Roberta Vinci

Early life

Roberta Vinci was born in Taranto, the daughter of Angelo Vinci, an accountant, and his wife Luisa, a homemaker; she has an older brother, Francesco. Vinci was introduced to tennis at the age of six. She currently resides in Palermo, and is coached by Francesco Cina.

Early career

Vinci made her professional debut at an ITF tournament in Italy in 1999. Vinci also won the French Open in girls' doubles with fellow Italian Flavia Pennetta that same year. She qualified for her first Grand Slam at the 2001 US Open, but lost to Martina Suchá in the first round.

One of the biggest victories of her career came in 2005 was when she beat former world no. 2 and 2004 French Open champion Anastasia Myskina in the quarterfinals at the Hastings Direct International Championships in Eastbourne. Alongside Sandrine Testud, Vinci reached the semifinals in women's doubles of the 2004 French Open. In 2007 at Bogotá, Roberta Vinci won her first WTA title against the top seed Tathiana Garbin, also of Italy, in three sets, after falling behind 0–3 in the final set. She won the title after Garbin had to retire.

2009

Vinci qualified for the Brisbane International and defeated Anna-Lena Grönefeld in the first round, before losing to top seed Ana Ivanovic in the second. She then fell to fellow Italian Corinna Dentoni in the qualifications for Moorilla Hobart International. Vinci lost to eventual quarterfinalist Carla Suárez Navarro in the first round of the 2009 Australian Open. Vinci also played for Italy's Fed Cup team in the Fed Cup World Group stage versus France. Italy won 5–0.

At her first clay event, Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, Vinci defeated sixth seed Lucie Šafářová in the first round, and then fell to Ágnes Szávay of Hungary. Vinci then lost in the second rounds of both the Monterrey Open (defeated by Iveta Benešová) and the Paribas Open in Indian Wells (defeated by Sybille Bammer), and fell in the qualifications for Miami Sony Ericsson Open to Anastasia Rodionova. Vinci then fell to eventual champion and former world no. 1 Jelena Janković in the quarterfinals of the Andalucía Tennis Experience in Marbella. At the Barcelona Ladies Open, Vinci earned her second career title, defeating Pauline Parmentier in the first round, Flavia Pennetta in the second, Anastasiya Yakimova in the quarterfinals, Francesca Schiavone in the semifinals, and defending champion Maria Kirilenko in the final.

Vinci reached the second round of the Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem held in Fes. After she defeated Mariana Duque Marino in the first round, she lost to qualifier Polona Hercog in the second. At the 2009 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Vinci lost in the first round to Kateryna Bondarenko. She then beat María José Martínez Sánchez in the first round of the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, and then was beaten by Vera Dushevina in the second. She lost to 9th seed Victoria Azarenka in the first round at Roland Garros.

During the grass court season, Vinci reached the third round at Birmingham. She lost to Yanina Wickmayer in straight sets. The following week at s'Hertogenbosh, she lost her opening match to Daniela Hantuchová. At Wimbledon, Vinci beat no. 31 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round to set up a third-round matchup with no. 2 Serena Williams and lost. At the 2009 US Open, Vinci lost in the first round to Jelena Janković.

2010

Vinci lost in the third round of the Australian Open to Maria Kirilenko. She reached the third round of both Indian Wells and Miami, losing to Yanina Wickmayer and Venus Williams respectively. She reached the final at Barcelona but failed to defend her title, losing to fellow Italian Francesca Schiavone.

At the Roland Garros, Vinci lost in the second round to compatriot Flavia Pennetta. She fell to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the second round of Wimbledon.

She lost her opening match at the 2010 US Open to Venus Williams. She qualified for the 2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open but lost to Vera Zvonareva in the third round. Vinci also qualified for the 2010 China Open but lost to Vera Dushevina in the second round. Vinci lost to eventual champion Ana Ivanovic in the 2010 Generali Ladies Linz semifinals, 3–6, 5–7. She won her third WTA-title in the Luxembourg against Julia Görges, 6–3, 6–4.

2011

Vinci reached the quarter finals of Hobart losing to 6th seed Jarmila Gajdošová. She lost in the first round of the 2011 Australian Open to Alicia Molik. She reached the semi finals of Pattaya City, after defeating 2nd seed Ana Ivanovic in the quarter finals but then lost to Sara Errani. The rest of her year continued with dismal results with only 1 win and 6 loses over the course of 6 events from Dubai to Stuttgart.

