Nadia Petrova (pee-TROH-vuh; Russian:, Nadézhda Petróva; born June 8, 1982, Moscow, Russia) is a professional tennis player from Russia.

Petrova's career high ranking is World No. 3, a ranking she achieved after beating Justine Henin in the final of the Qatar Telecom German Open held in Berlin in May 2006. She has reached the French Open semi-finals twice in her career, once in 2003 and again in 2005. As of November 5 2007, she is the No. 14 player in the world.

Petrova was born in Moscow. Her parents were both very athletic - her father Victor was a leading hammer thrower, while her mother is Nadezhda Ilyina who won a bronze medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics in the 400 meter relay. Both her parents are still athletics coaches. As a child, Nadia did a lot of travelling around the world with her parents. She eventually settled in Egypt, where she trained with Mohammed Seif and her parents.

As a junior, Petrova won the 1998 French Open, beating Jelena Dokić in the final. The same year she finished runner-up at the prestigious year-ending Orange Bowl to Elena Dementieva and she also finished runner-up at the junior 1999 US Open to Lina Krasnoroutskaya. In May 1998, she played her first WTA tournament at the J&S Cup as a wildcard entrant. She beat Sandra Kleinova in the first round 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 before losing to Joannette Kruger. She also received a wildcard for her home event in Moscow, the Kremlin Cup, where she picked up her first top twenty win over Iva Majoli. By the end of 1999, Petrova had reached the top 100.

In 2000, she reached the third round of the Australian Open and the quarter-finals of the Miami Masters, beating Julie Halard-Decugis for her first top ten win before losing to Lindsay Davenport. She finished the season at No. 50, a then-career high. She reached the fourth round of both Roland Garros and the U.S. Open in 2001 and her ranking hit a high of No. 38 during the season. Unfortunately, her 2002 season was marred by injuries causing her ranking to drop out of the top 100.

2003 was arguably Petrova's breakthrough season. Ranked No. 76 in the world, she stunned all by reaching the semi-finals of Roland Garros, beating former World No. 1's Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati to become the third lowest-ranked player to reach the semi-finals there. Her ranking rose to a career high of No. 30 after this showing. She also reached the semi-finals of 's-Hertogenbosch, Zurich and Philadelphia, losing to Justine Henin-Hardenne on two of those occasions. She entered the top twenty for the first time after a third round showing in the Rogers Cup and by the end of the season had reached No. 12. To cap it all off, she reached her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour final at the end of the season in Linz, losing to Ai Sugiyama 7-5, 6-4.

Petrova continued her success during this year, reaching her second final at Gold Coast, losing once again to Ai Sugiyama 1-6, 6-1, 6-4. She was the victim of an upset in the first round of the Australian Open to Anikó Kapros, losing 6-3, 6-3.

In March 2004, she finally hit the top ten at No. 9 after reaching the semi-finals of the Miami Masters. She beat Maria Kirilenko, Emilie Loit, Alicia Molik and Nathalie Dechy on the way before losing to Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-2, who would lose the final to Serena Williams. She followed it up superbly at the Bausch & Lomb Championships, reaching the semi-finals there also, beating second-seeded Serena Williams before losing to Lindsay Davenport. After this, her ranking elevated to a new career high of No. 7. However, she dropped out of the top ten in May after failing to defend her semi-final points at Roland Garros, losing to Marlene Weingärtner in the third round 6-3, 6-2.

At the 2004 U.S. Open, she pulled off the biggest win of her career by defeating Justine Henin 6-3, 6-2 in the fourth round. Henin was the World No. 1 then and also the defending champion. It was Petrova's first ever victory over a reigning World No. 1. She lost in the quarter-finals to eventual champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6, 6-3. Nadia reached three more semi-finals during the fall season at Bali, Linz and Philadelphia. She finished the season at No. 12, the same place that she finished the 2003 season.

Her 2005 season did not start off brilliantly, retiring in the quarter-finals at both Gold Coast and Sydney. However, she reached the fourth round of the 2005 Australian Open, losing to the eventual champion Serena Williams, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. She reached the semi-finals at the Open Gaz de France, losing to Amélie Mauresmo and the fourth round at Indian Wells, being beaten by Mary Pierce.

Petrova reached her third career final at the Qatar Telecom German Open in May, beating Klára Zakopalová, Mary Pierce, Amélie Mauresmo and Jelena Janković to get there, before losing to Justine Henin-Hardenne. Thanks to this showing, her ranking rose back into the top ten at No. 9, where she stayed for the next two years before dropping out in May 2007.

