Sun Shengnan Explained

Sun Shengnan
孙胜男
Residence:Beijing
Birth Date:21 January 1987
Birth Place:Beijing
Height:1.70 m
Turnedpro:2002
Plays:Left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney:$289,473
Singlestitles:6 ITF
Highestsinglesranking:No. 216 (4 April 2011)
Usopenresult:Q2 (2007)
Doublestitles:1 WTA, 26 ITF
Highestdoublesranking:No. 50 (17 September 2007)
Australianopendoublesresult:QF (2007)
Frenchopendoublesresult:2R (2007)
Wimbledondoublesresult:1R (2007, 2008)
Usopendoublesresult:1R (2007)

Sun Shengnan (; ; born 21 January 1987) is a Chinese former tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 216th, which she reached on 4 April 2011.[1] Her career-high in doubles is 50th, which she reached on 17 September 2007.

By March 2006, Sun had won two ITF singles titles and risen to No. 320 in the WTA rankings, and had earned herself a reputation as 'one to watch', having shown plenty of recent promise of further improvement in the preceding year.

Career

Sun Shengnan began competing on the ITF Women's Circuit at the age of 15, in May 2002. Over the next few months, she won seven matches (mostly in qualifying draws) and lost just five. However, she did not compete again for a whole year after the beginning of August, and thus gained for herself only a lowly end-of-year foothold on the world ranking list at No. 1031.

When August finally came around again in 2003, she returned to competition as a 16-year-old at ITF events; and that October she reached the quarterfinal of a $25k tournament at Beijing after being awarded a wildcard entry into the main draw, before losing to Yuka Yoshida. She finished the year with a 5–5 win–loss record after just a few events played. The record of her year-end ranking seems to have been lost by the WTA, but it was undoubtedly an improvement on her 2002 outcome thanks to the quarterfinal finish at Beijing.

2004 was another moderate year for Sun, as she won six matches and lost seven, her best finish again coming at October's $25k tournament at Beijing, where she repeated her previous year's performance in reaching the quarterfinal, this time losing to high-ranked countrywoman Zheng Jie. She finished the year world-ranked 588, which logically should have been similar to her previous year's finish.

But it was to be in 2005 that the Chinese teenager would first break through to greater results, including two tournament wins. In February, she reached her career-first semifinal in the $10k tournament at Melilla. In April, she won the $10k event at Wuhan. Then in May, she won another $10k title at Ahmedabad. In August, she reached the final of a $25k fixture at Wuxi, losing to Miho Saeki of Japan. Then in September, she qualified for her first WTA Tour event at Guangzhou International Open with an impressive three-set victory over the young Croat prospect Ivana Lisjak, but lost in the first round of the main draw to Alina Jidkova of Russia. At the end of the year, her world ranking had leapt up to 336.

In January 2006, she suffered a few early losses, but picked up enough points in qualifying rounds to improve to a career-best ranking of 311 early in February. Then she defended but did not improve upon her previous year's semifinal performance at Melilla.

With youth still very much on her side, the 19-year-old appeared to be one of China's hottest next-generation prospects for advancement into the world's top 150. But after rising to a career high of No. 233 in May 2007, a dismal run of early losses over the summer and Autumn that year caused her ranking to slip back to No. 400 by the beginning of December the same year before a quarterfinal result at a $75k tournament that month revived it to around 350 at the close of the year.

She then started the year off in 2011, making the semifinals in the $50k event at Quanzhou moving her rankings up to world No. 248.

WTA Tour finals

Doubles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)

Legend (pre/post 2009)
Grand Slam tournaments
Tier I / Premier M & Premier 5
Tier II / Premier
Tier III, IV & V / International (1–2)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–1)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (0–1)
Carpet (0–0)
OutcomeNo.DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Runner-up1.13 May 2007Prague Open,
Czech Republic
Clay Ji Chunmei Petra Cetkovská
Andrea Hlaváčková
6–7(7–9), 2–6
Winner1.16 September 2007Bali Tennis Classic, IndonesiaHard Ji Chunmei Jill Craybas
Natalie Grandin
6–3, 6–2
Runner-up2.13 February 2011Pattaya Open,
Thailand
Hard Zheng Jie Sara Errani
Roberta Vinci
6–3, 3–6, [5–10]