She then entered the 2011 Barcelona Ladies Open, where she was the 6th seed. She ended up winning the tournament without having to beat a seed, or a player inside the top 50. She beat Lucie Hradecká in the final 4–6, 6–2, 6–2 This was her second time winning this tournament and her third clay court title. She then entered the Madrid tournament, where she reached the 3rd round before losing to Li Na 2–6, 6–2, 6–1, the first time she had ever won a set against her. She lost in the 3rd round of the 2011 French Open to Victoria Azarenka 6–3, 6–2.

Her next major success came at the 2011 UNICEF Open where she was the 7th seed. After wins over 3rd seed Yanina Wickmayer and 5th seed Dominika Cibulková in the quarter finals and semi finals respectively, she beat Jelena Dokić in the final 6–7(7), 6–3, 7–5. This was her second title of 2011 and her first title on grass. As the 29th seed at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships she reached the 3rd round where she lost to 8th seed and eventual champion Petra Kvitová 6–3, 6–3.

Her first post Wimbledon event was at Budapest where she was the No. 1 seed. She beat 3rd seed Klára Zakopalová and then 7th seed Irina-Cameilia Begu in the final 6–4, 1–6, 6–4. This was her 3rd tour title of the season.

She began her American hard court swing in Carlsbad as the 9th seed. She was upset in the second round by Zheng Jie. Vinci scored the biggest win of her career in Toronto, beating defending champion and world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, 6–4, 7–5, in the second round of the Rogers Cup. In the second set, Vinci rallied from 1–5 down and saved multiple set points, before going on to win the match. In the third round, she defeated former world no. 1 Ana Ivanovic, 7–6(3), 6–2. She lost in the quarter finals to 10th seed Samantha Stosur 6–4, 6–1.

As the 18th seed, at the 2011 US Open, Vinci made it to the third round. In the first round, she defeated the Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu, 6–3, 6–4. She then defeated Alizé Cornet, 6–2, 6–3. In the third round, she was sent home by Andrea Petkovic, 4–6, 0–6. Despite losing in the third round, this was Vinci's best performance so far in the US Open.

She qualified for the 2011 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions and was seeded 4th, but lost to eventual champion Ana Ivanovic 6–3, 6–3 in the quarterfinals.

2012: World no.1 in doubles

Starting the year at the 2012 ASB Classic, she was seeded 6th and defeated Rebecca Marino in the first round before falling 3–6, 4–6 to unseeded Elena Vesnina in the second round. Roberta then suffered early round losses at the 2012 Apia International Sydney and the 2012 Australian Open to Daniela Hantuchová and Zheng Jie respectively.

Her next tournament came at the 2012 Open GDF Suez where she was seeded 7th. She defeated Simona Halep 6–4, 6–4, then Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6–3, 1–6, 6–3, before falling to eventual finalist Marion Bartoli in a third set tiebreaker in the quarterfinals. Vinci then traveled to Mexico where she participated in her next 2 tournaments, the 2012 Monterrey Open and the 2012 Abierto Mexicano Telcel. Seeded first in both events, she was upset by Nina Bratchikova in the second round of Monterrey, before bowing out to eventual champion Sara Errani in the semifinals at Acapulco.

Roberta then travelled to the 2012 BNP Paribas Open. Seeded 23rd, she beat Silvia Soler Espinosa, 20th seeded Dominika Cibulková, before falling to second-seeded Maria Sharapova 3–6, 6–4, 3–6. She returned to the top 20 following her fourth round appearance. She then bowed out to 10th seeded Serena Williams in the third round of the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open. She next participated at the 2012 Barcelona Ladies Open where she was the defending champ but lost in the second round to Simona Halep 6–1, 6–3. Ironically, the tournament champion was Sara Errani, her doubles partner. Vinci and Errani managed to win the doubles finals of 2012 Barcelona Ladies Open by beating Francesca Schiavone and Flavia Pennetta in an all Italian final, with the score of 6–2, 6–0.

