Alona Bondarenko

Alona Bondarenko
Альона Бондаренко

Bondarenko at the 2011 US Open
Country (sports)	Ukraine
Residence	Kiev, Ukraine
Born	(1984-08-13) 13 August 1984 Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian SSR (nowadays Ukraine)
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Turned pro	1999
Retired	2011
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	$2,652,437
Singles
Career record	333–253
Career titles	2 WTA, 5 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 19 (14 April 2008)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	4R (2010)
French Open	3R (2010)
Wimbledon	3R (2005, 2007, 2010)
US Open	3R (2007, 2008, 2010)
Doubles
Career record	177–153
Career titles	4 WTA, 8 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 11 (29 September 2008)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	W (2008)
French Open	SF (2008)
Wimbledon	2R (2007)
US Open	3R (2008)
Other doubles tournaments
Olympic Games	SF (2008)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	22–12

Alona Volodymyrivna Bondarenko Dyachok (Ukrainian: Альона Володимирівна Бондаренко, born 13 August 1984) is a Ukrainian tennis player. She has a younger sister Kateryna Bondarenko who also plays on the Tour. She formerly paired with her older sister Valeria in doubles.

Her career high singles ranking was Number 19, achieved on 14 April 2008. She defeated former World No. 1 Jelena Janković in the third round of the 2010 Australian Open. She won the 2008 Australian Open women's doubles tournament with her sister Kateryna, beating Victoria Azarenka and Shahar Pe'er in the finals.

Tennis career

Early years

Bondarenko started competing in the pro tour in 1999 at the age of 14, where she competed in ITF Circuit, she reached two second rounds in Tallinn, Estonia, and Kharkiv, Ukraine, two first-round exits in Bucharest3 in Romania and in Kedzierzyn-Kozle, Poland, and failed to qualify in two events as well in Tbilisi and Batumi both were held in Georgia.

The following year of 2000, Bondarenko began the year reaching her first ITF finals in Kalamata, Greece, but ended up losing to Russian Ekaterina Kozhokina 7–5, 7–5, even though not losing a set before the finals. She was only able to attain good success in two events a Semifinals in Kedzierzyn-Kozle and quarterfinals in Sopot entering as a qualifier. The rest of the year was not good for Bondarenko as she only managed the second round in Warsaw, Toruń and Odessa, while failing to quaify in other events. 2001 was not a better year for Bondarenko as she failed to qualify in her first three events in Dubai, Caserta and Tallinn. However she was able two reached two Semifinals in Kedzierzyn-Kozle and Tbilisi. She also managed to reach the quarterfinals in Batumi. The rest of the year wasn't good for Bondarenko as she made early exits.

2002 was an inconsistent year for Bondarenko, As she managed to reach the Semifinals in Buchan before losing to Syna Schreiber 2–6, 6–4, 6–4 and then followed it up by falling in the qualifying draw in Dubai. The following week she was able to reach the second round of Dinan after getting pass the qualifying draw and followed it up by once again failing to qualify now in Tashkent. At her next event in Fontanafredda she was able to qualify for the main draw and win her first ITF title over Italian Mara Santangelo 6–3, 6–0. However she again performed badly in her next six tournament managing only to reach one second round, one first-round exit, and failing to qualify in the other four events. She then turned her fortune upside-down once again by reaching her third finals in Batumi but ended up in the losing end. She then made first-round exits in Joué-lès-Tours and Saint Raphael, which were both in France. She ended the year with a semifinals appearance in Poitiers, France, losing to Seda Noorlander 6–2, 6–1.

In 2003 Bondarenko tried to qualify for the main draw of the WTA tour, but failed to qualify in each, in the 2003 Moorilla International, 2003 Australian Open, and the 2003 Indian Open. She then made it through her first WTA Tour Event main draw as a direct entry at the 2003, but ended up losing to Flavia Pennetta in the very first round 6–3, 6–1. She then went back to the ITF tour after failing to qualify in the 2003 Abierto Mexicano Pegaso but was unsuccessful, only making it through one semifinals in Taranto out of seven events. She also failed to qualify for the 2003 French Open and 2003 Wimbledon. In the middle of the two Slams she was able to make it the quarterfinals of the ITF circuit in Galatina and Fontanafredda. She then once again tried to get through the main draw of the WTA tour but failed each time including the 2003 US Open. However following the US Open she was able to win her second ITF title in Zhukovskiy. The bad fortune continued for Bondarenko as she exited in first round of ITF events in Dubai and Prague and the first round of her second amin draw appearance in the 2003 Volvo Women's Open.

