Julie Halard-Decugis

Julie Halard-Decugis (born 10 September 1970) is a French former professional tennis player.

Julie Halard-Decugis
Country (sports) France
ResidencePully, Switzerland
Born (1970-09-10) 10 September 1970
Versailles, France
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Turned pro1986
Retired2000
PlaysRight-handed
(two handed-backhand)
Prize moneyUS$ 3,081,132
Singles
Career record386–233 (62.4%)
Career titles12
Highest rankingNo. 7 (14 February 2000)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian OpenQF (1993, 2000)
French OpenQF (1994)
Wimbledon4R (1992)
US Open4R (1999)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals1R (1999, 2000)
Olympic Games3R (2000)
Doubles
Career record253–156
Career titles15
Highest rankingNo. 1 (11 September 2000)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian OpenQF (2000)
French OpenSF (1994, 2000)
WimbledonF (2000)
US OpenW (2000)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour FinalsQF (2000)
Olympic GamesQF (2000)
Mixed doubles
Career record5–9
Career titles0
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian OpenQF (1996)
French Open3R (1995)
Wimbledon3R (2000)
US Open1R (1998)

Tennis career

Halard-Decugis lived in La Baule, France during the initial stages of her career and later moved to Pully, Switzerland. She turned professional in 1986. She won the French Open junior singles title in 1988 and was the Wimbledon junior singles runner-up in 1987. She retired from the WTA Tour tennis circuit at the end of the 2000 season.[1] Her highest WTA Tour singles and doubles rankings was number seven and number one respectively. She had been coached by Arnaud Decugis since 1989.

Halard-Decugis won her first WTA Tour singles title in Puerto Rico. She enjoyed her best season in 1996, when she won her first WTA Tour Tier II singles title in Paris and finished the year with a career-high season-ending singles ranking of No. 15 and as the No. 1 singles player from France. This occurred despite the fact that her playing schedule in the second half of 1996 was curtailed because of a wrist injury sustained during the Fed Cup semifinal match against Spain. She only played two tournaments in late 1997 because of injuries.

By winning the singles title in Rosmalen in 1998, she became the 20th player to have won singles titles on all four surfaces in the Open Era. Halard also won the singles and doubles titles in Pattaya that year, and broke into the top 10 singles ranking in August 1999, becoming the fifth Frenchwoman after Françoise Dürr, Mary Pierce, Nathalie Tauziat and Amélie Mauresmo to do so. In 1999, she won WTA Tour singles titles in Auckland and Birmingham and was runner-up on three other occasions.[2] Between 15 November 1999 and 9 January 2000, Julie Halard, Nathalie Tauziat, Amélie Mauresmo and Mary Pierce were all ranked inside the singles top 10, the first time France had four players ranked among the singles top 10.

2000 was to be the final and perhaps the finest year of Halard's professional playing career. She reached the Australian Open singles quarterfinal for the second time, captured the second WTA Tour Tier II title of her career in Eastbourne and reached her career-high singles ranking of No. 7 in February. Halard was also runner-up in Tokyo's Princess Cup in October and won the doubles title with Ai Sugiyama. The following week, she won both the singles and doubles titles at the Japan Open in Tokyo, saving three match points in the final to defeat the defending champion Amy Frazier.

On her 30th birthday, Halard won the 2000 US Open women's doubles title with Ai Sugiyama, her only Grand Slam title as a professional. The pair also reached the final at Wimbledon, the semifinal at the French Open and the quarterfinal at the Australian Open that year. Halard-Decugis won nine other doubles titles in 2000, five of them with Sugiyama, and became the first Frenchwoman to attain the No. 1 doubles ranking in the Open Era. Halard-Decugis represented her country in the Federation Cup Fed Cup from 1990 to 2000 and in the Olympic Games in 1992 and 2000.

Personal life

She married her coach, Arnaud Decugis, on 22 September 1995.[3][4] Arnaud Decugis is the great nephew of Max Decugis, a leading tennis player from France during the early 20th century. The couple have two children

Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 2000WimbledonGrass Ai Sugiyama Serena Williams
Venus Williams
3–6, 2–6
Win 2000US OpenHard Ai Sugiyama Cara Black
Elena Likhovtseva
6–0, 1–6, 6–1

