Ekaterina Makarova

Early life

Ekaterina Valeryevna Makarova was born to Valery and Olga in Moscow, Soviet Union. Her father is a banker and her mother a housewife. At age five or six she was sent by her parents to the Luzhniki per the recommendation of friends.

2003–2005

In her first professional tournament in Elektrostal as a wildcard, she reached the quarter-finals losing to Olga Savchuk. At her last tournament of 2003 in Zhukovsky, Russia, she lost in the first round. She then played in Cairo, Egypt, reaching the second round as a qualifying. At Antalya, Turkey, she won her career first title over Kateryna Avdiyenko. Appearing at Felixstowe, Great Britain, she lost in the first round. At Târgu Mureş, Romania, Makarova claimed her second $10,000 title without dropping a set, defeating Simona Matei in the finals. In Moscow as a wildcard in the qualifier, she earned her first top 100 victory over Tatiana Perebiynis and Marta Domachowska, but lost to compatriot Anna Chakvetadze.

At Redbridge, Makarova lost to Baltacha in the semifinals. In the next tournament she again reached semifinals, at St. Petersburg, in which she lost to her compatriot Ekaterina Bychkova. Bychkova beat her in the semifinal at the tournament in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France. In the second round of qualifying for the US Open she lost to Indian Shikha Uberoi. In her next tournaments she was often reaching first rounds or losing in qualifications.

2006–2007

Her first tournament in 2006 was at Ortesei, in which as a qualifier she lost to Eva Birnerová in the first round. At Torrent, Valencia, Spain, she reached the finals, eventually losing to Romina Oprandi. At an ITF event in Moscow she reached the finals defeating Vesna Manasieva in the quarter-finals and Anna Lapushchenkova in the semi-finals, before falling to Evgeniya Rodina.

Makarova began her 2007 season losing to Olga Blahotová, at Tampa, Florida. In Moscow she won the title with victories over Evgenia Grenbenyuk, and Evgeniya Rodina in the final. Makarova entered the qualifying draw for the French Open defeating Erika Takao but was defeated again by Ioana Raluca Olaru. Then, in Zagreb, she reached the semifinals, before losing to Kyra Nagy. Makarova then lost in qualifying for the Wimbledon Championships to Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová after defeating Lilia Osterloh. Makarova qualified for her first Grand Slam main draw at the US Open; in the main draw she defeated Julia Schruff and Ai Sugiyama, but lost to reigning world number 1 and eventual champion Justine Henin in straight sets. In her last tournament of the year in Minsk, she reached the second round, losing to Ekaterina Dzehalevich.

2008

Makarova began the year by losing in the qualifying round of Medibank International. She earned her first win over a top 20 at the Australian Open, where she overcame no. 19 Ágnes Szávay. 14th seed Nadia Petrova hindered her way to the fourth round. In the opening season Makarova had a number of second round achievements, such as at the French Open. Makarova suffered consecutive first round losses at Wimbledon, Banka Koper Slovenia Open, Nordea Nordic Light Open and Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open. At the US Open she earned her first top ten win over world no. 9 Anna Chakvetadze, until falling to Li Na.

2009

Makarova started the 2009 season with early losses in the first rounds of the Medibank International Sydney, the Open GDF Suez, and the Dubai Tennis Championships, and the second rounds of the Australian Open and the BNP Paribas Open. She reached her first WTA final in the Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem with a win over Alisa Kleybanova and, without dropping a set leading up to the finals, she lost in a one-sided final to Anabel Medina Garrigues. She also reached the final of the Estoril Open defeating Maria Kirilenko and Anna-Lena Grönefeld en route but losing to Yanina Wickmayer.

Makarova suffered first match losses in the French Open and the Aegon Classic. She reached second rounds at Wimbledon, the Internazionali Femminili di Palermo, and the LA Women's Tennis Championships, until enduring a 7-match losing streak spanning the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open, the Rogers Cup, the Pilot Pen Tennis, the US Open, the Hansol Korea Open, and the Toray Pan Pacific Open. She finally broke her losing streak at the China Open by defeating Shahar Pe'er before losing to Serena Williams. In her last tournament of the year, she lost in the first round to Lucie Šafářová in the Kremlin Cup.

2010 : First WTA title

In 2010 Makarova continued her bad form in 2009, as she suffered first round loses at Brisbane International and Moorilla Hobart International. In the Australian Open she lost to Sara Errani after defeating Virginie Razzano. She then failed to qualify in the Open GdF Suez and lost in the first round of Dubai Tennis Championships as a qualifier. She also lost in the first round of BNP Paribas Open and the French Open, and the second round of Sony Ericsson Open. At the Aegon International qualifier Makarova made it to the final without dropping a set. She triumphed over Victoria Azarenka in the final to earn her first WTA tour title. Makarova defeated 5 top 20 players in the tournament, emerging victorious over #11 Flavia Pennetta, #13 Nadia Petrova, #20 Svetlana Kuznetsova, #7 Samantha Stosur, and #15 Victoria Azarenka. Makarova then made it to the second round at Wimbledon, but was beaten by 2nd seed Venus Williams. In the US Open, she was defeated by Ana Ivanovic in the first round.