ITF Circuit finals

$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments

Singles: 8 (6–2)

OutcomeNo.DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Winner1.Apr 2005ITF Wuhan, ChinaHard Liang Chen6–3, 4–6, 6–3
Winner2.May 2005ITF Ahmedabad, IndiaHard Ankita Bhambri6–2, 6–2
Runner–up1.Aug 2005ITF Wuxi, ChinaHard Miho Saeki2–6, 6–7(1)
Winner3.Sep 2006ITF Guangzhou, ChinaHard Yurika Sema6–2, 6–4
Winner4.Jun 2009ITF Qianshan, ChinaHard Han Xinyun6–1, 6–4
Winner5.Aug 2009ITF Pingguo, ChinaHard Zhou Yimiao6–4, 6–4
Winner6.Aug 2009ITF Qianshan, ChinaHard Liang Chen6–3, 6–3
Runner–up2.May 2010Kangaroo Cup, JapanHard Karolína Plíšková3–6, 6–3, 3–6

Doubles: 43 (26–17)

OutcomeNo.DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Runner–up1.27 February 2005ITF Melilla, SpainHard Yang Shujing Sara Errani
María José Martínez Sánchez
7–6(2), 0–6, 5–7
Runner–up2.29 May 2005ITF Shanghai, ChinaHard Liu Wanting Chuang Chia-jung
Remi Tezuka
6–4, 4–6, 1–6
Winner3.26 February 2006ITF Melilla, SpainHard Liu Wanting Sara del Barrio Aragón
Sabrina Méndez Domínguez
6–4, 6–0
Winner4.4 June 2006ITF Tianjin, ChinaHard Ji Chunmei Chan Chin-wei
Chen Yi
3–6, 7–6(7), 6–1
Runner–up5.23 July 2006ITF Chongqing, ChinaHard Ji Chunmei Ren Jing
Zhang Shuai
4–6, 3–6
Runner–up6.27 August 2006ITF Nanjing, ChinaHard Ji Chunmei Chuang Chia-jung
Xie Yanze
1–6, 6–7(11)
Winner7.29 October 2006Beijing Challenger, ChinaHard (i) Ji Chunmei Marina Erakovic
Raquel Kops-Jones
6–2, 6–2
Winner8.5 November 2006ITF Shanghai, ChinaHard Ji Chunmei Akgul Amanmuradova
Iroda Tulyaganova
6–4, 7–5
Winner9.14 October 2007ITF Beijing, ChinaHard Ji Chunmei Liang Chen
Zhao Yijing
6–2, 6–3
Winner10.11 November 2007ITF Taizhou, ChinaHard Ji Chunmei Huang Lei
Zhang Shuai
7–6(5), 1–6, [13–11]
Runner-up11.2 December 2007ITF Xiamen, ChinaHard Ji Chunmei Han Xinyun
Xu Yifan
4–6, 5–7
Winner12.14 March 2008ITF New Delhi, İndiaHard Ji Chunmei Sunitha Rao
Aurélie Védy
2–6, 6–2, [10–4]
Runner-up13.21 November 2008ITF Kolkata, İndiaHard Lu Jingjing Laura Siegemund
Ágnes Szatmári
5–7, 3–6
Winner14.13 February 2009ITF Mildura, AustraliaGrass Lu Jingjing Han Xinyun
Ji Chunmei
7–6(2), 7–6(4)
Runner-up15.21 February 2009ITF Guangzhou, ChinaHard Han Xinyun Ji Chunmei
Liang Chen
7–6(7), 2–6, [3–10]
Winner16.8 March 2009ITF Lyon, FranceHard (i) Lu Jingjing Pemra Özgen
Zhang Shuai
6–4, 7–5
Winner17.14 March 2009ITF Las Palmas, SpainHard Lu Jingjing Yana Buchina
Taja Mohorcic
6–3, 7–6(1)
Winner18.21 March 2009ITF Tenerife, SpainHard Zhang Shuai Paula Fondevila Castro
Laura Thorpe
6–1, 6–2
Winner19.27 March 2009ITF La Palma, SpainHard Lu Jingjing Eleni Daniilidou
Jasmin Wöhr
