Iveta Benešová

Iveta Benešová (Czech pronunciation: [ˈɪvɛta ˈbɛnɛʃovaː]) (formerly Melzer, Czech: Melzerová; born 1 February 1983) is a Czech former tennis player. She began playing tennis aged seven and turned professional in 1998. She won two WTA Tour singles and 14 doubles tournaments, and one Grand Slam title in mixed doubles, partnered with Jürgen Melzer at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships. On 14 September 2012, she married Melzer and adopted his family name (until 2015 when their relationship ended). She announced her retirement from tennis on 13 August 2014.

Iveta Benešová

Benešová at the 2014 Nürnberger Versicherungscup
ITF name	Iveta Melzer
Country (sports)	Czech Republic
Residence	Most, Czech Republic
Born	(1983-02-01) 1 February 1983 (age 42) Most, Czechoslovakia
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Turned pro	1998
Retired	2014
Plays	Left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	US$ 3,329,488
Singles
Career record	411–341
Career titles	2
Highest ranking	No. 25 (6 April 2009)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	4R (2011, 2012)
French Open	3R (2008, 2009)
Wimbledon	2R (2007, 2009, 2011)
US Open	2R (2004, 2008, 2010)
Doubles
Career record	290–230
Career titles	14
Highest ranking	No. 17 (31 January 2011)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	3R (2008, 2011)
French Open	3R (2005, 2006, 2010)
Wimbledon	3R (2010)
US Open	QF (2011)
Mixed doubles
Career titles	1
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	SF (2009)
French Open	QF (2011)
Wimbledon	W (2011)
US Open	2R (2009)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	11–12

Career

2005–2008

Benešová was the first player to be beaten by Ana Ivanovic in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament, at the 2005 Australian Open.^[1]

At the 2006 Australian Open, for the first time, she reached the third round of a Grand Slam championship by beating fifth seed Mary Pierce. She lost in the next round to former world No. 1 Martina Hingis.^[2]

Entering as a qualifier in the 2008 French Open, she reached the third round, beating 15th seed and compatriate Nicole Vaidišová in the first round, but lost to Petra Cetkovská.

2009

Benešová at the 2009 French Open

Benešová started the year by playing the first edition of the Brisbane International. She lost in the first round to qualifier Sesil Karatantcheva. A week later, Benešová lost in the final of the tournament in Hobart to fellow-Czech Petra Kvitová. At the Australian Open, she lost in the second round to eventual semifinalist and fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva.

Immediately after Australian, Benešová played in front of her home crowd in the Fed Cup tie against Spain. Despite losing her singles rubber to Nuria Llagostera Vives, the Czech team advanced to the semifinals after winning the tie 4–1.

At the Open GdF Suez in Paris, she lost in the first round to world No. 1, Serena Williams. Benešová then reached the semifinals of the tournament in Acapulco, a clay-court event. In the quarterfinals, she beat Mathilde Johansson, before losing to defending champion Flavia Pennetta.

On 6 April 2009, Benešová achieved her career-high singles ranking of world No. 25.

Seeded 6th at the first edition of the Monterrey Open, she beat fellow Czech Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová in the quarterfinals before losing in the semifinals to unseeded Li Na.

Benešová fell to Ana Ivanovic in the third round of the French Open.

At Wimbledon, she beat Katie O'Brien, before falling to Jelena Janković in the second round.

2010

In singles, she defeated Simona Halep in the final of the Morocco Open to win her first WTA Tour trophy since 2004.

In doubles, she has won three titles. Along with Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová, she grabbed the titles in Paris as their opponents Cara Black and Liezel Huber withdrew and Monterrey defeating Anna-Lena Grönefeld and Vania King. Partnering with Anabel Medina Garrigues, Benešová won Fes, making her winning both singles and doubles in the tournament.

Benešová at the 2008 French Open

2011

Benešová reached the fourth round of the Australian Open,^[3] but was defeated by second seed Vera Zvonareva.^[4]

Along with Záhlavová-Strýcová she won four titles in doubles.

At the Wimbledon Championships, she won the mixed doubles title with partner and later husband Jürgen Melzer.^[5][6]

2012

Benešová once again reached the fourth round of the Australian Open, being defeated by eventual champion Victoria Azarenka in straight sets. On 29 April 2012 she won her last title at the Stuttgart doubles, again with Záhlavová-Strýcová.

She paused from playing tournaments until February 2014, mainly due to shoulder problems.

