Sabine Lisicki
Fed Cup F (2014), record 10–7 | | |
Hopman Cup | RR (2009, 2010) | |
---|---|---|
Last updated on: 12 February 2024. |
Sabine Katharina Lisicki (German pronunciation: [zaˈbiːnə lɪˈzɪki]; born 22 September 1989) is a German professional tennis player.
Lisicki turned professional in 2006, and her breakthrough came in 2009 when she reached the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon Championships, and also won her first title on the WTA Tour, at the Family Circle Cup. In March 2010, she suffered an ankle injury at the Indian Wells Open that kept her out of competition for five months and saw her fall out of the top 200. Lisicki rebounded in 2011 and won the Birmingham Classic, before entering the Wimbledon Championships as a wildcard and going on to reach the semifinals, where she lost to Maria Sharapova. In doing so she became only the second woman in Wimbledon history to make it to the semifinals while entering the tournament as a wildcard.[1] She followed that two months later by winning her third WTA tournament, the Texas Open. In 2012, she achieved her career-high ranking of world No. 12 and again reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. Again, in 2012 she suffered from another ankle injury that prevented her from having better results on tour. Lisicki reached the final of the 2013 Wimbledon Championships, losing to Marion Bartoli. The following year, she had another quarterfinal at Wimbledon and won her first title in three years when she won the Hong Kong Open.
In doubles, Lisicki won the
Between 2014 and 2018, Lisicki held the world record for the fastest serve by a female tennis player. A 131.0 mph (210.8 km/h) serve was measured during her first-round encounter against Ana Ivanovic at the 2014 Stanford Classic.[2] She also held the record for the most aces in a singles match, hitting 27 aces during her second-round encounter against Belinda Bencic at the 2015 Birmingham Classic, until it was surpassed by Kristýna Plíšková at the 2016 Australian Open.
Early life
Lisicki's parents emigrated to West Germany from Poland in 1979; her father, Dr. Richard Lisicki, is of German and Polish descent and her mother, Elisabeth, of Polish. They came to Germany as "
Career
Early years
Since 2004, Lisicki has trained at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida, where she is sponsored and managed by IMG. She is coached by her father, who studied sport science in Wrocław and Cologne.[4] Early in her career, Lisicki could not fly to tournaments because of a lack of funding. She had to be driven across Europe in a car by her parents so that she could attend tournaments. Lisicki said: "My parents did everything possible to let me play tennis. That's what I appreciated so much. My dad has worked from 8 in the morning til 9 in the evening to make it possible so I can play tennis. We had to cancel tournaments because we couldn't afford to go there."[5]
In 2006, Lisicki competed at the
Lisicki had a successful year in 2007 on the ITF Circuit and climbed from world No. 497 to No. 198 in the WTA rankings. She won two titles, one in Jersey and the other in Toronto. She defeated top-seed Katie O'Brien at the Vancouver Open.[6]
2008: Start of the journey
At the
At Wimbledon, Lisicki lost in the first round to the 2007 runner-up, 11th seed Marion Bartoli. In October, Lisicki reached her first WTA tournament final at the Tashkent Open, where she lost in three sets to fellow teenager Sorana Cîrstea.
2009: Breakthrough year
Lisicki started her year at the
At the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Lisicki reached the semifinals, defeating third seed Lucie Šafářová on the way before losing to eventual winner Victoria Azarenka. Lisicki then took part in the first Premier Mandatory tournament of the year in North America. At the Indian Wells Open, she lost in the first round to Elena Vesnina. At the Miami Open, she lost in the second round to 26th seed Iveta Benešová.
During the clay-court season, Lisicki lost in the second round of the
Lisicki advanced to the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart before losing to third-seeded Jelena Janković in straight sets. She then advanced to the quarterfinals at the Portugal Open where she lost to compatriot Anna-Lena Grönefeld, retiring when 2–6 down. At the French Open, Lisicki lost to Lucie Šafářová in the first round.
On her first match on grass at the Eastbourne International, Lisicki lost to Samantha Stosur in the first round. In doubles, Lisicki and her partner Ana Ivanovic lost in the first round to Cara Black and Liezel Huber.
Lisicki played her first
Seeded 23rd, Lisicki advanced to the second round at the 2009 US Open, but lost to qualifier Anastasia Rodionova. On 3 September 2009, daytime, Rodionova's match point, Lisicki slipped while going to return a backhand and injured her left ankle.[8] She left the court in a wheelchair as Rodionova advanced to the third round. Lisicki later reported that an MRI showed no tears. The injury was a sprain, and Lisicki returned to her base in Florida for rehabilitation.
She returned to the tour at the Pan Pacific Open at the end of September, where she reached the second round before losing in three sets to seventh seed Jelena Janković. In October, she reached the final of the Luxembourg Open, but lost to Timea Bacsinszky. On her way to the final she beat Iveta Benešová, Polona Hercog, Patty Schnyder and Shahar Pe'er.