She then entered the 2012 Estoril Open as the number 1 seed. She made it to the semi finals before losing to eventual champion Kaia Kanepi 6–2, 7–5. Her next tournament was Madrid, where she was unseeded and defeated the 14th seed Dominika Cibulková in the first round and lost in the round of 16 to Agniezska Radwańska. She then entered the 2012 French Open as the 17th seed and lost in the first round to Sofia Arvidsson.

Her first post French open event was the 2012 Aegon Classic where she was the 4th seed. She reached the Quarters before losing to Zheng Jie. She then was the 6th seed at the 2012 UNICEF Open, where she was the defending champion. She lost in the quarter finals to Kirsten Flipkens 6–4, 7–6(5). She then competed in the 2012 Wimbledon Championships as the 21st seed. She defeated Ashleigh Barty, Marina Erakovic and Mirjana Lučić to reach the round of 16. This was the first time she had ever reached the second week of a major. She ended up losing to Tamira Paszek 6–2, 6–2.

Vinci also won six doubles titles with the fellow Italian Sara Errani including the 2012 Mutua Madrid Open, the 2012 Internazionali BNL d'Italia and the 2012 French Open. She and Errani also made the finals of the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open and the 2012 Australian Open. Being, the most successful pair in, Vinci is currently the number four in doubles.

Vinci lost her opening match at the Olympics to Kim Clijsters, 1–6 4–6.

At the 2012 Rogers Cup in Montreal, Vinci defeated Yanina Wickmayer 6–2, 3–6, 7–5 after coming back from a 1–5 and match point deficit in the third set. In the second round she crushed 11th seed Ana Ivanovic 6–0, 6–0 in 45 minutes. After she defeated the number 6th seed Angelique Kerber with the result of 6–2, 7–6(7), but she was beaten in the quarterfinals by the Czech Lucie Šafářová in straight sets. Two weeks later Vinci defeated Jelena Janković 7–5, 6–3 to win her 7th WTA title at the 2012 Texas Tennis Open without losing a set in the entire tournament.

At the US Open, Vinci started her journey by defeating Urszula Radwańska 6–1, 6–1 and followed that victory up with a second round victory over Yaroslava Shvedova. In the third round, she defeated the 13th seed, Dominika Cibulková. In the fourth round, she defeated Agnieszka Radwańska in straight sets. In the Quarterfinals, she will meet her doubles partner, Sara Errani, ensuring that an Italian woman will reach the semifinals. She lost in the Quarterfinals, 6–2, 6–4.

Vinci partnered Sara Errani for the 2012 US Open. They were seeded number 2, behind the defending champions Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond. Errani and Vinci reached the final, defeating Czechs Andrea Hlaváčková and Lucie Hradecká for the title.

Following the US Open, Vinci travelled to Asia for the 2012 Toray Pan Pacific Open. She made it to the third round where she lost to top seed Victoria Azarenka. At Beijing, she lost her opener to qualifier Lourdes Domínguez Lino. As a result of her doubles success alongside Sara Errani, they qualified for the 2012 WTA Tour Championships for the first time. However, they lost to Russians Nadia Petrova and Maria Kirilenko in the semifinals. Vinci once again qualified for the Tournament of Champions. In the round robin stage, she recorded wins over Hsieh Su-wei and Daniela Hantuchová and had a loss to Caroline Wozniacki. She advanced to the semifinals where she lost to 2nd seed and eventual champion Petrova. Vinci ended 2012 in Top 20 for the first time at no. 16 and no. 1 in for the first time also doubles ahead of her partner Errani.

2013

Vinci began 2013 by losing her opening match to Jarmila Gajdošová at Brisbane. She reached the quarterfinals at Sydney where she lost to eventual champion Agnieszka Radwańska. At the 2013 Australian Open where she was seeded 16th, she lost to Elena Vesnina in the third round. She partnered Sara Errani and won the doubles event.

She was seeded 5th at the 2013 Open GDF Suez but lost to German Mona Barthel in the second round. Vinci lost to Pole Urszula Radwańska in the 2nd round at 2013 Qatar Total Open. Then, at Dubai she defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova, Samantha Stosur and Angelique Kerber en route to the semifinals. She eventually succumbed to doubles partner Sara Errani in straight sets.

Vinci lost in the third round at the 2013 BNP Paribas Open to Lara Arruabarrena. She improved her performance at Miami, reaching the quarterfinals. There, she lost to 22nd seed Jelena Janković. Vinci won her 8th WTA title when defeated top-seeded Petra Kvitová 7–6(2) 6–1 to win the 2013 BNP Paribas Katowice Open in Poland.