The start of 2004 was similar to the previous year, Bondarenko failed to qualify to the main draws of the WTA tour in the 2004 Moorilla Hobart International, 2004 Australian Open, and 2004 Cellular South Cup. However, in the 2004 Copa Colsanitas, she qualified for the first time in the main draw and even claim her first victory in the main draw, when she defeated Nuria Llagostera Vives 6–7, 6–1, 6–1 before being double bangled by eventual champion Fabiola Zuluaga in the next round. After failing to qualify in the 2004 Abierto Mexicano Telcel, she then went back to the ITF circuit where she won her third ITF title in Bari, Italy prevailing over younger sister Kateryna Bondarenko in the finals 2–6, 6–2, 6–4. In her next tournaments following the title victory, Bondarenko had a bad run failing to qualify in any of the WTA Tour events she entered while falling early in the ITF events she entered. She then reached the finals of Orbetello, Italy, losing to Catalina Castaño 2–6, 6–2, 6–3. She then made little progress as she only managed to make two quarterfinal appearance in the ITF circuit and once again failing still to qualify in the WTA events. She ended the year with a runner-up performance in Deauville, France, losing to Květa Peschke 6–0, 6–3 and quarterfinal appearances in the ITf events in Poitiers and Bergamo 2.

2005

2005, was sort of a better start of the year for Bondarenko, even though failing to qualify in the 2005 Moorilla Hobart International. she made her grand slam debut at the Australian Open, where she suffered a first round loss to sixth-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia, 6–3, 6–3. Two weeks later, she reached her first WTA tour quarter-final at 2005 Volvo Women's Open, Thailand, where she lost to eventual runner-up, Anna-Lena Grönefeld of Germany, in straight sets 6–4, 6–1.

The following week at Hyderabad Open, she reached her first tour final as the tournament's ninth seeded player, falling to hometown favourite Sania Mirza, in three tight sets 6–4, 5–7, 6–3. Following her loss, she made her first appearance in the women's top 100 rankings. She then followed it up by qualify for her first Tier 1 event in the Pacific Life Open, and made through the second round before falling to top American doubles player Lisa Raymond 4–6, 6–3, 6–3. She also qualified in the NASDAQ-100 Open but lost in the opening round to Russian Alina Jidkova 6–3, 6–2. She however failed to qualify in her next two events in the Bausch & Lomb Championships where she lost to sister Kateryna Bondarenko and the Family Circle Cup. She then received a direct entry in the Estoril Open reaching the second round before losing to 3rd seed Gisela Dulko 6–2, 6–3. In the Telecom Italia Masters Rome she fell in the qualifying round. She then received direct entry in the İstanbul Cup, French Open, DFS Classic, all losing in the first round and failed to qualify in the Hastings Direct International Championships. She however made a shocking performance in the Wimbledon Championships, claiming her first Slam win and upsetting 20th seed Tatiana Golovin in the first round 6–3, 3–6, 7–5, before falling to Nathalie Dechy 6–1, 6–4 in the third round. She then made early exits in Internazionali di Modena, Internazionali Femminili di Palermo, Nordea Nordic Light Open and the US Open. Her last good performance of the year was in the Wismilak International where she reached the quarterfinals before losing to Li Na after defeating top Australian Player Alicia Molik in the previous round. The end of the year was a bad streak for Bondarenko making early exits and failing to qualify in some events. She ended the year for the first time inside the top 100 at 73.

2006

2006 was a breakthrough year for Bondarenko as she made it inside the top 50. The beginning of the year was mixed for Bondarenko, with a quarterfinal appearances in the Moorilla Hobart International and the Bangalore Open, and first-round exits in the Pattaya Women's Open and the Australian Open. She then made early exits in Dubai, Doha, and Indian Wells. With her early exit in Indian Wells, Bondarenko decided to compete in Orange in California, USA an ITF event claiming the title over Yvonne Meusburger 6–3, 7–5. Following the title win she made stellar performances in the WTA tour, making it to the third round of the Pacific Life Open entering as a qualifier, losing to Ana Ivanovic 6–3, 5–7, 6–3.