At the French Open, she repeated what she did two years previously by reaching the semi-finals there once again. She beat only one top thirty player en-route, that being twelfth-seeded Elena Bovina. She lost in the semi-finals to Henin 6-2, 6-3, but her ranking rose one place to No. 8, one place off her career high. A few weeks later at Wimbledon she reached her first quarter-final there before losing to Maria Sharapova 7-6, 6-3, who lost in the semi-finals to Venus Williams, the eventual champion. After Wimbledon, she reached five straight quarter-finals at Los Angeles, Toronto, U.S. Open, Luxembourg and Filderstadt. She lost to Clijsters, Mauresmo, Sharapova, Grönefeld and Mauresmo again at these events.

At the PTT Bangkok Open, a Tier III event, she reached her fourth career final, once again losing, this time to Nicole Vaidišová 6-1, 6-7(5), 7-5. Two weeks later, Petrova finally won her first title at the Generali Ladies Linz held in Linz, Austria. She beat Sofia Arvidsson, Sybille Bammer, Květa Peschke and in the final Patty Schnyder 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, meaning she was now 1-4 in career finals.

Her successful season meant she qualified for the WTA Tour Championships in Los Angeles, United States. She went 1-2 in the round robin stages, losing to Lindsay Davenport 6-2, 7-6 and Patty Schnyder 6-0, 5-7, 6-4, but created a stunning victory over Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-2. However, many people feel that Sharapova tanked the match, having already been guaranteed a place in the semi-finals.

Petrova kicked off her 2006 season by reaching the semi-finals at the ASB Classic, a Tier IV event. She was the top seed and retired in her semi-final match against Marion Bartoli, trailing 3-6, 6-4, 2-1. She also retired prior to her quarter-final match in Sydney. At the 2006 Australian Open, Petrova reached the quarter-finals losing to fourth-seed Maria Sharapova. She also reached the quarter-finals at the Open Gaz de France and the semi-finals at the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerpen. At the Dubai Duty Free Women's Open, she fell in the first round to Maria Kirilenko 6-4, 6-1.

At the Qatar Total Open held in Doha, Petrova picked up her second title by beating second-ranked and top-seeded Amélie Mauresmo in the final 6-3, 7-5. The victory took her back up to No. 7, equalling the career high she achieved back in 2004. She followed it up with a quarter-final showing at the Miami Masters, losing to Mauresmo 6-3, 6-1.

In Amelia Island, Petrova began her unstoppable run that would take her to three titles, winning fifteen straight matches. Here at the Bausch & Lomb Championships, she defeated Francesca Schiavone in the final 6-4, 6-4 to pick up her third title in the past six months. One week later, she won her second straight title and fourth overall at the Family Circle Cup, beating Alona Bondarenko, Lucie Šafářová, Catalina Castaño, Anna-Lena Grönefeld and capping it off with a victory over Patty Schnyder 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. It was her first ever Tier I title win and caused her ranking to hit the world's top five for the first time, at No. 4. She next entered the Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin, winning both her third title and second Tier I in a row. It was her fifth title overall. In the final, she defeated Justine Henin-Hardenne 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. With this win, she ascended to her career high of No. 3 in the World. Her clay court winning streak put her as a firm favourite for the 2006 French Open title.

However, on May 30, 2006, Petrova was defeated in the first round of the French Open by Akiko Morigami 6-2, 6-2. This was considered a major upset that may have been caused by an ankle injury Petrova suffered during training shortly before the tournament. She then withdrew from Wimbledon and did not win a match in the U.S. Open Series, going 0-3. At the 2006 U.S. Open, Petrova was upset in the third round by the 27th seeded Tatiana Golovin. She reached the quarter-finals at Beijing, losing to Jelena Janković 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.

At the Tier II tournament in Stuttgart, Petrova won her first tournament title since the Tier I German Open in May 2006. She beat Anna-Lena Grönefeld, Daniela Hantuchová and Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 in a thrilling semi-final match, and then beat Tatiana Golovin 6-3, 7-6 in the final. The win resulted in her ranking rising back into the top five. Petrova then continued her return to form by reaching the final of the Kremlin Cup, a Tier I tournament in Moscow, by defeating Czech Nicole Vaidišová 6-0, 4-6, 7-6(3). In the final, Petrova was beaten by another Russian, Anna Chakvetadze 6-4, 6-4.

