify in the first two tournaments and lost to Kim Clijsters, 2–6, 3–6, in the first round of Wimbledon.[9]

Following Wimbledon she entered the $25k tournament in

BGL-BNP Paribas Open Luxembourg where she reached the second round of qualifying. She finished the 2005 season with a ranking of world No. 263.[7]

2006

In January, O'Brien reached yet another

Sunderland before losing, 2–6, 4–6, to Anne Keothavong. She reached the semifinals of the ITF event in Fukuoka, Japan ($50k) where she was beaten by Ayumi Morita
.

She again spent June attempting to qualify for the

Hastings Direct International Championships without success. She also competed in the Wimbledon main draw but again lost in round one, beaten by Tathiana Garbin in three sets, 2–6, 7–6(2), 6–2.[10]

After this she lost to Monique Adamczak in the quarterfinals of the $25k event in Valladolid in July and she reached the final of the ITF tournament in Changsha ($25k) in August. Two consecutive $25k finals followed in September; the second of which she won. Her good form continued into October and November when she reached the quarterfinals, semifinals and quarterfinals of $25k tournaments in Glasgow, Istanbul and Jakarta respectively. Her final ranking of 2006 was world No. 193.[7]

2007

O'Brien's first tournament of the 2007 season was the qualifying event for the Australian Open where she beat Chen Yanchong in a marathon three-setter (3–6, 6–2, 8–7 ret.) to set up a second-round clash with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova which she lost. She then returned to the ITF Circuit until May. During this time she played in ten ITF tournaments, reaching the quarterfinal stages in four of them (two $50k events and two $25k events). She then attempted to qualify for the French Open but was beaten by Florence Haring, in three sets.

O'Brien's grass court season began with another ITF quarterfinal, this one in Surbiton ($25k). She then tried to qualify for the Tier III tournament, the DFS Classic but was beaten in another tough three set match, 7–6, 5–7, 7–6, by compatriot Sarah Borwell. O'Brien had more success trying to qualify for the Tier II Hastings Direct International where she beat Yuan Meng, Tsvetana Pironkova and Jill Craybas to qualify. She faced Vasilisa Bardina in the first round of the main tournament and had enough momentum carried over from the qualifying rounds to defeat her as well, 7–5, 6–3. Her opponent in the round of 16 was No. 4 seed, Elena Dementieva who proved too much for the Brit. She beat O'Brien by a score of 6–3, 6–4. The confidence and experience she gained helped her capitalise on a wildcard into the main draw of Wimbledon; she beat Sandra Klösel in round one, 6–3, 7–5, (by coming back from 3–5 down in the second set)[11] before being demolished in the second round by 31st seed, Michaëlla Krajicek, 6–0, 6–1.[12]

O'Brien spent August trying to qualify for the

Slovenia Open in Portorož and just a few weeks later reached the quarterfinals of the main draw of a Tier IV event, the Tashkent Open, for the first time in her career before losing to Olga Govortsova, 2–6, 3–6. She played six more $25k tournaments that year, reaching the semifinals in four of them and the final of another. She finished 2007 with a ranking of world No. 134.[7]

2008

O'Brien's first tournament of the season was the

Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová. Over March and April she reached the quarterfinals of two ITF tournaments: Jersey ($25k) and Saint-Malo ($100k). In May, O'Brien entered the French Open qualifying draw and beat fellow Brit, Melanie South in the opening round. She fell in round two to Kristina Barrois, 4–6, 2–6, and then headed to the DFS Classic where she beat Alla Kudryavtseva in the first round before falling to Yaroslava Shvedova in round two. A wildcard allowed O'Brien entry into the International Women's Open (previously the Hastings Direct International) where she lost to Samantha Stosur. Shahar Pe'er beat O'Brien in the first round of Wimbledon.[15]

Following the third Grand Slam of the season, O'Brien participated in the

Phoenix and Saint-Denis, both $25k. Her year-end ranking was world No. 154.[7]

2009

O'Brien started her

Biberach ($50k) and Johannesburg ($100k) as well as reaching the quarterfinals of a $100k+H event in Torhout. She also won a $25k in Jersey and was the runner-up in another $25k event, this one in Minsk. In May she reached the final round of qualifying for the French Open before losing to Arantxa Rus, 4–6, 6–7, however she gained entry to the main draw as a lucky loser when No. 6 seed Vera Zvonareva withdrew from the tournament due to injury.[17] O'Brien lost to Olga Govortsova
1–6, 1–6, in the first round.

