| Silvia Farina-Elia | |
| Residence: | Rome |
| Birth Date: | 1972 4, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Milan |
| Turnedpro: | 1988 |
| Retired: | 24 October 2005 |
| Plays: | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Careerprizemoney: | $3,688,252 |
| Singlestitles: | 3 |
| Highestsinglesranking: | No. 11 (20 May 2002) |
| Australianopenresult: | 4R (2004, 2005) |
| Frenchopenresult: | 4R (2001, 2002) |
| Wimbledonresult: | QF (2003) |
| Usopenresult: | 4R (2002) |
| Othertournaments: | yes |
| Wtachampionshipsresult: | 1R (2001, 2002) |
| Olympicsresult: | 3R (2000) |
| Doublestitles: | 9 |
| Highestdoublesranking: | No. 24 (21 June 1999) |
| Australianopendoublesresult: | 3R (1997) |
| Frenchopendoublesresult: | QF (1994, 1998, 2004) |
| Wimbledondoublesresult: | QF (1998, 1999) |
| Usopendoublesresult: | 3R (1994, 1999, 2005) |
| Othertournamentsdoubles: | yes |
| Olympicsdoublesresult: | 2R (2004) |
Silvia Farina-Elia (pronounced as /it/; born 27 April 1972) is a former professional tennis player from Italy. She won three WTA singles titles, reached the quarterfinals of the 2003 Wimbledon Championships and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 in May 2002. Farina-Elia won her first ITF title at Caltagirone in 1991 and her first WTA tournament at Strasbourg in 2001. She made her debut Grand Slam appearance at the 1991 French Open and was coached by husband Francesco Elia, whom she married September 1999.
Farina-Elia made steady progression on the ITF circuit during the early 1990s and finished her first year in the top 100 in 1991. She completed her first victory over a top ten player (Gabriela Sabatini, Roland Garros) in 1994 and won her first doubles title the next year. In 1996, she represented Italy at the Atlanta Olympics. 1998 was considered her breakthrough year, reaching the final of four tournaments and in the process securing a place in the year end top 20. She was 26 at the time and thus considered a "late bloomer". She only reached one singles final in 1999 but made a greater impact in doubles, winning three tournaments.
In 2001, Farina-Elia won a belated first WTA Tour title, at the Internationaux de Strasbourg. She ended the year No. 14, what was to be her best year end finish and played in the WTA Tour Championships of 2001 and 2002. She consolidated the Strasbourg win with two more wins at the tournament. In 2003, she achieved her best Grand Slam result at the unlikely venue of Wimbledon, home of her least favourite surface, losing to Kim Clijsters, 7–5, 0–6, 1–6 in the quarterfinals.
Farina-Elia represented Italy at nine Federation Cups and also at three Olympics.
On Monday 24 October 2005, she announced her retirement from the tour due a recurrence of a shoulder injury, saying, "My body has given all it can."[1] [2]
Farina-Elia began playing tennis aged 10; introduced to the sport by her mother, who played recreationally. Her parents are both insurance agents, as is her sister, Olga. Her brother, Enrico, restores furniture. She married Francesco Elia on 22 September 1999 and described the prospect of life after tennis as "exciting".[3]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Grand Slam (0) | |
| Tier I (0) | |
| Tier II (0) | |
| Tier III (3) | |
| Tier IV-V (0) |
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Date | Opponent | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1. | 21 July 1991 | San Marino Open | Clay |  Katia Piccolini | 6–2, 6–3 | |
| Loss | 2. | 11 January 1998 | Auckland Open, New Zealand | Hard |  Dominique van Roost | 4–6, 7–6(9–11), 7–5 | |
| Loss | 3. | 26 April 1998 | Budapest Grand Prix, Hungary | Clay |  Virginia Ruano Pascual | 6–4, 4–6, 6–3 | |
| Loss | 4. | 19 July 1998 | Warsaw Open, Poland | Clay | Conchita Martínez | 6–0, 6–3 | |
| Loss | 5. | 1 November 1998 | Luxembourg Open | Carpet (i) |  Mary Pierce | 6–0, 2–0 ret. | |
| Loss | 6. | 14 February 1999 | Prostějov, Czech Republic | Carpet (i) |  Henrieta Nagyová | 7–6(7–2), 6–4 | |
| Loss | 7. | 7 January 2001 | Gold Coast, Australia | Hard | Justine Henin | 7–6(7–5), 6–4 | |
| Win | 1. | 26 May 2001 | Strasbourg, France | Clay |  Anke Huber | 7–5, 0–6, 6–4 | |
| Win | 2. | 25 May 2002 | Strasbourg, France | Clay | Jelena Dokić | 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 | |
| Win | 3. | 24 May 2003 | Strasbourg, France | Clay | Karolina Šprem | 6–3, 4–6, 6–4 | |
| Loss | 8. | 17 January 2004 | Canberra International, Australia | Hard |  Paola Suárez | 3–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–5) | |
| Loss | 9. | 22 February 2004 | Antwerp Open, Belgium | Hard (i) | Kim Clijsters | 6–3, 6–0 | |
| Loss | 10. | 10 April 2005 | Amelia Island, United States | Clay |  Lindsay Davenport | 7–5, 7–5 |
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| $100,000 tournaments | |
| $75,000 tournaments | |
| $50,000 tournaments | |
| $25,000 tournaments | |
| $10,000 tournaments |
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1. | 29 October 1990 | ITF Putignano, Italy | Clay | Nathalie Baudone | 2–6, 4–6 | |
| Win | 2. | 24 June 1991 | ITF Caltagirone, Italy | Clay | Ann Devries | 7–5, 6–3 | |
| Win | 3. | 5 April 1993 | ITF Limoges, France | Carpet (i) | Laurence Courtois | 6–3, 6–3 |
| Result | No | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1. | 11 June 1990 | ITF Modena, Italy | Hard | Simona Isidori | Heleen van den Berg Miriam Oremans | 6–2, 6–3 | |
| Win | 2. | 23 July 1990 | ITF Milan, Italy | Hard | Simona Isidori | Nathalie Ballet Agnes Romand | 2–6, 6–1, 6–3 | |
| Win | 3. | 29 October 1990 | ITF Putignano, Italy | Clay | Nathalie Baudone | Darija Dešković Karin Lušnic | 6–1, 6–1 | |
| Win | 4. | 24 June 1991 | ITF Caltagiron, Italy | Hard |  Misumi Miyauchi | Alexandra Fusai Olivia Gravereaux | 6–7, 6–4, 6–4 | |
| Win | 5. | 13 April 1992 | ITF Salerno, Italy | Hard | Linda Ferrando |  Kirrily Sharpe Angie Woolcock | 6–1, 6–4 | |
| Loss | 6. | 7 September 1992 | ITF Arzachena, Italy | Clay | Linda Ferrando | Laura Garrone Laura Golarsa | 4–6, 6–4, 4–6 | |
| Win | 7. | 11 April 1993 | ITF Limoges, France | Carpet (i) | Elena Pampoulova | Stephanie Reece Danielle Scott | 6–2, 6–7(5), 6–2 | |
| Loss | 8. | 16 August 1993 | ITF Arzachena, Italy | Clay | Linda Ferrando | Akiko Kijimuta Naoko Kijimuta | 0–6, 5–7 |
Players who have been ranked world No. 1 are in boldface.