Abigail Spears
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|
 Spears at the 2009 US Open | |
| Country (sports) |  United States |
|---|---|
| Residence | Colorado Springs, Colorado |
| Born | July 12, 1981 San Diego, California |
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) |
| Turned pro | October 2000 |
| Retired | 2021 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Coach | Larry Willens |
| Prize money | $2,994,112 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 285–262 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 66 (June 6, 2005) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 3R (2005) |
| French Open | 1R (2005) |
| Wimbledon | 1R (2005) |
| US Open | 1R (2004, 2005) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 555–411 |
| Career titles | 21 |
| Highest ranking | No. 10 (March 2, 2015) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | SF (2014) |
| French Open | 3R (2004) |
| Wimbledon | SF (2015, 2016, 2018) |
| US Open | QF (2008) |
| Mixed doubles | |
| Career titles | 1 |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| Australian Open | W (2017) |
| French Open | QF (2018) |
| Wimbledon | QF (2018) |
| US Open | F (2013, 2014) |
| Last updated on: February 3, 2020. | |
Abigail Michal Spears (born July 12, 1981)[1] is a former professional tennis player from the United States. She started playing in 1988 when she was 7 years old. She was number 10 in the world for doubles. Outside of tennis she enjoys watching movies and going to the beach to surf or play beach volleyball. Her idols are Steffi Graf and Monica Seles.[2]
She was suspended for doping offences from 7 November 2019 until 7 September 2021.[3] She retired on 16 September 2021. [4]
Biography
[edit]July 12, 1981 Abigail Spears was born in San Diego, California.
2000–2011
[edit]Spears turned professional in 2000.[2] She reached the third round at the 2005 Australian Open[5] and the first round at the 2005 French Open, 2005 Wimbledon tournament (where she also reached the third round in the doubles tournament with Lisa McShea), and the 2005 US Open.[6][7] She reached the third round at the 2008 Wimbledon doubles tournament with Raquel Kops-Jones, and the duo bettered that result by reaching the quarterfinals at the 2008 US Open.
Spears also qualified in singles for the US Open twice.[8] She achieved a singles ranking of world No. 66 on June 6, 2005. Her highest doubles ranking was world No. 11 on June 24, 2013. Spears has not won a WTA singles title, but as of the end of December 2018 she has won 21 WTA doubles titles.[2] She participated in the US Open doubles draw eleven times between 1998 and 2010.[8]
2012
[edit]Spears and compatriot Raquel Kops-Jones were one of the most successful doubles team of the 2012 season, winning four titles at Carlsbad, Seoul, Tokyo and Osaka. The pair also reached two other finals as well as the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.
2017: Grand Slam breakthrough
[edit]2017 was expected to be Spears' farewell year on tour.[9] At the Australian Open, she partnered with Juan Sebastián Cabal to win the mixed-doubles tournament. In the final, they defeated the second-seeded team of Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig 6–2, 6–4. The American-Colombian duo recovered from a 1–4 deficit in the second set to reel off five straight games to clinch the title. It was a revenge match for Spears, having lost to Mirza the last time she made it to a Grand Slam final losing 9–11 in the super tiebreak to Mirza and Bruno Soares at the 2014 US Open.
Significant finals
[edit]Grand Slam finals
[edit]Mixed doubles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)
[edit]| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 2013 | US Open | Hard |  Santiago González
|
 Andrea Hlaváčková  Max Mirnyi
|
6–7(5–7), 3–6 |
| Runner-up | 2014 | US Open | Hard | Santiago González
|
 Sania Mirza  Bruno Soares
|
1–6, 6–2, [9–11] |
| Winner | 2017 | Australian Open | Hard |  Juan Sebastián Cabal
|
Sania Mirza  Ivan Dodig
|
6–2, 6–4 |
Premier Mandatory/Premier 5 finals
[edit]Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)
[edit]| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 2012 | Doha | Hard | Raquel Kops-Jones
|
Liezel Huber Lisa Raymond
|
3–6, 1–6 |
| Winner | 2012 | Tokyo | Hard | Raquel Kops-Jones
|
 Anna-Lena Grönefeld Květa Peschke
|
6–1, 6–4 |
| Winner | 2014 | Cincinnati | Hard | Raquel Kops-Jones
|
 Tímea Babos  Kristina Mladenovic
|
6–1, 2–0 ret. |
WTA career finals