Lisicki qualified for the Tournament of Champions. She lost her first round-robin match to Aravane Rezaï, but won her second round-robin match against Melinda Czink.
2010: Injuries and struggles
Lisicki started the season by playing at the
As the 21st seed, Lisicki was defeated at the Australian Open in the second round by Alberta Brianti, in three sets. She then played the Pattaya Open in Bangkok where she was the second seed and lost her second-round match to home player Tamarine Tanasugarn. At Dubai, she lost her second-round match against Venus Williams. Her next two tournaments were at Indian Wells and Miami. In both tournaments, Lisicki retired in the second round because of an ankle injury. The injury sidelined her for five months, and she withdrew from tournaments at Ponte Vedra and Charleston. She also missed Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Lisicki had to learn how to walk again and faced suggestions that she should retire rather than risk further injury. She later said: "I always believed. Always. No matter what happened. I can still remember when the doctor told me that I have to be on crutches the next six weeks. That period made me such a much stronger person and player. I know anything is possible after learning how to walk again. I love the sport so much and I miss it when I cannot be out there on the court. It just gives me the belief to overcome anything."[9][10]
Coming into the US Open ranked world No. 96, Lisicki advanced to the second round before losing to seventh seed and eventual finalist Vera Zvonareva. After the US Open, she failed to qualify for the Luxembourg Open causing her ranking to fall to No. 179 in the WTA rankings.[9]
2011: Return to form
Lisicki started the season at the
At the Family Circle Cup, Lisicki reached the third round, but lost to Sania Mirza in two sets. At the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, she lost in the quarterfinals against her compatriot Julia Görges, eventual champion of the tournament. In doubles, Lisicki partnered with former world No. 1 doubles player Samantha Stosur to win her first ever career doubles title. At the French Open, Lisicki advanced to the second round against the number three seed, Vera Zvonareva. Lisicki had a match point at 5–2 of the third set, but she lost the point and eventually the match. Afterwards, she lay on the court, sobbing, and was taken off on a stretcher due to injury.[11]
At the Birmingham Classic, Lisicki reached the final where she defeated Daniela Hantuchová to win her second WTA Tour title. At Wimbledon, she received a wildcard to enter the tournament, advancing to the semifinals of a major for the first time, and beating third seed and recent French Open champion Li Na in the second round. She was eliminated by Maria Sharapova in straight sets after leading the first set 3–0.[12] This was the first time in 12 years that a German woman (since Steffi Graf reached the Wimbledon finals in 1999) had reached the semifinal stage of a Grand Slam. Lisicki was the second wild-card entry to reach the women's semifinals in Wimbledon history.[13] In doubles, Lisicki partnered with Stosur and lost in the final.[14]
At the
Lisicki was named the
2012: Continued success and injuries
Lisicki's first tournament in 2012 was the Auckland Open where she was the No. 1 seed. In the first round, she defeated Virginie Razzano. In the second round, she defeated Mona Barthel. In the quarterfinal, she faced Angelique Kerber, the 2011 US Open semifinalist, and was losing 4–6, before retiring, due to a back injury, in the second set at a score of 3–4. In doubles, she entered with Chinese player Peng Shuai and they won their first round match against Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci. Both the Italians would go on to the Australian Open in four weeks time. In the second round, they pulled out due to the injury picked up by Lisicki in the quarterfinal of the singles tournament against Angelique Kerber.
Lisicki next entered the Sydney International where she was unseeded. Before the first round of the tournament began, she pulled out with her recent back injury and gave her place to lucky loser Alexandra Dulgheru.
Lisicki next competed in the Australian Open where she was the 14th seed. In the first round, she faced Stefanie Vögele and beat her in three sets. In the second round, she defeated Shahar Pe'er. In the third round, she beat 18th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.[16] She was defeated by Maria Sharapova. Lisicki took the first set, winning six consecutive games after being down 0–3, but was unable to match Sharapova in the following two sets.
At the
Lisicki's next tournament was supposed to be the Open GdF Suez where she was to be the fifth seed. She pulled out before the tournament began with a viral illness.
Lisicki then competed at the
Lisicki's next tournament was the Dubai Championships, where she was supposed to face fifth seed Agnieszka Radwańska in the first round. However, after second seed Petra Kvitová withdrew, she became the ninth seed and received Kvitová's bye into the second round. There she met Iveta Benešová, defeating her in two sets. In the quarterfinals, she was knocked out by Radwańska.
At
Lisicki next went to Miami, where she was the 12th seed. She got a bye to the second round where she faced Sofia Arvidsson. Victorious, she then faced Peng Shuai in the third round. She won this match too and then faced Li Na in the fourth round. Li defeated Lisicki in three sets.
At the Family Circle Cup, Lisicki was the sixth seed. She received a bye into the second round. There she faced lucky loser Andrea Hlaváčková, winning in three. She faced qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova in the third round and won in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, she faced Serena Williams. Behind 1–4 to her opponent, Lisicki fell and injured her left ankle. She retired from the match in tears, sending Serena into the semis. In doubles, she paired with Australian Open women's doubles champion Vera Zvonareva. They lost to top seeds Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond.
