Silvia Farina Elia

Silvia Farina Elia (Italian pronunciation: [ˈsilvja faˈriːna eˈliːa]; born 27 April 1972) is a former professional tennis player from Italy. She won three WTA singles titles, reached the quarterfinals of the 2003 Wimbledon Championships and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 in May 2002. Farina Elia won her first ITF title at Caltagirone in 1991 and her first WTA tournament at Strasbourg in 2001. She made her début Grand Slam appearance at the 1991 French Open and was coached by husband Francesco Elia, whom she married September 1999.

Silvia Farina Elia
Country (sports) Italy
ResidenceRome
Born (1972-04-27) 27 April 1972
Milan
Height1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
Turned pro1988
Retired24 October 2005
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$3,688,252
Singles
Career record469–370
Career titles3
Highest rankingNo. 11 (20 May 2002)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open4R (2004, 2005)
French Open4R (2001, 2002)
WimbledonQF (2003)
US Open4R (2002)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals1R (2001, 2002)
Olympic Games3R (2000)
Doubles
Career record269–255
Career titles8
Highest rankingNo. 24 (21 June 1999)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open3R (1997)
French OpenQF (1994, 1998, 2004)
WimbledonQF (1998, 1999)
US Open3R (1994, 1999, 2005)
Other doubles tournaments
Olympic Games2R (2004)

Career

Farina Elia made steady progression on the ITF circuit during the early 1990s and finished her first year in the top 100 in 1991. She completed her first victory over a top ten player (Gabriela Sabatini, Roland Garros) in 1994 and won her first doubles title the next year. In 1996, she represented Italy at the Atlanta Olympics. 1998 was considered her breakthrough year, reaching the final of four tournaments and in the process securing a place in the year end top 20. She was 26 at the time and thus considered a "late bloomer". She only reached one singles final in 1999 but made a greater impact in doubles, winning three tournaments.

In 2001, Farina Elia won a belated first WTA Tour title, at the Internationaux de Strasbourg. She ended the year No. 14, what was to be her best year end finish and played in the WTA Tour Championships of 2001 and 2002. She consolidated the Strasbourg win with two more wins at the tournament. In 2003, she achieved her best Grand Slam result at the unlikely venue of Wimbledon, home of her least favourite surface, losing to Kim Clijsters, 7–5, 0–6, 1–6 in the quarterfinals.

Farina Elia represented Italy at nine Federation Cups and also at three Olympics.

On Monday 24 October 2005 she announced her retirement from the tour due a recurrence of a shoulder, saying, "My body has given all it can."[1][2]

Personal life

Farina Elia began playing tennis aged 10; introduced to the sport by her mother, who played recreationally. Her parents are both insurance agents, as is her sister, Olga. Her brother, Enrico, restores furniture. She married Francesco Elia on 22 September 1999 and described the prospect of life after tennis as "exciting".[3]

WTA career finals

Singles: 13 (3–10)
Legend
Grand Slam (0)
Tier I (0)
Tier II (0)
Tier III (3)
Tier IV-V (0)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Date Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. 21 July 1991 San Marino Clay Katia Piccolini 6–2, 6–3
Runner-up 2. 11 January 1998 Auckland, New Zealand Hard Dominique van Roost 4–6, 7–6(9–11), 7–5
Runner-up 3. 26 April 1998 Budapest, Hungary Clay Virginia Ruano Pascual 6–4, 4–6, 6–3
Runner-up 4. 19 July 1998 Warsaw, Poland Clay Conchita Martínez 6–0, 6–3
Runner-up 5. 1 November 1998 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Carpet (i) Mary Pierce 6–0, 2–0 ret.
Runner-up 6. 14 February 1999 Prostějov, Czech Republic Carpet (i) Henrieta Nagyová 7–6(7–2), 6–4
Runner-up 7. 7 January 2001 Gold Coast, Australia Hard Justine Henin 7–6(7–5), 6–4
Winner 1. 26 May 2001 Strasbourg, France Clay Anke Huber 7–5, 0–6, 6–4
Winner 2. 25 May 2002 Strasbourg, France Clay Jelena Dokić 6–4, 3–6, 6–3
Winner 3. 24 May 2003 Strasbourg, France Clay Karolina Šprem 6–3, 4–6, 6–4
Runner-up 8. 17 January 2004 Canberra, Australia Hard Paola Suárez 3–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–5)
Runner-up 9. 22 February 2004 Antwerp, Belgium Hard (i) Kim Clijsters 6–3, 6–0
Runner-up 10. 10 April 2005 Amelia Island, United States Clay Lindsay Davenport 7–5, 7–5

Doubles: 17 (9–8)
Wins (9)
Runners-up (8)

ITF finals

Singles (2–1)
Legend
$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. 29 October 1990 Putignano, Italy Clay Nathalie Baudone 2–6, 4–6
Winner 2. 24 June 1991 Caltagirone, Italy Clay Ann Devries 7–5, 6–3
Winner 3. 5 April 1993 Limoges, France Carpet (i) Laurence Courtois 6–3, 6–3

Doubles (6–2)
Outcome No Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 1. 11 June 1990 Modena, Italy Hard Simona Isidori Heleen van den Berg
Miriam Oremans		 6–2, 6–3
Winner 2. 23 July 1990 Milan, Italy Hard Simona Isidori Nathalie Ballet
Agnes Romand		 2–6, 6–1, 6–3
Winner 3. 29 October 1990 Putignano, Italy Clay Nathalie Baudone Darija Dešković
Karin Lušnic		 6–1, 6–1
Winner 4. 24 June 1991 Caltagiron, Italy Hard Misumi Miyauchi Alexandra Fusai
Olivia Gravereaux		 6–7, 6–4, 6–4
Winner 5. 13 April 1992 Salerno, Italy Hard Linda Ferrando Kirrily Sharpe
Angie Woolcock		 6–1, 6–4
Runner-up 6. 7 September 1992 Arzachena, Italy Clay Linda Ferrando Laura Garrone
Laura Golarsa		 4–6, 6–4, 4–6
Winner 7. 11 April 1993 Limoges, France Carpet (i) Elena Pampoulova Stephanie Reece
Danielle Scott		 6–2, 6–7(5–7), 6–2
Runner-up 8. 16 August 1993 Arzachena, Italy Clay Linda Ferrando Akiko Kijimuta
Naoko Kijimuta		 0–6, 5–7

Head-to-head record against other players in the top 10

Players who have been ranked World No. 1 are in boldface.

References
  1. "Farina-Elia announces retirement". Television New Zealand. Reuters. 27 October 2005. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  2. "Injuries force Italy's Farina to retire". Times of Malta. 28 October 2005.
  3. Sony Ericsson WTA Tour


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