Hsieh Su-wei



Hsieh Su-wei (born January 4, 1986 in Kaohsiung) is a Taiwanese professional female tennis player. As of 25 February 2013 she was ranked No. 23 in the WTA Tour singles rankings and is the highest ranked Taiwanese women's singles player ever.[1]  By winning the 2013 Wimbledon doubles championship (partnering Peng Shuai from the People's Republic of China), she become the first individual from Taiwan to win a Grand Slam title of any kind.



Contents
[hide]  *1 Biography  ==Biography[edit] == Hsieh was born to parents Hsieh Tze-lung and Ho Fom-ju in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. She was introduced to tennis by her father at five years of age. Her younger sister, Hsieh Su-ying, is also a pro tennis player. Hsieh named her tennis idols as Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi.[citation needed]  She has trained at a Taipei tennis school run by Hu Na, a former mainland Chinese player who defected to the USA in 1982.[2]
 * 2 Playing style
 * 3 Professional career
 * 3.1 Early years
 * 3.2 2006–2008
 * 3.3 2009
 * 3.4 2010–2011
 * 3.5 2012
 * 3.6 2013
 * 3.7 2014
 * 4 Significant finals
 * 4.1 Grand Slam finals
 * 4.1.1 Doubles: 1 (1 title)
 * 4.2 Year-End Championships finals
 * 4.2.1 Doubles: 1 (1 title)
 * 4.3 Premier Mandatory/Premier 5 finals
 * 4.3.1 Doubles: 4 (4 titles)
 * 5 WTA career finals
 * 5.1 Singles: 2 (2 titles)
 * 5.2 Doubles: 19 (14 titles, 5 runners-up)
 * 6 Performance timelines
 * 6.1 Singles
 * 6.2 Doubles
 * 6.3 Mixed Doubles
 * 7 References
 * 8 External links

After Hsieh Su-wei won the 2013 Wimbledon doubles championship with her Chinese partner Peng Shuai, her father said that a Chinese company had offered her a sponsorship deal worth 10 million yuan (US$ 1.63 million) per year, on the condition that she switch her citizenship to the People's Republic of China. His remarks caused controversy in Taiwan, even though Hsieh stated that she was not interested in the offer. In response the government of Taiwan mobilized domestic companies to offer her competing deals.[2] ==Playing style[edit] == Hsieh has a very different style of play, compared to most of the other players. She hits the ball with two hands on both sides, thus hitting very flat. Her unorthodox way of playing creates many big angles in her game and makes her shots unpredictable.

Hsieh, unlike most other players, is able to play drop shots and slices on clay court successfully.

