Slovak tennis great Daniela Hantuchová is celebrating her 42nd birthday today.
Born on April 23, 1983, in Poprad, Daniela turned professional in 1999. Over her career, she secured seven WTA singles titles and reached the finals on nine other occasions.
Her most notable singles performance at a Grand Slam tournament was reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2008, where she was defeated by Ana Ivanovic of Serbia. Earlier, in 2002, she made it to the quarterfinals at both Wimbledon and the US Open, losing to American legend Serena Williams in both instances. In August 2002, Hantuchová attained her career-best WTA ranking of World No. 5.
In doubles, Daniela claimed nine WTA titles and was a finalist 12 times at various events. Notably, the Slovak player achieved a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles, having won all four major titles in this discipline throughout her playing years.
In total prize money earned during her professional career, she accumulated $10,436,407.
Daniela announced her retirement from professional tennis in July 2017.
Currently, Hantuchová works as a tennis commentator and analyst. In her leisure time, she enjoys reading books and watching films, as well as hitting the slopes for skiing and snowboarding.
Marcus Prine