6–2, 5–7, [10–5]
Winner20.17 May 2009Kurume Cup, JapanGrass Lu Jingjing Chang Kai-chen
Ayaka Maekawa
6–3, 6–2
Winner21.24 May 2009ITF Incheon, KoreaHard Lu Jingjing Han Xinyun
Ji Chunmei
6–3, 6–3
Runner-up22.31 May 2009ITF Goyang, KoreaHard Lu Jingjing Yayuk Basuki
Romana Tedjakusuma
6–7(5), 3–6 [8–10]
Runner-up23.7 June 2009ITF Gimhae, KoreaHard Liang Chen Yayuk Basuki
Romana Tedjakusuma
5–7, 1–6
Winner24.27 June 2009ITF Qianshan, ChinaHard Zhou Yimiao Han Xinyun
Ying Qian
6–2, 6–4
Winner25.3 July 2009ITF Xiamen, ChinaHard Lu Jingjing Han Xinyun
Kao Shao-yuan
6–2, 6–4
Runner-up26.21 August 2009ITF Pingguo, ChinaHard Lu Jingjing Chan Chin-wei
Hwang I-hsuan
6–3, 5–7, [7–10]
Winner27.28 August 2009ITF Qianshan, ChinaHard Liang Chen Alison Bai
Sacha Jones
6–2, 6–4
Winner28.10 May 2010Kurume Cup, JapanGrass Xu Yifan Karolína Plíšková
Kristýna Plíšková
6–0, 6–3
Runner-up29.17 May 2010ITF Karuizawa, JapanCarpet Xu Yifan Ayumi Oka
Akiko Yonemura
6–7(1), 3–6
bgcolor=98FB98 Winner30.2 August 2010Beijing Challenger, ChinaHard Zhang Shuai Ji Chunmei
Liu Wanting
4–6, 6–2, [10–5]
Runner–up31.14 August 2010ITF Tallinn, EstoniaHard Lu Jingjing Emma Laine
Melanie South
3–6, 4–6
Winner32.3 January 2011Blossom Cup, ChinaHard Liu Wanting Yuliya Beygelzimer
Oksana Kalashnikova
6–3, 6–2
Runner-up33.10 January 2011ITF Pingguo, ChinaHard Liu Wanting Shuko Aoyama
Rika Fujiwara
4–6, 3–6
Runner-up34.23 May 2011Grado Tennis Cup, ItalyClay Liu Wanting María Irigoyen
Ekaterina Lopes
3–6, 0–6
Winner35.16 July 2011Challenger de Granby, CanadaHard Sharon Fichman Viktoriya Kisialeva
Nathalia Rossi
6–4, 6–2
Runner-up36.26 March 2012ITF Phuket, ThailandHard Han Xinyun Noppawan Lertcheewakarn
Zheng Saisai
3–6, 3–6
Winner37.14 May 2012Kurume Cup, JapanGrass Han Xinyun Ksenia Lykina
Melanie South
6–1, 6–0
Runner-up38.28 May 2012ITF Gimcheon, KoreaHard Liang Chen Hu Yueyue
Xu Yifan
0–6, 6–3, [7–10]
Winner39.18 June 2012ITF Goyang, KoreaHard Liu Wanting Nicha Lertpitaksinchai
Peangtarn Plipuech
6–7(1), 6–3, [10–7]
Winner40.30 June 2012ITF Incheon, KoreaHard Liang Chen Kim Ji-young
Yoo Mi
6–3, 6–2
Winner41.5 August 2012Beijing Challenger, ChinaHard Liu Wanting Chan Chin-wei
Han Xinyun
5–7, 6–0, [10–7]
Runner-up42.3 January 2013Blossom Cup, ChinaHard Liang Chen Irina Buryachok
Nadiia Kichenok
6–3, 3–6, [10–12]
Winner43.24 June 2013ITF Huzhu, ChinaClay Chan Chin-wei Liu Chang
Zhou Yimiao
6–4, 6–3

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Sun Shengnan stats on WTA official site . . 4 November 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141104052509if_/http://www.wtatennis.com/players/player/10111 . 4 November 2014 . dead.