Silvia Farina Elia

Silvia Farina Elia
Country (sports)  Italy
Residence Rome, Italy
Born (1972-04-27) 27 April 1972
Milan, Italy
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Turned pro 1988
Retired 24 October 2005
Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money $3,688,252
Singles
Career record 469–370
Career titles 3
Highest ranking No. 11 (20 May 2002)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open 4R (2004, 2005)
French Open 4R (2001, 2002)
Wimbledon QF (2003)
US Open 4R (2002)
Doubles
Career record 269–255
Career titles 8
Highest ranking No. 24 (21 June 1999)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open 3R (1997)
French Open QF (1994, 1998, 2004)
Wimbledon QF (1998, 1999)
US Open 3R (1994, 1999, 2005)

Silvia Farina Elia (Italian pronunciation: [ˈsilvja faˈriːna eˈliːa]; born 27 April 1972) is a former professional tennis player from Italy. She won 3 WTA singles titles, reached the quarterfinals of the 2003 Wimbledon Championships and achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 11 in May 2002. Farina Elia won her first ITF title at Caltagirone in 1991 and her first WTA tournament at Strasbourg in 2001. She made her début Grand Slam appearance at the 1991 French Open and was coached by husband Francesco Elia, whom she married September 1999.

Career

Farina Elia made steady progression on the ITF circuit during the early 1990s and finished her first year in the top 100 in 1991. She completed her first victory over a top ten player (Gabriela Sabatini, Roland Garros) in 1994 and won her first doubles title the next year. In 1996, she represented Italy at the Atlanta Olympics. 1998 was considered her breakthrough year, reaching the final of four tournaments and in the process securing a place in the year end top 20. She was 26 at the time and thus considered a "late bloomer". She only reached one singles final in 1999 but made a greater impact in doubles, winning three tournaments.

In 2001 Farina Elia won a belated first WTA Tour title, at the Internationaux de Strasbourg. She ended the year No. 14, what was to be her best year end finish and played in the WTA Tour Championships of 2001 and 2002. She consolidated the Strasbourg win with two more wins at the tournament. In 2003 she achieved her best Grand Slam result at the unlikely venue of Wimbledon, home of her least favourite surface, losing to Kim Clijsters, 7–5, 0–6, 1–6 in the quarterfinals.

Farina Elia represented the Italy Fed Cup team at nine Federation Cups and also represented Italy at three Olympics.

On Monday 24 October 2005 she announced her retirement from the WTA Tour due a recurrence of a shoulder, saying, "My body has given all it can."[1]

Personal life

Farina Elia began playing tennis aged 10; introduced to the sport by her mother who played recreationally. Her parents are both insurance agents, as is her sister, Olga. Her brother, Enrico, restores furniture. She married Francesco Elia on 22 September 1999 and described the prospect of life after tennis as "exciting".[2]

Career finals

Singles: 13 (3–10)

Legend
Grand Slam (0)
Tier I (0)
Tier II (0)
Tier III (3)
Tier IV-V (0)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Date Opponent in final Score in final
Runner-up 1. 21 July 1991 San Marino Clay Italy Katia Piccolini 6–2, 6–3
Runner-up 2. 11 January 1998 Auckland, New Zealand Hard Belgium Dominique van Roost 4–6, 7–6(9–11), 7–5
Runner-up 3. 26 April 1998 Budapest, Hungary Clay Spain Virginia Ruano Pascual 6–4, 4–6, 6–3
Runner-up 4. 19 July 1998 Warsaw, Poland Clay Spain Conchita Martínez 6–0, 6–3
Runner-up 5. 1 November 1998 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Carpet (i) France Mary Pierce 6–0, 2–0, retired
Runner-up 6. 14 February 1999 Prostějov, Czech Republic Carpet (i) Slovakia Henrieta Nagyová 7–6(7–2), 6–4
Runner-up 7. 7 January 2001 Gold Coast, Australia Hard Belgium Justine Henin 7–6(7–5), 6–4
Winner 1. 26 May 2001 Strasbourg, France Clay Germany Anke Huber 7–5, 0–6, 6–4
Winner 2. 25 May 2002 Strasbourg, France Clay Australia Jelena Dokić 6–4, 3–6, 6–3
Winner 3. 24 May 2003 Strasbourg, France Clay Croatia Karolina Šprem 6–3, 4–6, 6–4
Runner-up 8. 17 January 2004 Canberra, Australia Hard Argentina Paola Suárez 3–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–5)
Runner-up 9. 22 February 2004 Antwerp, Belgium Hard (i) Belgium Kim Clijsters 6–3, 6–0
Runner-up 10. 10 April 2005 Amelia Island, USA Green Clay United States Lindsay Davenport 7–5, 7–5

Note: Does not include ITF titles.

Doubles: 17 (9–8)

Wins (9)
Runners-up (8)

Head-to-head record against other players in the top 10

Players who have been ranked World No. 1 are in boldface.

References

  1. ↑ "Farina-Elia announces retirement". Television New Zealand. Reuters. 27 October 2005. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  2. ↑ Sony Ericsson WTA Tour


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