Flavia Pennetta (; born 25 February 1982) is an Italian former professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top-ten female singles player on 17 August 2009 and the first Italian to be ranked world No. 1 in doubles, on 28 February 2011. She is a Grand Slam champion in both doubles and singles, having won the 2011 Australian Open women's doubles title with Gisela Dulko, and the 2015 US Open singles title over childhood friend Roberta Vinci in the first all-Italian major final.
Pennetta won ten other WTA singles titles, including the 2014 Indian Wells Open, where she defeated the top two seeds. She also was a mainstay in the Fed Cup team competition, helping Italy win four titles in 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2013. Her other highlights in doubles include winning the 2010 WTA Finals with Dulko and finishing runner-up at the 2005 and 2014 US Open tournaments, partnering respectively with Elena Dementieva and Martina Hingis.
After winning the 2015 US Open, Pennetta announced she would retire at the end of the season, playing her last tournament at her WTA Finals singles debut. There, she defeated eventual champion Agnieszka Radwańska in the round-robin stage and retired with a top-ten singles ranking.
Pennetta was pronounced a Knight of Order of Merit of the Republic on 24 January 2007 by Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, then President of Italy.
Career
Early years
Pennetta was introduced to tennis at the age of five by her father. At age 17, she won the 1999 French Open in girls' doubles with fellow Italian Roberta Vinci. At Cincinnati, a Premier-5 event, she extended her winning streak to 15 matches, maintaining an impressive record against Venus Williams, whom she beat in two sets. By virtue of her defeat over Daniela Hantuchová in the quarterfinals, she rose into the top ten for the first time in her career, the first Italian woman ever to do so. Her run ended after a straight sets defeat against world No. 1, Dinara Safina, in the semifinals.
Pennetta was seeded 12th at Toronto but lost to Virginie Razzano in the second round. At her next tournament at New Haven, she lost in the semifinals to Caroline Wozniacki. Pennetta started the US Open with a win over Edina Gallovits in two sets. In the second round, she double-bageled Sania Mirza 6–0, 6–0. She advanced to the fourth round after a straight-sets victory against Aleksandra Wozniak. She played Vera Zvonareva in the fourth round, and saved four match points at her serve at 5–6 in the second set; and then saved another two in the second set tie-break, before winning the final set to love. She was defeated by Serena Williams in the quarterfinals in straight sets. After the US Open, Pennetta lost again to Roberta Vinci in the first round of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. At the China Open, she made the quarterfinal, losing to Zvonareva, 5–7 in the third set. As the top seed at Generali Ladies Linz tournament, Pennetta lost in the semifinals to third seed Yanina Wickmayer in straight sets. In the following week, she was forced to retire at with a knee injury in the opening round.
2010: Doubles success
thumb|Pennetta at the US Open in 2010
Pennetta started her season at the Auckland Open as the No. 1 seed where she defeated Jill Craybas, Carla Suárez Navarro, Dominika Cibulková, and Francesca Schiavone in the semifinals. She lost to third seed Yanina Wickmayer. In the Medibank International, she notched up two top-20 wins over Sam Stosur and Li Na, before losing to unseeded Aravane Rezaï in the quarterfinals. At the first Grand Slam of the year, Pennetta was the 12th seed. In the opening round, she defeated former top-ten player Anna Chakvetadze, before falling in the second round to qualifier and world No. 16, Yanina Wickmayer. The loss was her third consecutive straight-set loss to Wickmayer. Pennetta was selected for Italy's first Fed Cup tie against Ukraine. She won both her singles matches in straight sets against the Bondarenko sisters to set up a 4–1 away victory in the tie. Pennetta received a wildcard into Open GDF Suez in Paris where she was the 2nd seed. After receiving a first-round bye she defeated Alisa Kleybanova and Tathiana Garbin to reach the semifinals, where she fell in three sets to Lucie Šafářová.
At the Dubai Championships, Pennetta advanced to the third round, losing to seventh seed Agnieszka Radwańska. She was forced to withdraw from the Abierto Mexicano due to a hip injury. Pennetta suffered two early upset defeats at the two Premier events, Indian Wells Open and Miami Open. After receiving first-round byes, Pennetta lost in the third round of Indian Wells to Shahar Pe'er and in the second round of Miami to Andrea Petkovic. Despite her poor singles result in Miami, Pennetta was able to win the doubles title in Miami partnering with Gisela Dulko and defeating Sam Stosur and Nadia Petrova in the final. At the Andalucia Tennis Experience, Pennetta won her first title of the year advancing to the finals without dropping a set and defeating Carla Suárez Navarro in the final.