2014

In her first tournament as Iveta Melzer, she and her partner Petra Cetkovská reached the final of the Acapulco doubles which they lost in the third set.

At the French Open, she played the mixed doubles with her then husband Jürgen, they lost in the first round against top seeded Alexander Peya and Abigail Spears. It was their last Grand Slam mixed appearance together; at Wimbledon, Jürgen Melzer partnered Anabel Medina Garrigues.

Iveta Melzer ended her career on 15 August 2014, as shoulder problems prevented her from playing her best tennis.

Personal life

On 14 September 2012, Benešová married Austrian tennis player Jürgen Melzer at Laxenburg Castle in Austria. The relationship ended in 2015 and Iveta changed her name back to Benešová.^[7][8][9]

Performance timelines

Key

W

F

SF

QF

#R

RR

Q#

P#

DNQ

A

Z#

PO

G

S

B

NMS

NTI

P

NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.

Singles

Tournament	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	SR	W–L	Win%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	Q2	1R	Q3	1R	3R	2R	Q2	2R	2R	4R	4R	absent		0 / 8	11–8	58%
French Open	2R	1R	1R	2R	2R	1R	3R	3R	1R	1R	1R	A	1R	0 / 12	7–12	37%
Wimbledon	1R	1R	1R	1R	1R	2R	1R	2R	1R	2R	1R	absent		0 / 11	3–11	21%
US Open	1R	1R	2R	1R	1R	1R	2R	1R	2R	1R	1R	absent		0 / 11	3–11	21%
Win–loss	1–3	0–4	1–3	1–4	3–4	2–4	3–3	4–4	2–4	4–4	3–4	0–0	0–1	0 / 42	24–42	36%
National representation
Summer Olympics	not held		1R	not held			2R	not held			A	NH		0 / 2	1–2	33%
Premier Mandatory & 5 + former tournaments
Dubai / Qatar Open[a]	not held / not master series						absent		1R	1R	2R	absent		0 / 3	1–3	25%
Indian Wells Open	A	2R	3R	3R	2R	2R	1R	2R	1R	2R	1R	A	1R	0 / 11	6–11	35%
Miami Open	A	1R	A	1R	2R	2R	A	QF	1R	3R	3R	A	1R	0 / 9	9–9	50%
German / Madrid Open[b]	absent			1R	1R	absent		1R	1R	2R	1R	absent		0 / 6	1–6	14%
Italian Open	A	Q2	Q2	absent		Q1	2R	absent		2R	2R	absent		0 / 3	3–3	50%
Canadian Open	absent					Q2	A	1R	3R	2R	Q3	absent		0 / 3	3–3	50%
Cincinnati Open	not held / not master series							1R	A	1R	Q1	absent		0 / 2	0–2	0%
Pan Pacific Open	absent			QF	Q2	absent		QF	1R	3R	absent			0 / 4	7–4	64%
China Open	not master series							1R	A	1R	absent			0 / 2	0–2	0%
Charleston Open (former)	absent			3R	1R	absent		not master series						0 / 2	2–2	50%
San Diego Open (former)	NMS		2R	2R	absent			not held						0 / 2	2–2	50%
Kremlin Cup (former)	Q2	Q2	Q2	1R	2R	Q1	A	not master series						0 / 2	1–2	33%
Zurich Open (former)	A	Q1	Q2	Q2	absent		not held / not master series							0 / 0	0–0	–
Win–loss	0–0	1–2	3–2	6–7	2–5	2–2	1–2	6–7	2–6	8–9	4–5	0–0	0–2	0 / 49	35–49	42%
Career statistics
	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	SR	W–L	Win%
Tournaments	9	19	22	27	21	15	18	25	25	24	17	0	5	Career total: 227
Titles	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	Career total: 2
Finals	1	0	3	0	1	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	Career total: 8
Hard win–loss	4–2	4–7	11–13	13–16	11–12	4–7	9–8	16–15	10–14	12–15	10–9	0–0	0–3	0 / 118	104–121	46%
Clay win–loss	3–6	4–10	14–6	6–7	4–7	1–9	13–8	11–8	8–8	2–7	1–5	0–0	0–2	2 / 81	67–83	45%
Grass win–loss	0–1	0–2	0–1	0–2	1–2	1–1	0–2	2–2	0–1	1–1	0–3	0–0	0–0	0 / 18	5–18	22%
Carpet win–loss	1–1	1–2	0–0	2–3	1–1	0–0	0–0	0–2	0–1	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	0 / 10	5–11	31%
Overall win–loss	8–10	9–21	25–20	21–28	17–22	6–17	22–18	29–27	18–24	15–24	11–17	0–0	0–5	2 / 227	181–233	44%
Win %	44%	30%	56%	43%	44%	26%	55%	52%	43%	38%	39%	–	0%	Career total: 44%
Year-end ranking	81	140	36	54	60	119	43	39	60	54	81			$3,329,488