Roberta began her clay court season by losing her opening matches at Stuttgart and Madrid. She reached the 3rd round at Rome, but lost to Simona Halep. Vinci lost to Serena Williams in the 4th round at the 2013 French Open.

She was the top seed at the 2013 Topshelf Open but lost to Halep again in the second round. She reached the 4th round at Wimbledon but lost to Li Na. After that, Vinci competed at 2013 Internazionali Femminili di Palermo and won her 9th title by defeating doubles partner Sara Errani in the final. Vinci lost to Ana Ivanovic in the quarterfinals at the 2013 Southern California Open at Carlsbad.

At the 2013 Rogers Cup, she lost to Dominika Cibulková in the third round. Then, Vinci lost to Jelena Janković in the quarterfinals of the Western and Southern Open. Had she won this match, she would've entered the top 10 singles rankings for the first time in her career. At the 2013 US Open, Vinci reached her second Grand Slam quarterfinal, this time she lost to another Italian Flavia Pennetta.

During the Asian swing, she lost to Lucie Šafářová in the 2nd round at the 2013 Toray Pan Pacific Open after receiving a first round bye. At Beijing, she lost in the third round to Angelique Kerber. Her next tournament was at the 2013 Kremlin Cup. She lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals. Vinci and Errani once again qualified for the 2013 WTA Tour Championships but lost in the semifinals again to a Russian pair, Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina. Vinci ended the year at no. 14 in singles, her highest ever and no. 1 in doubles for the third straight season.

2014: Career Grand Slam in doubles

Vinci began the season at the 2014 ASB Classic as the top seed. She fell in the first round to rising star Ana Konjuh in three sets. Then at the 2014 Apia International Sydney, she lost to doubles partner Sara Errani in the first round. At the Australian Open, Vinci was the 12th seed but fell in the first round to Chinese Zheng Jie. In the doubles event, she partnered Errani and won the title, defeating Russian pair Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.

Then, she competed at the 2014 Open GDF Suez but lost in the first round again to Elina Svitolina. Her bad form continued with first round losses at Doha and Dubai to Tsvetana Pironkova and Sorana Cîrstea respectively. Vinci received a first bye at the 2014 BNP Paribas Open and defeated American Madison Keys in her opening match for her first victory of 2014. However, she lost to Casey Dellacqua in the following round. She once again lost her opening match at the 2014 Sony Open Tennis to Czech Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová in straight sets after having a first round bye.

Vinci failed to defend her title at the 2014 BNP Paribas Katowice Open. She beat qualifier Ksenia Pervak in round 1 but lost to fellow Italian Camila Giorgi the following round. Vinci faced Petra Kvitová during Italy's semifinal Fed Cup tie against Czech Republic but lost in straight sets.

She began her clay court season at Stuttgart. She beat Annika Beck in the first round and faced top seed Agnieszka Radwańska next. She lost to her in straight sets. In the doubles event, VInci and Errani were the champions, overcoming Cara Black and Sania Mirza in the final. Vinci reached her first quarterfinal of the year at the 2014 Portugal Open. She defeated Alexandra Cadanțu and Yanina Wickmayer en route. She then lost to Elena Vesnina. At the 2014 Mutua Madrid Open, she won her opening match against Daniela Hantuchová and went on to defeat Caroline Wozniacki in the second round. She lost to Radwańska again in the third round. Playing on home soil at the 2014 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Vinci lost in the first round to Ekaterina Makarova. She was seeded 20th at the French Open but lost to Pauline Parmentier in the first round. She and Errani lost in the doubles final to world no.1s Peng Shuai and Hsieh Su-wei.

She then competed at Eastbourne, but lost to Daniela Hantuchová this time in the first round. Her disastrous run continued at Wimbledon when she lost to Donna Vekić in the first round. However, she made history in the doubles event when she and Errani won defeating Hungarian-French pair Tímea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic in the final, completing a career slam in doubles.