WTA career finals

Singles: 21 (12 titles, 9 runner-ups)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments
Virginia Slims
Tier I
Tier II
Tier III
Tier IV & V
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. Oct 1987 Athens Open, Greece Clay Katerina Maleeva 0–6, 1–6
Loss 2. Aug 1991 Albuquerque, U.S. Hard Gigi Fernández 0–6, 2–6
Win 3. Oct 1991 San Juan Open, Puerto Rico Hard Amanda Coetzer 7–5, 7–5
Win 4. Apr 1992 Taranto Trophy, Italy Clay Emanuela Zardo 6–0, 7–5
Loss 5. Feb 1994 Paris Indoors, France Carpet (i) Martina Navratilova 5–7, 3–6
Win 6. Apr 1994 Taranto Trophy Clay Irina Spîrlea 6–2, 6–3
Win 7. May 1995 Prague Open, Czech Republic Clay Ludmila Richterová 6–4, 6–4
Win 8. Jan 1996 Hobart International, Australia Hard Mana Endo 6–1, 6–2
Win 9. Feb 1996 Paris Indoors Carpet (i) Iva Majoli 7–5, 7–6(7–4)
Loss 10. Feb 1996 Linz Open, Austria Carpet (i) Sabine Appelmans 2–6, 4–6
Win 11. Jun 1996 Rosmalen Championships, Netherlands Grass Miriam Oremans 6–3, 6–4
Loss 12. May 1998 Internationaux de Strasbourg, France Clay Irina Spîrlea 6–7(5–7), 3–6
Win 13. Nov 1998 Pattaya Open, Thailand Hard Li Fang 6–1, 6–2
Win 14. Jan 1999 Auckland Open, New Zealand Hard Dominique Monami 6–4, 6–1
Loss 15. Apr 1999 Bol Ladies Open, Croatia Clay Corina Morariu 2–6, 0–6
Loss 16. May 1999 German Open, Berlin Clay Martina Hingis 0–6, 1–6
Win 17. Jun 1999 Birmingham Classic, UK Grass Nathalie Tauziat 6–2, 3–6, 6–4
Loss 18. Aug 1999 Los Angeles Classic, U.S. Hard Serena Williams 1–6, 4–6
Win 19. Jun 2000 Eastbourne International, UK Grass Dominique Monami 7–6(7–4), 6–4
Loss 20. Oct 2000 Tokyo Cup, Japan Hard Serena Williams 5–7, 1–6
Win 21. Oct 2000 Tokyo Championships, Japan Hard Amy Frazier 5–7, 7–5, 6–4

Doubles: 25 (15 titles, 10 runner-ups)

Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1. Sep 1991 Clarins Open Paris, France Clay Alexia Dechaume Petra Langrová
Radka Zrubáková
4–6, 4–6
Loss 2. Apr 1994 Barcelona Open, Spain Clay Nathalie Tauziat Larisa Neiland
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
2–6, 4–6
Win 3. Aug 1994 Los Angeles Classic, United States Hard Nathalie Tauziat Jana Novotná
Lisa Raymond
6–1, 0–6, 6–1
Win 4. Sep 1994 Tokyo International, Japan Hard Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Amy Frazier
Rika Hiraki
6–1, 0–6, 6–1
Win 5. Jan 1996 Auckland Open, New Zealand Hard Els Callens Jill Hetherington
Kristine Kunce
6–0, 6–1
Loss 6. Feb 1996 Paris Indoors, France Carpet (i) Nathalie Tauziat Kristie Boogert
Jana Novotná
4–6, 3–6
Loss 7. Mar 1996 Indian Wells Open, U.S. Hard Nathalie Tauziat Chanda Rubin
Brenda Schultz
1–6, 4–6
Loss 8. Sepr 1997 Tokyo Cup, Japan Hard Chanda Rubin Monica Seles
Ai Sugiyama
1–6, 0–6
Loss 9. Jan 1998 Auckland Open, New Zealand Hard Janette Husárová Nana Miyagi
Tamarine Tanasugarn
6–71, 4–6
Loss 10. Jan 1998 Hobart International, Australia Hard Janette Husárová Virginia Ruano Pascual
Paola Suárez
6–76, 3–6
Win 11. Jun 1998 Birmingham Classic, UK Grass Els Callens Lisa Raymond
Rennae Stubbs
2–6, 6–4, 6–4
Win 12. Nov 1998 Pattaya Open, Thailand Hard Els Callens Rika Hiraki
Aleksandra Olsza
3–6, 6–2, 6–2
Loss 13. Oct 1999 Kremlin Cup, Russia Carpet (i) Anke Huber Lisa Raymond
Rennae Stubbs
0–6, 1–6
Win 14. Jan 2000 Gold Coast Hardcourts, Australia Hard Anna Kournikova Sabine Appelmans
Rita Grande
6–3, 6–0
Win 15. Jan 2000 Sydney International, Australia Hard Ai Sugiyama Martina Hingis
Mary Pierce
6–0, 6–3
Win 16. Feb 2000 Paris Indoors, France Carpet (i) Sandrine Testud Émilie Loit
Åsa Carlsson
3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win 17. Mar 2000 Miami Masters, U.S. Hard Ai Sugiyama Nicole Arendt
Manon Bollegraf
4–6, 7–5, 6–4
Win 18. May 2000 Bol Ladies Open, Croatia Clay Corina Morariu Tina Križan
Katarina Srebotnik
6–2, 6–2
Loss 19. Jun 2000 Wimbledon, UK Grass Ai Sugiyama Serena Williams
Venus Williams
3–6, 2–6
Loss 20. Aug 2000 Rogers Cup Montreal, Canada Hard Ai Sugiyama Martina Hingis
Nathalie Tauziat
3–6, 6–3, 4–6
Win 21. Aug 2000 Connecticut Open, U.S. Hard Ai Sugiyama Virginia Ruano Pascual
Paola Suárez
6–4, 5–7, 6–2
Win 22. Aug 2000 US Open Hard Ai Sugiyama Cara Black
Elena Likhovtseva
6–0, 1–6, 6–1
Win 23. Oct 2000 Tokyo Cup, Japan Hard Ai Sugiyama Nana Miyagi
Paola Suárez
6–0, 6–2
Win 24. Oct 2000 Tokyo Championships, Japan Hard Corina Morariu Tina Križan
Katarina Srebotnik
6–1, 6–2
Win 25. Oct 2000 Kremlin Cup, Russia Carpet (i) Ai Sugiyama Martina Hingis
Anna Kournikova
4–6, 6–4, 7–65