As a result of the fall in her quarterfinal match, Lisicki was forced to the sideline at the
After nearly a month off the tour, Lisicki returned as the 12th seed at the Italian Open. She faced Marina Erakovic in the first round, where she lost. Traveling next to her home country for the Internationaux de Strasbourg, where she was the top seed, Lisicki again experienced a first round upset, losing to Pauline Parmentier.
Lisicki then traveled to Paris to play the French Open, where she was the 12th seed. On the red clay of Roland Garros, Lisicki lost to Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
Lisicki started her summer grass-court season by defending her title at
Lisicki entered the
Lisicki moved on to the
Lisicki entered the US Open as the 16th seed, but she was upset in the first round by Sorana Cîrstea. In doubles, Lisicki again partnered with Peng Shuai. They beat Laura Robson and Shahar Pe'er in the first round, 12th seeds Anastasia Rodionova and Galina Voskoboeva in the second and sixth seeds Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova in the third. They lost to eventual finalists Hlaváčková and Hradecká in the quarterfinals.
Lisicki's next tournament was in Japan at the
Lisicki next participated at the China Open, but she was defeated in the second round by the eventual champion Victoria Azarenka. She next moved to Linz where she lost in the first round to Patricia Mayr-Achleitner. Lisicki finished her season losing in the first round of the Luxembourg Open to Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium.
2013: First Grand Slam singles final
Lisicki started 2013 with the Brisbane International. She beat Lucie Šafářová in the first round. She lost in the second round to world No. 1, Victoria Azarenka. She pulled out of the qualifying draw at Sydney with a virus.
Lisicki then competed at the
Lisicki then moved onto the
Her next tournament was in Memphis. As the third seed, she beat qualifier Madison Keys in the first round and Melinda Czink in the second. In the quarterfinal, she beat eighth seed Kristina Mladenovic and beat seventh seed Magdaléna Rybáriková in the semifinal. In Lisicki's second final of the year, she faced Marina Erakovic from New Zealand. Erakovic ran away with the first set and Lisicki retired from the final with illness (Erakovic's first WTA title).
Lisicki missed the Indian Wells Open with the same illness. She returned in time to play at the Miami Open but lost in the first round to Simona Halep.
Lisicki started her clay-court season on the green clay at the Charleston Open. Lisicki claimed the title here in 2009. In the first round, she recorded her first ever double bagel (not losing any games) in beating Anna Tatishvili. In the second round, she lost from a set up against Mallory Burdette.
Her next tournament was on the red clay in
Lisicki continued her clay season in Madrid. In the first round, she beat Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden. In the second round, she defeated 15th seed Dominika Cibulková. In the third round, she played world No. 2, Maria Sharapova. Sharapova ultimately won in straight sets, with Lisicki putting up a fight in the second set. From Madrid, Lisicki went to Rome to play at the Italian Open. In the first round, she defeated American qualifier Mallory Burdette, but lost to eighth seed Petra Kvitová in the second round.
Lisicki then went to Paris for the second major of the year. In singles, she was the 32nd seed. She defeated Sofia Arvidsson in the first round and pulled off a straight sets win against Spaniard María Teresa Torró Flor in the second round, reaching the third round of the French Open for the first time in her career. There she was defeated by fifth seed and defending finalist Sara Errani. In doubles, Lisicki partnered with Janette Husárová. They came from a set down to beat Bojana Jovanovski and Eva Hrdinová in the first round. In the second round, they upset fifteenth seeds Chan Hao-ching of Taipei and Darija Jurak of Croatia. They faced defending champions Errani and Vinci in the third round, losing in straight sets.
Lisicki started her grass court season by playing at the
At the Wimbledon Championships, Lisicki, seeded 23rd, beat Francesca Schiavone in the first round, Elena Vesnina and 14th seed Samantha Stosur in the second and third round. In the fourth round, she faced first seed and reigning Wimbledon, US Open, and French Open champion Serena Williams. Lisicki won in three sets, marking the fourth time in her last four participations that she knocked out the reigning French Open champion at Wimbledon. Williams had been on a 34-match winning streak coming into the match.[20] Lisicki defeated Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, reaching the Wimbledon semifinals for the second time in her career. She beat Agnieszka Radwańska in a three set semifinal in two hours and 18 minutes to advance to her first Grand Slam final, thereby becoming the first German woman to reach a major final since Steffi Graf at Wimbledon in 1999, and the first German player of either gender to reach a Grand Slam singles final since Rainer Schüttler at the 2003 Australian Open. However, she lost to Marion Bartoli, in straight sets.
Her next tournament was the Western & Southern Open, however she lost in her opening match in a tight three-setter against Jelena Janković. She then played at New Haven, beating Kristina Mladenovic in the first round before losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second.
