Anke Huber


Anke Huber is a German retired top-five professional tennis player. She was the runner-up in women's singles at the 1996 Australian Open and the 1995 WTA Finals. She finished ten seasons inside the top 20, and achieved a career-high ranking of 4 in October 1996.

Early life

Huber was born in Bruchsal, Baden-Württemberg. She started playing tennis at the age of seven, after being introduced to the game by her father, Edgar. In junior competition, she won the under-12 German Championships in 1986, the under-14s in 1987, the under-16s in 1988, and the European Championships in 1989. She was also a semifinalist at Wimbledon's junior tournament in 1990.

Career

Huber made her Grand Slam tournament debut at the 1990 Australian Open, a year before she graduated from high school. After defeating Maider Laval and Elise Burgin, she was defeated in the third round by 13th-seeded Raffaella Reggi. In August 1990, she defeated Marianne Werdel Witmeyer to win the Schenectady tournament, a warm-up for the US Open. Jennifer Capriati then defeated Huber in the first round of that tournament 7–5, 7–5. Huber was the runner-up in her next event, losing in Bayonne to Nathalie Tauziat in straight sets. She finished 1990 ranked World No. 34.
Huber became Germany's top female tennis player upon Steffi Graf's retirement in 1999. Only two years later, however, it was Huber's turn to hang up her racquet. She cited a persistent ankle injury and the desire for a "normal life" as the reasons for her retirement. She originally planned to quit after the 2002 Australian Open, her favorite tournament, but changed her mind when she unexpectedly qualified for the year-ending Sanex Championships in Germany. "I thought there's nothing better than to celebrate saying goodbye in front of the home fans in your own country", said Huber. Huber's final match took place on 31 October 2001, against Justine Henin, in which she lost 6–1, 6–2.
During her twelve-year professional career, Huber reached 23 singles finals, 29 singles semifinals, and 50 singles quarterfinals. Her career record in singles was 447–225, and she amassed US$4,768,292 in career prize money.
Huber represented her country at three levels: the Olympic Games in 1992 in Barcelona and in 1996 in Atlanta; the Fed Cup from 1990 through 1998 and in 2000 and 2001, helping Germany to victory in 1992 by beating Spain's Conchita Martínez in the final; and the Hopman Cup, which she won with Boris Becker in 1995.
Although she did not win a Grand Slam title, Huber felt proud of her accomplishments, especially because she had to walk in Graf's footsteps. "I recognised pretty early on that I would never have her success, but I was still always measured against her", she says. "So, whenever I got into the quarterfinals or the semis of a Grand Slam tournament, it counted for nothing. Sometimes it was good to have her, because she drew the attention away from me", Huber continued. "On the other side, there was always the pressure to be the second Steffi Graf."
In 2002, Huber accepted a role with the German Tennis Federation and became the co-tournament director for the annual Porsche Tennis Grand Prix WTA tournament in Filderstadt, Germany.

Personal life

In April 2005, Huber gave birth to her first child, a boy, to her partner Roger Wittmann. A second, a girl, followed in October 2006.

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner–up)

Year-End Championships finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner–up)

WTA Tour finals

Singles: 23 (12–11)

ResultW/LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–0Aug 1990SchenectadyTier VHard Marianne Werdel6–1, 5–7, 6–4
Loss1–1Sep 1990BayonneTier VHard Nathalie Tauziat3–6, 6–7
Win2–1Oct 1991FilderstadtTier IICarpet Martina Navratilova2–6, 6–2, 7–6
Loss2–2Jan 1993SydneyTier IIHard Jennifer Capriati1–6, 4–6
Win3–2Jul 1993KitzbühelTier IIIClay Judith Wiesner6–4, 6–1
Loss3–3Oct 1993BrightonTier IICarpet Jana Novotná2–6, 4–6
Win4–3Jul 1994StyriaTier IVClay Judith Wiesner6–3, 6–3
Win5–3Oct 1994FilderstadtTier IIHard Mary Pierce6–4, 6–2
Win6–3Nov 1994PhiladelphiaTier ICarpet Mary Pierce6–0, 6–7, 7–5
Win7–3Sep 1995LeipzigTier IICarpet Magdalena Maleevaw/o
Loss7–4Nov 1995WTA Tour ChampionshipsTour finalCarpet Steffi Graf1–6, 6–2, 1–6, 6–4, 3–6
Loss7–5Jan 1996Australian OpenG. SlamHard Monica Seles4–6, 1–6
Win8–5Jun 1996's-HertogenboschTier IIIGrass Helena Suková6–4, 7–6
Loss8–6Aug 1996Los AngelesTier IIHard Lindsay Davenport2–6, 3–6
Win9–6Sep 1996LeipzigTier IICarpet Iva Majoli5–7, 6–3, 6–1
Loss9–7Oct 1996FilderstadtTier IIHard Martina Hingis2–6, 6–3, 3–6
Win10–7Oct 1996LuxembourgTier IIICarpet Karina Habšudová6–3, 6–0
Loss10–8Feb 1997ParisTier IICarpet Martina Hingis3–6, 6–3, 3–6
Loss10–9Aug 1997TorontoTier IHard Monica Seles2–6, 4–6
Win11–9Apr 2000EstorilTier IVClay Nathalie Dechy6–2, 1–6, 7–5
Win12–9Jul 2000SopotTier IIIClay Gala León García7–6, 6–3
Loss12–10Feb 2001ParisTier IICarpet Amélie Mauresmo6–7, 1–6
Loss12–11May 2001StrasbourgTier IIIClay Silvia Farina Elia5–7, 6–0, 4–6

Doubles: 4 (1–3)

OutcomeNo.DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss1.Oct 1993BrightonCarpet Larisa Neiland Laura Golarsa
Natalia Medvedeva		3–6, 6–1, 4–6
Win1.Apr 1997HamburgClay Mary Pierce Ruxandra Dragomir
Iva Majoli		2–6, 7–6, 6–2
Loss2.Jan 1999SydneyHard Mary Joe Fernández Elena Likhovtseva
Ai Sugiyama		3–6, 6–2, 0–6
Loss3.Oct 1999MoscowCarpet Julie Halard-Decugis Lisa Raymond
Rennae Stubbs		1–6, 0–6

ITF finals

Singles (2–0)

OutcomeNo.DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Winner1.29 May 1989Katowice, PolandClay Nora Bajchiková6–1, 6–2
Winner2.26 November 1989Bulleen, AustraliaHard Rennae Stubbs6–4, 6–1

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Tournament1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001Career SR
Australian OpenA3RQFQF4R3R4RF4RSF2R1RA0 / 11
French OpenAA3R2RSF4R4R4R1RAA4R2R0 / 9
WimbledonA2R4R3R4R2R4R3R3RA1R4R4R0 / 11
US OpenA1R2R1R3R2R4R1R3R1RQFQF3R0 / 12
SR0 / 00 / 30 / 40 / 40 / 40 / 40 / 40 / 40 / 40 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 30 / 43
Year-end ranking20337141110121071421161918-

Head-to-head record against other players in the top 10

Players who have been ranked world No. 1 are in boldface.