2011

Makarova caused an upset in the first round of the Australian Open when she defeated 19th seed Ana Ivanovic. It took three sets and 2 hours and 47 minutes. She then went on to defeat qualifier Lesia Tsurenko, and caused another upset by beating 13th seed Nadia Petrova. Makarova's career-best run at a Grand Slam tournament was ended in the fourth round by 3rd seed and champion Kim Clijsters. At the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Makarova upset defending champion María José Martínez Sánchez in the first round, but lost to eventual champion Maria Sharapova. Makarova would reach the fourth round of the French Open before losing to 4th seed Victoria Azarenka. She lost her openers at Wimbledon and the US Open to Christina McHale and Maria Kirilenko respectively.

2012: Breakthrough

Makarova started her year at the Apia International Sydney where she qualified. She faced Li Na in the first round and lost. Then at the Australian Open in the second round, she defeated 25th seed Kaia Kanepi. In the third round, she defeated 7th seed Vera Zvonareva. In the Round of 16, she defeated 13-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams to advance to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal of her career. There she faced 4th seed and former champion Maria Sharapova and was defeated by the eventual finalist. Makarova lost in the second round at Indian Wells to Caroline Wozniacki after defeating American Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the opening round. She did well at Miami by reaching the 4th round where she lost to Sharapova again.

Makarova defeated 16th seed Maria Kirilenko at the Mutua Madrid Open in the second round before losing to Lucie Hradecká in the third round. At Rome, she defeated Francesca Schiavone before losing to Venus Williams in the second round. At the French Open, she lost to Sloane Stephens in the first round.

The following week, she reached the semi-finals of the Aegon Classic, losing to Melanie Oudin. She reached the quarterfinals at Eastbourne but lost to Angelique Kerber. At Wimbledon, she defeated Alberta Brianti in the first round. She lost to Kerber in the second round.

Makarova reached the third round at the Western & Southern Open after recording victories over Nadia Petrova and Anna Tatishvili before losing to Samantha Stosur. At the US Open, Makarova lost to Serena Williams in the 3rd round. She partnered with Brazilian Bruno Soares to win the mixed doubles competition, defeating Květa Peschke and Marcin Matkowski in three sets in the final. It was her first grand slam title of any kind. After that, she reached the semifinals at Seoul where she lost to eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki.

At the China Open, Makarova defeated Kirilenko again in the first round but lost to Polona Hercog next. In the doubles event, she teamed up with Elena Vesnina and won defeating Nuria Llagostera Vives and Sania Mirza in the final. She lost to Dominika Cibulková in the first round at the Kremlin Cup.

2013: Doubles success

At Sydney, she defeated Varvara Lepchenko in the first round before succumbing to Dominika Cibulková. She reached her second consecutive quarterfinal at the Australian Open, recording victories over Marion Bartoli and Angelique Kerber. She then lost to Maria Sharapova again. At Doha, Makarova retired against Petra Kvitová in the second round.

Makarova lost her openers in Indian Wells and Miami after receiving first round byes to Garbiñe Muguruza and Svetlana Kuznetsova respectively. She partnered Elena Vesnina in the doubles event at Indian Wells and won defeating Nadia Petrova and Katarina Srebotnik in the final. She fell to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the first round at Porsche Tennis Grand Prix as well. At the Mutua Madrid Open, Makarova caused an upset in the second round when she defeated world number three Victoria Azarenka (after winning only one game in the first set), ending the Belarusian's 18-match winning streak to start the season in the process. She reached the quarter-finals after defeating Marion Bartoli, where she lost to seventh seed Sara Errani in straight sets. At the French Open, she lost her opening match to fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova. She teamed up with Vesnina in doubles, winning the French Open doubles title.

Makarova lost her opener at Birmingham to Marina Erakovic after having a first round bye but reached the quarterfinals at the Aegon International where she lost to Caroline Wozniacki. At Wimbledon, Makarova reached the third round; she lost to Petra Kvitová in three sets.

During the US Open Series, she reached the semifinals at the Citi Open where she lost to eventual champion Magdaléna Rybáriková. She reached the second round at Toronto and Cincinnati, losing to Roberta Vinci and Jelena Janković respectively. The week before the US Open, she reached the quarterfinals at New Haven, losing to eventual champion Simona Halep. At the US Open, she defeated third seed Agnieszka Radwańska in the fourth round to reach her third career Grand Slam quarter-final, and first at the US Open. She subsequently lost to fifth seed Li Na in three sets.