On the Clay season she made it through the second rounds of top events at the Bausch & Lomb Championships, losing to Vera Dushevina 6–1, 6–4, and the Family Circle Cup, losing to eventual champion Nadia Petrova 6–1, 0–6, 6–2, the second set was the least games Petrova won in a set in the whole tournament. She made it through the quarterfinals of ECM Prague Open, losing to eventual champion Shahar Pe'er 7–5, 6–0 and the semifinals of GP SAR La Princess Lalla Meryem, losing to Martina Suchá 6–3, 6–2. Her luck, however, was turned upside-down when she made first-round exits in the İstanbul Cup, French Open and DFS Classic. She then made it through the second round of the Ordina Open before falling to Jelena Janković 6–4, 1–6, 7–6 and made a first-round exit in Wimbledon.

In her 2006 US Open Series tournaments she lost in the first rounds of Bank of the West Classic and 2006 Rogers Cup, the second rounds of Acura Classic and the US Open, and the Third Round of the JPMorgan Chase Open. In her first tournament after the US Open, she won her first title in the Fortis Championships Luxembourg ousting Francesca Schiavone 6–3, 6–2 in the finals, the win meant that she was the second lowest-ranked player ever to win a Tier II title, being ranked a lowly number 62. The record is held by Kim Jones-Schaefer who was ranked number 64. She also made it through the top 50 after her first title. She then failed to qualify in the Kremlin Cup and the 2006 Zurich Open. She ended the year win a first-round exit in Generali Ladies Linz after getting pass the qualifying round. She ended the year ranked number 32.

2007

Bondarenko started the year with a second-round loss to Alicia Molik at the 2007 Moorilla Hobart International 6–3, 7–5. At the Australian Open she made a valiant effort, beating two unseeded players to advance to the third round, losing to 4th seed Kim Clijsters. She then lost in the first round of the 2007 Qatar Total Open, third round of Indian Wells Masters and second round of the 2007 Miami Masters. She was also able to reach the third round of the Bausch & Lomb Championships, losing to Jelena Janković.

On 7 May 2007 she finished runner-up to Justine Henin at the Tier II J&S Cup held in Warsaw, Poland, losing 6–1, 6–3. In the semi-finals, she got the first top ten win of her career over then number five Svetlana Kuznetsova in straight sets 6–2, 7–6. The performance saw her rise into the top 30 for the first time, at Number 29.

She then followed it up with third-round appearances at Qatar Telecom German Open and Internazionali BNL d'Italia, losing to Serbians Ana Ivanovic (retiring at 3–6, 0–5 down) and Jelena Janković respectively, which both of them eventually captured the title. She followed it by making the semi-finals of the İstanbul Cup, losing to Elena Dementieva 7–6, 6–2, once again the eventual champion, this the fourth time in a row that she has lost to the eventual champion. Despite this good performances she lost to an unseeded and lower-ranked Karin Knapp of Italy in three sets.

She however bounced back with good showings at the grass season, reaching the quarterfinals of both the DFS Classic and Ordina Open, losing both to Jelena Janković; this was her fourth loss to Janković in the year. She then hit her career high shortly after Wimbledon, where she made the third round before losing to Patty Schnyder 6–4, 3–6, 8–6 after holding a 4–1 lead in the final set. She then came out with a 3 straight loss in the second round of the Acura Classic, first rounds of East West Bank Classic and Rogers Cup. but she rebounded just before the Us Open with a quarterfinal showing at the Pilot Pen Tennis, she then eventually reached the third round of the US Open, losing to Venus Williams. She then lost 3 straight matches in a row, two of them coming from Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli.

On 17 October 2007 Bondarenko beat Amélie Mauresmo 2–6, 6–4, 6–1 at the Zürich Open to reach her first ever Tier I quarter-final, but lost to Nicole Vaidišová there. She also reached the quarterfinals of the Generali Ladies Linz, losing to eventual champion Daniela Hantuchová. She ended the year at no. 22. On 22 October she passed $1 million in career prize money, the first player representing Ukraine to pass that prize money milestone.

2008

Alona Bondarenko at the 2008 French Open.

The Beginning of the year for the Ukrainian wasn't fruitful to say the least, With second-round exits at the Moorilla Hobart International and Australian Open, losing to lower-ranked players. Alona, on the other hand, won the Australian Open women's doubles title, partnering with her younger sister Kateryna. They defeated the pairing Shahar Pe'er and Victoria Azarenka 2–6, 6–2, 6–4. They became only the second pairing of sisters to win the title, the first being the Williams sisters. She then followed it up with first-round exits at Open Gaz de France and Proximus Diamond Games, once again losing to lower-ranked players. She also lost to eventual champion Elena Dementieva at the Dubai Tennis Championships in the second round. She made her first third round of the year at the Pacific Life Open, losing to Maria Sharapova, this was the start of good showings from the Ukrainian. She however lost to Kaia Kanepi in the second round of the Sony Ericsson Open, after receiving a bye. Continuing her good form from Indian Wells she reached the quarterfinals of Bausch & Lomb Championships, Qatar Telecom German Open, and Internationaux de Strasbourg. In the middle of this she lost in the second round of Internazionali BNL d'Italia reasonably to Serena Williams. Her performance at a Major once again was a disappointment as she lost in the first round of the 2008 French Open to Petra Cetkovská.