O'Brien began her grass court season as the No. 5 seed in a $50k in

Georgie Stoop. In August, O'Brien was the No. 3 seed in the qualifying tournament for the US Open but she was stopped in round two of qualifying by lower-ranked Anna Tatishvili.[20] In late September, she reached the final of a $75k in Shrewsbury as the sixth seed where she came up against fellow Brit and fifth seed Elena Baltacha. O'Brien lost in three sets, 3–6, 6–4, 3–6, but this result was enough to move both finalists into the top 100 for the first time in their careers.[21] Over the course of her final few tournaments of the year, O'Brien reached another $100k semifinal as well as the second round of the HP Open where she was swept aside 6–0, 6–1 by top seed Caroline Wozniacki. She finished the year inside the top 100 with a ranking of world No. 90.[7]

2010

O'Brien started 2010 by attempting to qualify for the WTA ASB Classic in Auckland but lost her opening match 1–6, 5–7 to Canadian

Patricia Mayr 6–3, 6–3 in the opening round for her second career-victory in a Grand Slam.[22] In the second round, O'Brien faced the eighth seed and former world number one, Jelena Janković
, and put in a spirited performance but went down 2–6, 2–6. O'Brien is expected to move to a new career-high ranking after the Australian Open.

2011

O'Brien kicked off her 2011 season at the ASB Classic in Auckland. Her ranking was not high enough for her to be directly accepted into the main draw so she entered the qualifying tournament. In the first round, she defeated Emily Fanning of New Zealand, 6–2, 6–2, and in the second round defeated No. 4 seed 7–5, 6–3, but lost to Noppawan Lertcheewakarn and did not win a place in the main draw.

O'Brien then got a wildcard into the

Kimiko Date-Krumm in the first round. However, she lost in under an hour, and became the first player eliminated from the main draw in the tournament. On 12 August 2011, she announced her retirement at the age 25.[1]

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 15 (4 titles, 11 runner-ups)

$100,000 tournaments (0–0)
$75,000 tournaments (0–1)
$50,000 tournaments (0–0)
$25,000 tournaments (3–8)
$10,000 tournaments (1–2)
Finals by surface
Hard (4–9)
Clay (0–1)
Grass (0–1)
Carpet (0–0)
Result Date Tier Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 13 September 2004 10,000 ITF Manchester, Great Britain Hard (i) Germany Andrea Sieveke 4–6, 6–7(4–7)
Loss 19 January 2005 10,000 ITF Tipton, Great Britain Hard (i) Russia Irina Bulykina 7–6(7–5), 2–6, 4–6
Win 24 January 2005 10,000 ITF Hull, Great Britain Hard (i) Uzbekistan Ivanna Israilova 6–4, 6–4
Loss 1 August 2006 25,000 ITF Changsha, China Hard China Chen Yanchong 1–6, 1–6
Loss 19 September 2006 25,000 ITF Madrid, Spain Hard France Olivia Sanchez 7–6(9–7), 4–6, 4–6
Win 26 September 2006 25,000 ITF Nottingham, Great Britain Hard United Kingdom Amanda Keen 5–7, 7–6(7–3), 6–4
Loss 17 October 2007 25,000 ITF Glasgow, Great Britain Hard (i) Sweden Sofia Arvidsson 3–6, 1–6
Win 3 February 2009 25,000 ITF Sutton, Great Britain Hard (i) Australia Johanna Konta 3–6, 6–2, 6–4
Loss 3 March 2009 25,000 ITF Minsk, Belarus Carpet (i) Belarus Darya Kustova 7–6(7–3), 1–6, 4–6
Win 25 March 2009 25,000 ITF Jersey, Great Britain Hard (i) France Claire Feuerstein 7–5, 1–0 ret.
Loss 28 July 2009 25,000 ITF Vigo, Spain Hard United Kingdom Georgie Gent 5–7, 2–6
Loss 22 September 2009 75,000 ITF Shrewsbury, Great Britain Hard United Kingdom Elena Baltacha 3–6, 6–4, 3–6
Loss 13 July 2010 25,000 ITF Woking, Great Britain Hard Hungary Tímea Babos 5–7, 4–6
Loss 27 July 2010 25,000 ITF Vigo, Spain Hard
Andrea Hlaváčková
 		2–6, 0–6
Loss 22 February 2011 25,000 ITF Mildura, Australia Grass Chinese Taipei Hsieh Su-wei 1–6, 2–6