At the French Open, Pennetta was seeded 14th. She defeated Anne Keothavong, Roberta Vinci, and Polona Hercog in the first three rounds. She was eliminated by third seed Caroline Wozniacki in the round of 16. However, her performance moved her ranking back into the top 10, matching her career-high of world No. 10. This, in combination with countrywoman's Francesca Schiavone winning the French Open, meant that in the week of 7 June 2010, two Italian woman were in the top ten (Schiavone at world No. 6) at the same time for the first time. Pennetta was seeded 10th at Wimbledon where she advanced to the third round and fell to Klára Zakopalová. She was seeded fifth at the San Diego Open. In the quarterfinals, she defeated Sam Stosur before she fell to Svetlana Kuznetsova.
2011: Australian Open doubles title, No. 1 ranking
Pennetta began her year at the Sydney International, where in her first match she defeated qualifier Lucie Hradecká. In the second round, Flavia went on to defeat world No. 2, Vera Zvonareva, in a tough match. She went on to lose to Bojana Jovanovski in the quarterfinals.
thumb|upright|left|Pennetta at the French Open in 2011
At the Australian Open, Pennetta won her first-round match against Anastasia Rodionova. In her second-round match, she defeated Lourdes Domínguez Lino before Pennetta came up victorious against Shahar Pe'er in a three-set battle, in which she rallied from deficits several times. She lost to Czech player Petra Kvitová in the fourth round. She did, however, capture her first career Grand Slam doubles title in the doubles competition, again partnering with Dulko and beating Victoria Azarenka and Maria Kirilenko in the final. In the Fed Cup, she helped two-time reigning champion Italy defeat Australia with wins in two singles rubbers over Sam Stosur and Jarmila Groth.
At the Dubai Championships, Pennetta was seeded 11th. In the first round, she defeated wildcard Jelena Dokić. She advanced to the semifinal after defeating Zakopalová, Azarenka, and Alisa Kleybanova, respectively. However, there she was defeated by Svetlana Kuznetsova.
As the 21st seed at the Wimbledon Championships, Pennetta eased past Chanelle Scheepers in two sets before seeing off Evgeniya Rodina to reach to the third round. She then fell to Marion Bartoli in a close match with Bartoli edging the win in three sets.
On 28 February, Pennetta became the first Italian tennis player (male or female) to be ranked world No. 1 in doubles.
Pennetta was the 26th seed at the US Open. She defeated Aravane Rezaï, Romina Oprandi, third seed Maria Sharapova, and 13th seed Peng Shuai in straight sets, to reach the US Open quarterfinals for the third time, where she lost to Angelique Kerber.
Pennetta's next tournament was the Japan Open, where she was eliminated in the first round by Kaia Kanepi after a three-set match. At Beijing, she made it to the semifinals, beating the defending champion and world No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki, in three sets, before losing to Agnieszka Radwańska, in straight sets.
2012: Wrist injury and out of top 50
thumb|Pennetta at the 2012 Miami Open
Pennetta retired against Zheng Jie in final of Auckland. At the Australian Open, she lost to Nina Bratchikova in round one. She then reached the second round at Doha and Dubai, losing on both occasions to Kateryna Bondarenko and Jelena Janković, respectively. Pennetta then reached the final at Acapulco, where she lost to Sara Errani.
During the North American hardcourt swing, Pennetta reached the third round at Indian Wells, losing to Agnieszka Radwańska. Then at the Miami Open, she lost to wildcard Garbiñe Muguruza in the third round. At the Barcelona Open, Pennetta, the fifth seed, lost to Ukrainian Yuliya Beygelzimer in the second round. Unseeded at the Rome Masters, Pennetta reached the quarterfinals after defeating Maria Kirilenko, Sloane Stephens, and Petra Cetkovská. She then lost to Serena Williams. At the French Open, she reached the third round, where she lost to eventual quarterfinalist Angelique Kerber.
Pennetta kicked off the grass-court season with a second-round appearance at the Rosmalen Open, losing to Urszula Radwańska. At Wimbledon, she fell to Camila Giorgi in round 1. At the Olympics, Pennetta defeated Sorana Cîrstea and Tsvetana Pironkova before losing to Petra Kvitová in round 3. At the Montreal, Pennetta lost to Chanelle Scheepers in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. Pennetta did not play the US Open due to injury. On 27 August 2012, Pennetta underwent surgical cleaning of her right wrist, performed by the doctor who has treated Rafael Nadal.