Doubles

Tournament	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	SR	W–L	Win%
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	absent		1R	1R	1R	1R	3R	2R	2R	3R	2R	absent		0 / 9	7–9	44%
French Open	absent		1R	3R	3R	1R	1R	2R	3R	1R	1R	A	1R	0 / 10	7–10	41%
Wimbledon	absent		1R	1R	2R	1R	2R	3R	3R	3R	2R	absent		0 / 9	9–9	50%
US Open	absent		2R	1R	1R	2R	2R	2R	3R	QF	2R	absent		0 / 9	10–9	53%
Win–loss	0–0	0–0	1–4	2–4	3–4	1–4	4–4	5–4	7–4	7–4	3–4	0–0	0–1	0 / 37	33–37	47%
National representation
Summer Olympics	not held		A	not held			1R	not held			A	NH		0 / 1	0–1	0%
WTA Premier Mandatory & 5 + former
Dubai / Qatar Open[a]	not master series						absent		1R	1R	2R	absent		0 / 3	1–3	25%
Indian Wells Open	absent		1R	1R	SF	2R	QF	QF	QF	2R	SF	A	1R	0 / 10	13–10	57%
Miami Open	absent			1R	2R	absent		1R	1R	2R	1R	A	2R	0 / 7	3–7	30%
Berlin / Madrid Open[b]	absent		1R	1R	QF	absent			1R	1R	1R	absent		0 / 6	2–6	25%
Italian Open	absent					QF	F	absent		2R	2R	absent		0 / 4	8–4	67%
Canadian Open	absent					2R	A	QF	QF	1R	1R	absent		0 / 5	5–5	50%
Cincinnati Open	not master series							1R	A	1R	1R	absent		0 / 3	0–3	0%
Pan Pacific Open	absent				QF	absent			W	1R	absent			1 / 3	5–2	71%
China Open	not master series							1R	A	2R	absent			0 / 2	1–2	33%
Charleston Open (former)	absent			F	1R	absent		not master series						0 / 2	4–2	67%
San Diego Open (former)	absent		1R	1R	absent			not master series						0 / 2	0–2	0%
Kremlin Cup (former)	A	2R	1R	1R	F	SF	A	not master series						0 / 5	6–5	55%
Zurich Open (former)	absent		Q1	1R	A	not held / not master series								0 / 1	0–1	0%
Win–loss	0–0	1–1	0–4	4–7	10–6	6–4	5–2	4–5	8–5	4–9	5–7	0–0	1–2	1 / 53	48–52	48%
Career statistics
Tournaments	5	8	20	26	17	17	20	20	21	22	18	0	4	Career total: 198
Titles	0	0	0	1	0	1	2	1	4	4	1	0	0	Career total: 14
Finals	0	0	1	3	1	2	4	4	5	4	1	0	1	Career total: 26
Overall win–loss	2–6	5–8	14–20	22–25	18–18	20–16	24–18	29–19	32–17	32–17	18–17	0–0	4–4	14 / 198	220–185	54%
Year-end ranking	190	130	63	38	35	34	35	34	21	29	36	n/a

Grand Slam finals

Mixed doubles: 1 title

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	2011	Wimbledon	Grass	Jürgen Melzer	Mahesh Bhupathi Elena Vesnina	6–3, 6–2

WTA career finals

Singles: 8 (2 titles, 6 runner-ups)

Legend
Tier III & IV & V / International (2–6)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Oct 2002	WTA Bratislava, Slovakia	Tier V	Hard (i)	Maja Matevžič	0–6, 1–6
Win	1–1	Mar 2004	Mexican Open	Tier III	Clay	Flavia Pennetta	7–6(7–5), 6–4
Loss	1–2	Apr 2004	Portugal Open	Tier IV	Clay	Émilie Loit	5–7, 6–7(1–7)
Loss	1–3	Aug 2004	Forest Hills Classic, U.S.	Tier V	Hard	Elena Likhovtseva	3–6, 2–6
Loss	1–4	Jan 2006	Hobart International, Australia	Tier IV	Hard	Michaëlla Krajicek	1–6, 2–6
Loss	1–5	May 2008	Portugal Open	Tier IV	Clay	Maria Kirilenko	4–6, 2–6
Loss	1–6	Jan 2009	Hobart International, Australia	International	Hard	Petra Kvitová	5–7, 1–6
Win	2–6	May 2010	Morocco Open	International	Clay	Simona Halep	6–4, 6–2