After a week off to recover from minor injuries, Petrova played in the Tier II tournament in Linz where she was the defending champion. As the second seed, Petrova dropped just nine games in her three matches to reach the final. Petrova received a bye into the second round where she defeated Israel's Shahar Pe'er 6-1, 6-1. Petrova then defeated Samantha Stosur 6-1, 6-3 and fourth seeded Nicole Vaidišová 6-1, 6-2, before losing to top seeded Maria Sharapova 7-5, 6-2 in the final.

At the WTA Tour Championships in Madrid in November 2006, Petrova lost two of her three round robin matches and failed to advance to the semifinals. Her lone victory was over top ranked Amélie Mauresmo 6-2, 6-2. This was her second victory over a reigning World No.1. She finished the year at No. 6, her best year-end ranking thus far.

Petrova began the year by teaming with Dmitry Tursunov to represent Russia as the top seeds in the Hopman Cup, an exhibition in Perth, Australia that ran from December 30, 2006, through January 5, 2007. Russia won the cup, defeating Spain in the final three matches to none.

After her success there, it was time for Petrova to start her WTA Tour season. She played her first tournament of the year at Sydney, but was forced to pull out in her first match, down 6-2, 4-2 to Ana Ivanović. This left her with little preparation for the Australian Open, where she dropped just eight games to reach the third round before falling victim to Serena Williams, the eventual champion, after holding a 5-3 second set lead.

At the Open Gaz de France in Paris, Petrova picked up her seventh tour title and first of the season by beating Lucie Safarova 4-6, 6-1, 6-4. In the earlier rounds she had beaten Martina Müller 6-1, 6-2, Dinara Safina 6-3, 6-2 and Amélie Mauresmo 5-7, 6-4, 7-6⁷. The victory over Mauresmo was her third victory over the Frenchwoman in their previous four meetings. She followed it with a quarterfinal at the Proximus Diamond Games, losing in straight sets to Anna Chakvetadze.

Her next tournament was the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, where after a first round bye she beat Gisela Dulko 6-3, 6-4 and survived a third round scare against dangerous American Laura Granville, eventually prevailing 4-6, 6-3, 6-0. However, she was forced to retire in her fourth round match against Tatiana Golovin, trailing 6-2, 1-0.

Petrova reached the quarterfinals at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, losing to Justine Henin. Petrova then reached the final at Amelia Island, but failed to defend her title, losing to Tatiana Golovin 6-2, 6-1.

She played the Fed Cup for Russia, beating Anabel Medina Garrigues in her only singles match 6-3, 6-4 in Russia's 5-0 win over Spain. She was scheduled to play another match but pulled out.

Petrova began her red clay court season at the J&S Cup in Warsaw, Poland as the fifth-seeded player. In the second round, she was upset by Italian player Mara Santangelo 6-3, 6-3.

At the Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin, Petrova was defending a title for only the third time in her career, but she once again failed to rise to the occasion losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6, 6-4. Before this meeting she had beaten Séverine Brémond 6-4, 6-2 and Elena Dementieva 6-3, 6-3. She then played in the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome as the fifth seed, where she retired in her third round match with Elena Dementieva while trailing 4-3.

She was the eleventh-seeded player at the French Open and was the first big upset of the tournament when she lost to Květa Peschke 7-5, 5-7, 6-0. After the loss, she claimed that the low back pain which had forced her to retire from her match in Rome was still bothering her. It was her second consecutive first round loss at the French Open because of injury.

Petrova kicked off her grasscourt season at the Tier II event held at Eastbourne. She was the third seeded player at the event, and lived up to her seeding by advancing to the semifinals. After a first round bye, she beat Nathalie Dechy 7-5, 7-5 and Sybille Bammer 6-7⁶, 7-5, 6-4. However, she retired in her semifinal match against second-seeded Amelie Mauresmo after losing the first set 6-4. Her success at this tournament consolidated her return to the top ten.

In the third Grand Slam of the year at Wimbledon, Petrova faced little resistance in her first two matches, beating Vania King 6-0, 6-1 and Sania Mirza 6-2, 6-2. In the third round, she beat Spaniard Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-3, 7-6 to set up a fourth round clash with Ana Ivanović, which she eventually lost 6-1, 2-6, 6-4. However, it was the first time Petrova had reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam since the 2006 Australian Open.