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 2 (2–0)

Legend
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. 13 July 1987 ITF Erlangen, West Germany Clay Wiltrud Probst 4–6, 6–4, 6–2
Winner 2. 27 July 1987 ITF Neumünster, West Germany Clay Brenda Schultz-McCarthy 6–2, 6–4

Doubles: 4 (2–2)

Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 1. 20 July 1987 ITF Vaihingen, West Germany Clay Virginie Paquet Hana Fukárková
Denisa Krajčovičová
6–4, 6–3
Winner 2. 3 December 1990 ITF Le Havre, France Clay Agnès Zugasti Gaby Coorengel
Amy van Buuren
6–3, 6–0
Runner-up 1. 7 December 1992 ITF Val-d'Oise, France Hard (i) Sabine Appelmans Isabelle Demongeot
Catherine Suire
5–7, 4–6
Runner-up 2. 7 December 1997 ITF Cergy-Pontoise, France Hard (i) Anne-Gaëlle Sidot Kristie Boogert
Miriam Oremans
5–7, 4–6

Grand Slam performance timelines

Singles

Tournament19871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000SRW–L
Australian Open A 2R 1R 3R 2R 1R QF 2R 1R 3R A A 2R QF 0 / 11 16–11
French Open 2R 2R 1R 3R 2R 3R 3R QF 3R 2R A 2R 4R 1R 0 / 13 20–13
Wimbledon A 1R 2R 2R 2R 4R 1R 1R 1R A A 3R 3R 1R 0 / 11 10–11
US Open 3R 1R 2R 2R 2R 2R 2R 2R 2R A A 1R 4R 1R 0 / 12 12–12
Overall Win–Loss 3–2 2–4 2–4 6–4 4–4 6–4 7–4 6–4 3–4 3–2 0–0 3–3 9–4 4–4 0 / 47 58–47
Career statistics
Titles 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 3 0 1 2 2 12
Finals 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 2 1 4 0 2 5 3 21
Year-end ranking 62 75 118 41 20 27 29 21 51 20 22 9 15

Doubles

Tournament19871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000SRW–L
Australian Open A 1R 2R 2R A 1R 1R 1R 2R 3R A A 3R QF 0 / 10 10–10
French Open A 1R 2R 1R 3R 2R 1R SF QF 3R A 2R 1R SF 0 / 12 18–12
Wimbledon A A A A 1R 1R 2R 3R 3R A A QF 2R F 0 / 8 14–8
US Open A A A A 1R 1R 1R 1R QF A A 3R 3R W 1 / 8 13–7
Overall Win–Loss 0–0 0–2 2–2 1–2 2–3 1–4 1–4 6–4 9–4 4–2 0–0 6–3 5–4 18–3 1 / 38 55–37

Head-to-head records

References

  1. Berkrot, Bill (16 November 2000). "Halard-Decugis decides to retire". New York City: The Independent. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  2. "Tennis — DFS Classic; Halard-Decugis beats Tauziat". The New York Times. 14 June 1999.
  3. Gene Frenette (16 April 2000). "When Love is a good game". jacksonville.com.
  4. Iain Carter (June 2000). "Julie Halard-Decugis". BBC Sport.
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