Ai Sugiyama (杉山愛, Sugiyama Ai?) (born July 5, 1975, Yokohama, Japan) is a retired Japanese professional tennis player. She is a former world No. 1 in women's doubles, and was considered to be one of the best doubles player in the WTA Tour. Her career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 achieved on February 9, 2004. She turned professional in 1992. In her career, she won 6 singles titles and 37 doubles titles, including three Grand Slam women's doubles titles (1 with Frenchwoman Julie Halard-Decugis and 2 partnering Belgian Kim Clijsters). Sugiyama has the all-time record, for both male and female players, for the most consecutive Grand Slam main draw appearances which currently stands at 62 making her one of the most consistent tour players [1]. She is the very first Asian to be rank no.1 in either discipline (singles or doubles)
Ai was coached by her mother and played a game based on her fitness and speed, utilizing an aggressive serve and volley , being a double specialist, whenever feasible. With her excellent footwork she moves fast and can present a good rally against her opponent. Ai also has an excellent stamina and endurance that allows her opponent to receive a tough match , one proof is she has a 62 streak Grand Slam main draw appearances, most for any female or male players. Ai's most notable trait is her optimistic views during matches which allow her to deliver great classic comeback. Her everlasting smile that gives her confidence during matches , that is one why she is always supported and adored by the crowd because of her positive views in her matches.
Ai started out her season with a first round loss to Samantha Stosur, and in the women's doubles a semi-final finish losing to Jans and Rosolska in the Brisbane International partnering Daniela Hantuchova. In the Medibank International, Sugiyama made the semi-finals eventually losing to Dinara Safina 6-4, 7-6(3)
In the 2009 Australian Open, Ai made the third round losing to Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 6-4. As the 9th seed in doubles playing with Hantuchova, they beat the #1 seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber 6-7(0), 6-3, 7-6(10). In the third set "Hantuyama" were down 5-2, but rallied to level the match and take it to a tie-break, where they saved seven match points to win the final set tiebreak 12-10. In the semi-finals, they beat Nathalie Dechy and Mara Santangelo 6-4, 6-2 to make it the first time Sugiyama has made the women's doubles final of the Australian Open. Their run was ended in the final, where they were defeated by Serena Williams and Venus Williams in two sets, 6-3, 6-3. Her next tournament is the 2009 Open GDF Suez but she withdrew from the competition.
Sugiyama entered the 2009 Dubai Tennis Championships and lost in the opening round to Marion Bartoli in a tight 3-set match 0-6, 6-4, 6-7(6). Sugiyama and Hantuchova also played doubles at the Dubai Tennis Championships but withdrew because Ai had a upper respiratory tract infection that she is what also caused her to pull out of the Open GDF Suez
On the ongoing 2009 BNP Paribas Open Ai sugiyama and Daniela Hantuchova were seeded 5 in the women's doubles but lost to the pair Kudryavtseva/Rodionova 6-4, 4-6, 16-14 in the first round. In singles, she faced qualifier Angela Haynes in the second round but lost 4-6, 5-7.
At the Sony Ericsson open she lost both her opening matches in singles and doubles, consecutively in a Premiere Mandatory event, being beaten in the second round in singles after receiving a bye, and due to her loss in the doubles event (partnering Hantuchova) her ranking drops to world no.5.
Sugiyama then went on to lose in singles in the first round of four consecutive tournaments, Miami, Stuttgart, Rome, and Madrid. However alongside Daniela Hantuchova, Sugiyama managed to make it to the finals at the Rome Masters where they lost to the no 7 seeds, Su-Wei Hsieh and Shuai Peng. They also made it to the quarter finals at the 2009 Madrid Masters where they lost to Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs.
At Eastbourne Sugiyama won her 38th doubles title with Akgul Amanmuradova where they beat Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbsin the final.
On June 22 she extended her record of the most consecutive Grand Slam main draw appearances by any man or woman to 61 at the Wimbledon Championships, defeating the seeded Patty Schnyder in straight sets 6-4 6-4 to break her 11 match losing streak. She then advanced to the third round where she lost to Daniela Hantuchova who is also her doubles partner.
In stanford she lost in the first round to Maria Sharapova in three sets 4-6, 7-6, 1-6, saving two match points in the second set. She then lost in the second round in LA to Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-0.
Sugiyama announced at a press conference on September 11, 2009 that she plans to retire at the end of the 2009 tennis season. She retired from competitions after she played at the 2009 Toray Pan Pacific Open, held in her native country, Japan. A special ceremony for her was held at the center court before the tournament. Ai plans to rest at home for a few months before concentrating on teaching youngsters at her tennis academy in Japan
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