Tennis history is full of players who could not fulfill their dreams despite having great potential. Swiss star Patty Schnyder is one of them. While she was regarded as a brilliant tactician and recorded 42 wins over Top 10 players during her career, she could never win a Grand Slam or even reach a final. To many, due to a tumultuous personal life that made headlines.
During her career, Schnyder reached a ranking of World No. 7 and made the semifinals of the 2004 Australian Open. She won 11 WTA titles and claimed victories over tennis legends like Serena Williams, Steffi Graf, and Justine Henin.
In that sense, she earned more wins over Top 10 players than anyone else in WTA history who never reached a Grand Slam final. “The Grand Slam final was definitely a dream, and it will remain a dream,” she said after her 2011 retirement.
Her game was defined by creativity and variety. A lefty with a heavy forehand and smart shot placement, she could drag opponents around the court and frustrate even the most aggressive hitters.
She reached six Grand Slam quarterfinals and took home nearly $8.6 million in career prize money. She was also a key player for Switzerland in the Fed Cup, recording over 50 matches played between 1996 and 2011, and helping the team reach the semifinals in 1998 and 2008.
On-court drama against Conchita Martinez
Schnyder was also known for her competitive spirit, which sometimes led her to some mid controversies with other players. However, one of the most famous was her meltdown against Conchita Martinez at the Family Circle Cup in 2004.
During the match, Schnyder grew visibly frustrated with Martinez’s habit of retrieving the same winning ball after every point. Martinez, a former Wimbledon champion, often delayed her service routine to ensure she got it back. In response, Schnyder tucked the ball into her pocket after one point. After that, she refused to shake the Spaniard’s hand in the net.
Her reputation for being unpredictable was well-known. In 2007, The Telegraph called her “a zany maverick—if not a certifiable fruitcake.” While the comment was harsh, it reflected how baffling her behavior could seem to opponents and fans alike.
Coaching chaos
However, her off-court life was also highly scrutinized. At 19, she ditched conventional coaching in favor of Rainer Harnecker, a so-called “natural therapist” with no tennis background. According to The New York Times, he claimed to cure AIDS and cancer and reportedly had her drinking 12 glasses of orange juice daily. She quickly fell out of the Top 10. At the time, The Los Angeles Times reported that her parents had consulted a cult expert.
Harnecker was eventually pushed out, but not by a coach. Private investigator Rainer Hofmann took over, and then became her partner. He too had no coaching credentials and would later be convicted in an embezzlement case.
According to Oregon Live, the pair promised to release a tell-all book titled The White Mile, which never saw the light of day, as their relationship was deemed not healthy. Especially as she became estranged from her parents.
Despite the chaos, Schnyder remained competitive well into her thirties, scoring her last win over a top-10 player in 2008 and continuing to upset higher-ranked opponents regularly. But the lack of professional guidance haunted much of her career.
Retirement and brief comeback
Schnyder retired in 2011. Two years later, she divorced Hofmann and announced her pregnancy with her new partner, Jan Heino. “I don’t feel too old,” she said in 2015. “I’m fit and I want to be challenged!”
She returned to tennis that year, playing on the ITF circuit and later rejoining the WTA Tour. Her daughter often traveled with her. In 2017, she won a WTA main-draw match again. A year later, she qualified for the US Open at age 39 and faced Maria Sharapova in the first round.
After the match, Schnyder quietly stepped away for the final time in 2018. Since then, she hasn’t been active publicly, except for announcing the birth of her second daughter in June 2019.