Doubles: 11 (2 titles, 9 runner-ups)

$100,000 tournaments (0–0)
$75,000 tournaments (0–0)
$50,000 tournaments (0–1)
$25,000 tournaments (2–6)
$10,000 tournaments (0–2)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–8)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–1)
Carpet (0–0)
Result Date Tier Tournament Surface Partnering Opponents Score
Loss 20 January 2005 ITF $10,000 Tipton, Great Britain Hard (i) United Kingdom Melanie South South Africa Surina De Beer
United Kingdom Jane O'Donoghue 		4–6, 2–6
Loss 24 January 2005 ITF $10,000 Hull, Great Britain Hard (i) United Kingdom Melanie South Russia Irina Bulykina
Russia Vasilisa Davydova 		6–4, 3–6, 5–7
Loss 2 February 2006 ITF $25,000 Jersey, Great Britain Hard (i) United Kingdom Melanie South
Andrea Hlaváčková
Croatia Matea Mezak
 		3–6, 1–6
Win 19 September 2006 ITF $25,000 Madrid, Spain Hard Romania Sorana Cîrstea France Céline Cattaneo
Switzerland Gaëlle Widmer 		6–4, 6–4
Loss 27 September 2006 ITF $25,000 Nottingham, Great Britain Hard Estonia Margit Rüütel United Kingdom Karen Paterson
United Kingdom Melanie South 		2–6, 6–2, 6–7(1–7)
Win 12 October 2006 ITF $25,000 Jersey, Great Britain Hard (i) Estonia Margit Rüütel Czech Republic Veronika Chvojková
United Kingdom Claire Peterzan 		7–5, 6–4
Loss 19 October 2006 ITF $25,000 Glasgow, Great Britain Hard (i) Estonia Margit Rüütel Czech Republic Veronika Chvojková
Latvia Līga Dekmeijere 		4–6, 3–6
Loss 23 October 2006 ITF $25,000 Istanbul, Turkey Hard (i) Romania Sorana Cîrstea Bosnia and Herzegovina Mervana Jugić-Salkić
Turkey İpek Şenoğlu 		w/o
Loss 11 October 2007 ITF $25,000 Jersey, Great Britain Hard (i) United Kingdom Georgie Gent Czech Republic Andrea Hlaváčková
Czech Republic Lucie Hradecká 		0–6, 4–6
Loss 3 February 2009 ITF $25,000 Sutton, Great Britain Hard (i) Canada Rebecca Marino
Raquel Kops-Jones
Czech Republic Renata Voráčová
 		3–6, 3–6
Loss 31 May 2010 ITF $50,000 Nottingham, Great Britain Grass United Kingdom Naomi Broady United Kingdom Sarah Borwell
United States Raquel Kops-Jones 		3–6, 6–2, [7–10]

Performance timelines

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(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.

Singles

Tournament 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Career W–L
Australian Open A A A Q2 Q3 1R 2R Q1 1–2
French Open A A A Q1 Q2 1R 1R A 0–2
Wimbledon
 1R 1R 1R 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1–8
US Open A A Q1 Q1 Q2 Q2 Q3 A 0–0
Year-end ranking 401 263 193 134 154 88 180 257 N/A

Doubles

Tournament 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Career W–L
Australian Open A A A A A A A 0–0
French Open A A A A A A A 0–0
Wimbledon
 1R 1R A 1R 1R 1R Q1 0–5
US Open A A A A A A A 0–0
Year-end ranking 358 181 191 353 376 311 530 N/A

Mixed doubles

Tournament 2007 2008 2009 Career W-L
Australian Open A A A 0–0
French Open A A A 0–0
Wimbledon
 1R 2R 2R 2–3
US Open A A A 0–0