Doubles: 26 (14 titles, 12 runner-ups)

Legend
Tier I / Premier Mandatory & 5 (1–3)
Tier II / Premier (5–2)
Tier III & IV / International (8–7)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Jul 2004	Bank of the West Classic, U.S.	Tier II	Hard	Claudine Schaul	Eleni Daniilidou Nicole Pratt	2–6, 4–6
Win	1–1	Feb 2005	Open GDF Suez, France	Tier II	Carpet (i)	Květa Peschke	Anabel Medina Garrigues Dinara Safina	6–2, 2–6, 6–2
Loss	1–2	Apr 2005	Family Circle Cup, U.S.	Tier I	Clay (green)	Květa Peschke	Conchita Martínez Virginia Ruano Pascual	1–6, 4–6
Loss	1–3	Jun 2005	Rosmalen Championships, Netherlands	Tier III	Grass	Nuria Llagostera Vives	Anabel Medina Garrigues Dinara Safina	6–4, 2–6, 7–6(11–9)
Loss	1–4	Oct 2006	Kremlin Cup, Russia	Tier I	Carpet (i)	Galina Voskoboeva	Francesca Schiavone Květa Peschke	4–6, 7–6(7–4), 1–6
Loss	1–5	Jan 2007	Australian Hardcourt Championships	Tier III	Hard	Galina Voskoboeva	Dinara Safina Katarina Srebotnik	3–6, 4–6
Win	2–5	Sep 2007	Luxembourg Open	Tier II	Hard (i)	Janette Husárová	Victoria Azarenka Shahar Pe'er	6–4, 6–2
Win	3–5	Feb 2008	Copa Colsanitas, Colombia	Tier III	Clay	Bethanie Mattek	Jelena Kostanić Tošić Martina Müller	6–3, 6–3
Loss	3–6	Mar 2008	Mexican Open	Tier III	Clay	Petra Cetkovská	Nuria Llagostera Vives María José Martínez Sánchez	2–6, 4–6
Loss	3–7	May 2008	Italian Open	Tier I	Clay	Janette Husárová	Chuang Chia-jung Chan Yung-jan	6–7(5–7), 3–6
Win	4–7	Aug 2008	Nordic Light Open, Sweden	Tier IV	Hard	Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová	Petra Cetkovská Lucie Šafářová	7–5, 6–4
Loss	4–8	Mar 2009	Monterrey Open, Mexico	International	Hard	Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová	Mara Santangelo Nathalie Dechy	3–6, 4–6
Loss	4–9	Jul 2009	Prague Open, Czech Republic	International	Clay	Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová	Kateryna Bondarenko Alona Bondarenko	1–6, 2–6
Loss	4–10	Aug 2009	Connecticut Open, U.S.	Premier	Hard	Lucie Hradecká	Nuria Llagostera Vives María José Martínez Sánchez	2–6, 6–7
Win	5–10	Oct 2009	Luxembourg Open (2)	International	Hard (i)	Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová	Vladimíra Uhlířová Renata Voráčová	6–1, 0–6, [10–7]
Win	6–10	Feb 2010	Open GDF Suez, France (2)	Premier	Hard (i)	Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová	Cara Black Liezel Huber	walkover
Win	7–10	Mar 2010	Monterrey Open, Mexico	International	Hard	Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová	Anna-Lena Grönefeld Vania King	3–6, 6–4, [10–8]
Win	8–10	May 2010	Morocco Open	International	Clay	Anabel Medina Garrigues	Lucie Hradecká Renata Voráčová	6–3, 6–1
Win	9–10	Oct 2010	Pan Pacific Open, Japan	Premier 5	Hard	Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová	Shahar Pe'er Peng Shuai	6–4, 4–6, [10–8]
Loss	9–11	Oct 2010	Luxembourg Open	International	Hard (i)	Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová	Timea Bacsinszky Tathiana Garbin	4–6, 4–6
Win	10–11	Jan 2011	Sydney International, Australia	Premier	Hard	Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová	Květa Peschke Katarina Srebotnik	4–6, 6–4, [10–7]
Win	11–11	Mar 2011	Monterrey Open, Mexico (2)	International	Hard	Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová	Anna-Lena Grönefeld Vania King	6–7(8–10), 6–2, [10–6]
Win	12–11	May 2011	Barcelona Open, Spain	International	Clay	Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová	Natalie Grandin Vladimíra Uhlířová	5–7, 6–4, [11–9]
Win	13–11	Oct 2011	Luxembourg Open (3)	International	Hard (i)	Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová	Lucie Hradecká Ekaterina Makarova	7–5, 6–3
Win	14–11	Apr 2012	Stuttgart Open, Germany	Premier	Clay (i)	Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová	Julia Görges Anna-Lena Grönefeld	6–4, 7–5
Loss	14–12	Mar 2014	Mexican Open	International	Hard	Petra Cetkovská	Kristina Mladenovic Galina Voskoboeva	3–6, 6–2, [5–10]

