Regina Kulikova

Regina Kulikova
Full name Regina Aleksandrovna Kulikova
Country (sports)  Russia
Residence Biel, Switzerland
Born (1989-01-30) 30 January 1989
Almaty, Kazakhstan
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Turned pro 2004
Retired 2014
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money US$438,568
Singles
Career record 192 - 84
Career titles 13 ITF
Highest ranking No. 65 (3 May 2010)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open 2R (2011)
French Open 1R (2010)
Wimbledon 3R (2009, 2010)
US Open 1R (2010)
Doubles
Career record 20 - 11
Career titles 2 ITF
Highest ranking No. 226 (16 May 2011)
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open 2R (2010)
Wimbledon 1R (2010)
Last updated on: February 22, 2014.

Regina Aleksandrovna Kulikova (Russian: Регина Александровна Куликова, born 30 January 1989) is a former professional Russian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 65th, which she reached on May 3, 2010.[1] Her career high in doubles is 417th, which she reached on 28 September 2009.[1] Her best result on the WTA tour so far is the quarterfinal appearance at the 2010 Dubai Tennis Championships where she defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova.[2] Her biggest victory at a Grand Slam tournament came at the 2011 Australian Open, where she defeated former semi-finalist Daniela Hantuchová in the first round.

Tennis career

As a junior Kulikova reached a career high of 22 in October 2004.[3]

2009

After a six-month lay off, Kulikova started her 2009 on the ITF Circuit in May, falling in her opening qualifying match.[4] She then played in the qualifying event for the French Open, but lost in the first round to Vania King.[5] Kulikova returned to the ITF Circuit with more success, reaching the quarterfinals of the singles and winning the doubles title at a tournament in Galatina.[6] In her subsequent tournament, Kulikova qualified for her first grand slam at Wimbledon. She beat Karolina Šprem in the first round and then upset world number 27 Alisa Kleybanova in three sets. Kulikova's run came to an end against world number 4 Elena Dementieva in the third round, going down 6–1 6–2 to her compatriot.[7] Despite the scoreline, Dementieva was full of praise for her opponent, commenting: "She is a very good player. She was very impressive through the whole week".[8] The rest of Regina's summer was marred by injury, as she was forced to retire in the final round of qualifying for the Banka Koper Slovenia Open. She returned to action at the US Open but lost in her first qualifying match. At the Bell Challenge, Kulikova defeated Jorgelina Cravero before falling to Lucie Šafářová 6–2 7–5.[9] Kulikova finished 2009 by returning to the ITF Circuit where she won three titles—Las Vegas, Kansas City and Dubai. Her win at the Las Vegas Open was all the more impressive as Kulikova was suffering from a back strain during the final.[10] Regina's last match of 2009 was a win, as she defeated Sandra Záhlavová 7–6(6) 6–3 to take the 11th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge in Dubai.[11] Kulikova ended the year ranked at 138.

2010

In 2010 Kulikova came through to qualify for the first time at the Australian Open. In the first round she lost to Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová 7–6(5) 6–7(10) 6–3 in four hours and nineteen minutes, which was the second-longest women's singles match in the Open Era.[12]

Ranked 99 in the world, Kulikova entered one of the biggest events of the year at the 2010 Dubai Tennis Championships and had a tremendous run by reaching the quarter–finals. She qualified for the main draw by defeating Chanelle Scheepers 6–3, 6–0 and Alla Kudryavtseva 6–2, 7–5. She then reached the third round by defeating Maria Kirilenko 6–3, 6–0 and Stefanie Vögele 6–3, 6–0. In the third round she came from a set down and a 1–4 third set deficit to defeat World No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova 5–7, 7–6(2), 6–4.[2] She then lost in three sets to World No. 9 Agnieszka Radwańska in the quarterfinals with a score of 3–6, 6–4, 6–3. Due to her success, she jumped 31 places in the WTA rankings to a career high of No. 68.

Hoping to continue her recent good form, Kulikova entered the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. In the qualifying rounds she lost just 3 games, defeating Sharon Fichman 6–0, 6–1 and Kathrin Wörle 6–1, 6–1 to enter the main draw. She was then defeated by World No. 55 Roberta Vinci 3–6, 6–3, 6–4 in the first round. In the first set, Kulikova came back from 0–3 to win it 6–3 and attempted to launch a comeback from 1–5 in the third set and managed to get to 4–5 30–00 but could not push for the win.

She then entered the main draw of the 2010 Barcelona Ladies Open and defeated 8th seed Lucie Šafářová in the first round 6–3, 7–6(4). She was then defeated by unseeded Timea Bacsinszky in the second round 2–6, 6–2, 6–3. Despite an early loss, she rose to a new career high of No. 66.

After a short break, Kulikova resumed her clay court season with a direct entry into the 2010 Internationaux de Strasbourg. She was defeated by top seed Maria Sharapova in the first round 6–3, 3–6, 6–1.

Due to her ranking, Kulikova then competed in the main draw of the French Open without having to qualify. She drew 17th seed Francesca Schiavone in the first round and despite much determination, she was unable to beat the Italian, losing 5–7, 6–3, 6–4, the only player to take a set off the eventual champion in the tournament.