[edit]Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)
[edit]| Winner — Legend |
|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) |
| Tour Championships (0–0) |
| Tier I / Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (0–0) |
| Tier II / Premier (0–0) |
| Tier III, IV & V / International (0–1) |
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1. | November 7, 2004 | Bell Challenge, Quebec City, Canada | Hard |  Martina Suchá
|
5–7, 6–3, 2–6 |
Doubles: 31 (21 titles, 10 runner-ups)
[edit]| Winner — Legend |
|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) |
| Tour Championships (0–0) |
| Tier I / Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (2–1) |
| Tier II / Premier (8–5) |
| Tier III, IV & V / International (11–4) |
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1. | January 5, 2003 | Auckland Open, New Zealand | Hard | Teryn Ashley
|
 Cara Black  Elena Likhovtseva
|
6–2, 2–6, 6–0 |
| Win | 2. | August 15, 2004 | Odlum Brown Vancouver Open, Canada | Hard | Bethanie Mattek
|
 Els Callens Anna-Lena Grönefeld
|
6–3, 6–3 |
| Loss | 1. | February 19, 2005 | Cellular South Cup, United States | Hard | Laura Granville
|
 Yuka Yoshida Miho Saeki
|
3–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 3. | July 24, 2005 | Western & Southern Women's Open, United States | Hard | Laura Granville
|
Květa Peschke  María Emilia Salerni
|
3–6, 6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 4. | May 10, 2009 | Estoril Open, Portugal | Clay | Raquel Kops-Jones
|
 Sharon Fichman Katalin Marosi
|
2–6, 6–3, [10–5] |
| Loss | 2. | June 14, 2009 | Aegon Classic, Birmingham, Great Britain | Grass | Raquel Kops-Jones
|
Cara Black Liezel Huber
|
1–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 5. | September 27, 2009 | Hansol Korea Open, Seoul, South Korea | Hard |  Chan Yung-jan
|
Carly Gullickson  Nicole Kriz
|
6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 3. | October 18, 2009 | HP Open, Osaka, Japan | Hard |  Chanelle Scheepers
|
Lisa Raymond Chuang Chia-jung
|
2–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 4. | August 7, 2011 | Mercury Insurance Open, San Diego, United States | Hard | Raquel Kops-Jones
|
Květa Peschke  Katarina Srebotnik
|
0–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 6. | September 18, 2011 | Bell Challenge, Quebec City | Hard | Raquel Kops-Jones
|
Jamie Hampton  Anna Tatishvili
|
6–0, 3–6, [10–6] |
| Loss | 5. | January 7, 2012 | Brisbane International, Australia | Hard | Raquel Kops-Jones
|
 Nuria Llagostera Vives Arantxa Parra Santonja
|
6–7(2–7), 6–7(2–7) |
| Loss | 6. | February 19, 2012 | Qatar Ladies Open, Doha | Hard | Raquel Kops-Jones
|
Liezel Huber Lisa Raymond
|
3–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 7. | July 23, 2012 | Mercury Insurance Open, Carlsbad, United States | Hard | Raquel Kops-Jones
|
Vania King Nadia Petrova
|
6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 8. | September 23, 2012 | Hansol Korea Open, Seoul | Hard | Raquel Kops-Jones
|
 Akgul Amanmuradova Vania King
|
2–6, 6–2, [10–8] |
| Win | 9. | September 29, 2012 | Toray Pan Pacific Open, Tokyo, Japan | Hard | Raquel Kops-Jones
|
Anna-Lena Grönefeld Květa Peschke
|
6–1, 6–4 |
| Win | 10. | October 14, 2012 | HP Open, Osaka | Hard | Raquel Kops-Jones
|
Kimiko Date-Krumm  Heather Watson
|
6–1, 6–4 |
| Win | 11. | July 29, 2013 | Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, United States | Hard | Raquel Kops-Jones
|
Julia Görges Darija Jurak
|
6–2, 7–6(7–4) |
| Win | 12. | August 5, 2013 | Southern California Open, Carlsbad, United States | Hard | Raquel Kops-Jones
|
Chan Hao-ching Janette Husárová
|
6–4, 6–1 |
| Loss | 7. | September 22, 2013 | KDB Korea Open, Seoul | Hard | Raquel Kops-Jones
|
Chan Chin-wei  Xu Yifan
|
5–7, 3–6 |
| Loss | 8. | February 22, 2014 | Dubai Tennis Championships, United Arab Emirates | Hard | Raquel Kops-Jones
|
Alla Kudryavtseva Anastasia Rodionova
|
2–6, 7–5, [8–10] |
| Win | 13. | June 15, 2014 | Aegon Classic, Birmingham | Grass | Raquel Kops-Jones
|
Ashleigh Barty Casey Dellacqua
|
7–6(7–1), 6–1 |
| Win | 14. | August 18, 2014 | Cincinnati Masters, United States | Hard | Raquel Kops-Jones
|
Tímea Babos Kristina Mladenovic
|
6–1, 2–0 ret. |
| Loss | 9. | January 16, 2015 | Apia International Sydney, Australia | Hard | Raquel Kops-Jones
|
Bethanie Mattek-Sands Sania Mirza
|
3–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 15. | February 28, 2015 | Qatar Total Open, Doha | Hard | Raquel Kops-Jones
|
Hsieh Su-wei Sania Mirza
|