Vinci posted good results the following month. She was the 2nd seed at the 2014 BRD Bucharest Open in Romania. She defeated Alexandra Dulgheru and Silvia Soler Espinosa for a place in the quarterfinals. She then reached her first semifinal of 2014 with a victory over 7th seed Petra Cetkovská. She then easily defeated Kristína Kučová and reached the final where she was defeated in straight sets by top seed and home favourite Simona Halep. Vinci is next competed at Istanbul where she was the 2nd seed, she defeated Anna Tatishvili in the first round. In the second round, she faced Dulgheru again and advanced to the quarterfinals when Dulgheru retired because of a shoulder injury. Vinci faced Kurumi Nara in the quarterfinals and won in straight sets. In the semifinals, she faced rising star Ana Konjuh, setting up a rematch of their opener in Auckland, Vinci won this time, defeating her in straight sets. In her 2nd consecutive final, Vinci lost to the top seed again, Caroline Wozniacki.

In August, Vinci lost in the first round at Montreal and Cincinnati to Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová and Sabine Lisicki respectively. Vinci and Errani won their 5th doubles title of the year together in the doubles event at Montreal. They defeated Cara Black and Sania Mirza in the final. At the 2014 US Open, Vinci won her first Grand Slam singles match of 2014 by defeating Paula Ormaechea in the first round followed by a three-set win over Irina-Camelia Begu. She then lost to eventual semifinalist Peng Shuai in the third round. Vinci fell out of the Top 40 as a result.

During the Asian swing, Vinci suffered another upset at the 2014 Guangzhou International Women's Open where she was seeded 6th. She lost to Zhu Lin in the first round. Then at Wuhan, she fell to Casey Dellacqua in the first round. Vinci found her good form at the China Open, defeating Yaroslava Shvedova and upsetting world no.6 Agnieszka Radwańska in the early rounds. Her run continued with another upset of Ekaterina Makarova in the third round. She booked her place in the quarterfinals where she faced Petra Kvitová. She lost to the Czech in straight sets. At the 2014 BGL Luxembourg Open, Vinci the 6th seed easily defeated Tereza Smitková in the first round but then lost to Beck in straight sets. Vinci and Errani once again qualified for the WTA Finals as the top seeds. They were forced to retire in their first hurdle to Květa Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik due to an injury suffered by Errani. Vinci ended the season outside the Top 40 for the first time since 2010 at no. 49.

2015: Grand Slam finalist

Vinci kicked off her 2015 season by playing at the 2015 ASB Classic. She lost in the 1st round to 7th seed Coco Vandeweghe 5-7, 6-2, 6-3. The following week, she played at the 2015 Hobart International. Seeded 9th, Vinci made it to her 1st quarterfinals of the year defeating wildcard Olivia Rogowska and Annika Beck. In the quarterfinals, she fell to eventual champion Heather Watson 7-6(0), 6-2. At the 2015 Australian Open, Vinci overcame Bojana Jovanovski to reach round two but subsequently lost to 10th seed Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-4.

Seeded 3rd at the 2015 Rio Open, Vinci was upset in the 2nd round by qualifier Verónica Cepede Royg 6-2, 6-3. She then retired in her first round match against Kiki Bertens at the 2015 Abierto Mexicano Telcel with a shoulder injury. Vinci exited the 2nd round at the 2015 BNP Paribas Open to 24th seed Sabine Lisicki 6-1, 5-7, 6-4. The following week at the 2015 Miami Open, she dropped her opening match against qualifier Tatjana Maria 7-6(9), 6-3. During the week, it was also announced that Vinci and her long-term doubles partner Sara Errani decided to discontinue playing doubles together. They issued a joint statement stating that they had decided to pursue more in their singles career.

Beginning her clay court season seeded 6th at the 2015 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem, Vinci lost to fellow Italian Karin Knapp in the second round 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-2. She then posted good results at the 2015 Mutua Madrid Open. She eached the 4th round for the 2nd year in a row beating Monica Puig and Alizé Cornet. She ended up losing in the 4th round to 13th seed Lucie Šafářová 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-0. Ranked 44 at the 2015 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Vinci was defeated in the 1st round by World Number 41 Heather Watson 6-3, 6-1. Seeded 4th at the 2015 Nürnberger Versicherungscup, she reached her first final of the season but came up short in the final losing to 6th seed and compatriot Karin Knapp 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-1. Ranked 38 at the 2015 French Open, Vinci lost in the 1st round to 29th seed Alizé Cornet 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Vinci began her grass court season at the 2015 Aegon Classic. She was defeated in the 1st round by qualifier Tímea Babos 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-6(5). At the 2015 Aegon International, she lost in the 1st round to Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-2. Ranked 35 at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships, Vinci lost in the 1st round to Aleksandra Krunić 6-2, 6-4.

