Alison Riske-Amritraj
 Alison Riske in action during the 2010 Bank of the West Classic. | |
| Country (sports) |  United States |
|---|---|
| Residence | Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA |
| Born | July 3, 1990 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) |
| Turned pro | 2009 |
| Prize money | $171,598 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 110–75 |
| Career titles | 4 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 104 (May 9, 2011) |
| Current ranking | No. 115 (June 20, 2011) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | 1R (2011) |
| Wimbledon | 1R (2010, 2011) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 23–24 |
| Career titles | 1 ITF |
| Highest ranking | 362 (May 16, 2011) |
| Last updated on: June 20, 2011. | |
Alison Riske (born July 3, 1990) is a professional American tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 104, which she reached on May 9, 2011. Her career high in doubles is 362, which she reached on May 9, 2011.
Early life and career
The daughter of Al and Carol Riske,[1] she first played tennis at the age of 3 years old after her dad took her out to hit.[2] Her father worked in the secret service and later as an FBI investigator, while her mother was a school teacher, but both are now retired.[3] Her sister, Sarah, is also a tennis player who played for Vanderbilt and had a brief professional career,[2] reaching as high as No. 372.[4] Her brother, Dan, played college tennis for West Liberty State,[5] and is now an accountant.[3]
Educated by the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School,[5] she played the fall of 2006 for Peters Township High School, where she led the girls' tennis team to the Pennsylvania State championship, and won the championship in singles.[1] The following year, she won the USTA National Collegiate Clay Court Championship to earn a spot in the US Open qualifying draw, where she won her first match over Sorana Cîrstea before losing to Julie Ditty. She also won the ITA Summer Claycourt Championship and finished second at the USTA National Hardcourts that year. In early 2008, she earned the No. 1 ranking in her country in Girls 18s competition.[6] She got her first taste of the professional circuit later that year, when she served as a hitting partner for the United States Fed Cup team in their semifinal against Russia.[7]
In her early career, Riske was coached by Janice Irwin, coach of the girls' tennis team at nearby Upper St. Clair High School.[8] She later begun working with Yves Boulais, the husband of former professional Patricia Hy-Boulais, who still works with her alongside her sister, Sarah, who is currently her main coach.[3] Riske also trains at Van Der Meer in Hilton Head, SC.
Professional career
2009–10
Riske came into 2009 ranked 895 in the world.[9] A senior in the class of 2009, she had signed a letter of intent to play college tennis at Vanderbilt University.[6]
Riske dabbled in a few pro tournaments with small success until May. Finding impressive form, Riske began a run on the ITF Women's circuit. As a qualifier, she reached the semifinals of a pro tournament in Indian Harbour Beach. In June she reached the finals of a tournament in Hilton Head, and again as a qualifier reached the semifinals of a tournament in Boston. Her form continued as she reached another semifinal, this time in Atlanta.
By the time of the US Open, Riske's ranking had improved to 344, over 500 places from when she started the year. She was granted a wildcard into the qualifying tournament of the US Open, but fell in three sets to Yulia Fedossova. Before the US Open Riske made the decision to give up her scholarship to Vanderbilt and turn professional largely in part due to her breakthrough year.[10] Riske continued her form to the end of the year where she broke through in her first professional tournament in Troy, Alabama. Again as a qualifier she made another impressive run to claim the title over compatriot Christina McHale.
She finished the year ranked at No. 232.[9]
Riske begun 2010, her first full season as a professional, by reaching the semifinals of an ITF event in Rancho Mirage. She played in several qualifying tournaments for WTA events with little success until June, when she qualified for the AEGON Classic, a grass court event, and went on to have her professional breakthrough, earning wins over Aleksandra Wozniak, Anna Chakvetadze and Yanina Wickmayer before losing in three sets to Maria Sharapova in the semifinals. This led to her being offered a main draw wildcard to Wimbledon,[3] her Grand Slam debut, where she lost in a rematch against Wickmayer in the first round.
In October 2010, Riske completed an impressive run of winning an ITF 75k, 50K and 50K in three straight weeks.
Career statistics
ITF Circuit singles finals (4–3)
| $100,000 tournaments |
| $75,000 tournaments |
| $50,000 tournaments |
| $25,000 tournaments |
| $10,000 tournaments |
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Runner–up | 1. | June 1, 2009 | Hilton Head, United States | Hard |  Alexandra Mueller
|
1–6, 6–3, 3–6 |
| Winner | 1. | October 5, 2009 | Troy, United States | Hard | Christina McHale
|
6–4, 2–6, 7–5 |
| Runner–up | 2. | September 20, 2010 | Saguenay, Canada | Hard |  Rebecca Marino
|
4–6, 7–6(4), 6–7(5) |
| Winner | 2. | October 4, 2010 | Barnstaple, Great Britain | Hard |  Johanna Larsson
|
6–2, 6–0 |
| Winner | 3. | October 11, 2010 | Joué-lès-Tours, France | Hard |  Vesna Manasieva
|
5–7, 6–4, 6–1 |
| Winner | 4. | October 18, 2010 | Saint Raphaël, France | Hard |  Urszula Radwańska
|
6–4, 6–2 |
| Runner–up | 3. | May 8, 2011 | Indian Harbour Beach, United States | Clay |  Melinda Czink
|
6–4, 1–6, 4–6 |
ITF Circuit doubles finals (1–3)
| $100,000 tournaments |
| $75,000 tournaments |
| $50,000 tournaments |
| $25,000 tournaments |
| $10,000 tournaments |
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Winner | 1. | June 1, 2009 | Hilton Head, United States | Hard | Jacqueline Cako
|
Natalie Pluskota Caitlin Whoriskey
|
6–3, 3–6, 10–6 |
| Runner–up | 1. | July 20, 2009 | Lexington, United States | Hard | Jacqueline Cako
|
 Chang Kai-chen  Tetiana Luzhanska
|
3–6, 2–6 |
| Runner–up | 2. | February 13, 2011 | Midland, United States | Hard | Irina Falconi
|
Jamie Hampton  Anna Tatishvili
|
Walkover |
| Runner–up | 3. | April 24, 2011 | Dothan, United States | Clay | Heidi El Tabakh
|
Valeria Solovieva  Lenka Wienerová
|
3–6, 4–6 |
References
- ^ a b "Local Girl at US Open". Peters Township Magazine. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
- ^ a b "Alison Riske interview". collegeandjuniortennis.com. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
- ^ a b c d "Getting To Know... Alison Riske". Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. Retrieved 2010-06-22.
- ^ "Sarah Riske". Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
- ^ a b Adamski, Chris (2008-11-23). "Washington Sunday: Peters' Riske chooses Vanderbilt". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
- ^ a b "Riske Signs NLI with Vanderbilt". Vanderbilt Athletics. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
- ^ "Peters Township's tennis star weighing future options". Pittsburgh Live. Retrieved 2010-10-06.
- ^ Brink, Bill (2010-06-16). "Peters Township's Riske ready to tackle Wimbledon". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Retrieved 2010-10-22.
- ^ a b "Alison Riske". Women's Tennis Association(WTA). Retrieved 2009-12-26.
- ^ Adamski, Chris (2009-09-03). "Turning pro is a Riske business". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
External links
- Alison Riske at the Women's Tennis Association
- {{ITF profile}} template using deprecated numeric ID.
- Template:ITF junior profile