Legend Bio: Dinara Safina

Dinara Safina won her first WTA title at Sopot in 2002 and made her Top 10 breakthrough in 2006 – the year she reached her first Italian Open final – but she really became a force at the very top in the spring of 2008. After a slow start to the season, the Russian arrived in Berlin ranked No.14 and proceeded to defeat reigning world No.1 Justine Henin in the quarterfinals before going on to win her first Tier 1 title.

That clay court victory sparked a remarkable 44-7 run through the rest of the season. During this period, Safina pocketed titles at Berlin, Los Angeles, Montréal, and Tokyo, and faced Ana Ivanovic in her maiden Grand Slam final at Roland Garros. She finished the year ranked No.3, having become the first player in WTA history to defeat three different reigning No.1s in a single season – Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic, in addition to Henin.

Safina's peak continued in 2009, beginning with a second Grand Slam final appearance at the Australian Open, where she finished runner-up to Serena Williams. Shortly after, on April 20, she became the 19th World No.1 in WTA history. Moving on to the clay, she achieved the rare feat of winning Rome and Madrid back-to-back, and arrived in Paris as top seed at a major for the first time. Although Svetlana Kuznetsova had her measure in the title bout, Safina bounced back to advance to the semifinals at Wimbledon, her best result at the All England Club. 

With a game built on formidable power, particularly from the baseline, Safina went 12-12 in singles finals. Across her career, she compiled a 360-173 win-loss record. Six of her titles came on clay, where she held a commanding 76 per cent win rate (149-47).

Her five WTA 1000-level titles (or their Tier I equivalents) were a testament to her consistency at the sport’s biggest non-major events. This was reflected when she took home the 2008 US Open Series crown, winning most points across the North American hard court swing, her results including a semifinal run in New York. The WTA’s Most Improved Player accolade followed at the end of the year.  

Safina was also a member of Russia’s Fed Cup-winning team in 2005 and represented her country at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, winning a silver medal in singles, falling to compatriot Elena Dementieva in the final. Her doubles achievements were distinguished too: she reached a career-high ranking of No.8 and won nine titles, including the US Open in 2007, alongside France's Nathalie Dechy.  

A persistent back injury, first noted in 2008, began to severely limit Safina from 2010 onward. She played only sporadically over the next two seasons before officially retiring in 2014 at the age of 28. The offspring of renowned tennis coaches, she and her brother, former ATP World No.1 Marat Safin, remain the only brother-sister combination to have topped the rankings of their respective tours.