Sun Tiantian Explained

Sun Tiantian
孙甜甜
Residence:Beijing
Birth Date:1981 10, df=yes
Birth Place:Zhengzhou, Henan
Turnedpro:1999
Retired:2010
Plays:Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney:$1,019,657
Singlestitles:1 WTA, 6 ITF
Highestsinglesranking:No. 77 (19 March 2007)
Australianopenresult:1R (2006, 2007)
Frenchopenresult:2R (2006)
Wimbledonresult:2R (2004, 2006)
Usopenresult:2R (2005)
Doublestitles:11 WTA, 13 ITF
Highestdoublesranking:No. 16 (22 October 2007)
Australianopendoublesresult:QF (2007)
Frenchopendoublesresult:QF (2005)
Wimbledondoublesresult:QF (2007)
Usopendoublesresult:3R (2005)
Mixed:yes
Mixedtitles:1
Australianopenmixedresult:W (2008)
Frenchopenmixedresult:SF (2007)
Wimbledonmixedresult:3R (2007, 2004)
Usopenmixedresult:2R (2006)
Team:yes
Fedcupresult:16–10
Medaltemplates-Expand:yes

Sun Tiantian (; ; born 12 October 1981) is a Chinese tennis player. She won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in women's doubles along with her partner Li Ting.

Sun reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 77 in March 2007, winning her only WTA Tour singles title at the 2006 Tashkent Open, and a career-high in doubles of No. 16 in October 2007, winning eleven WTA Tour titles and reaching the quarterfinals of three Grand Slam tournaments, and winning the mixed doubles event at the 2008 Australian Open alongside Nenad Zimonjić.

Career

In September 2000, Sun won two successive $10k singles titles, a feat she would repeat in June 2001 with another pair of back-to-back $10k singles titles [source: [WTA Official Website](https://www.wtatennis.com/)].

In 2002, Sun continued her success at the next level, winning two $25k tournaments: firstly in April at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where she defeated Zheng Jie in the semifinal and Jeon Mi-ra in the final [source: [WTA Official Website](https://www.wtatennis.com/)], and then in August at Beijing, overcoming Zheng Jie again in the semifinal and Rika Fujiwara in the final [source: [WTA Official Website](https://www.wtatennis.com/)].

In 2003, she reached the final of a $50k tournament in Modena, entering as a lucky loser and defeating several high-quality opponents such as Martina Suchá, Maret Ani, and Gala León García before losing to Melinda Czink in the final [source: [Tennis Abstract](https://www.tennisabstract.com/)].

That year, Sun also made notable appearances in several WTA tournaments. She qualified for Doha, defeating Yuliana Fedak, Ľubomíra Kurhajcová, and María Sánchez Lorenzo, but lost in three sets to Nicole Pratt in the opening round [source: [WTA Official Website](https://www.wtatennis.com/)]. At the US Open, after a victory over Selima Sfar, she was defeated by Saori Obata in the first round [source: [US Open Official Site](https://www.usopen.org/)]. By the end of 2003, she was ranked world No. 141 [source: [WTA Official Website](https://www.wtatennis.com/)].

In 2004, Sun qualified for several prominent tournaments, including the Australian Open, where she won against Roberta Vinci [source: [Australian Open Official Site](https://ausopen.com/)], and again at Doha. She secured significant victories in Miami and Amelia Island, and at Wimbledon, she won her first-round match against Tathiana Garbin before losing to Anne Kremer [source: [Wimbledon Official Site](https://www.wimbledon.com/)]. At the end of the year, she lost a tight three-set final in the first $50k Shenzhen tournament to Li Na and ended the year ranked No. 118 [source: [WTA Official Website](https://www.wtatennis.com/)].

Sun also competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics, where she won a gold medal in women's doubles with her partner Li Ting, defeating Conchita Martínez and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain in the final [source: [Olympics Official Website](https://olympics.com/)].

In 2005, Sun achieved her first WTA Tour singles quarterfinal at Hyderabad, where she defeated Tamarine Tanasugarn 6–2, 6–1 but lost to Anna-Lena Grönefeld [source: [WTA Official Website](https://www.wtatennis.com/)]. She also performed well at Los Angeles and the US Open, where she qualified with wins over Marlene Weingärtner and Ľudmila Cervanová, and defeated Samantha Stosur before losing to Anabel Medina Garrigues [source: [<nowiki/>[[U.S. Open|US Open]] Official Site](https://www.usopen.org/)]. Her career-best win came at Beijing, where she defeated Serena Williams in the second round before losing to Maria Kirilenko [source: [WTA Official Website](https://www.wtatennis.com/)]. This performance propelled her to a career-high ranking of No. 88 [source: [WTA Official Website](https://www.wtatennis.com/)], although she ended the year at No. 105 [source: [WTA Official Website](https://www.wtatennis.com/)].

