Winning a Grand Slam and becoming World No. 1 is a career-defining achievement. However, as many players know, it’s not easy to stay at the top. Serbian star Ana Ivanovic, just as players like Garbiñe Muguruza and Dinara Safina, reached the top of the WTA tour but couldn’t establish her dominance over a long period of time.
Ivanovic was born in Belgrade, and she started playing tennis at age five inspired by Monica Seles. At 13 years old, she moved to Switzerland to train in better facilities, and at 15 years old, she found the sponsorship of a Swiss entrepreneur to continue her career.
Ivanovic’s breakthrough came in 2004 at the Zurich Open, where, as a 16-year-old qualifier, she pushed Venus Williams to two tight tiebreak sets. Within two seasons, she had climbed into the top 20 and claimed wins over Grand Slam champions including Svetlana Kuznetsova, Amélie Mauresmo, and Martina Hingis.
Grand Slam glory and World No. 1
In June 2008, Ana Ivanovic became the first Serbian woman to win a Grand Slam singles title, following Novak Djokovic’s steps as he had won his first Australian Open that same year. She defeated Dinara Safina in straight sets to lift the French Open trophy.
The win in Paris was the highlight of a stretch in which Ivanovic reached three Grand Slam finals in 13 months, including the 2007 French Open, which she lost against Justine Henin, and the 2008 Australian Open.
With the win, she also ascended to the top of the WTA rankings, holding the No. 1 spot for a total of 12 weeks. “I feel so happy. I have no words to describe that. Winning a Grand Slam is something I dreamed since I was a little kid, so achieving that goal is very thrilling,” she told the press afterwards, according to the WTA.
Other achievements
Ivanovic captured 15 WTA singles titles throughout her career. She qualified three times for the year-end WTA Championships (2007, 2008, and 2014) and won the WTA Tournament of Champions in 2010 and 2011.
In 2012, she reached the US Open quarterfinals, completing her set of last-eight appearances at all four majors. Two years later, she returned to the top five in the rankings after winning four titles and scoring a rare win over Serena Williams.
Her 2014 season was her most consistent since her Grand Slam triumph. However, the next year, she started to suffer from more injuries and struggled to find her best form.
Pressures and mental challenges
Ivanovic struggled with the weight of expectation after her French Open win. She failed to reach another major quarterfinal until 2012 and dropped as low as No. 65 in the rankings in 2010.
“There is a lot more pressure on women to perform, to be constantly on top,” she said on the Olympic podcast in 2022. “Sometimes it was very hard because I was very much focused on the external, on results, on what people think.”
She added, “People just see the tip of the iceberg… what we do off court, no one sees that. People make judgments according to what they see, which is not the full story.” Her comments echoed those of Naomi Osaka and other players who have spoken about mental health in the sport.
Retirement and life after tennis
Ivanovic announced her retirement in December 2016, after not being able to play for months. “I can only play if I perform up to my own high standards. I can no longer do that, so it’s time to move on,” she said.
In 2022, she wrote on Instagram: “A really tough decision that I made 6 years ago, but never regretted. Stepping back from my career was hard, but that doesn’t mean that tennis hasn’t remained my passion.”
She has since focused on her family and new ventures. Married to former footballer Bastian Schweinsteiger since 2016, the couple has three sons. “Most of my days are now kind of consumed by my two little boys that I have,” she told the Olympic podcast in 2022. “It’s really special watching them grow up.”
Ivanovic also launched a natural beauty brand and continues to engage with tennis through ambassador roles and commentary. Despite not playing long enough, her talent and hard-work put her in a place in history.