6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 16. | June 14, 2015 | Aegon Nottingham Open, Great Britain | Grass | Raquel Kops-Jones
|
Jocelyn Rae Anna Smith
|
3–6, 6–3, [11–9] |
| Win | 17. | October 18, 2015 | Generali Ladies Linz, Austria | Hard | Raquel Kops-Jones
|
Andrea Hlaváčková Lucie Hradecká
|
6–3, 7–5 |
| Win | 18. | July 23, 2016 | Bank of the West Classic, Stanford | Hard | Raquel Atawo
|
Darija Jurak Anastasia Rodionova
|
6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 19. | February 18, 2017 | Qatar Total Open, Doha | Hard | Katarina Srebotnik
|
 Olga Savchuk  Yaroslava Shvedova
|
6–3, 7–6(9–7) |
| Loss | 10. | April 30, 2017 | Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Stuttgart, Germany | Clay (i) | Katarina Srebotnik
|
Raquel Atawo  Jeļena Ostapenko
|
4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 20. | August 6, 2017 | Bank of the West Classic, Stanford | Hard | CoCo Vandeweghe
|
Alizé Cornet  Alicja Rosolska
|
6–2, 6–3 |
| Win | 21. | June 17, 2018 | Nottingham Open, Great Britain | Grass | Alicja Rosolska
|
 Mihaela Buzărnescu Heather Watson
|
6–3, 7–6(7–5) |
Grand Slam performance timelines
[edit]| 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.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
Singles
[edit]| Tournament | 2004 | 2005 | SR | W–L | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | 3R | 0 / 1 | 2–1 | |||||||||||
| French Open | A | 1R | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | |||||||||||
| Wimbledon | A | 1R | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | |||||||||||
| US Open | 1R | 1R | 0 / 2 | 0–2 | |||||||||||
| Win–loss | 0–1 | 2–4 | 0 / 5 | 2–5 | |||||||||||
Doubles
[edit]| Tournament | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | SR | W–L | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | A | 2R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 2R | SF | QF | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 0 / 16 | 15–16 | |||||
| French Open | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 3R | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 3R | 0 / 14 | 9–14 | |||||
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 1R | A | 3R | 1R | 1R | 2R | QF | 3R | 3R | SF | SF | 1R | SF | 3R | 0 / 17 | 26–17 | |||||
| US Open | 1R | 1R | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 21 | 11–21 | |||||
| Win–loss | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 2–4 | 2–3 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 5–2 | 1–4 | 0–4 | 3–4 | 6–4 | 4–4 | 7–4 | 9–4 | 6–4 | 1–4 | 5–4 | 6–4 | 0 / 68 | 61–68 | |||||
| WTA Premier Mandatory tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | QF | 1R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 14 | 8–14 | |||||
| Miami | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | Q2 | A | A | A | QF | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | SF | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | QF | 0 / 11 | 8–11 | |||||
| Madrid | Not Held | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | QF | QF | 2R | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R | 0 / 11 | 7–11 | |||||||||||||||
| Beijing | Not Held | Not Tier I | A | A | QF | QF | QF | QF | 1R | 1R | 1R | QF | 1R | 0 / 9 | 10–9 | ||||||||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ "Abigail Spears: Profile". University of California, Los Angeles. Archived from the original on June 9, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Abigail Spears: Info". Women's Tennis Association. Archived from the original on December 7, 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
- ^ "ITF Tennis – ANTIDOPING".
- ^ ITIA - Retired Players List
- ^ Dillman, Lisa (January 21, 2005). "Nerves Have Been Her Toughest Opponent". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
- ^ "Abigail Spears: Stats". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
- ^ "Wimbledon 2005 Ladies' Doubles Championship" (PDF). Women's Tennis Association. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
- ^ a b "Women's Bios: Abigail Spears". US Open. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
- ^ "Spears, Cabal win mixed doubles, continue 30s theme in Oz". USA Today. Melbourne. The Associated Press. January 29, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
Spears was striving to win her first Grand Slam title in her farewell year. She plans to retire at the end of this season after a career in which she was twice runner-up in mixed doubles finals with Mexican Santiago González at the U.S. Open in 2013 and 2014.