In early 2006, Sun faced tough draws, including close losses to Amélie Mauresmo at the Australian Open and Nuria Llagostera Vives at Gold Coast [source: [Australian Open Official Site](https://ausopen.com/)]. At the Tashkent Open, she won her first WTA Tour title by defeating Iroda Tulyaganova in the final [source: [WTA Official Website](https://www.wtatennis.com/)] and reached a career-high ranking of No. 81 on 9 October 2006 [source: [WTA Official Website](https://www.wtatennis.com/)].

Sun is one of only two active players with a winning record against Serena Williams. She defeated Williams 6–2, 7–6 in the round of 16 at Beijing in 2005 [source: [WTA Official Website](https://www.wtatennis.com/)].

On 27 January 2008, Sun captured her first Grand Slam title in mixed doubles at the Australian Open, partnering with Nenad Zimonjić to defeat Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi in straight sets [source: [Australian Open Official Site](https://ausopen.com/)].

Grand Slam tournament finals

Mixed doubles: 1 (title)

OutcomeYearwidth=140ChampionshipSurfacewidth=180Partnerwidth=180Opponentswidth=100Score
Winner Australian Open Hard 7–6(4), 6–4

Other significant finals

Olympic Games

Doubles: 1 (gold medal)

OutcomeYearwidth=140LocationSurfacewidth=180Partnerwidth=180Opponentswidth=100Score
bgcolor=goldGold 2004Hard 6–3, 6–3

WTA Tour finals

Singles: 1 (title)

Legend
Tier I (0–0)
Tier II (0–0)
Tier III (0–0)
Tier IV & V (1–0)

Doubles: 21 (11 titles, 10 runner-ups)

Legend: Before 2009Legend: Starting in 2009
Tier I (0–1)Premier Mandatory
Tier II (1–1)Premier 5
Tier III (6–4)Premier
Tier IV & V (4–3)International (0–1)
ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1.14 June 2003Austrian OpenClay Li Ting Yan Zi
Zheng Jie
6–3, 6–4
Loss1.12 October 2003Tashkent OpenHard Li Ting Yuliya Beygelzimer
Tatiana Poutchek
3–6, 6–7(0)
Win2.2 November 2003Tournoi de QuébecHard(i) Li Ting Els Callens
Meilen Tu
6–3, 6–3
Win3.9 November 2003Pattaya OpenHard Li Ting Wynne Prakusya
Angelique Widjaja
6–4, 6–3
Loss2.22 February 2004Bangalore OpenHard Li Ting Liezel Huber
Sania Mirza
6–7(1), 4–6
Win4.3 October 2004Guangzhou OpenHard Li Ting Yang Shujing
Yu Ying
6–4, 6–1
Loss3.12 February 2005Bangalore OpenHard Li Ting Yan Zi
Zheng Jie
4–6, 1–6
Win5.1 May 2005Estoril OpenClay Li Ting Michaëlla Krajicek
Henrieta Nagyová
6–3, 6–1
Win6.12 February 2006Pattaya OpenHard Li Ting Yan Zi
Zheng Jie
3–6, 6–1, 7–6(5)
Loss4.4 March 2006Qatar OpenHard Li Ting Daniela Hantuchová
Ai Sugiyama
4–6, 4–6
Win7.7 May 2006Estoril OpenClay Li Ting Gisela Dulko
María Sánchez Lorenzo
6–2, 6–2
Win8.1 October 2006Guangzhou OpenHard Li Ting Vania King
Jelena Kostanić Tošić
6–4, 2–6, 7–5
Loss5.15 April 2007Charleston OpenHard Peng Shuai Yan Zi
Zheng Jie
5–7, 0–6
Loss6.26 May 2007Internationaux de StrasbourgClay Alicia Molik Zheng Jie
Yan Zi
3–6, 4–6
Loss7.17 June 2007Birmingham ClassicGrass Meilen Tu Chuang Chia-jung
Chan Yung-jan
6–7(3), 3–6
Loss8.19 October 2007Guangzhou OpenHard Vania King Peng Shuai
Yan Zi
6–3, 6–4
Win9.7 October 2007Japan OpenHard Yan Zi Chuang Chia-jung
Vania King
1–6, 6–2, [10–6]
Win10.14 October 2007Bangkok OpenHard Yan Zi Ayumi Morita
Junri Namigata
w/o
Win11.9 March 2008Bangalore OpenHard Peng Shuai Chan Yung-jan
Chuang Chia-jung
6–4, 5–7, [10–8]
Loss9.21 September 2008Guangzhou OpenHard Yan Zi Mariya Koryttseva
Tatiana Poutchek
4–6, 6–4, [8–10]
Loss10.20 September 2009Guangzhou OpenHard Kimiko Date-Krumm Olga Govortsova
Tatiana Poutchek
6–3, 2–6, [8–10]