After Wimbledon, Vinci competed at the 2015 BRD Bucharest Open where she was the 2nd seed and last year's finalist. She lost in the 2nd round to Aleksandra Krunić 6-1, 6-1. Last year finalist at the 2015 İstanbul Cup, Vinci reached the quarterfinals beating 7th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and qualifier Alexandra Panova. Vinci then lost in the quarterfinals to Magdaléna Rybáriková 0-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Vinci then reached her second quarterfinal at the 2015 Rogers Cup after defeating Karin Knapp, qualifier Mirjana Lučić-Baroni, and Daria Gavrilova all in straight sets. She then succumbed to world no. 1 Serena Williams in the quarterfinals 6-4, 6-3. She then lost to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the first round at the 2015 Western & Southern Open 6-3, 0-6, 6-2. Vinci successfully qualified for the main draw at the 2015 Connecticut Open and easily defeated Eugenie Bouchard in the first round 6-1, 6-0. She then was defeated in the 2nd round by 3rd seed Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-7(6), 7-6(7).

Ranked 43 at the 2015 US Open, Vinci won her first 3 rounds defeating Vania King, Denisa Allertová, and Mariana Duque Mariño. Vinci then reached her third US Open quarter-final in four years after Eugenie Bouchard withdrew a few hours before their 4th round match after she slipped and hit her head in the locker room. In the quarterfinals, Vinci defeated Kristina Mladenovic 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals. At 32, Vinci became the oldest first-time Grand Slam semifinalist in the Open Era. She then dispatched defending champion Serena Williams in three sets en route to her first Grand Slam final, while also ending Williams' attempt at a calendar-year Grand Slam. Vinci was ranked 42 places lower than Williams at that time. Numerous major media outlets reported about Vinci's win over Williams being one of the biggest upsets in tennis history. She lost to fellow countrywoman Flavia Pennetta in the final in straight sets in what was the first all-Italian Grand Slam final in the Open Era. By virtue of her run to the final in New York, Vinci returned to the Top 20 for the first time since June 2014.

Seeded 15th at the 2015 Wuhan Open, Vinci defeated qualifier Danka Kovinić and Irina-Camelia Begu in the 1st 2 rounds. In the 3rd round, she stunned 3rd seed and defending champion Petra Kvitová 7-6(3), 6-2. She then defeated 8th seed Karolína Plíšková 7-6(2), 6-3 to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinals, Vinci lost to eventual champion Venus Williams 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(4). In this match, Vinci had a 6-5 lead in the third set and even had 1 match point before Venus came back and won the match. Seeded 15th at the 2015 China Open, Vinci lost in the 3rd round to qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. Seeded 3rd at the 2015 Generali Ladies Linz, she was defeated in the 1st round by qualifier Aleksandra Krunić 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-1. Vinci's final tournament of the year was the 1st edition of the 2015 WTA Elite Trophy. Seeded 4th, Vinci beat 11th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in her 1st rubber 6-4, 6-4. In her 2nd rubber, she lost to Alternate Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 6-1, 6-0. Having a 1-1 record in Group D, Vinci reached the semifinals losing to top seed and eventual champion Venus Williams 6-2, 6-2.

Vinci ended the year ranked 15.

2016: First title since 2013, Top 10 Debut

Vinci started her season at the 2016 Brisbane International. Seeded 8th, she started the tournament by defeating Jelena Janković in the 1st round 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. She then dominated Dominika Cibulková in their 2nd round match 6-1, 6-1. In the quarterfinals, she lost to former World No.1, 2 time Australian Open champion, and eventual champion Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-2. After Brisbane, she competed at the 2016 Apia International Sydney. Vinci lost in the 1st round to Australian Samantha Stosur. As the 13th seed at the 2016 Australian Open, Vinci reached the 3rd round after beating qualifier Tamira Paszek and World Number 74 Irina Falconi. In the 3rd round, she suffered a shock loss to World Number 82 Anna-Lena Friedsam 0-6, 6-4, 6-4.