She then played the US Open as the 16th seed, where she defeated qualifier Vera Dushevina in the first round. She then won her second match against Paula Ormaechea before losing to Ekaterina Makarova in round three.
Lisicki missed most of the Asian swing, but competed at the China Open as the 13th seed. She advanced to the third round beating Chanelle Scheepers and Venus Williams, before losing to home favourite Li Na. She then played the Osaka Open, again beating Scheepers in the first round, but was forced to withdraw from the tournament with a left hip injury before her second-round match.
Lisicki ended her 2013 season on a high by reaching the semi-finals of the Luxembourg Open. She beat Donna Vekić, Tereza Smitková and Karin Knapp in her opening three matches. She won the last set to love (6–0) in all three of these matches. In the semifinals, she succumbed to top seed and eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets. She finished her year ranked as world No. 15.
2014: Illness and injuries, fastest-serve record and 4th WTA title
It was confirmed in October 2013 that Lisicki would begin her 2014 season alongside Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka at the Brisbane International. She advanced to the second round with a win over Magdaléna Rybáriková, but then withdrew from the tournament due to illness.
At the Australian Open, it was announced that Lisicki would bring in Martina Hingis as a coach. Seeded 15th, she began with a confident straight-sets victory over Mirjana Lučić-Baroni, but was upset in the second round by Monica Niculescu. At the Pattaya Open, Lisicki struggled to overcome Donna Vekić in the first round in three sets. After the match, she admitted that it had been almost impossible for her to serve effectively due to a right shoulder injury. She later withdrew from the tournament.[21]
Lisicki then endured a poor run across the North American swing, losing in her first match in Indian Wells to Aleksandra Wozniak. In Indian Wells, Lisicki also competed in the doubles draw playing alongside coach Martina Hingis. After getting a wildcard into the main draw, they played seventh seeds Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua. At the Miami Open, she beat Nadia Petrova in her opening match. However, she was forced to pull out before her third-round match against Kirsten Flipkens citing a bad flu. Despite pulling out of the singles draw, Lisicki was able to take a few days off to recover before she and Hingis started their campaign for the title. In the first round, they claimed their first win together by beating sixth seeds Andrea Hlaváčková and Lucie Šafářová. In the second round, Lisicki and Hingis convincingly defeated wildcards Sorana Cîrstea and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets. In their quarterfinal match, the pair pulled off an impressive comeback win beating Anabel Medina Garrigues and Yaroslava Shvedova despite losing the first set and facing match points against them in the second. In the semifinals, they played fifth seeds and Indian Wells finalists Cara Black and Sania Mirza and beat them in straight sets. In their first final in only their second tournament together, Lisicki and Hingis played second seeds Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova. Despite being the heavy favourites for the title, Vesnina and Makrarova would go on to lose the match in three sets. The win was Lisicki's third doubles title and her first off the indoor clay of Stuttgart and Hingis' 38th doubles title and first since 2007.
Lisicki looked to carry momentum from the Miami title by going to Charleston and playing at the Family Circle Cup. She entered the tournament as the fourth seed and received a bye in the first round of play. In the second round, she played Vania King and beat her in three sets. In the third round, she played compatriot Andrea Petkovic for the first time in her career. Lisicki lost to the eventual champion Petkovic, managing to score only one game in the whole match. Lisicki did not participate in Germany's Fed Cup semifinal victory over Australia, moving from the outdoor green clay of Charleston to the indoor red clay of Stuttgart. She lost in the opening round to ninth seed Ana Ivanovic.[22]
Lisicki then competed at the Madrid Open where she was the 15th seed. She fell in the third round to Simona Halep in three sets. At Rome, she fell in her opening match to Samantha Stosur in straight sets. Lisicki reached the second round at Roland Garros where she retired against compatriot Mona Barthel after injuring her wrist.
In June, Lisicki split with coach Hingis, citing "different concepts" as the reason.[23] As the 19th seed at Wimbledon, she could not repeat her feat from the previous year, only managing to reach the quarterfinals where she lost to Simona Halep. Along the way, she defeated Julia Glushko, Karolína Plíšková, Ivanovic and Shvedova, fighting through a shoulder injury against the Kazakh.
In July, Lisicki slipped down to 30 in the world rankings. In her first-round match at the Stanford Classic against Ivanovic, Lisicki set a world record serve for a female tennis player, clocked at 210.8 km/h (131.0 mph).[2] However, Lisicki lost the match in straight sets.[2] At the Rogers Cup in Montreal the following week, Lisicki defeated former world No. 5, Sara Errani, in the first round in straight sets. After coming from a set down to defeat Madison Keys in the next round, she lost to Agnieszka Radwańska in three sets. The following week in Cincinnati was almost a repeat. In the second round, Lisicki defeated Errani once more in a match that lasted three hours before being beaten by Radwańska, only managing to win two games. Lisicki, the 26th seed, reached the third round at the US Open where she lost to Maria Sharapova. In September, Lisicki participated in
2015: First Premier Mandatory semifinal and most aces record
Lisicki had a rough start to the year, losing in the first rounds at the
Lisicki rediscovered her form during the North American swing. At Indian Wells, she beat Roberta Vinci to record her first ever win at the tournament. She continued winning by beating Sara Errani and Caroline Garcia to advance to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, she beat the defending champion Flavia Pennetta in a three set thriller, saving three match points to advance to the semifinals for the first time at a Premier Mandatory event. She lost to Jelena Janković in the semifinals in three sets despite leading by a set and a break. Lisicki carried her good form over to Miami where she beat fellow countrywoman Julia Görges, Ana Ivanovic, and Sara Errani to advance to her second Premier Mandatory quarterfinal in a row. She lost to eventual champion Serena Williams in the quarterfinals in three sets.
