Victoria Duval

Early life

Duval was born in Miami and spent some of her childhood in Haiti, including time training at the JOTAC Tennis Academy in Port-au-Prince. While living in Port-au-Prince, Duval was robbed at gunpoint and held hostage at her aunt's house at the age of 7. Victoria's mother gave up her neonatal practice and moved Victoria and her two brothers to south Florida. Her father stayed behind to continue the gynecology and obstetrics practice he had helped build in Port-au-Prince.

To continue improving Vicky's tennis game, Nadine moved with her to Atlanta. It was here that she worked with coach Brian de Villiers, at the Racquet Club of the South. In January 2010, Vicky was training in Atlanta when a terrible earthquake struck Haiti and her father was trapped under collapsing walls outside his home for 11 hours. After he regained consciousness he was able to dig himself out of the rubble. His legs were broken, his left arm was crushed, he had seven fractured ribs puncturing his lungs, and an infection spreading throughout his body. He survived an emergency operation in his own backyard. A wealthy Atlanta family connected to the tennis club donated enough money to have him airlifted to a Fort Lauderdale hospital.

2012

Duval kicked off her 2012 season in May with a 10K ITF tournament in Sumter, South Carolina. She reached the final of the tournament, losing only one set in the first round against second seed Elizabeth Ferris. Appearing in her first professional singles final, she was defeated by Louisa Chirico, 4–6, 3–6. The following week, she remained in South Carolina for another 10K event in Hilton Head Island, where she lost in the quarterfinals. Duval then took a break from the pro circuit to play the Under 18 USTA National Championships. Seeded 17th, she beat Monica Lin, 6–0, 6–1 in the first round. She went on to beat Alexandria Chatt, 6–0, 6–3 in the next round. With two more straight-set wins and two tougher tests, Duval made the final against Alexandra Kiick, whom she beat, 3–6, 6–1, 6–0, to claim the title. Due to her winning the nationals, she was awarded a wildcard into the main draw of the senior US Open. However, she lost to former world No. 1 and three-time champion Kim Clijsters, 3–6, 1–6, in the first round. Duval was also given a wildcard for the main draw of the junior tournament, where she beat Russian Varvara Flink, 7–5, 6–0, in the first round. In the second round, she drew third seed and junior 2012 Wimbledon champion Eugenie Bouchard, and defeated her 2–6, 6–1, 6–4, the biggest upset of the girls tournament to that point. She backed up this win by defeating Kathinka von Deichmann of Liechtenstein 6–2, 6–2 to advance to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time. In the quarterfinals, she upset ninth seed Anna Danilina 6–3, 3–6, 6–2. However, her run came to an end in the semifinals when she was defeated by twelfth seed Anett Kontaveit 6–2, 7–6^(7–4).

2013

After qualifying for the US Open, Duval won her first-round match by a score of 5–7, 6–4, 6–4 against Top 15 player and the 2011 US Open champion Samantha Stosur in what was a major upset. In the second round Duval lost to Daniela Hantuchová 2–6, 3–6.

2014

At Wimbledon, she won all three qualifying matches and defeated 29th seed Sorana Cîrstea in 3 sets in the first round. She lost to fellow rising star Belinda Bencic in the second round. Duval was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma during the tournament, but she went on to win three more matches before eventually losing. On July 7, Duval made her debut in the world top 100, at number 92.

2016

Duval replaced an injured Serena Williams at the 2016 Hopman Cup. She represented the USA alongside Jack Sock. She was beaten by Elina Svitolina and Karolína Plíšková in the singles event, however she and Sock won the mixed doubles event in their tie against Ukraine.

Personal life

During the 2014 Wimbledon Championships, it was announced that Duval had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Having decided to remain entered in the tournament, she qualified into the main draw and there upset 29th seed Sorana Cîrstea in a three-set encounter. She subsequently lost in the second round and would return to the United States to undergo treatment. She completed her chemotherapy and announced in September 2014 that she is cancer free.

Head-to-head vs. top 20 ranked players

Duval's win-loss record (1–0, 100%) against players who were ranked world no. 20 or higher when played is as follows:
Players who have been ranked World No. 1 are in boldface.

Singles performance timeline

This table is current through 2016 Australian Open