Russian tennis player Dinara Safina has won 12 WTA singles titles in her career. Dinara did not win Grand Slam tournaments, although she reached the final three times.
But in Safina’s collection there are five victories in the “thousands”. Particularly significant for Dinara is her triumph in the tournament of this category held in Madrid in 2009, after which she became the first racket in the world.
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Classification
Ranking: the best women’s world number 1 in the history of tennis
The men’s Masters has been held in Madrid since 2002. In addition, initially the tennis players played on hard courts. In 2009 a radical reform was carried out. The tournament in the capital of Spain was moved to clay and a women’s category was added.
The Madrid native’s debut on the WTA circuit brought together almost all of the best tennis players in the world. Maria Sharapova did not come to Spain due to shoulder problems, but Serena Williams, Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva, Elena Jankovic and Venus Williams were in the top 5 of the world rankings before the start and played in Spain. They were also considered the main contenders for the title.
Many favorites began to withdraw from the beginning. Serena retired during the opening match against Italy’s Francesca Schiavone due to a knee injury. Her older sister Venus was eliminated in the second round, sensationally losing to Russian Alisa Kleybanova. Dementieva lost to Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo in the third round. Yankovic reached the quarterfinals, where she was defeated by the Swiss Patti Schnyder, who was living her second youth.
Dinara Safina at a tournament in Madrid in 2009
Photo: Jasper Juinen/Getty Images
Only 22-year-old Dinara Safina confirmed her superior status, who, after Serena’s early departure, was guaranteed to become the first racket in the world after the Madrid tournament. This would have happened regardless of her result in the thousand meters, but the Russian decided not to relax after receiving such good news. Safina defeated the Chinese Li Na (6-3, 7-6), the Czech Lucie Safarova (6-0, 4-6, 6-3), the Ukrainian Alena Bondarenko (6-4, 6-3) and the aforementioned Schnyder (6-3). : 4, 6:2) on the way to the final. Dinara lost a set in her confrontation with Shafarzhova, but in general she faced all of her rivals without nerves or difficulties.
In the title match, Safina had the opportunity to face 18-year-old Dane Caroline Wozniacki, who placed ninth in Madrid. Everything turned out quite easy for Dinara. She easily defeated Wozniacki 6:2, 6:4. Safina received €620,000 in prize money and took part in the ceremony alongside surprising men’s champion Roger Federer, who beat clay king Rafael Nadal in his final, exhausted after an epic battle with Novak Djokovic in the previous stage.
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On Monday, April 20, 2009, Safina officially became the world’s first racket. Over the previous 52 weeks, Dinara played 17 tournaments (one more than the previous world No. 1, American Serena Williams), winning 59 of 74 matches and scoring 8,951 points. Safina spent 26 weeks at the top of the WTA rankings, which is a record for Russian tennis. Dinara was also on par with her brother Marat Safin, who won the title in Madrid in 2004 and also had the status of the world’s top racket. They became the only pair of brothers in the world, each of whom was the leader of the individual ranking in his category. After the triumph in Madrid, Dinara highlighted the importance of comparing Marat’s achievements.
“Working for a year with my coach Zeljko Krajan and conditioning specialist Dejan Vojnovic, I gradually acquired the physical shape and mentality of a champion. The results were immediate and perseverance and perseverance paid off. In Madrid, Marat and I will celebrate this event. It is surprising that I have become equal to my brother, whom I always admired. Before I was just a younger sister, but now I am Dinara. Now my main goal is the mandatory victory in the Grand Slam tournament and why not achieve it at Roland Garros, which is played on clay, the surface I love the most,” said Safina.
Dinara Safina and Roger Federer after the 2009 Madrid tournament
Photo: Jasper Juinen/Getty Images
It was not possible to implement the plan. Safina reached the final of Roland Garros, but lost to her compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova and was once again one step away from the title at a Major. In the 2009 Wimbledon semi-finals, Dinara reached the semi-finals, where she lost to Venus Williams. The last TBS of the US Open season ended unsuccessfully: with elimination in the third round. However, in the last two years, Safina could boast an impressive record: three Helmet finals and two semifinals, five victories in the thousand-meter events.
The prospects for the young Russian seemed promising. Unfortunately, since the 2010 season, Dinara has suffered from chronic back injuries. I had to miss many tournaments and, in general, the results worsened noticeably. The health problems turned out to be so serious that Safina suspended her career in the spring of 2011. The last tournament in which Dinara performed was the “torneo mil” in Madrid. In the first round she defeated the Spanish Nuria Llagostera-Vives and in the next phase she lost to the German Julia Goerges.
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Safina was barely 25 years old at the time. There was still hope of returning, but her back injury persisted. Safina officially announced her retirement during her thousandth anniversary in Madrid in 2014. Her farewell to professional tennis took place after the final between Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep (1:6, 6:2, 6:3) . Dinara handed the cup to Sharapova and said goodbye to the fans.
“Of course, I made the decision to retire much earlier. Why didn’t you announce it? Until the last moment I was still hoping that the situation with my back injury would change. Still, if you send a resignation letter, there will be no turning back. And now this moment has come. In Madrid I played the last professional tournament of my career in 2011, so there is no better place to say goodbye to tennis.
In the 2008-2009 seasons I was at the top. These two years have passed very quickly. But those were the two best years. And then, after the injury, it was more difficult to enjoy tennis. Not playing due to injury was difficult because I was not prepared for it. I thought I would play until I was 30 and then I would leave. But the time comes: I’m 25 years old, I wake up and realize that I can’t do this anymore. I can’t suffer. When you go out on the court and listen to the crowd, you hear their support; you can’t feel those emotions anywhere else. “You play for the audience,” Safina said.
Dinara Safina with the director of the Madrid tournament Manolo Santana and the president of the WTA, Stacey Allaster, at her farewell ceremony
Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
It is unpleasant to end your career prematurely due to injury, but Safina left with honors in the iconic Madrid. Dinara always had good communication with the tournament director in Spain, Manolo Santana. Even during her career as a player, Safina was part of the “thousand” administration as responsible for communication with players and coordinator of competitions for young people aged 16 and under.
In 2015, Safina joined the squad for the Madrid tournament. This time she provided communication between the organizers and the adult tennis players. In 2016, Safina moved to New York, where she worked at the MatchPoint NYC tennis center and for some time she coached Ukrainian Angelina Kalinina. Overall, Dinara still tries to stay in touch with tennis. She sometimes participates in exhibition matches and helps train players on the WTA circuit. For example, Maria Sakkari and Donna Vekic were very grateful for her help and deservedly called her a tennis legend.
Donna Vekic and Dinara Safina in 2022
Photo: From the personal archive of Donna Vekic.
“Now I am happy and I prefer to help others. Tennis was probably my mission once, but now I want to help others achieve results without making the mistakes I made,” says Dinara.
Earlier this year, in an interview, Safina admitted that she wasn’t just suffering from a back injury. Dinara also struggled with anxiety and an eating disorder, so she decided not to resume her career.
In the case of Safina, it is worth talking about enormous unrealized potential. But you can look for the positive in everything. Dinara has so many accomplishments on the court that most tennis players can only dream about it.
