Julia Olegovna Vakulenko (born July 10, 1983 in
YaltaYalta is a city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea.The city is located on the site of an ancient Greek colony, said to have been founded by Greek sailors who were looking for a safe shore on which to land. It is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black...
) is a professional
UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
-born female tennis player. She achieved her career high ranking of No. 31 on January 14, 2008.
In April, 2008, Vakulenko
renouncedRenunciation is a voluntary act of relinquishing one's citizenship . It is the opposite of naturalization whereby a person voluntarily acquires a citizenship, and related to denaturalization where the loss of citizenship is not voluntary, but forced by a state.-Historic practices:The old common law...
her
Ukrainian citizenshipCitizenship of Ukraine is governed by the Law on Citizenship of Ukraine and by the Ukrainian Constitution.-Definition of Ukrainian citizenship:Citizens of Ukraine are defined as:...
announcing her decision to acquire the citizenship of Spain where she's lived for the last ten years.
Career
At the
2006 French OpenThe 2006 French Open was held in Paris, France from May 28 to June 11, 2006. Both defending champions, Rafael Nadal and Justine Henin-Hardenne, retained their titles. It is one of the four tennis Grand Slams. This edition made history as it became the first Grand Slam tournament to start on a...
, Vakulenko reached the
third roundJustine Henin-Hardenne was the defending champion, and she defended her title by beating Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final, 6–4, 6–4.-Schedule:-Seeds:# Amélie Mauresmo # Kim Clijsters # Nadia Petrova ...
.
At
Wimbledon 2006The 2006 Wimbledon Championships began on 26 June and finished on 9 July 2006.-Gentlemen's singles: Roger Federer defeated Rafael Nadal 6-0 7-6 6-7 6-3-Ladies' singles: Amélie Mauresmo defeated Justine Henin-Hardenne 2-6 6-3 6-4...
, she had to pull out during the first round due to injury.
Julia became
Kim ClijstersKim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
' last opponent in her professional career (before Clijsters' return in 2009). Julia won 7–6(3), 6–3 in the second round of J&S Cup in Warsaw, Poland on May 3, 2007. This earned her the nickname "Kimmie Killer".
A week later, Julia defeated World No. 3
Amélie MauresmoAmélie Simone Mauresmo ; is a French former professional tennis player, and a former World No. 1. Mauresmo won two Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon....
at the
Qatar Telecom German OpenThe German Open, sponsored from 2006 through 2008 as the Qatar Telecom German Open, was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women played in Berlin, Germany. Held since 1896, it was one of the oldest tournaments for women...
in Berlin 2–6, 6–1, 6–2 (her career best) and then defeated
Dinara SafinaDinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
6–3, 5–7, 6–3 to earn a spot in the semifinals against
Ana IvanovićAna Ivanović is a former world no. 1 Serbian tennis player. As of November 7, 2011, she is ranked 22th on the WTA rankings. She beat Dinara Safina to win the 2008 French Open and was the runner-up in singles at the 2007 French Open and the 2008 Australian Open...
.
On August 28, 2007, in the first round of the
US OpenThe 2007 US Open was held from 27 August to 9 September 2007, at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, New York City....
, Julia defeated number nine seed
Daniela HantuchováDaniela Hantuchová is a Slovak professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first Tier I tournament and ended the year in the top 10.She is currently coached by Larri Passos...
6–4, 3–6, 6–1. She eventually reached the fourth round, her best performance at a major yet, before falling to
Ágnes SzávayÁgnes Szávay is a professional tennis player from Hungary. She is the country's highest ranked tennis player. She was the WTA Newcomer of the Year in 2007. She achieved her career high ranking of World No. 13 on April 14, 2008.- Background :...
.
At the final event of the season, the
Bell ChallengeThe Bell Challenge is a WTA Tour Tier III tennis tournament held in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada since 1993. The tournament is played on indoor hardcourts....
held in
Quebec CityQuebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, Canada, Julia reached the first WTA final of her career. En-route she beat
Rossana de los RíosRossana de los Ríos born September 16, 1975 is a professional tennis player from Paraguay. As of June 14, 2010, she is ranked World No. 92 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour...
, home favourite
Stéphanie DuboisStéphanie Dubois is a Canadian professional tennis player. She turned professional in 2004 and she achieved a career-best ranking of No. 95 in the world on May 26, 2008.-2004–present:...
,
Olga GovortsovaOlga Govortsova is a professional Belarusian tennis player. As of May 10, 2010 her highest singles ranking on the WTA is World Number 35, which she achieved on June 23, 2008.-Career:...
and surprise package
Julie DittyJulie Ditty is an American professional tennis player. Ditty did not have her true WTA breakthrough until 2007, when she reached the semifinals of the Bell Challenge, a result that took her into the top 100 for the first time in her career on November 5, 2007, at No. 91...