She then again made great showing at the grass. She reached the quarterfinals of DFS Classic by defeating Virginia Ruano Pascual and Sunitha Rao before falling to Marina Erakovic. Alona also reached the semi-finals of the Ordina Open, losing to eventual champion Tamarine Tanasugarn, she however lost at the second round of Wimbledon. She then represented Ukraine at the 2008 Olympics, losing to Serbian Jelena Janković in the second round, in the doubles she partnered with sister Kateryna where they came in fourth place. She then reached the third round of the US Open, losing to Venus Williams. She then lost in the second rounds of 2008 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix and Zürich Open and the first round of Kremlin Cup, this seems like a disappointment for Alona, however she lost to higher rankes players Jelena Janković, Venus Williams, and Katarina Srebotnik respectively. She ended the year competing in the Generali Ladies Linz where she lost in the quarterfinals to Marion Bartoli.

2009

The first three months of the year was a disappointment for Bondarneko as she made only one victory in 3 tournaments and no victories in the other three. However she managed to reach the third round of the 2009 Australian Open, losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova in a tight 2 setter 7–6, 6–4. At the MPS Group Championships, Bondarenko reached her first quarter-final of the year. In the first round, she defeated Sania Mirza 6–4, 6–3 to set up a clash with sister Kateryna.Alona came from a set down to win 4–6, 6–4, 6–3 before losing to Nadia Petrova in three sets 7–6 in the third. She then made it to the second round of Family Circle Cup and first round of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. She then gave Ukraine 2 victories at the 2nd week of the Fed Cup Playoffs.

At the Madrid Masters, Bondarenko defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round and Anna Chakvetadze in the third before falling to World Number 1 Dinara Safina in the quarter-finals. Bondarenko defeated former world No.1 Maria Sharapova 6–2, 6–2 in the quarter-finals of the 2009 red clay event in Warsaw and Anne Keothavong 6–2, 7–5 in the semi-finals. She fell to Alexandra Dulgheru in the final, 6–7, 6–3, 0–6.

At the 2009 French Open, Bondarenko fell to 20th seed Dominika Cibulková in the first round in three sets. She then performed badly at grass unable to duplicate her performance in the past two years, losing in the second round of the 2009 Ordina Open and first round of Wimbledon to Elena Baltacha. She then made it to her first Semifinal since the 2007 İstanbul Cup, shich was more than 2 years ago. She then lost to sister Kateryna 6–1, 6–3 in the first round of ECM Prague Open breaking the tie between the two as she trails her sister 3–4 in head-to-head now. She then reached the third rounds of LA Women's Tennis Championships, losing to Sharapova in three and Rogers Cup, losing to Serena. She then reached the second rounds of 2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open and Pilot Pen Tennis. In the first round of the 2009 US Open she beat Alla Kudryavtseva 3–6, 6–3, 6–2. However, she lost to Gisela Dulko in the second round. In her first tournament since the US Open, she lost in the first round of the Toray Pan Pacific Open to Vera Dushevina 1–6, 7–5, 6–1. She lost in the third round of the China Open to Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–3, 4–6, 6–0 after defeating Ágnes Szávay and Sara Errani both in straight sets. She played her last tournament of the year at the Kremlin Cup, where she beat Anna Chakvetadze, Nadia Petrova and Tsvetana Pironkova all in straight sets before losing to eventual champion Francesca Schiavone in the semifinals in straight sets as well.

