Victoria Azarenka
Strong Is Beautiful
Maria Sharapova

Iveta Benesova

Cze
Residence: Most, Czech Republic
DOB: February 1, 1983
Birthplace: Most, Czech Republic
Height: 5' 7" (1.70 m)
Weight: 123 1/2 lbs. (56 kg)
Plays: Left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Status: Pro (1998)
JANUARY - Reached QF at Brisbane (l. to Clijsters); fell in Sydney qualifying.
1998 - Played first event of career on ITF Circuit; played first WTA qualifying at Prague.

1999 - Continued to play on ITF Circuit.

2000 - Won one doubles title on ITF Circuit.

2001 - Won two singles titles and two doubles titles on ITF Circuit.

2002 - First Top 100 season; runner-up at Bratislava (l. to Matevzic in final); reached 2r twice (incl. Roland Garros); fell 1r six times (incl. Wimbledon, US Open) and in qualifying nine times (incl. Australian Open); made Top 100 debut on October 7 (rose from No.101 to No.95).

2003 - SF at Hobart (l. to Molik); QF at Budapest; reached 2r four times; fell 1r 13 times (incl. all four majors) and in qualifying eight times; won one doubles title on ITF Circuit.

2004 - First Top 50 season; won first WTA title at Acapulco (d. Pennetta in final); runner-up twice, at Estoril (l. to Loit in final) and Forest Hills (l. to Likhovtseva in final); SF at Budapest (l. to Sucha); QF at Sopot; reached 3r once and 2r six times (incl. US Open); fell 1r nine times (incl. Roland Garros, Wimbledon, Olympics) and in qualifying six times (incl. US Open); made Top 50 debut on May 17 (rose from No.52 to No.50); won one singles title on ITF Circuit.

2005 - Another Top 100 season; SF twice, at Hobart (l. to Dulko) and Forest Hills (l. to Safarova); QF three times, at Tokyo [Pan Pacific], Prague and Stanford; reached 3r twice and 2r seven times (incl. Roland Garros); fell 1r 13 times (incl. other three majors) and in qualifying once; won one WTA doubles title.

2006 - Another Top 100 season; runner-up at Hobart (l. to Krajicek in final); reached 3r once (Australian Open) and 2r 12 times (incl. Roland Garros); fell 1r seven times (incl. other two majors) and in qualifying twice.

2007 - Reached 2r six times (incl. Australian Open, Wimbledon); fell 1r nine times (incl. other two majors) and in qualifying seven times; won one WTA doubles title.

2008 - Another Top 50 season; runner-up at Estoril (l. to Kirilenko in final); SF at Forest Hills (l. to Safarova); QF five times, at Acapulco, Prague, Bad Gastein, Stockholm and Luxembourg; reached 3r once (Roland Garros) and 2r three times (incl. Olympics, US Open); fell 1r six times (incl. Wimbledon) and in qualifying five times (incl. Australian Open); won two WTA doubles titles; won one singles title on ITF Circuit.

2009 - Another Top 50 season; runner-up at Hobart (l. to Kvitova in final); SF three times, at Acapulco (l. to Pennetta), Monterrey (l. to Li) and Prague (l. to Bammer); QF twice, at Miami and Tokyo [Pan Pacific]; reached 3r once (Roland Garros) and 2r nine times (incl. Australian Open, Wimbledon); fell 1r nine times (incl. US Open); set career-high of No.25 on April 6 (after Miami; rose from No.31 to No.25); won one WTA doubles title.

2010 - Another Top 100 season; won second WTA title at Fès (d. Halep in final); QF three times, at Barcelona, Osaka and Luxembourg; reached 3r once and 2r six times (incl. Australian Open, US Open); fell 1r 15 times (incl. other two majors); won four WTA doubles titles.

2011 - Another Top 100 season; QF at Luxembourg; reached 4r once (Australian Open), 3r twice and 2r seven times (incl. Wimbledon); fell 1r 13 times (incl. other two majors) and in qualifying once; won four WTA doubles titles (all w/Zahlavova Strycova); won first Grand Slam title in mixed doubles at Wimbledon (w/Melzer); withdrew from 's-Hertogenbosch w/illness and retired in Bad Gastein 1r w/right knee injury.
SINGLES
Winner (2): 2010 - Fès; 2008 - ITF/Latina-ITA; 2004 - Acapulco, ITF/Ortisei-ITA; 2001 - ITF/Presov-SVK, ITF/Opole-POL.
Finalist (6): 2009 - Hobart; 2008 - Estoril; 2006 - Hobart; 2004 - Estoril, Forest Hills; 2002 - Bratislava.

DOUBLES
Winner (13): 2011 - Sydney, Monterrey, Barcelona, Luxembourg (all w/Zahlavova Strycova); 2010 - Paris [Indoors], Monterrey, Tokyo [Pan Pacific] (all w/Zahlavova Strycova), Fès (w/Medina Garrigues); 2009 - Luxembourg (w/Zahlavova Strycova); 2008 - Bogotá (w/Mattek-Sands), Stockholm (w/Zahlavova Strycova); 2007 - Luxembourg (w/Husarova); 2005 - Paris [Indoors] (w/Peschke); 2003 - ITF/Valasske Mezirici-CZE (w/Pastikova); 2001 - ITF/Rome-ITA (w/Kucova), ITF/Szczecin-POL (w/Babakova); 2000 - ITF/Torun-POL (w/Novotna).
Finalist (11): 2010 - Luxembourg (w/Zahlavova Strycova); 2009 - Monterrey, Prague (both w/Zahlavova Strycova), New Haven (w/Hradecka); 2008 - Acapulco (w/Cetkovska), Rome (w/Husarova); 2007 - Gold Coast (w/Voskoboeva); 2006 - Moscow (w/Voskoboeva); 2005 - Charleston (w/Peschke), 's-Hertogenbosch (w/Llagostera Vives); 2004 - Stanford (w/Schaul).

MIXED DOUBLES
Winner (1): 2011 - Wimbledon (w/Melzer).

ADDITIONAL
Czech Fed Cup Team, 2002-03, 2005-09; Czech Olympic Team, 2004, 2008.
Coached by Martin Fassati ... Father is Vlastimil Benes; mother is Irena Benesova; sister is also Irena ... Began playing at age 7 when father introduced her to the game ... Favorite surfaces are clay, hard; favorite shot is backhand ... Favorites include the movie Forrest Gump, actors Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett and Italian cuisine ... To relax, enjoys shopping and watching movies.