Helena Suková (b.
February 23 1965 in
Prague, Czechoslovakia) is a former professional
tennis player from the
Czech Republic. During her career, she won 14
Grand Slam titles, 9 of them in women's doubles and 5 of them in mixed doubles. She also was a four-time Grand Slam singles runner-up.
Suková comes from a prominent Czech tennis family. Her mother,
Věra Pužejová Suková, was a women's singles finalist at
Wimbledon in
1962. Her father, Cyril Suk II, was president of the Czechoslovakian Tennis Federation. Her brother,
Cyril Suk III, is a professional player on the men's tour who teamed with Suková to win three Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, at the
French Open in
1991 and at Wimbledon in
1996 and
1997.
Suková turned professional in
1981. Her career-high world rankings were fourth in singles and first in women's doubles.
Suková was a singles runner-up at the
Australian Open twice (in
1984 and
1989) and at the
U.S. Open twice (in
1986 and
1993). Sukova's most memorable Grand Slam singles win was against
Martina Navratilova in a semifinal of the 1984 Australian Open, where she ended Navratilova's 74-match winning streak and her chance at winning a calendar year Grand Slam.
Suková was a particularly outstanding doubles player. She had a career Grand Slam in women's doubles, winning four titles at Wimbledon, two at the U.S. Open, one at the Australian Open, and one at the French Open. She won three mixed doubles titles at Wimbledon, one at the U.S. Open, and one at the French Open. She also was a women's doubles silver medalist at the
Olympic Games in
1988 and
1996 (both times partnering
Jana Novotná).
Suková helped Czechoslovakia win the
Fed Cup four times, in
1983, 1984,
1985, and 1988. She also teamed with
Miloslav Mečíř to win the inaugural
Hopman Cup for Czechoslovakia in
1989.
Over the course of her career, Suková won 10 singles titles and 73 doubles titles.
Despite retiring from the professional tour in
1998, she was given a wild card into the 2006 Wimbledon mixed doubles tournament with her brother Cyril Suk. They lost their first round match.
