Personal

Physical trainer is Pat Etcheberry at Etcheberry Sports Performance (ESP) in Saddlebrook, Florida, USA ... Started playing tennis at age 6; picked up game from watching older sister, Mary Eugenia, taking lessons ... Married Gamal Kabchi on July 21, 2001, a lawyer who specializes in commerce and banking ... Father, Romulo, is a middle school science teacher; mother, Carmen, works for Venezuelan Consulate in Miami, both parents specialize in biology and chemistry; has an older sister, Mary Eugenia, who played junior and college tennis and two years on the pro circuit; has two nephews, Kurt and Michael, and one niece, Nicole ... Favorite colors are red and black; favorite flowers are roses and orchids; favors Lebanese, Italian and Mexican food, as well as native Venezuelan cuisine ... Likes to read autobiographies, go to movies and spend time with family ... Admires Steffi Graf and Monica Seles ... Collects native dolls from the countries she visits and also collects Swarovski silver crystals.

Career Highlights

SINGLES
Winner: 1997 - ITF/Peachtree City-USA; 1995 - ITF/Brasilia-BRA; 1993 - ITF/Indianapolis-USA, ITF/Roanoke-USA, ITF/Norfolk-USA, ITF/Virginia Beach-USA; 1990 - ITF/Aguascalientes-MEX; 1989 - ITF/Guadalajara-MEX.
Finalist (1): 1998 - Gold Coast.

DOUBLES
Winner (4): 2005 - Beijing (w/Llagostera Vives); 2003 - Bali (w/Widjaja); 2002 - Dubai (w/Rittner), Hawaii (w/Tu).
Finalist (6): 2005 - Tokyo [Japan Open] (w/Asagoe); 2004 - Beijing (w/Dulko); 2003 - Doha, Toronto [Canadian Open] (both w/Widjaja); 2002 - Estoril (w/Rittner); 2000 - Strasbourg (w/Grant).

ADDITIONAL
Venezuelan Fed Cup Team 1990, 1996-2001. Venezuelan Olympic Team 2000, 2004. Venezuelan Pan American Team 1999.

Career in Review

1987 - Debuted at ITF/Caracas-VEN.

1988 - 6-7 on ITF Circuit.

1989 - Won first ITF singles title at ITF/Guadalajara-MEX; first Tour qualifying at San Juan.

1990 - Won ITF/Aguascalientes-MEX.

1991 - Reached one ITF final.

1992 - Grand Slam debut as WC at US Open.

1993 - Won three ITF singles titles.

1994 - Qualified for five Tour events.

1995 - First Tour QF at Pattaya City; qualified for Chicago and Delray Beach (3r); won ITF/Brasilia-BRA.

1996 - Reached one ITF final.

1997 - First Top 50 finish; became first Venezuelan woman to reach 4r at Wimbledon in Open Era; first Tour SF in Surabaya.

1998 - First Tour singles final at Gold Coast (l. to Sugiyama).

1999 - At Pan American Games, d. Stevenson and Snyder en route to Gold Medal.

2000 - Third career SF at Hobart (l. to Clijsters); first Tour doubles final at Strasbourg as qualifying team (w/Grant); at Olympics, reached doubles QF (w/Sequera).

2001 - At Doha, held two set points on No.1 Hingis in 2r; QF as qualifier at QuTbec City.

2002 - Qualified at Wimbledon; won first two Tour doubles titles at Dubai (w/Rittner) and Hawaii (w/Tu).

2003 - Improved from No.153 to No.44 in season of resurgence, partly attributed to working w/physical trainer Pat Etcheberry in 2002/2003 off-season; reached one ITF final, then posted best-ever Tour results, QF at Birmingham (l. to Asagoe 76 third set) then three SF in a season for the first time; at Stanford, reached first-ever Tier II SF (d. Petrova and No.12 Dokic en route; l. to Capriati); scored career-first Top 10 win over No.8 Rubin in US Open 1r; SF at Bali (d. No.13 Martfnez in 2r for third Top 20 win in past four events) and Leipzig (l. to Henin-Hardenne); in doubles, won Bali, reached finals at Doha and Toronto [Canadian Open], also QF at Wimbledon and US Open (all w/Widjaja), finishing seventh in the Porsche Race.

2004 - Second straight Stanford SF (l. to Davenport), afterwards (July 19), reached career-high No.26 ranking; 3r at Indian Wells, Miami (d. No.10 Sugiyama in 2r) and US Open; 2r at Olympics (l. to Henin-Hardenne); doubles runner-up at Beijing (w/Dulko), three SF and QF at Australian Open and Wimbledon (both w/Widjaja); career-high doubles ranking No.15 on July 26; withdrew from Antwerp w/pain in both heels.

2005 - Third consecutive Top 100 finish in season highlighted by best Grand Slam showing in eight years; ranked No.72 (unseeded) at US Open, upset world No.16 (No.18 seed) Ivanovic 36 75 61 in 2r en route to 4r, losing to No.4 seed and eventual champion Clijsters (only prior Grand Slam 4r was 1997 Wimbledon); 1r at Australian Open and Roland Garros, 2r at Wimbledon (l. to No.22 seed Farina Elia); did not win consecutive main draw matches at 20 other events played; won fourth career Tour doubles title at Beijing (w/Llagostera Vives), also runner-up at Tokyo [Japan Open] (w/Asagoe) and Tier I SF at Tokyo [Pan Pacific] (w/Pratt) and Berlin (w/Dulko); withdrew from Charleston w/right knee tendonitis and from Cincinnati w/illness.