2014: Second WTA title, first Grand Slam singles semifinal

Makarova began 2014 at the Apia International, where she caused an upset by defeating 4th seed Jelena Janković in the first round. She lost to Carla Suárez Navarro in the next round. Then, she reached the fourth round of the Australian Open for the third consecutive time but lost to eventual champion Li Na. In the doubles event, she and Elena Vesnina reached the final, where they lost to Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci. Makarova won her second title at the PTT Pattaya Open by defeating Czech Karolína Plíšková. In Dubai, she beat Alisa Kleybanova in the opening round. She then lost to world no. 1 Serena Williams.

She reached the third round at BNP Paribas Open where she lost to Dominika Cibulková. In Miami, she defeated Sara Errani in the third round but lost to Angelique Kerber in three sets in the fourth round. Makarova lost her openers at Stuttgart and Madrid to Suarez Navarro and Caroline Wozniacki respectively. In Rome, she defeated Roberta Vinci in the first round but lost to Errani in the following round. Makarova reached the third round at Roland Garros where she lost to Sloane Stephens.

During the grass court swing, Makarova defeated Francesca Schiavone and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to book her place in the quarterfinals at the Aegon International. She then lost to Angelique Kerber. Makarova's good form continued at Wimbledon, where she reached her fourth Grand Slam quarterfinal by defeating Agnieszka Radwańska in the fourth round. Then, she succumbed to Lucie Šafářová in straight sets.

Makarova reached the semifinals in singles for the first time at a Premier 5 tournament, the Rogers Cup. On the way, she beat her doubles partner Vesnina in the second round and second seed Petra Kvitová. She was stopped by Agnieszka Radwańska in a close match, losing two tiebreaks. In doubles, she and Vesnina were beaten with difficulty in the quarterfinals by Hsieh and Shuai.

Makarova reached her first Grand Slam singles semifinal at the US Open. Following a win over Eugenie Bouchard in the fourth round, she defeated Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinal, but was defeated by top seed Serena Williams; this was the only match in the tournament in which she lost at least one set. However, she and Elena Vesnina won the doubles championship, marking her third Grand Slam doubles title.

In the Asian season, Makarova reached the second and third rounds in Wuhan and Beijing, respectively. As a result, she obtained a new highest ranking of 13.

Her successful season in doubles qualified her for the WTA Championships. She was also an alternate player in singles, but did not participate in the round robin stages.

2015: Second Grand Slam singles semifinal, debut in top 10 and injuries

In the Pacific season, Makarova first concentrated in singles. Her first appearance was at the Apia International Sydney, where she lost in the second round. At the Australian Open, she reached a Grand Slam semifinal second times in a row, crushing the third-ranked Simona Halep in two sets in the quarterfinal. Her safe streak without a lost set was broken after facing her compatriot Maria Sharapova. In doubles, Makarova and Vesnina made it into the quarterfinals, where they played against future champions Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Lucie Šafářová, and lost in three sets. As a result of her singles success, Makarova reached a new career-high ranking of No. 9.

Sixth-seeded Makarova reached the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships, where she was defeated by Simona Halep. In doubles she and Vesnina also reached the quarterfinals. The duo reached two finals in a row at the Indian Wells Masters and the Miami Open, but always lost to Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis. In singles, Ekaterina repeated her last year's result in reaching the 3rd and 4th Rounds at these tournaments, respectively.

At the 2015 French Open, Makarova matched her best result at the tournament when she reached the fourth round, as she did in 2011. With a chance to complete her set of having reached at least the quarter-finals at all four Majors, she lost to former champion Ana Ivanovic in three sets, and thus failed to reach her first French Open quarter-final.

Makarova and Vesnina became runners-up at Wimbledon, losing to Hingis and Mirza in three sets, after leading 5–3 in the last set. In singles, Makarova surprisingly lost to Magdaléna Rybáriková in the second round.

2016: Olympic champion, WTA Finals doubles champion

In January, Makarova took a break in doubles and started the 2016 season in the Premier tournaments Brisbane and Sydney, reaching the second round and quarterfinals, respectively. In the Australian Open, she reached the fourth round and lost there to Johanna Konta in a very tight match.

Makarova reached the quarterfinals in both singles and doubles at the Miami Open. In doubles, she paired with Barbora Strýcová. She reunited with Vesnina in doubles in Madrid, reaching the semifinals. In the next tournaments, the duo reached two finals in a row; in Rome they lost to Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza, while at the French Open they lost to Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic. At Wimbledon, the pair lost in the quarterfinals to the Williams sisters. Makarova also progressed in grass court in singles, winning six out of eight matches, only to lose against doubles partner Elena Vesnina in the fourth round.