After the Australian Open, Vinci played at the inaugural 2016 St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy. Seeded 2nd, she reached the final defeating Yanina Wickmayer, Tímea Babos, and 4th seed Ana Ivanovic. In the final, Vinci beat top seed Belinda Bencic 6-4, 6-3. This was Vinci's 1st WTA singles Title since 2013. Seeded 7th at the 2016 Dubai Tennis Championships, Vinci lost in the 1st round to qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova 6-0, 4-6, 6-3. Despite losing in the 1st round to Shvedova, Vinci rose to a career high ranking of 10 as neither Lucie Šafářová nor Venus Williams defended their ranking points from the previous year. Seeded 9th at the 2016 Qatar Total Open, Vinci defeated Lesia Tsurenko, Daria Kasatkina, and wildcard Çağla Büyükakçay to reach the quarterfinals. There, she lost to 3rd seed Agnieszka Radwańska 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. As the top seed at the 2016 Malaysian Open, Vinci suffered a shock loss in the 1st round to World Number 153 Chang Kai-chen 5-7, 6-2, 6-1. As the 9th seed at the 2016 BNP Paribas Open, Vinci received a bye into the second round and faced Margarita Gasparyan. Vinci came through in a 3 set thriller 6-3, 6-7(7), 7-6(5). Vinci had to save 2 match points in order to defeat Gasparyan in the 2nd round. She then won comfortably against 17th seed Elina Svitolina in the 3rd round 6-1, 6-3. In the 4th round, she was forced to retire trailing 2-6, 0-2 to Magdaléna Rybáriková. Seeded 9th at the 2016 Miami Open, Vinci received a bye into the 2nd round. She beat Lucie Hradecká in the 2nd round 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(5). In the 3rd round, Vinci was defeated by 22nd seed Madison Keys 6-4, 6-4. At the 2016 Fed Cup World Group Play-offs, Vinci represented Italy in their tie against Spain. Vinci lost both of her rubbers to Carla Suárez Navarro and Garbiñe Muguruza. Spain defeated Italy 4-0.

Vinci began her clay court season at the 2016 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. Seeded 6th, Vinci reached the quarterfinals beating Ekaterina Makarova and German wildcard Julia Görges. In the quarterfinals, she lost to German qualifier and eventual finalist Laura Siegemund 6-1, 6-4. Seeded 7th at the 2016 Mutua Madrid Open, Vinci lost in the 1st round to World Number 52 Danka Kovinić 6-4, 6-2. Seeded 7th and given a 1st round bye at the 2016 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Vinci was defeated in the 2nd round by World Number 23 Johanna Konta 6-0, 6-4. Vinci's final tournament before the French Open was the 2016 Nürnberger Versicherungscup. As the top seed, she lost in the 2nd round to qualifier and eventual champion Kiki Bertens 6-4, 7-6(4). Seeded 7th at the 2016 French Open, Vinci was upset in the 1st round by World Number 65 Kateryna Bondarenko 6-1, 6-3.

Vinci played only one grass court warm up tournament before Wimbledon. Seeded 2nd at the 2016 Aegon International Eastbourne, she lost in the 2nd round to Ekaterina Makarova 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Seeded 6th at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships, Vinci reached the 3rd round defeating Alison Riske and Lucky Loser Duan Yingying. She lost in the 3rd round to 27th seed Coco Vandeweghe 6-3, 6-4.

Vinci started her US Open Series at the 2016 Rogers Cup. Seeded 7th, she lost in the 3rd round to World Number 33 Daria Kasatkina 7-5, 6-3. Representing Italy at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Vinci was defeated in the 1st round by Anna Karolína Schmiedlová 7-5, 6-4. Seeded 6th at the 2016 Western & Southern Open, Vinci was defeated in the 3rd round by 9th seed Carla Suárez Navarro 6-1, 7-5. Seeded 2nd at the 2016 Connecticut Open, Vinci lost in the quarterfinals to qualifier Johanna Larsson 7-6(9), 6-1. Vinci was seeded 7th at the 2016 US Open, where she has finalist points to defend from last year. She reached the quarterfinals defeating Anna-Lena Friedsam, Christina McHale, Carina Witthöft, and Lesia Tsurenko. Vinci then lost in the quarterfinals to 2nd seed and eventual champion Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-0. As a result, Vinci failed to defend her finalist points from last year, so she fell from the Top 10.

