Currently ranked No. 25 in the world, Slovakia’s Daniel Hantuchova has 15 career Tour titles, including four mixed doubles Grand Slam titles.
She has achieved a career mixed doubles Grand Slam, doing so with four different partners. She has been ranked as high as No. 5 in singles (Jan. 27, 2003) and No. 5 in doubles (Aug. 26, 2002).
She played her first Tour main draw in 1999, then reached two quarterfinals in 2000. Her first top 100 season came in 2001 when she finished 37th in the world. She made the second round at the French Open and Wimbledon, and won her first Grand Slam mixed doubles title at Wimbledon (with Leos Firedl).
She burst into the Top 10 in 2002, finishing eighth on the year. Her first Tour singles title came at Indian Wells where she defeated
Martina Hingis. She made her Top 20 debut shortly thereafter, rising from No. 26 to No. 17. She also won her second mixed doubles Grand Slam, teaming with Kevin Ullyett to win the Australian Open.
She complimented that with her first two Grand Slam quarterfinals appearances, losing to
Serena Williams at both Wimbledon and the US Open. She reached the third round at the Australian Open (
losing to Venus Williams) and the fourth round at the French Open (losing to Monica Seles).
In 2003 she finished 19th overall, reaching a third straight Grand Slam quarterfinal before losing to Venus at the Australian Open. This allowed her to move into the Top 5 (fifth), the first Slovak woman to be ranked that high. She slid to 31st in 2004, but rebounded into the top 20 in 2005.
Her biggest fame came in mixed doubles, as she won the French with Fabrice Santoro and the US with Mahesh Bhupathi, joining Martina Navratilova as the only two women in Open Era history to complete a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles.
She finished 18th in 2006, with her best showing at the Australian Open, where she defeated Serena for the first time and reached the fourth round.
In 2007, she finished in the top 10 for the first time in five years, winning her second and third singles titles and reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open (
lost to Kim Clijsters) and Wimbledon (lost to Serena). She became the first Slovak woman to break $5 million in prize money.
She reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open to begin the 2008 season, but injuries plagued her the rest of the year and she eventually fell out of the top 20, finishing 21st for the first time in more than two years.
She ended 2009 ranked 24th without winning any titles. She reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and the US Open, losing to Serena both times.
In 2010, she reached the third round of the Australian Open and the fourth round of the French Open.
Career Grand Slam Titles
Mixed Doubles: Australian Open (2002); French Open (2005); Wimbledon (2001); US Open (2005).
Year-End Singles Rankings: 1999 – 201st; 2000 – 108th; 2001 – 37th; 2002 -8th; 2003 – 19th; 2004 – 31st; 2005 – 19th; 2006 – 18th; 2007 – 9th; 2008 – 21st; 2009 – 24th.
Personal
Coached by Carlos Cuadrado. Her older brother is an architect working in Bratislava. Qualified for the top university in Slovakia but declined it to pursue tennis. Speaks Slovak, English, German and is learning Spanish. Also studied classical piano from ages 6-14.