2013: Comeback from injury, US Open semifinal
Pennetta returned to competition at the Copa Colsanitas ranked 60th. She lost to Lara Arruabarrena in the second round. The following week, she fell to Lourdes Domínguez Lino in the first round at the Abierto Mexicano where she was finalist the year before. She then lost to Francesca Schiavone in the first round at Indian Wells. At the Miami Open, Pennetta defeated Johanna Larsson in round one before losing to world No. 1, Serena Williams.
thumb|Pennetta and Elena Baltacha at Wimbledon in 2013
Pennetta lost in the first round at Madrid and Rome to Kaia Kanepi and Sloane Stephens, respectively. The week before the French Open, Pennetta qualified for the Internationaux de Strasbourg and reached the semifinals where she lost to Lucie Hradecká. At the French Open, she lost to Kirsten Flipkens in the first round. Pennetta had a breakthrough at Wimbledon where she advanced to the fourth round for the first time in more than five years. She defeated Elena Baltacha in her opening match before receiving a walkover from Victoria Azarenka in the second round. She then went on to defeat Alizé Cornet in three sets before losing to Flipkens again. Pennetta then reached the semifinals at Båstad where she lost to Larsson.
During the US Open Series, Pennetta fell in the first round at the Southern California Open to Schiavone. At the Rogers Cup in Toronto, she defeated Urszula Radwańska in the first round. She then lost to the 16th seed Ana Ivanovic. The following week in Cincinnati, she lost to American Varvara Lepchenko in the first round. Pennetta was ranked 83rd entering the US Open and she reached her first Grand Slam singles semifinal, defeating higher-ranked opponents such as Errani, Kuznetsova, Halep and Vinci in early rounds before succumbing to world No. 2, Victoria Azarenka, in the semifinals.
In September, Pennetta reached the second round at Tokyo after defeating Daniela Hantuchová. She then lost to Caroline Wozniacki. At the China Open, she drew Ivanovic in the first round, and lost in straight sets. At the Osaka Open, she lost to Vania King in the first round. Pairing with Kristina Mladenovic, she won the doubles title, defeating Samantha Stosur and Zhang Shuai in the final.
2014: Indian Wells champion, US Open doubles final
As the 28th seed Pennetta reached the quarterfinals at Australian Open, having defeated Angelique Kerber in the fourth round. She lost to Li Na, who then went on to win the tournament. Pennetta then suffered a shocking first round defeat to Hsieh Su-wei in Doha. In Dubai she reached main draw and then defeated Kaia Kanepi and 2nd seed Agnieszka Radwańska, before losing the match against Venus Williams in quarterfinals. Pennetta then won the biggest title of her career at Indian Wells where she defeated Radwańska to win the final. She had defeated top seed Li Na en route to the final. At the Miami Open, Pennetta lost to Ana Ivanovic in the third round. The following week at Monterrey, as the top seed, she lost her opener to Kimiko Date-Krumm.
thumb|left|2014 Pennetta reached her fifth US Open quarterfinal
During the clay-court season, Pennetta reached the second round at Stuttgart, where she lost to Jelena Janković. At the Mutua Madrid Open, Pennetta fell in round one to Lucie Šafářová. Playing in front of her home crowd at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, she reached the third round after defeating Yvonne Meusburger and Belinda Bencic. She subsequently lost to Janković again. At Roland Garros, Pennetta lost to Johanna Larsson in the second round. She reached the second round at Eastbourne where she lost to local girl Heather Watson. In doubles, she partnered with Martina Hingis and they reached the final, losing to the Chan sisters. At Wimbledon, Pennetta lost to American Lauren Davis in the second round.
Pennetta kicked off her US Open series campaign with a first round to Kazakh Yulia Putintseva at Montreal. The following week, she reached the third round at Cincinnati where she lost to Serena Williams. Pennetta then reached her fifth US Open quarterfinal after defeating Casey Dellacqua in the fourth round. She succumbed to Serena once again in the last eight despite having an early lead. In doubles, she partnered with Hingis and they reached the final, losing to Russian duo Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina in three sets.