. In the final, she lost to three-time Grand Slam champion
Lindsay DavenportLindsay Ann Davenport is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her as the 29th-best player of the preceding forty years...
6–4, 6–1, who was playing in only her third event since giving birth.
After changing of her citizenship from Ukrainian to Spanish in April, 2008, she plans to play for the Spain in the
Fed CupFed Cup is the premier team competition in women's tennis, launched in 1963 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the International Tennis Federation...
but she wasn't able to compete in 2008 Olympics due to lack of time to be included in Spain's application.
Singles performance timeline
To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament when the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the 2008 French OpenThe 2008 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 107th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 25 through June 8, 2008....
, which ended on June 8, 2008.
| Tournament | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | Career Win-Loss |
| Grand Slams |
Australian OpenThe Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
|
A |
A |
2R |
A |
A |
2R |
1R |
2–3 |
| French Open |
A |
3R |
1R |
A |
3R |
1R |
1R |
4–5 |
| Wimbledon |
A |
1R |
1R |
2R |
1R |
1R |
1R |
1–6 |
U.S. OpenThe US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...
|
A |
2R |
2R |
A |
A |
4R |
1R |
4–3 |
| Grand Slam Win-Loss |
0-0 |
3-3 |
2-4 |
1-1 |
2-2 |
4-4 |
0-4 |
12-18 |
| WTA Tier I tournaments |
| Doha The Qatar Ladies Open , known as the Qatar Total Open for sponsorship reasons, is tennis tournament held in Doha, Qatar. Held since 2001, this WTA Tour event was a Tier I-tournament in 2008, and was played on outdoor hardcourts. Total S.A. was the main tournament sponsor...
1 |
Not Tier I or Was Not Held |
A |
0–0 |
| Indian Wells The Indian Wells Masters is an annual tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California....
|
A |
A |
1R |
A |
A |
1R |
A |
0–2 |
| Miami The Miami Masters is an annual tennis tournament for men and women held in Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida. It is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the men's tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the women's tour and is played on hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park...
|
A |
A |
1R |
A |
A |
3R |
A |
2–2 |
| Charleston The Family Circle Cup is a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1973. The tournament is currently played on the green clay courts at the Daniel Island Tennis Center in Charleston, South Carolina, USA...
|
1R |
A |
A |
A |
3R |
1R |
A |
2–3 |
BerlinThe German Open, sponsored from 2006 through 2008 as the Qatar Telecom German Open, was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women played in Berlin, Germany. Held since 1896, it was one of the oldest tournaments for women...
|
A |
A |
1R |
A |
2R |
SF |
A |
5–3 |
| Rome The Italian Open is an annual tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is the most prestigious red clay tennis tournament in the world after the French Open, with the men's competition being an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, and the women's...
|
2R |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
1R |
1–2 |
Montreal/TorontoThe Canada Masters , currently sponsored as the Rogers Cup, is an annual tennis tournament held in Canada. The men's competition is a Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour. The women's competition is a Premier 5 tournament on the Women's Tennis Association tour...
|
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
1R |
|
0–1 |
| Tokyo The is a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1984 on in Tokyo, Japan. It is classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament since 1993. The event has traditionally been played on indoor carpet at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, but the 2008 event...
|
A |
A |
1R |
A |
A |
A |
|
0–1 |
| Moscow The Kremlin Cup is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the ATP Tour and is a Premier Tournament on the WTA Tour...
|
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
|
0–0 |
| San Diego1 |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
1R |
- |
0–1 |
| Zurich The Zurich Open was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, formerly held every winter in Zurich, Switzerland. It was classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament from 1993 until 2007. In its final year, 2008, it was downgraded to a Tier II event.The Open was held at...
1 |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
- |
0–0 |
| Tournaments Won |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Year End Ranking |
209 |
73 |
129 |
185 |
120 |
32 |
|
N/A |
- A = did not participate in the tournament
- 1 Doha
The Qatar Ladies Open , known as the Qatar Total Open for sponsorship reasons, is tennis tournament held in Doha, Qatar. Held since 2001, this WTA Tour event was a Tier I-tournament in 2008, and was played on outdoor hardcourts. Total S.A. was the main tournament sponsor...
became a Tier I tournament in 2008, replacing San Diego and ZürichThe Zurich Open was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, formerly held every winter in Zurich, Switzerland. It was classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament from 1993 until 2007. In its final year, 2008, it was downgraded to a Tier II event.The Open was held at...
External links