Lisicki then played for Germany in the semifinals against Russia at the Fed Cup where she lost to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three sets despite having a match point in the second set. She also played in the doubles with Andrea Petkovic but the pair lost to Pavlyuchenkova and Elena Vesnina to give Russia the win and a place in the final.
Lisicki began on clay in
Lisicki started her grass-court season at Birmingham. In her second-round win over Belinda Bencic, Lisicki broke the record for the most aces in a singles match, hitting a total of 27 aces.[24] She then beat 2009 champion Magdaléna Rybáriková and 2013 champion Daniela Hantuchová to advance to the semifinals. She lost to fellow countrywoman and eventual champion Angelique Kerber, in straight sets. Lisicki then played at Wimbledon as the 18th seed. She beat Jarmila Gajdošová and Christina McHale to advance to the third round. She lost to Timea Bacsinszky in straight sets ending a streak of making the quarterfinals or better which she had done in her five previous appearances.
Lisicki began her summer hardcourt season at
After the completion of the US Open, Lisicki reported that she would not compete for the rest of the season due to a knee injury.[25] Lisicki ended the year at No. 32.
2016: Struggles, in and out of top 100
Lisicki began her 2016 season at the Hopman Cup representing Germany with Alexander Zverev. They were eliminated in the group stage with a 1–2 record, with their only victory coming against France. Her next tournament was the Sydney International where she lost in the second round to eventual champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova.[26] Seeded 30th at the Australian Open, she was defeated in the second round by Denisa Allertová.[27]
In Doha, Lisicki lost in the first round to Monica Niculescu.[28] Seeded third at the Malaysian Open, she reached the quarterfinals where she was defeated by Naomi Broady.[29] Seeded 29th at Indian Wells, she lost in the second round to Johanna Larsson. Seeded 29th in Miami, she was defeated in the second round by Irina-Camelia Begu, despite having a 5–0 lead and one match point in the third set.[30]
Seeded 15th at the
Lisicki started her grass season at the Mallorca Open. She beat Kristina Mladenovic before losing to Mariana Duque in three sets. Lisicki then played at Wimbledon. She easily beat recent French Open quarterfinalist Shelby Rogers in straight sets and in the second round she beat 14th seed Sam Stosur in straight sets. She then fell to Yaroslava Shvedova in the third round.
Lisicki started her hardcourt season at
At the Japan Open, Lisicki lost to Johanna Larsson. Then at the Guangzhou Open, she safely reached the quarterfinals by beating Kwan Yau Ng and Peng Shuai, but finally lost to Jelena Janković. At the Wuhan Open, Lisicki was defeated by Ekaterina Makarova and at the China Open, Lisicki beat Lučić-Baroni but lost to Svitolina. She received a wildcard in both the Wuhan Open and China Open and after this, Lisicki was back in the top 100 again.
At the Luxembourg Open, she beat Viktorija Golubic but lost to second seed Caroline Wozniacki. Lisicki next played at the Hawaii Open and beat Julia Boserup and Verónica Cepede Royg, but retired injured in the third set of her quarterfinal against Jacqueline Cako. Lisicki ended the year at No. 93.
2017: Restart
Lisicki was supposed to participate at the Kooyong Classic; however, she withdrew due to a shoulder injury, which also kept her out of the Australian Open.[35]
Lisicki returned to the courts in June at the Mallorca Open.[36] She reached the quarterfinals beating fifth seed Kiki Bertens and Shelby Rogers. She ended up losing to eventual finalist Julia Görges.[37] At Wimbledon, she was defeated in the first round by 27th seed Ana Konjuh.[38]
Lisicki made it to the quarterfinals at the Washington Open eliminating qualifier Valentini Grammatikopoulou and Aryna Sabalenka. She ended up losing to fifth seed Océane Dodin.[39] At the US Open, she was defeated in the first round by 27th seed Zhang Shuai.[40]
In October, Lisicki competed at the Luxembourg Open. She lost in the second round to lucky loser Naomi Broady.[41] Her final tournament of the year was at the Open de Limoges. She reached the semifinal where she retired during the second set against Antonia Lottner.
Lisicki ended the year ranked 268.