Seeded 13th at the 2016 Wuhan Open, Vinci was defeated in the 2nd round by Yaroslava Shvedova 7-5, 6-2. Seeded 13th at the 2016 China Open, she lost in the 2nd round to Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-2. Vinci's final tournament of the year was the 2016 WTA Elite Trophy in Zhuhai, China. Seeded 5th, Vinci lost her 1st match to 9th seed Barbora Strýcová 6-4, 6-3. In her final match, Vinci was defeated by 3rd seed and eventual champion Petra Kvitová 6-1, 6-2. In November, Vinci was contemplating retirement from Tennis due to her poor results and being tired. However, on November 21, 2016, Vinci decided that she will play at least 1 one more year.

Vinci ended the year ranked 18.

2017

Vinci began the season at the 2017 Brisbane International. Seeded 8th, she started the tournament off by beating Lucky Loser Kateryna Bondarenko in the 1st round 7-6(4), 6-7(4), 7-6(5). She then defeated Misaki Doi in the 2nd round 6-4, 6-2. In the quarterfinals, Vinci lost to 3rd seed and eventual champion Karolína Plíšková 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. Next, Vinci played at the 2017 Apia International Sydney. Seeded 9th, she was defeated in the 2nd round by Barbora Strýcová 6-2, 6-3. As the 15th seed at the 2017 Australian Open, Vinci lost in the 1st round to World Number 35 and eventual semifinalist Coco Vandeweghe 6-1, 7-6(3).

After the Australian Open, Vinci went to compete at the 2017 St. Petersburg Ladies' Trophy, where she was the 6th seed and the defending champion. She started off the tournament by beating Tímea Babos in the 1st round 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. In the 2nd round, she defeated qualifier Andrea Petkovic 6-4, 6-4. In the quarterfinals, Vinci was defeated by eventual champion Kristina Mladenovic 6-1, 6-4. Due to losing in the quarterfinals, Vinci failed to defend her title. At the 2017 Qatar Total Open, Vinci lost in the 1st round to qualifier Lauren Davis 6-2, 6-3. Seeded 16th at the 2017 Dubai Tennis Championships, Vinci was upset in the 1st round by World Number 55 Kristýna Plíšková 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. Vinci had a 6-3, 5-4 lead and was serving for the match before Plíšková made a comeback to win the match. Seeded 26th at the 2017 BNP Paribas Open, Vinci received a 1st round bye. She lost in the 3rd round to 8th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 2-6, 6-1. Seeded 25th at the 2017 Miami Open, Vinci again received a 1st round bye. She was stunned in the 2nd round by qualifier Taylor Townsend 6-3, 6-2. After Miami, Vinci played at the 1st edition of the 2017 Ladies Open Biel Bienne. As the 4th seed, she was upset in the 1st round by World Number 58 Kristýna Plíšková 6-4, 6-4.

Vinci began her clay court season at the 2017 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix held in Stuttgart, Germany. In the 1st round, Vinci lost to newly returned Maria Sharapova 7-5, 6-3. Vinci had her 1st win since Indian Wells at the 2017 Mutua Madrid Open by defeating Daria Kasatkina in the 1st round 6-1, 1-6, 6-1. In the 2nd round, she lost to 3rd seed and eventual champion Simona Halep 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(2). Vinci led 3-6, 6-2, 5-2 before Halep came back to win the match. At the 2017 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, she lost in the 1st round to Ekaterina Makarova 6-2, 6-1. As the 31st seed at the 2017 French Open, Vinci was defeated in the 1st round by last year Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.

Vinci played one grass court warm up tournament to prepare herself for Wimbledon. As the 6th seed at the 2017 Mallorca Open, Vinci beat Lucky Loser and compatriot Sara Errani in the 1st round 6-2, 6-1. In the 2nd round, she defeated qualifier Kirsten Flipkens 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals for the 1st time at this tournament. In the quarterfinals, Vinci was defeated by 3rd seed and defending champion Caroline Garcia 6-2, 7-6(8). Seeded 31st at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships, Vinci lost in the 1st round to Kristýna Plíšková 7-6(6), 6-2.

Playing style

Vinci is known for her doubles prowess, her ability at the net, and relentless use of the backhand slice; she has also been praised for her excellent movement and her sense of the court.

Team competition