Many top players have praised Hsieh's unusual playing style. Maria Sharapova, after her third round win over Hsieh at Wimbledon 2012, said "I faced her many times in the juniors. She used to be a nightmare for me because she used to slice and dropshot on clay. I was like, 'Where did they learn how to play tennis like that?' She uses both hands, switches racquets. That's her game, it's to hit a lot of dropshots and slices and get people kind of crazy."[3] ==Professional career[edit] == ===Early years<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === <p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">During the 2001 Australian Open Junior Grand Slam event, Hsieh reached the girl's singles quarter-finals <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-itftennis.com_4-0" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[4]  and the round of 16 in the girls doubles event with partner Natalie Ko <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-itftennis.com_4-1" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[4]  losing 7-5, 7-5, to eventual champions, Petra Cetcovska and Barbara Strycova.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-itftennis.com_4-2" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[4]  Hsieh displayed stunning results in the 2001 season as a 15-year-old. Playing on the ITF Circuit, she won all of the five events she entered at Wellington, Kaohsiung, Bangkok (twice) and Peachtree City from January until November. She also competed on her two very first WTA Tour events, reaching the semifinals in Bali and the quarterfinals in Pattaya. Although she only played seven tournaments in 2001, she had an impressive 41–2 record, in-addition to her starting her career with 37 wins in a row. On top of that, she had success on the doubles circuit as well, reaching two finals, and winning one of them. ===2006–2008<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === <p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">In 2006, Hsieh entered Wimbledon for the first time and lost in the first round in both Ladies' Singles and Ladies' Doubles. The following year, she entered Wimbledon again, losing in the first round in both Ladies' Singles and Ladies' Doubles.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Su-wei started 2008 by winning three matches to qualify for the Australian Open, where she won her first ever main draw Grand Slam match defeating Klára Zakopalová in three sets. In the second round, she beat the No.19 seed Sybille Bammer 6–2, 6–0, and defeated Aravane Rezaï in the third round to become first Taiwan Team player to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam. She then lost in the fourth round to the World No.1, and No.1 seed Justine Henin in straight sets. The result would lift her into the Top 100 for the first time.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">In March, Hsieh played at Indian Wells, losing in the first round to Elena Vesnina in three sets. A week later, she lost again, this time in the first round of qualifying, to Tatiana Poutchek inMiami. These two defeats saw her ranking fall to 116.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">At the end of April, Hsieh entered the ITF tournament in Incheon as the first seed, and won the tournament, defeating Chinese player Yanze Xie 7–5, 6–7, 6–4. As a result of this win, Hsieh's ranking rose to 99.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">In June 2008, Hsieh had her best Wimbledon Ladies' Singles result by making it to the second round and losing to number 9 seed Dinara Safina of Russia 6–3, 6–2. She beat Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro of France 6–3, 6–2 in the first round. It was Hsieh's third Wimbledon appearance. ===2009<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === <p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">In January at the Australian Open, unseeded Hsieh lost to unseeded countrywoman Chan Yung-jan, 6–3, 6–3 in the first round of women's singles. In women's doubles, she partnered with Peng Shuai of China and as the number 16 seeds defeated the number two seeds Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain in the third round and made it to the quarterfinals before losing to the eventual champions, tenth-seeded Serena Williams and Venus Williams of the USA, 6–2, 4–6, 6–3. Hsieh would win three WTA doubles titles over the course of the year, each with Peng, winning in Sydney, Rome, and Beijing. She would finish the year in the top 10 of the doubles rankings, at number 9. ===2010–2011<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === <p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">She lost in round one of the 2010 Guangzhou International Women's Open to Han Xinyun. This was her only main draw WTA match of 2010.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">At Wimbledon 2011, she reached the semifinals of mixed doubles, with Australia's Paul Hanley. Partnering Zheng Jie, she won the doubles event at the 2011 Guangzhou International Women's Open.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Hsieh won 3 ITF singles titles in 2011; at Mildura (in February), Beijing (in August) and Seoul (in October). ===2012<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === <p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">In March 2012, aged 26, she won her first WTA singles title, beating Petra Martić at the BMW Malaysian Open. She also reached the 3rd round of Wimbledon for the first time losing to then-World No. 1 Maria Sharapova.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">In September, she beat Laura Robson of Great Britain 6–3, 5–7, 6–4 to win the Guangzhou International Women's Open – her second WTA singles title. Despite being 2–0 down in each of the first two sets, having 5 match points saved in the second set, and being 3–0 down in the final set, she fought back to win in searing heat. The match had to be suspended at 1 set apiece as both players suffered in soaring temperatures. ===2013<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === <p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Hsieh began the season at the inaugural Shenzhen Open, seeded 4th. She lost in the second round to Annika Beck. She then lost in the first round of the Moorilla Hobart International to regular doubles partner Peng Shuai. At theAustralian Open, Hsieh won her first round but lost in the second to Svetlana Kuznetsova. In doubles, Hsieh and Peng lost a tough match to top seeds Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci in the third round.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Hsieh entered the PTT Pattaya Open but lost to Marina Erakovic in the first round. She then lost in the second round in Doha and Dubai. As the defending champion in Kuala Lumpur, Hsieh was seeded 2nd and advanced to the quarterfinals with wins over Kurumi Nara and Zhang Shuai. However, she lost in the quarterfinals to eventual finalist Bethanie Mattek-Sands 5-7, 2-6. Her ranking fell from 23 to 35 as a result. Hsieh then fell in the second round of theBNP Paribas Open and Sony Open Tennis.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">During the clay season, she fell in first round of the Mutua Madrid Open, Internazional BNL d'Italia, French Open and second round of the Internationaux de Strasbourg in singles, but won a doubles title in Internazional BNL d'Italia withPeng Shuai. Having tasted success in doubles, she then went on and won four additional titles with Peng Shuai in doubles, namely Wimbledon Championships, Western and Southern Open, Guangzhou International Women's Open andWTA Tour Championships. By qualifying and winning the WTA Tour Championships, Hsieh (along with Peng) became the first Asian player of any kind to ever won a season ending championship and finished her doubles season ranked number 3 in the world.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Hsieh's singles season ended disappointing with numerous first round fell and only five second round shows in AEGON International, Wimbledon Championships, US Open, Guangzhou International Women's Open and BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open. ===2014<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === <p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">After training with her coach Paul McNamee in Australia, she started her season by playing in qualification of Brisbane International and Sydney. She lost in qualifications for both tournaments but received a lucky loser spot in Brisbane due to Caroline Wozniacki withdrawing late. However, she still lost in Round 32 to Carla Suarez Navarro. ==Significant finals<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] == ===Grand Slam finals<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === ====Doubles: 1 (1 title)<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] ==== ===Year-End Championships finals<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === ====Doubles: 1 (1 title)<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] ==== ===Premier Mandatory/Premier 5 finals<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === ====Doubles: 4 (4 titles)<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] ==== ==WTA career finals<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] == ===Singles: 2 (2 titles)<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === ===Doubles: 19 (14 titles, 5 runners-up)<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === ==Performance timelines<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] == <p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Won tournament; or reached Final; Semifinal; Quarter-final; Round 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a Round Robin stage; lost in Qualification Round; absent from tournament event; played in a Davis Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-off; won a bronze, silver (F or S) or gold medal at the Olympics; a downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament (Not a Masters Series); or a tournament that was Not Held in a given year.
 * Key

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated either at the conclusion of a tournament, or when the player's participation in the tournament has ended. ===Singles<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === <p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Only Main Draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam Tournaments and Olympic Games are included in Win–Loss records.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">This table is current through the 2014 Australian Open. <p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">I = Indoor ; IC = Indoor Carpet ; A = Absent ; B = Blue ; NH = Not Held ; P = Premier ===Doubles<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === <p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">Only Main Draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam Tournaments and Olympic Games are included in Win–Loss records.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">This table is current through the 2013 WTA Tour Championships. <p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">I = Indoor ; IC = Indoor Carpet ; A = Absent ; B = Blue ; NH = Not Held ; P = Premier ===Mixed Doubles<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;padding-right:0.25em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[edit] === <p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">This table is current through the 2013 US Open. <p style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;">A = Absent ; NH = Not Held