2018: Injury struggles
Skipping the Australian Open, Lisicki played at the
2019: Continued struggles, rankings drop
In her first Australian Open appearance since 2016, Lisicki lost in the first qualifying round to Isabelle Wallace. That was her third straight first-round qualifying loss at a Grand Slam event. She next lost in the first round of Hua Hin to Garbiñe Muguruza. She lost in the first qualifying round to Zarina Diyas at Dubai, and lost in the first round of Charleston to Sofia Kenin. She lost in the first round of Bogotá to the eventual champion Amanda Anisimova, and lost in the first qualifying round at Stuttgart to Isabella Shinikova. She then lost in the first qualifying round of Rabat to Bibiane Schoofs, and lost in the first round of Nuremberg to Ajla Tomljanović.
She failed to qualify for the ITF tournament in
2020: Severe injury
Her first event of the year was the WTA 125 Prague Open, where she reached the fourth round, defeating Samantha Murray Sharan, Stephanie Wagner, and Chihiro Muramatsu, before losing to Francesca Jones. Lisicki participated in her first WTA event of the year at Linz, where she defeated Bibiane Schoofs in the first qualifying round before falling to Tereza Martincová. In doubles, at the same event with Jodie Burrage, she retired from her first-round match against Ulrikke Eikeri and Yana Sizikova, whilst the pair led 6–5 in the first set. Lisicki fell on court, and tore her anterior cruciate ligament, and announced later that she had received surgery for the injury.[43] She ended the year ranked No. 622.
2022: Comeback and first WTA Tour win since 2018
In May, eighteen months after surgery, Lisicki made her return to professional tennis in the qualifying draw of the FineMark Pro Championship, a $100k event played on clay courts. She won her first match against Ena Shibahara, a top ten ranked doubles player. In the final round of qualifying, she easily lost to Gabriela Lee, who went on to win the tournament. Lisicki then played a $25k clay tournament in Sarasota. She beat Anastasia Nefedova in the first round, and then beat fourth seed Sofia Shapatava in the second. In the quarterfinal, she played seventh seed Ashlyn Krueger but withdrew from the match when trailing by a set.
Lisicki began her grass-court season at the
Lisicki won her first main draw match on the WTA Tour since 2018 as a wildcard at the Bad Homburg Open, defeating her compatriot Tamara Korpatsch.[44][45][46] She then beat Belgian Greet Minnen in the second round, before losing to the eventual champion Caroline Garcia in the quarter-finals.[47] With this result, she re-entered the top 500 in the WTA world rankings.
Lisicki's next tournament was the Hamburg Open, where she received a wildcard to play in the qualifying tournament. In the qualifying draw, she defeated twelfth seed Stefanie Vögele and first seed Kateryna Baindl. In the first round of the main draw, she lost to Aleksandra Krunić.
Lisicki did not play again until November, when she was awarded a wildcard into the main draw of the Calgary National Bank Challenger. In the first two rounds, she beat qualifiers Carmen Corley and Martyna Ostrzygalo in straight sets, respectively. In the quarterfinals, she lost to eventual champion Robin Montgomery in two tiebreak sets.[48] She then accepted a wildcard into the Andorra Open, where she defeated sixth seed Sara Errani in the first round,[49] but lost to Alycia Parks in the quarter-finals.
2023: First title since 2014
Lisicki won her first title in nine years at the Calgary Challenger, which was an ITF W60 tournament.[50][51]
2024: Pregnancy
On 8 March 2024, Lisicki revealed that she is pregnant.[52]
Playing style
"Lisicki is a big, strong, hard-hitting player who reminds me of a boxer throwing punches from every single direction. The problem is some of the punches land in the right spot and some don't. But she's got great power, a strong serve, she works very hard and has a big-match mentality you can't always teach."
A baseliner, Lisicki hits "heavy balls" with topspin and pace.
