Sabina Lisicki has the fastest serve in women's tennis to date. She is also a two-time Wimbledon finalist and winner of eight WTA tournaments (four of which were won in singles).
Childhood and first victories in adult tournaments
The date of birth of tennis player Sabina Lisicki is September 22, 1989, the place of birth is the German town of Troisdorf. Her parents emigrated to Germany from Poland ten years before her birth.
Sabina started playing tennis at the age of seven. It is interesting that in her junior years she did not have enough stars from the sky: during this period she managed to reach only the first hundred of the world ranking. Sabina's most notable achievement as a junior is the prize she received in 2005 at the Eddie Herr International tournament (in this tournament she reached the semifinals).
From the age of sixteen, Sabina began performing in adult competitions. And here the German woman, thanks to hard work on herself, pretty soon began to achieve good results. In 2007, she became a finalist three times in tournaments with a prize pool of $ 25,000 and once in a tournament with a prize pool of $ 50,000.
Tennis player career from 2008 to 2013
In 2008, Lissicki already had enough rating to qualify for the Australian Open. And Sabina used this chance - she passed the selection with almost no problems, and then showed a high class in the main draw. In the first round of the Australian Open 2008, she outplayed Dinara Safina, seeded at this tournament at number 16. This allowed the German woman to go to the second round and meet with the Ukrainian Maria Korytseva there. This match also ended with Lisicki's victory. But the next rival - Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki - Sabina failed to pass. The Danish turned out to be stronger.
In the fall of 2008, Lisicki reached the final of the WTA series tournament held in Tashkent. However, in the match for the title she lost to the Romanian tennis player Sorana Kyrsti.
In general, during the season, Lisicki rose 180 positions in the WTA rankings, entering the TOP-60.
The following year, Sabina continued to progress as an athlete. In February 2009, Sabina showed a brilliant performance at the American tournament in Memphis. Here, in the quarterfinals, she defeated a rather strong Czech player Lucia Shafarzhova. However, in the next, semifinal stage, Lisicki still dropped out of the tournament.
In April 2009, Sabina finally managed to get the first title in her biography in the WTA series tournaments. Lissitzky became the best on dirt surfaces in Charleston. During the tournament, she beat stars such as Marion Bartoli, Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki.
Since the end of 2009, the Lisicki began to pursue injuries. At the 2009 US Open, in a game against Anastasia Rodionova, Sabina injured her ankle. And in March 2010, having received an ankle injury on her left leg, the German woman was forced to take a break from performances for five whole months.
Returning from recovery to the tennis court, Sabina could not achieve the same level of results for a long time. And this was reflected in the rating - in it Lisicki dropped to the third hundred.
In the spring of 2011, Lisicki again began to demonstrate quality tennis. In a tournament in Stuttgart, held in April 2011, Lisicki, performing in a duet with Samantha Stosur, won her first doubles title.
The following month, Sabina was the best in the WTA tournament in Birmingham, and then showed good performance in singles and doubles at Wimbledon. In singles she reached the semifinals, and in doubles (in tandem with Samantha Stosur) - to the final.
In the summer, the series of successful performances continued - Lisicki reached the semifinals at the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford.
Shortly thereafter, she was able to win the third title in a year - this time in the Texas Grapevine. And here in five games she lost only thirteen games to her rivals.
And at the US Open 2011 she reached the 1/8 finals. In general, this season can be called the best in Lisicki's career.
In January 2012, Sabina performed well at the Australian Open - her path at this open championship ended in the fourth round.
In June 2012, the German athlete once again showed herself perfectly on the courts of Wimbledon, reaching the quarterfinals.
In 2013, Lisicki entered the twenty strongest tennis players in the world. This year she had a chance to play in three finals of prestigious tournaments. Especially striking was Lisicki's performance at Wimbdlon. As part of the tournament, she was able to outplay Agnieszka Radwanska and Serena Williams. Directly in the final, Lisicki met with Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli. And it just so happened that the German lost this match - with a score of 6: 1, 6: 4.
Sabina Lisicki in recent years
In 2014, Sabina began to play in doubles tournaments with the famous Swiss Martina Hingis, which paid off. In the March tournament in Miami, Hingis and Lissitzky won the doubles title, overcoming the resistance of Russian tennis players Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina in the decisive game.
And in the summer of 2014, Lisicki set a record in women's serve speed. It happened at a tournament in Stanford, in a match against Serbian Ana Ivanovic. The ball after hitting Lisicki gained a speed of 210.8 km / h (the previous record - 209 km / h - belonged to Venus Williams). However, this did not save the German woman from defeat - it was Ivanovich who made it to the next round.
In September 2014, Sabina became the singles champion for the fourth time - this time the German did not leave her rivals a chance at the championship in Hong Kong. In the final, she confidently outplayed Karolina Plishkova - 6: 3, 7: 5.
On January 10, 2015, Lisicki won her last WTA title to date. Moreover, it was a doubles title. At a tournament in Brisbane, Australia, she, along with the same Martina Hingis, defeated a pair of Carolyn Garcia / Katharina Srebotnik.
In recent years, Sabina has not shown, unfortunately, her best game. At the end of 2016, she was 93 in the world ranking of tennis players, at the end of 2017 - 245th, at the end of 2018 - 199th.
Appearances for the German national team
After the first achievements in adult tennis, Lisicki began to be invited to the German national team. In particular, she played for Germany several times in the Federation Cup.
Sabina's personal debut in this tournament took place in 2008 and turned out to be successful - she defeated American Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals. However, the US team still advanced to the next stage.
In 2014, Lisicki made a significant contribution to the success of the German women's team, which reached the final of the Fed Cup. However, in the final itself, the Germans could not win - tennis players from the Czech Republic were stronger here, the final score was 3: 1 in their favor.
Also on account of Lisicki two appearances in the Hopman Cup - the main world-class competition for mixed doubles. In 2009, her partner in this championship was Nicholas Kiefer, and in 2010 - Philip Kohlschreiber. Unfortunately, both times the Germans were unable to advance beyond the group stage.
In addition, in the summer of 2012, Sabina represented Germany in the mixed doubles tennis tournament at the London Olympics. And here she, together with Christopher Kas, managed to reach the ½ final, where they lost to the British Andy Murray and Laura Robson. The bronze match also ended with the defeat of the Germans - the American pair Lisa Raymond / Mark Brian turned out to be stronger.
Personal life facts
- From the beginning of 2012 to mid-2013, Lisicki met with the swimmer Benjamin Stark, and from the end of 2013 to March 2016, with the comedian Oliver Poker, popular in Germany.
- Lisicka is allergic to grass, and therefore had to take appropriate medications. At the same time, the tennis player achieved the greatest successes on the grass surface.
- Lissitzky has a pet - a Yorkshire terrier called Happy.
- Sabina Lisicki is a fan of the German national football team and the Munich football club Bayern Munich.