2010

Bondarenko started the year with her pre-Australian Open tournament at the Moorilla Hobart International where she dominated 2nd seed Shahar Pe'er 6–2, 6–4 in the finals after defeating Sybille Bammer 6–4, 6–1 Alizé Cornet 6–4, 3–6, 6–2, Zheng Jie 7–5, 7–5 and top seed Anabel Medina Garrigues 4–6, 6–3, 6–4. This title is her 2nd overall and her 1st title in over 3 years. Bondarenko has advanced, as the No.31 seed, to the 4th round of the Australian Open, which is the farthest she has advanced in a Grand Slam tournament. She scored a big straight sets win in the 3rd round over No.8 Jelena Janković, but then fell to Zheng Jie in the fourth round, 6–7, 4–6. She then suffered a 4 match losing streak in the first round of Dubai Tennis Championships, second rounds of BNP Paribas Open and Sony Ericsson Open and the first round of MPS Group Championships. She ended the losing streak in Family Circle Cup with a straight set 6–4, 6–2 victory over Julie Ditty. She then defeated Bethanie Mattek-Sands 4–6, 7–5, 7–5 before losing to eventual finalist Vera Zvonareva 6–2, 6–1.

Alona then flew to Madrid to compete at the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open. In the first round she came back from a set down to defeat Magdaléna Rybáriková 2–6, 6–1, 6–4. She then gained the biggest win of her career by defeating World No.2 Caroline Wozniacki 6–2, 6–3, signalling her return to good form. But lost to 13th seed Li Na 6–3, 6–4 in the third round. She then played in the Polsat Warsaw Open but was upset by Gréta Arn 5–7, 6–4, 6–4 in the quarterfinals. In the French Open and Wimbledon Championships she was able to reach the third round for the first time but lost to Jelena Janković in two sets 6–4, 7–6 and 6–0, 6–3 respectively. She then suffered early loses in the first rounds of Mercury Insurance Open, Rogers Cup and Pilot Pen Tennis and the second round of Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open. In the US Open she lost to 6th seed Francesca Schiavone in the third round after defeating Vera Dushevina and Melanie Oudin. She then reached the second rounds of the Toray Pan Pacific Open and China Open. She then was upset by Roberta Vinci in the first round of Generali Ladies Linz. She also fell in the second round of the Kremlin Cup falling to María José Martínez Sánchez 6–1, 1–6, 6–4.

2011: Retirement

Bondarenko played her last match in 2011.

Coaches and personal life

She was coached by her mother Natalia Bondarenko^[1] and her husband Nikolay Dyachok.^[2] On 30 May 2015, she gave a birth to a son Evgen.^[3]

WTA career finals

Singles: 5 (2 titles, 3 runners-up)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1.	12 February 2005	AP Tourism Hyderabad Open, Hyderabad, India	Hard	Sania Mirza	4–6, 7–5, 3–6
Winner	1.	25 September 2006	Fortis Championships, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg	Hard (i)	Francesca Schiavone	6–3, 6–2
Runner-up	2.	6 May 2007	J&S Cup, Warsaw, Poland	Clay	Justine Henin	1–6, 3–6
Runner-up	3.	23 May 2009	Warsaw Open, Warsaw, Poland	Clay	Alexandra Dulgheru	6–7, 6–3, 0–6
Winner	2.	16 January 2010	Moorilla Hobart International, Hobart, Australia	Hard	Shahar Pe'er	6–2, 6–4

Doubles: 6 (4 titles, 2 runners-up)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1.	27 May 2006	İstanbul Cup, Istanbul, Turkey	Clay	Anastasiya Yakimova	Sania Mirza Alicia Molik	6–2, 6–4
Winner	2.	26 January 2008	Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia	Hard	Kateryna Bondarenko	Victoria Azarenka Shahar Pe'er	2–6, 6–1, 6–4
Winner	3.	10 February 2008	Open Gaz de France, Paris, France	Hard (i)	Kateryna Bondarenko	Vladimíra Uhlířová Eva Hrdinová	6–1, 6–4
Runner-up	1.	16 January 2009	Moorilla Hobart International, Hobart, Australia	Hard	Kateryna Bondarenko	Gisela Dulko Flavia Pennetta	2–6, 6–7(4–7)
Runner-up	2.	6 July 2009	GDF Suez Grand Prix, Budapest, Hungary	Clay	Kateryna Bondarenko	Alisa Kleybanova Monica Niculescu	4–6, 6–7(5–7)
Winner	4.	13 July 2009	ECM Prague Open, Prague, Czech Republic	Clay	Kateryna Bondarenko	Iveta Benešová Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová	6–1, 6–2

Performance timelines

Singles

To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded.

Notes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alona Bondarenko.

• Alona Bondarenko at the Women's Tennis Association
• Alona Bondarenko at the International Tennis Federation
• Alona Bondarenko at the Fed Cup
  
• Site about Alona Bondarenko