In the 2007 Fed Cup tie against the USA on July 14/15, Petrova played a pivotal role in securing the victory for her team. While losing on the first day against Venus Williams, she won her singles match against Meilen Tu on the second day and then teamed up with Elena Vesnina to beat Williams and Lisa Raymond in the decisive doubles rubber.

Petrova began her summer hardcourt season at the Acura Classic held in San Diego, United States. She beat compatriot Elena Bovina in the second round and Katarina Srebotnik in the third round before falling to Patty Schnyder 6-4, 6-4. In the Srebotnik match, Petrova had several match points in the early stages of the tiebreak but lost them all before eventually winning it 12-10.

At the JPMorgan Chase Open, Petrova reached her third final of the year by defeating Virginie Razzano in the quarterfinals and then receiving a walkover into the final when Maria Sharapova withdrew from their match. In the final, she lost to Ana Ivanović 7-5, 6-4, dropping her to 1-2 in tour finals in 2007 and 7-8 in her career. She continued her good form in Toronto, losing to Justine Henin in the quarterfinals.

In the final Grand Slam of the year at the U.S. Open, Petrova was the No. 7 seed. She easily went through to the third round, beating Timea Bacsinszky and Anastassia Rodionova in straight sets, before coming up against the in-form Ágnes Szávay who beat her 6-4, 6-4. The loss meant that she has not gone past the fourth round of any major tournament all season, the first time since 2002.

She begun her indoor season at the Fortis Championships held in Luxembourg as the fourth seed, and thus receiving a first round bye. However, she was sent home surprisingly early by Belarussian teenager Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-1. Her next tournament was the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix held in Stuttgart, where she was the defending champion. She reached the quarterfinals, but retired against Jelena Janković being down 5-1 in the second set, having won the first.

Although she was scheduled to play Linz, she pulled out because of a left hip injury, putting an end to her disappointing season. She finished the year ranked fourteenth in the world, her lowest year-end ranking in five years.

Petrova has also had success in doubles, reaching a career high of No. 3 in the doubles rankings. She has twelve doubles titles, eight of them with Meghann Shaughnessy including the prestigious year-ending WTA Tour Championships in 2004, where they beat Cara Black and Rennae Stubbs in the final 7-5, 6-2. She also has victories at the Tier I events in Moscow, Miami, Berlin, Rome and Montreal, with all but the Montreal title being with Meghann Shaughnessy and the aforementioned other one being with Martina Navrátilová. In 2002 and 2003, she also reached the finals of three Tier I events with Jelena Dokic.

* Before her match with Serena Williams at the 2007 Australian Open, Petrova said, "Both Serena and Venus had lots of injuries and they are not in the best shape of their life. It looks like everything is leading to the end of their career because they are quite busy; they have talk shows, books, and clothing lines. It looks like they are focused on other things and they have already done their job on court. It looks like they are finishing playing tennis. The motivation probably isn't there." Serena won the match 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 and eventually the tournament.

* When asked why she had a losing head-to-head against Tatiana Golovin, Petrova said that Golovin probably only beat her in the past "because of luck." As Eurosport UK commented, Petrova seemed unsure as to why she could not defeat the "most Russian of French players." Golovin defeated Petrova in the 2007 Amelia Island final, improving her win-loss record against Petrova to 5-1.

*Playing with Svetlana Kuznetsova at Wimbledon 2007 Petrova hit a volley at her opponent Liezel Huber's throat, causing the South African to fall to the ground screaming and crying. Although the incident was almost certainly accidental on Petrova's part, Huber took offence at Petrova when the two Russian players came round the net and shouted at her to go away. After a doctor was called, play resumed, with Kuznetsova and Petrova losing to the eventual champions (Huber and Cara Black).

*2001: Bol (w/ Pisnik) *2001: New Haven (w/ Dokic) *2002: Moscow (w/ Dokic) *2002: Zürich (w/ Dokic) *2003: 's-Hertogenbosch (w/ Pierce)

*2003: Leipzig (w/ Likhovtseva) *2003: Rome (w/ Dokic) *2005: Indian Wells (w/ Shaughnessy) *2006: Dubai (w/ Kuznetsova)

To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the U.S. Open in New York, which ended on September 9, 2007.

*LQ = lost in the qualifying tournament. *A = did not participate in the tournament. *SR = the ratio of the number of singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played. *¹A walkover counts as neither a win nor a loss. *²The San Diego tournament achieved Tier I status only in 2004.

*Petrova's Official Site *Nadia-Petrova-Fansite (English and German) *