Serve
Lisicki's serve is among the most powerful on the WTA Tour, having been described variously as a "cannon" and a "howitzer".[58] She is known to hit serves at speeds of over 120 mph,[59][60] and at the 2014 Bank of the West Classic she broke the WTA fastest serve record with a speed of 131 mph, a record previously held by Venus Williams at 129 mph.[2]
Her serve is often regarded as her main weapon and with it, for the year up to November 2013, she was ranked fifth in the WTA for first service points won, 70.7%, and fifth for service games won, 73.7%.[61] She was ranked second in the aces count in 2013, only behind Serena Williams, and was ranked fifth in 2014. Lisicki also held the record for the most aces in a singles match. She broke the record of 24, held jointly by Serena Williams and Kaia Kanepi, by hitting 27 aces during her second-round encounter against Belinda Bencic at the 2015 Aegon Classic on 17 June 2015.[24][62]
Lisicki, however, can be hindered by her weak and inconsistent second serve, which is usually only around 70 to 80 mph, and an occasionally high double-fault counts.[63]
Surfaces
Lisicki's favourite surface is grass and she has had the most success on that surface. She used to "hate" playing on grass because she is allergic to it and had a five-match losing streak on grass in 2009. She is now on medication for her allergy and "loves" playing on it.[10][64]
Personal life
Lisicki lives in Bradenton, Florida, USA, and owns a Yorkshire Terrier named Happy. She is fluent in German, English and Polish. Her off-court interests include reading, music, and athletics. Lisicki is a fan of the Germany national football team and of Bundesliga club Bayern Munich.[65] She is gluten-intolerant.[66]
Lisicki was previously in a relationship with German comedian Oliver Pocher, whom she dated for almost three years. The couple split in 2016.[67]
On March 8, 2024 Lisicki announced on Instagram that she and her fiancé were expecting a baby.[68]
Career statistics
Grand Slam performance timelines
W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
Singles
Tournament | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | SR | W–L | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | 3R | 2R | 2R | Q2 | 4R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | A | A | Q1 | A | A | A | A | 0 / 8 | 9–8 | 53% |
French Open | 2R | 1R | A | 2R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 3R | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 8 | 7–8 | 47% |
Wimbledon | 1R | QF | A | SF | QF | F | QF | 3R | 3R | 1R | Q1 | Q3 | NH | A | A | A | 0 / 9 | 27–9 | 75% |
US Open | 2R | 2R | 2R | 4R | 1R | 3R | 3R | 4R | 1R | 1R | Q1 | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 10 | 12–10 | 55% |
Win–loss | 4–4 | 6–4 | 2–2 | 8–3 | 7–4 | 10–4 | 8–4 | 7–4 | 3–4 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 / 35 | 55–35 | 61% |
Grand Slam finals
Singles: 1 (runner-up)
Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 2013 | Wimbledon | Grass | Marion Bartoli | 1–6, 4–6 |
Doubles: 1 (runner-up)
Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 2011 | Wimbledon | Grass | Samantha Stosur | Květa Peschke Katarina Srebotnik |
3–6, 1–6 |
References
- ^ "Tennis-Wimbledon women show life beyond Williams". Reuters. 28 June 2011.
- ^ a b c d "Sabine Lisicki hits fastest serve in women's tennis". BBC Sport. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ^ "Sabine Lisicki ist auf dem Weg nach oben". Berliner Morgenpost (in German). 18 April 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ^ a b c Winterfeldt, Jörg (19 April 2009). "Ein bisschen Steffi Graf". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 5 July 2013.
- ^ a b Elliott, Helene (5 July 2013). "Marion Bartoli, Sabine 'Boom Boom' Lisicki set for Wimbledon final". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
- ^ "Discontented top women's seed out; Katie O'Brien seen off by Germany's hard-hitting Sabine Lisicki, 17", The Province, 3 August 2007, p. A51.
- ^ Newbery, Piers (30 June 2009). "Safina sets up Venus semi-final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
- ^ "Sabine Lisicki injured at 2009 US Open". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021.
- ^ a b c "Lisicki eyes dream end to Wimbledon fairytale". Times of India. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
- ^ a b "Sabine Lisicki, smiling German with allergy to grass". Times of India. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
- ^ Chase, Chris. "After blowing 5–2 lead in final set, Lisicki taken off on stretcher". sports.yahoo.com, 25 May 2011, retrieved 25 May 2011.
- ^ "Archived copy". TSN. Archived from the original on 4 February 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Maria Sharapova to face Sabine Lisicki". sports.espn.go.com, 28 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
- ^ Herman, Martyn (2 July 2011). "Peschke makes it double joy for Czechs". Reuters. Retrieved 4 July 2011.
- ^ "Petra Kvitova named WTA player of year". ESPN. 14 November 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
- ^ "Australian Women Open". Yahoo! Eurosport. Retrieved 21 January 2012.
- ^ "Wimbledon 2012: how it happened". The Telegraph. 4 July 2012.
- ^ "Sabine Lisicki cries foul after loss to Alison Riske in Birmingham". Tennis.si.com. 15 June 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ^ "WTA Aegon Classic: Sabine Lisicki angry with umpire after Edgbaston exit". Sky Sports. 16 June 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ^ "Lisicki ends Serena's 34-match winning streak at Wimbledon". Tennis.com.
- ^ "Yahoo Singapore Sports". Yahoo! Sports Singapore.
- ^ "Ivanovic brushes aside Lisicki". Women's Tennis Association. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
- ^ "Sabine Lisicki drops doubles partner Martina Hingis as coach just before Wimbledon". The Sydney Morning Herald. 21 June 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
- ^ a b "New WTA Record: Lisicki Hits 27 Aces". 17 June 2015.
- ^ "Knee Injury Sidelines Lisicki Until 2016". WTA Tennis. 28 September 2015. Archived from the original on 23 October 2015.
