"Agnieszka Radwańska"

Agnieszka Radwańska [aɡˈɲɛʂka radˈvaɲska]  (born 6 March 1989) is a Polish professional tennis player. As of 27 August 2012, she is ranked world no. 2. Known for constructing points and making intelligent use of the court, she has won ten career singles titles.

Radwańska reached the final of the 2012 Wimbledon Championships, becoming the first Polish player in the Open Era to reach a Grand Slam singles final. In 2007, she also became the first Polish player to claim a WTA singles title when she won the Nordea Nordic Light Open. Radwańska has won two WTA Awards, being voted Most Impressive Newcomer in 2006, and Fan Favorite Singles Player in 2011.

Agnieszka Radwańska was born in Kraków. She began playing tennis at the age of four, after her father introduced her to the sport. Her younger sister, Urszula, is also a tennis player. Radwańska has named Pete Sampras and Martina Hingis as inspirations. In 2009, Radwańska became a WTA ambassador for Habitat for Humanity. She has also studied tourism at universities in Kraków.

Radwańska won the junior singles title at Wimbledon in 2005, defeating Tamira Paszek. She went on to win the junior French Open title in 2006 with a victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.She played her first WTA tournament at the 2006 J&S Cup (later known as the Warsaw Open) in Warsaw, defeating Anastasia Myskina in her opening match. She advanced to the quarterfinals, where she lost to Elena Dementieva in three sets.

At the 2006 Wimbledon Championships, she lost in the fourth round to Kim Clijsters. She went on to drop a second-round match to Tatiana Golovin at the US Open. At the Fortis Championships Luxembourg tournament, Radwańska lost in the semifinals to Francesca Schiavone after defeating former world no. 1 Venus Williams in the second round and Dementieva in the quarterfinals.

Radwańska reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 Medibank International Sydney, losing in three sets to eventual champion Elena Dementieva. She was upset in the first round of the Australian Open by Kateryna Bondarenko.

At the 2009 BNP Paribas Open, she defeated Samantha Stosur and Aleksandra Wozniak en route to the quarterfinals, where she lost to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. At the Sony Ericsson Open, she lost a three-set fourth-round match to Venus Williams. She reached the fourth round of the 2009 French Open, falling in three sets to eventual champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. She and Urszula also reached the quarterfinals in doubles. She went on to reach her second consecutive quarterfinal at Wimbledon, falling to Venus Williams.

She reached her first semifinal of the 2009 season in Tokyo, where she fell in three sets to eventual champion Maria Sharapova. She reached her first final of the year in China, losing in straight sets to Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Radwańska and her doubles partner Maria Kirilenko reached the semifinals of the 2010 Australian Open, losing to the world no. 1 pairing of Cara Black and Liezel Huber in three sets. In Indian Wells, Radwańska won her fifth straight match against Marion Bartoli, and went on to upset Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals before losing to Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals. Radwańska entered the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open, defeating Ana Ivanović en route to a quarterfinal loss aganist Venus Williams.

At the 2010 French Open, she defeated Elena Baltacha in the first round, but her unsuccessful clay court season continued as she suffered a loss to Yaroslava Shvedova in the second round. At the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, she lost a fourth-round match against Li Na.

Due to a stress fracture in her foot, Radwańska's 2010 season ended at the China Open, where she lost a three-set match to Angelique Kerber.

Radwańska reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, losing to eventual champion Kim Clijsters. She went on to reach the fourth round in Indian Wells, where she lost to Victoria Azarenka, and the quarterfinals in Miami, losing to Vera Zvonareva. However, she won the Miami doubles title with Daniela Hantuchová, defeating Nadia Petrova and Liezel Huber. She went on to reach the fourth round of the 2011 French Open, losing to Maria Sharapova.

Radwańska was defeated in the second round of Wimbledon by Czech Petra Cetkovská.

At the 2011 Mercury Insurance Open, Radwańska advanced to the final and defeated rival Vera Zvonareva in straight sets. With the victory, she earned her first title since winning in Eastbourne in 2008. At the 2011 Rogers Cup in Toronto, she once again defeated Zvonareva in the third round, coming back from a 0–4 deficit in the second set. She went on to lose a three-set semifinal match against Samantha Stosur.