Personal life

Born in Almaty in Kazakhstan, Kulikova was six years old when she first played tennis; her mother took her to the tennis courts near their house to try the sport out.[13] At 19 Regina married Simone Serges, she first met him at the tennis club in Italy where she used to train.[13] On her marriage Kulikova has been quoted as saying: "He's not a tennis player but he was trying to play! He's a nice person, I'm very happy with my marriage".[13]

Career finals

Singles: 18 (13-5)

$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score
Winner 1. August 23, 2005 Trecastagni, Italy Hard Italy Giulia Meruzzi 6–1, 4–6, 6–4
Runner-up 2. October 17, 2005 Settimo San Pietro, Italy Clay Italy Anna Floris 4–6, 1–4 retired
Winner 3. July 11, 2006 Imola, Italy Carpet France Anaïs Laurendon 6–4, 6–2
Winner 4. August 8, 2006 Jesi, Italy Hard Italy Giulia Gatto-Monticone 6–3, 6–4
Runner-up 5. August 21, 2006 Trecastagni, Italy Hard Italy Anna Floris 7–6, 0–6, 2-6
Winner 6. May 1, 2007 Incheon, Korea Hard South Korea Lee Ye-ra 6–3, 2–6, 6–3
Winner 7. May 15, 2007 Changwon, Korea Hard Chinese Taipei Chan Chin-wei 6–3, 4–6, 6–2
Runner-up 8. June 6, 2007 Changsha, China Hard Zhang Shuai 3–6, 4–6
Runner-up 9. June 11, 2007 Guangzhou, China Hard China Zhang Shuai 3–6, 1–6
Winner 10. June 26, 2007 Noto, Japan Carpet China Zhang Shuai 7–5, 6–1
Runner-up 11. July 3, 2007 Nagoya, Japan Hard China Zhang Shuai 3–6, 1–6
Winner 12. February 18, 2008 Clearwater, United States Hard Ukraine Yevgenia Savranska 6–4, 6–4
Winner 13. September 22, 2008 Granada, Spain Hard Spain Estrella Cabeza-Candela 6–3, 6–4
Winner 14. September 28, 2009 Las Vegas, United States Hard Hungary Anikó Kapros 6–2, 6–2
Winner 15. October 12, 2009 Kansas City, United States Hard Canada Valérie Tétreault 6–4, 6–1
Winner 16. December 14, 2009 Dubai, United Arab Emirates Hard Czech Republic Sandra Záhlavová 7–6(7–3), 6–3
Winner 17. September 19, 2011 Albuquerque, United States Hard Georgia (country) Anna Tatishvili 7–5, 6–3
Winner 18. December 29, 2012 St. Petersburg, Russia Carpet Ukraine Anastasiya Vasylyeva 6–0, 5–7, 6–4

Doubles: 5 (2-3)

Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponent in the final Score
Runner-up 1. August 23, 2005 Trecastagni, Italy Hard Russia Marina Shamayko New Zealand Leanne Baker
Italy Francesca Lubiani		 2–6, 6–4, 3–6
Winner 2. September 13, 2008 Ciampino, Italy Clay Italy Claudia Giovine Italy Stefania Chieppa
Italy Lisa Sabino		 6–4, 4–6, [10–7]
Runner-up 3. September 22, 2008 Granada, Spain Hard France Irena Pavlović Spain Leticia Costas-Moreira
Spain Maite Gabarrus Alonso		 walkover
Winner 4. June 6, 2009 Galatina, Italy Clay Russia Elena Bovina Spain Beatriz Garcia-Vidagany
Argentina María Emilia Salerni		 6–2, 6–1
Runner-up 5. June 6, 2011 Nottingham, United Kingdom Grass Russia Evgeniya Rodina Czech Republic Eva Birnerova
Czech Republic Petra Cetkovska		 3–6, 2–6

References

  1. 1 2 "Regina Kulikova stats on WTA official site". WTA. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Wozniacki and Kuznetsova sent crashing in Dubai". BBC Online. January 19, 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  3. ↑ "Regina Kulikova ITF profile". ITF. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  4. ↑ "Saint-Gaudens 2009 results". ITF. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  5. ↑ "French Open 2009 results". ITF. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  6. ↑ "Galatina 2009 results". ITF. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  7. ↑ "Classy Dementieva destroys qualifier Kulikova". Reuters India. June 26, 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  8. ↑ "Dementieva powers past Kulikova". United Kingdom: BBC Online. 26 June 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  9. ↑ "Safarova Sails Into QFs". WTA. September 17, 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  10. ↑ Silver, Steve (October 4, 2009). "Kulikova overcomes injury to capture Las Vegas Open championship". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  11. ↑ Gomes, Alaric (December 20, 2009). "'Tired' Kulikova snatches title as Zahlavova misses chances". Gulfnews. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  12. ↑ "Four Hours, 19 Minutes". WTA. January 19, 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  13. 1 2 3 "Getting To Know... Regina Kulikova". London: WTA. June 25, 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
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