Fed Cup

Europe/Africa Group I
Date Venue Surface Round Opponents Final match score Match Opponent Rubber score
21–23 April 2005 Antalya Clay RR  Denmark 2–1 Doubles (with Jane O'Donoghue)
Jacobsgaard/Jensen
 3–6, 6–7(5–7) (L)
 
Serbia and Montenegro
 		1–2 Doubles (with Jane O'Donoghue) Timotić/Zarić 6–2, 6–4 (W)
PO
(9th–12th) 		 Ukraine 1–2 Singles Valeria Bondarenko 6–3, 6–3 (W)
Doubles (with Jane O'Donoghue) A.Bondarenko/V.Bondarenko 3–6, 2–6 (L)
30 January –
2 February 2008 		Budapest Carpet (i) RR   Switzerland 1–2 Singles Patty Schnyder 6–7(5–7), 5–7 (L)
 Hungary 1–2 Singles Ágnes Szávay 1–6, 2–6 (L)
 Denmark 1–2 Singles Caroline Wozniacki 2–6, 6–1, 2–6 (L)
PO
(Relegation) 		 Portugal 2–0 Singles Magali de Lattre 6–4, 6–2 (W)
3–6 February 2010 Lisbon Hard (i) RR  Bosnia and Herzegovina 3–0 Singles
Ema Burgić
 6–2, 6–0 (W)
 Belarus 2–1 Singles Olga Govortsova 3–6, 3–6 (L)
PO
(5th–8th) 		 Netherlands 1–2 Singles Arantxa Rus 5–7, 6–3, 4–6 (L)
Doubles (with Sarah Borwell)
Thijssen
 2–6, 4–6 (L)

References

  1. ^ a b "Former British number one Katie O'Brien quits aged 25". BBC Sport. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  2. ^ The Press Association, 19 January 2010[dead link]
  3. ^ a b "WTA Profile – Katie O'Brien". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  4. ^ a b "LTA Profile Katie O'Brien". Lawn Tennis Association. Archived from the original on 1 August 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  5. ^ Hodgkinson, Mark (19 January 2010). "Australian Open 2010: Katie O'Brien passes grand slam test with against Patricia Mayr". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  6. ^ a b "ITF Juniors Profile". Archived from the original on 12 April 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Activity: O'Brien, Katie (GBR)". itftennis.com.
  8. ^ Davies, Catriona (25 June 2004). "Mixed fortunes for Wimbledon's young Britons". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  9. ^ "Clijsters happy among the big guns". Rediff.com.
  10. ^ "Miserable day for British women". BBC Sport. 27 June 2006. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  11. ^ "O'Brien keeps the flag flying". The Guardian. London. 26 June 2007. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  12. ^ "Too nice, too rich, too bad". The Mirror.
  13. ^ Newman, Paul (11 January 2008). "Four British players rise above heat to win qualifying matches". The Independent. London. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  14. ^ Newman, Paul (12 January 2008). "Henman's conqueror Tsonga provides first obstacle for Murray". The Independent. London. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  15. ^ Herbert, Ian (25 June 2008). "Eaton holds aces to hit unlikely heights". The Independent. London. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  16. ^ "British pair Elena Baltacha and Katie O'Brien qualify for Australian Open". The Telegraph. London. 17 January 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  17. ^ "O'Brien handed French Open berth". BBC Sport. 23 May 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  18. ^ "South beats O'Brien at AEGON Classic". lta.org.uk. Archived from the original on 3 August 2010.
  19. ^ "Anne Keothavong and Katie O'Brien join British exodus from Wimbledon". The Guardian. London. 23 June 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  20. ^ "Robson close to US Open qualification". The Independent. London. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  21. ^ Hodgkinson, Mark (27 September 2009). "Elena Baltacha and Katie O'Brien set to make it three British players in world's top 100". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  22. ^ "Katie O'Brien reaches Australian Open second round". BBC Sport. 19 January 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2013.

External links

Preceded by
Anne Keothavong
Anne Keothavong
Anne Keothavong
Anne Keothavong
Anne Keothavong
 British Tennis number one
7 May 2007 – 15 May 2007
25 June 2007 – 23 September 2007
26 November 2007 – 13 April 2008
21 April 2008 – 14 June 2008
9 November 2009 – 29 November 2009 		Succeeded by
Anne Keothavong
Anne Keothavong
Anne Keothavong
Anne Keothavong
Elena Baltacha
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