ITF finals

Singles: 5 (4 titles, 1 runner–up)

Legend
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	May 2001	ITF Prešov, Slovakia	10,000	Clay	Michala Bzduseková	3–6, 6–2, 6–2
Win	2–0	Oct 2001	ITF Opole, Poland	25,000	Carpet (i)	Eva Fislová	6–1, 6–3
Win	3–0	Feb 2004	ITF Ortisei, Italy	75,000	Carpet (i)	Virág Németh	6–3, 6–1
Win	4–0	Mar 2008	ITF Latina, Italy	50,000	Clay	Sesil Karatantcheva	6–0, 6–2
Loss	4–1	Apr 2008	ITF Torhout, Belgium	75,000	Hard (i)	Elena Baltacha	7–6(5), 1–6, 4–6

Doubles: 8 (4 titles, 4 runner–ups)

Legend
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1–0	Jul 2000	Bella Cup, Poland	10,000	Clay	Lenka Novotná	Gabriela Chmelinová Jana Macurová	6–1, 6–4
Loss	1–1	Dec 2000	ITF Mallorca, Spain	10,000	Clay	Lenka Novotná	Olga Vymetálková Gabriela Chmelinová	3–5, 4–2, 4–0, 1–4, 2–4
Win	2–1	Mar 2001	ITF Rome, Italy	10,000	Clay	Zuzana Kučová	Claudia Ivone Roberta Vinci	4–6, 6–4, 6–4
Win	3–1	May 2001	ITF Szczecin, Poland	10,000	Clay	Martina Babáková	Anastassia Belova Darya Kustova	6–4, 7–6(4)
Loss	3–2	Apr 2002	Open de Cagnes-sur-Mer, France	50,000	Clay	Caroline Dhenin	Dally Randriantefy Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro	2–6, 4–6
Loss	3–3	Sep 2003	ITF Bordeaux, France	75,000	Clay	Olga Vymetálková	Maret Ani Libuše Průšová	3–6, 4–6
Loss	3–4	Dec 2003	ITF Ostrava, Czech Republic	25,000	Carpet (i)	Michaela Paštiková	Libuše Průšová Barbora Strýcová	2–6, 4–6
Win	4–4	Dec 2003	ITF Valašské Meziříčí, Czech Republic	25,000	Hard (i)	Michaela Paštiková	Maret Ani Libuše Průšová	walkover

Top 10 wins

No.	Player	Rk	Event	Surface	Rd	Score	Rk	Years
1.	Vera Zvonareva	10	Charleston Open, United States	Clay (g)	2R	6–4, 4–6, 7–5	No. 51	2005
2.	Mary Pierce	5	Australian Open	Hard	2R	6–3, 7–5	No. 42	2006
3.	Jelena Janković	3	Canadian Open	Hard	2R	7–6(7–3), 6–3	No. 75	2010
4.	Samantha Stosur	6	Brisbane International, Australia	Hard	2R	6–4, 6–2	No. 54	2012

• Key: (Rk) first use, opponent rank; (Rd) round; (Rk) 2nd use, player rank; (Ref) reference; (F) final; (SF) semifinal; (QF) quarterfinal; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage

Notes

1. The first Premier 5 event of the year has switched back and forth between the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Ladies Open since 2009. Dubai was classified as a Premier 5 event from 2009 to 2011 before being succeeded by Doha for the 2012–2014 period. In 2015, Dubai regained its Premier 5 status while Doha was demoted to Premier status. The Premier 5 tournaments were reclassified as WTA 1000 tournaments in 2021.
2. In 2009, the German Open was replaced by the Madrid Open. The Premier Mandatory tournaments were reclassified as WTA 1000 tournaments in 2021.