- ^ "Halep makes winning comeback after Brisbane withdrawal". www.beinsports.com. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
- ^ Paul Aguilar, Bryann (20 January 2016). "Australian Open: Denisa Allertova Upsets Sabine Lisicki In Three Sets". www.vavel.com. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
- ^ Lupu, Victor (22 February 2016). "Qatar Total Open: Monica Niculescu Defeats Sabine Lisicki To Qualify To The Second Round". Romania Journal. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ "Naomi Broady beats Sabine Lisicki to reach Malaysian Open semi-finals". www.theguardian.com. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "Zverev fails, Lisicki breaks in, Kerber in round three". www.kicker.de. 26 March 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "Kazakhstani Putintseva stuns Lisicki in three sets in Charleston". www.inform.kz. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "Stepanek advances in Barcelona". www.dawn.com. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ Addicott, Adam (3 May 2016). "Carla Suarez Navarro Shines In Madrid As Health Concerns Mount". www.ubitennis.net. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ Banerjee, Sudeshna (11 May 2016). "Rome Masters: Easy win for Serena Williams in second round; Stan Wawrinka made to work hard". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "German tennis ace Sabine Lisicki out of Australian Open due to injury". www.newshub.co.nz. 7 January 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ SHAH, SANKET (26 May 2017). "Sabine Lisicki to return to tour at the Mallorca open". www.tennisworldusa.org. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ Trollope, Matt (23 June 2017). "Bellis scorches forehand en route to Mallorca semis". tennismash.com. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "Azarenka shines in grand slam return". www.beinsports.com. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Petkovic, Goerges set up all-German semi". www.sportskeeda.com. 5 August 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Sharapova wins again at US Open; No. 4 Zverev, No. 8 Tsonga out". www.shine.cn. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Naomi Broady rallies to beat Sabine Lisicki in Luxembourg". www.eurosport.com. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Babos, Kozlova advance to Taipei City final". www.wtatennis.com. 3 February 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Sabine Lisicki on Twitter". 11 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ "WTA Homburg: Kerber and Lisicki in the round of 16". tennisnet.com. 21 June 2022.
- ^ "Tennis, WTA – Bad Homburg Open 2022: Sabine Lisicki upends Korpatsch". 21 June 2022.
- ^ "Kerber completes win, Lisicki marks comeback at Bad Homburg". Associated Press. 21 June 2022.
- ^ "WTA Bad Homburg: Sabine Lisicki eliminated in the quarterfinals". tennisnet.com. 23 June 2022.
- ^ "Gabriel Diallo Reaches the Semifinals of the Calgary National Bank Challenger". Tennis Canada. 12 November 2022.
- ^ "Crèdit Andorrà Open: Lisicki into last 16". Tennis Majors. 29 November 2022.
- ^ "Neun Jahre nach Hongkong: Lisicki gewinnt Turnier in Calgary". Kicker (in German). 13 November 2023.
- ^ "Canadian phenom Liam Draxl 'pumped' to net Calgary Challenger victory". Calgary Sun. 12 November 2023.
- ^ "Sabine Lisicki announces pregnancy". Tennis Tonic. 8 March 2024.
- ^ Pagliaro, Richard (10 February 2011). "Gear Talk: Q&A with Sabine Lisicki". tennis.com. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
- ^ Crowe, Yusef (6 July 2012). "PLAYER PROGRAM: SABINE LISICKI". TeamFeNom. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
- ^ Meier, Florian (20 July 2011). "In-depth analysis of Sabine Lisicki's game". Women's Tennis Blog. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
- ^ Steinberg, Jacob (1 July 2012). "Wimbledon 2012: Maria Sharapova not taking any chances against Lisicki". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
- ^ Loos, Ted (1 July 2012). "Power Serve: Sabine Lisicki Returns to the U.S. Open". Vogue. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
- ^ Nagpal, Abhimanyu (1 July 2013). "Wimbledon 2013: Serena Williams vs Sabine Lisicki Match Preview". Tennis Earth. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
- ^ White, Jim (1 July 2013). "Wimbledon 2013: top seed and defending champion Serena Williams toppled by Sabine Lisicki". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
- ^ Mirza, Razwan (22 June 2013). "Wimbledon: Sky Sports' tennis expert Raz Mirza talks to Sabine Lisicki". Sky Sports. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
- ^ WTA Championships (24 June 2013). "WTA Tour Matchfacts" (PDF). Retrieved 1 July 2013.
- ^ "Sabine Lisicki sets world record for aces at Aegon Classic". BBC News. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
- ^ "WTA Tour Matchfacts" (PDF). WTA Championships. 24 June 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
- ^ Hodgkinson, Mark (2 July 2012). "Sabine Lisicki interview: I used to hate grass". TheTennisSpace. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
- ^ "Lisicki: "Bayern have to be the odds-on favourites"".
- ^ "Some tennis stars say gluten-free is best for them". Reuters. 26 May 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
- ^ "Oliver Pocher und Sabine Lisicki haben sich getrennt". FOCUS Online (in German). Retrieved 20 January 2020.
- ^ https://www.tennis.com/baseline/articles/sabine-lisicki-promises-one-more-comeback-after-announcing-pregnancy