The duo finally won their first tournament title at the Rogers Cup and won the gold medal at the Summer Olympics for Russia; this was the very first time that a Russian duo had won in the Olympic doubles event.

Makarova made it to the third round of the Connecticut Open, but lost to Petra Kvitová in the third round. Ekaterina had the worst possible luck at the US Open by drawing the number one player in the world, Serena Williams in singles. She lost in straight sets. Makarova and Vesnina had a good showing in doubles. They made it to the semifinals, but lost to eventual champions Mattek-Sands and Šafářová.

Makarova defeated her doubles partner Elena Vesnina in the first round of the China Open. However, she lost to Agnieszka Radwańska in the second round. In doubles, Makarova and Vesnina were stunned in the second round by Peng Shuai and Christina McHale. Her next tournament was the Kremlin Cup, in her home country of Russia. She beat qualifier Nicole Gibbs in the first round, but lost to fellow countrywoman Daria Kasatkina in the second round. She was also seeded as the first seed alongside her doubles partner Elena Vesnina, but were beaten in the first round by Daria Gavrilova and the same woman she lost to in singles, Daria Kasatkina.

Makarova and Vesnina qualified for their third joint WTA Finals, defeating Hlavackova/Hradecka, Hingis/Mirza, and Mattek-Sands/Safarova en route to win their first WTA Finals title.

2017: Wimbledon doubles champion, 3rd singles title

Makarova began her season at the 2017 Brisbane International. She lost in the 1st round to Misaki Doi 7-6(1), 6-4. However, in doubles, she and Elena Vesnina reached the final, losing there to Bethanie Mattek-Sands/Sania Mirza 6-2, 6-3. In the first Grand Slam tournament, the Russians reached the quarterfinals. At the St. Petersburg Open she lost in the 1st Round to doubles partner Vesnina. In Dubai she could reach the 3rd Round before losing to Lauren Davis. The doubles team, however, won the trophy by defeating Hlaváčková/Peng in three sets. After reaching the semifinals of the Indian Wells Masters, the duo had the chance to become the new number-one ranked doubles players if they had won the title, but they only reached the quarterfinals, suffering there an unpredictable loss to Gabriela Dabrowski/Xu Yifan, the eventual champion.

Makarova faced top-ranked Kerber in the 1st Round of the French Open, beating her in two sets; this was the first time in the French Open history and the first time in the Open Era tennis history since 2001 that a number-one ranked player failed to reach the 2nd Round. According to WTA Insider, Makarova after her win over Kerber is ranked fourth among active players by number of top-ten wins at Grand Slam tournaments, with 10.

She and Vesnina won their third joint and individual Grand Slam doubles title in Wimbledon, crushing runners-up Hao-Ching Chan/Monica Niculescu, 6-0, 6-0. This was the first "double bagel" in the women's doubles tournament final since 1953. The Russian went on winning the Citi Open in singles, beating players as Olympic champion Puig and World No. 2 Simona Halep. In the finals she prevailed over Julia Görges, winning her third WTA singles title.

Makarova got into the 3rd Round of the Rogers Cup, defeating 7th-seeded Johanna Konta en route but eventually losing to Lucie Safarova. She again reached the 3rd Round at the Cincinnati Masters, crushing 3rd-seeded Kerber en route but losing to Sloane Stephens. Makarova thrice in a row defeated a top-10 in the second round of the US Open, 5th-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, for the first time in her career after seven losses in a row against her.

Playing style

Makarova is an all-court player who uses power and angles to set up passing shots.

She is noted for her left-handed slice serve, often used to stretch opponents into uncomfortable positions. She attacks the return by shifting her wrist to disguise the direction of her forehand, or by hitting deep and aggressively with her backhand. She will usually seek to end the rally by maneuvering an opponent around the court and hitting a winner near the sidelines.

Makarova hits powerfully on both wings, and is largely known for her aggressive groundstrokes. Journalists have noted her cross-court forehand, describing it as a powerful finishing shot. In an article from WTATennis.com, her backhand was labeled "devastatingly good". Similarly, Richard Pagliaro of Tennis.com has noted her "bold" backhand as a primary strength.

Being a left-handed player, she is particularly comfortable hitting backhands in the deuce court, with several of her winners coming from that side. During the 2014 Rogers Cup, Agnieszka Radwańska repeatedly targeted Makarova's forehand in the ad court, occasionally exposing it as a vulnerability.

When returning first serves, Makarova often makes a series of quick stomps in place before blocking the shot back across the net; she attacks second serves by moving inside the baseline and hitting the ball at an angle.

As of August 2017, Makarova is one of just two left-handed players (the other being Angelique Kerber) to have ever beaten Serena Williams in a Grand Slam match, doing so at the 2012 Australian Open.

Awards