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 11 (6–5)

$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss1.16 April 2000ITF Shenyang, ChinaHard Li Na0–6, 4–6
Loss2.4 June 2000ITF Shenzhen, ChinaHard Kim Eun-ha4–6, 3–6
Win3.4 September 2000ITF Hangzhou, ChinaHard Zheng Jie6–2, 6–2
Win4.17 September 2000ITF Hohhot, ChinaHard Ding Ding6–4, 6–3
Win5.17 June 2001ITF Seoul, South KoreaHard Choi Jin-young3–6, 6–3, 6–1
Win6.24 June 2001ITF Inchon, South KoreaHard Chung Yang-jin6–4, 6–3
Win7.14 April 2002ITF Ho Chi Minh City, VietnamHard Jeon Mi-ra6–3, 6–4
Loss8.13 May 2002ITF Shanghai, ChinaHard Zheng Jie2–6, 2–6
Win9.6 August 2002ITF Beijing, ChinaHard Rika Fujiwara6–3, 6–0
Loss10.20 July 2003ITF Modena, ItalyClay Melinda Czink3–6, 3–6
Loss11.31 October 2004ITF Shenzhen, ChinaHard Li Na3–6, 6–4, 2–6

Doubles: 21 (13–8)

ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfacePartneringOpponentsScore
Win1.13 June 1999ITF Shenyang, ChinaHard Chen Yan Chen Yin
Tuo Qi
6–2, 6–4
Win2.10 September 2000ITF Zhejiang, ChinaHard Chen Yan Zheng Jie
Yan Zi
6–3, 7–5
Win3.10 September 2000ITF Hohhot, ChinaClay Chen Yan Ding Ding
Tang Yan
6–0, 6–3
Loss4.4 June 2001ITF Hohhot, ChinaHard Chen Yan Zheng Jie
Yan Zi
4–6, 6–2, 3–6
Loss5.29 July 2001ITF Guangzhou, ChinaHard Chen Yan Li Ting
Tong Ka-po
5–7, 3–6
Win6.ITF Hull, United KingdomHard (i) Zheng Jie Claire Curran
Elsa O'Riain
7–6(4), 7–5
Loss7.10 February 2002ITF Redbridge, United KingdomHard (i) Helen Crook Magda Mihalache
Ekaterina Sysoeva
6–4, 4–6, 4–6
Win8.11 August 2002ITF Beijing, ChinaHard Li Ting Yan Zi
Zheng Jie
7–5, 6–3
Win9.ITF Columbus, United StatesHard (i) Li Ting Bruna Colósio
Joana Cortez
6–3, 6–1
Win10.ITF Saint Paul, United StatesHard Li Ting Teryn Ashley
Abigail Spears
6–3, 6–1
Win11.30 March 2003ITF Atlanta, United StatesHard Li Ting Leanne Baker
Francesca Lubiani
4–6, 6–4, 6–4
Loss12.16 June 2003ITF Gorizia, ItalyClay Li Ting Yan Zi
Zheng Jie
6–7(5), 6–1, 4–6
Win13.23 June 2003ITF Fontanafredda, ItalyClay Li Ting Maria Geznenge
Dragana Zarić
6–4, 6–3
Loss14.30 June 2003ITF Orbetello, ItalyClay Li Ting Yan Zi
Zheng Jie
2–6, 5–7
Win15.13 July 2003ITF Modena, ItalyClay Li Ting3–6, 7–5, 7–5
Win16.30 November 2003ITF Changsha, ChinaHard Li Ting Yan Zi
Zheng Jie
6–4, 6–2
Win17.7 December 2003ITF Shenzhen, ChinaHard Li Ting Yan Zi
Zheng Jie
6–3, 3–6, 6–4
Loss18.6 June 2005ITF Beijing, ChinaHard Li Ting Yan Zi
Zheng Jie
1–6, 5–7
Win19.16 August 2005Bronx Classic, United StatesHard Li Ting Tatiana Poutchek
Anastasiya Yakimova
2–6, 6–2, 6–4
Loss20.17 May 2009Open de Saint-Gaudens, FranceClay Kimiko Date Rika Fujiwara
Chanelle Scheepers
5–7, 4–6
Loss21.10 August 2009ITF Quanzhou, ChinaHard Hao Jie Han Xinyun
Kao Shao-yuan
6–1, 2–6, [6–10]

See also

References