After defeating her sister Urszula in the first round of the US Open, she was upset in the second round by eventual semifinalist Angelique Kerber. She avenged this loss at the Toray Pan Pacific Open, defeating Kerber in three sets before advancing to the final, where she won her third straight match against Vera Zvonareva, earning her first Premier 5 title.

At the 2011 China Open, she defeated Zheng Jie, Sofia Arvidsson, Ana Ivanović, and Flavia Pennetta in straight sets, before winning a three-set final against Andrea Petkovic. She qualified for her first season-ending championship at the WTA Championships in Istanbul, taking the 8th spot when Marion Bartoli was unable to win the title in Moscow.

Going into the 2011 WTA Tour Championships, Radwańska was labeled by the media as one of the hottest players on tour. She dropped a three-set opening match to Caroline Wozniacki. She then won her fourth straight match against Vera Zvonareva, coming back from a 3–5 deficit in the third set and saving three match points. To advance to the semifinals, she needed to win at least one set against Petra Kvitová, but eventually lost in straight sets. She ended the year ranked 8th with a 46–18 record, and was named WTA Fan Favorite Singles Player.

During the first four months of 2012, Radwańska won two singles titles and amassed a record of 28–5, defeating all opponents but then-world no. 1 Victoria Azarenka.

Following losses in the Apia International, the Australian Open, and the Qatar Total Open, she won her first title of the season at the Dubai Tennis Championships, defeating Julia Görges in straight sets. After advancing to the quarterfinals in Indian Wells, she reached a new ranking of world no. 4. Her second title came at the Sony Ericsson Open, where she defeated Venus Williams in the quarterfinals and Marion Bartoli in the semifinals, advancing to a championship match against Maria Sharapova. Radwańska won the championship without losing a set throughout the tournament.

Her fifth loss of the season, and fifth to Azarenka, came in the semifinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. She then entered the Mutua Madrid Open, where she lost to Azarenka in the semifinals, securing the world no. 3 ranking. At the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, she lost her opening-round match to Petra Cetkovská, marking her first loss of the year to someone other than Azarenka. In the final of the Brussels Open, Radwańska defeated Simona Halep in straight sets, winning her third WTA title of the year and tenth in her career. Seeded 3rd at the French Open, she defeated Venus Williams in the second round, but then fell in the third round to Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Radwańska reached her first career Grand Slam final at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships. She defeated Maria Kirilenko in the quarterfinals and Angelique Kerber in the semifinals, losing the championship match to Serena Williams in three sets. By advancing to the final, she became the first Polish player in the Open Era to reach the championship round of a Grand Slam singles tournament, and attained a new ranking of world no. 2. Radwańska was the flag bearer for Poland in the 2012 Summer Olympics. She lost in the opening round to Julia Görges.

She reached the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup and the Western & Southern Open, losing to Li Na in both tournaments. Radwańska was defeated in the fourth round of the 2012 US Open by Roberta Vinci of Italy.

Playing style and equipment

In 2012, Tom Perrotta of The Wall Street Journal called Radwańska "the most tactically sound, subtle tennis player in the world."

Radwańska's game is founded on variety, mobility, and a tendency to anticipate her opponent's movements. She often uses this style to construct rallies—either opening the court up for a winner, or prompting a surprised opponent to hit a misplaced return. Her primary weapons include a mixture of slices and lobs, along with her ability to hit the ball at a variety of angles. She also makes use of a disguised drop shot, often swung with the same motion as a normal stroke during a rally. She is also noted for her crouching shots, during which she quickly drops in place to return or redirect a low ball, along with her use of an overhead backhand while on defense.

Tennis commentators, including former pro Wojciech Fibak, have compared her playing style to that of Martina Hingis, with Fibak describing her as "a natural mover who understands the geometry of the court". Radwańska has cited Hingis as an inspiration. She and Hingis had their lone career meeting in 2007, with Radwańska winning in three sets.

Radwańska uses Babolat Pure Drive Lite GT racquets, and is sponsored by Lotto apparel.

In 2011, Radwańska began working with Fed Cup coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, who replaced her father. Borna Bikic, a veteran coach on the WTA Tour, briefly joined them in 2012.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org