In October, Pennetta was seeded 15th at the Wuhan Open; she lost in the first round to Jarmila Gajdošová in straight sets, but won the doubles tournament with Hingis. At the China Open, she defeated Christina McHale in the first round before succumbing to Carla Suárez Navarro in three sets. As the third seed in Moscow, Pennetta once again suffered an opening round loss to Camila Giorgi. She received a wildcard to play in Sofia after the withdrawal of Janković. She turned things around by reaching the final, her second of 2014. In the round-robin stage she overcame Alizé Cornet and Karolína Plíšková in straight sets. She also suffered a loss to Garbiñe Muguruza, despite winning the first set 6–0. Accumulating a record of 2–1, she advanced to the semifinal for the first time since Indian Wells in March where she avenged her loss to Suarez Navarro, claiming the victory in straight sets. She ran out of steam in the final, falling to Andrea Petkovic in three sets, having won the first set 6–1.
2015: Grand Slam title, career-high ranking & retirement
The 2015 season started slowly for Pennetta. During the Hopman Cup, she "bagelled" Serena Williams before ultimately losing the match. In the Australian Open, she lost to compatriot Camila Giorgi in the first round, failing to defend her quarterfinalist points from 2014. In the Dubai Premier event she reached the quarterfinals, where she lost to Caroline Wozniacki. As the defending champion at Indian Wells, she managed to reach the quarterfinals, beating Madison Brengle, Sam Stosur, and world No. 2, Maria Sharapova. She lost to Sabine Lisicki in three thrilling sets despite having three match points. At the Miami Open she continued this run, by defeating former world No. 1, Victoria Azarenka, before falling to Simona Halep in the round of 16 in straight sets in a high-class match despite leading 5–2 in the second set.
thumb|left|Pennetta at Wimbledon in 2015
Pennetta had mixed results during the clay season. She made it to the quarterfinals in Marrakech, losing to eventual finalist Tímea Babos in three sets. She suffered early exits at both Madrid and Rome to Andrea Petkovic and Elina Svitolina, respectively. Pennetta equalled her best result at the French Open by reaching the fourth round. She beat Carla Suárez Navarro for her second top 10 win before losing to Garbiñe Muguruza in straight sets.
Pennetta went winless during the grass season. She lost in Eastbourne to Svetlana Kuznetsova and at Wimbledon to Zarina Diyas.
In Toronto, Pennetta lost in the second round to Serena Williams in three sets. This was the first time since 2008 that Pennetta had won a set against Williams in an official match. At Cincinnati, Pennetta beat former top-ten player Dominika Cibulková before losing to newly crowned Toronto champion Belinda Bencic in straight sets. In New Haven, Pennetta lost in the first round to last year's finalist, Magdaléna Rybáriková, in three sets.
Pennetta then played at the US Open as the 26th seed. She made it to the quarterfinals for the sixth time in the previous seven attempts by beating Jarmila Gajdošová, Monica Niculescu, Petra Cetkovská and 2011 champion, Samantha Stosur. In the quarterfinals, she came up against two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitová. Pennetta won the match in three sets, after having trailed 1–3 in the second set, to advance to her second US Open semifinal. She then defeated second seed Simona Halep in straight sets to advance to her first Grand Slam final. Pennetta faced Roberta Vinci in the first-ever all-Italian Grand Slam final in the Open Era. Pennetta won the match in straight sets, claiming her first ever US Open title and her first Grand Slam title. During her acceptance speech she announced her retirement. In an interview with Eurosport after the match, Pennetta clarified that she would play out the rest of the season. By virtue of winning the US Open, Pennetta returned to the top 10 for the first time since September 2009. In the weeks following the US Open, she attained a new career-high ranking of No. 6. She qualified for the WTA Finals in Singapore, where she was defeated in the round robin, losing against Halep and defeating Agnieszka Radwańska before going down to Maria Sharapova in the last professional singles match of her career.
Pennetta retired having won 28 career titles in total, including the US Open in singles and Australian Open and WTA Finals in doubles, reaching No. 6 in the world in singles and No. 1 in doubles, and winning the Fed Cup four times between 2006 and 2013.
Personal life
Flavia Pennetta was born in Brindisi to Oronzo and Concetta Pennetta. She has an older sister.
Pennetta began dating compatriot ATP tennis player Fabio Fognini in early 2014. Pennetta and Fognini became engaged in 2015, and the two were married in Ostuni in June 2016. Pennetta gave birth to a baby boy in 2017. In 2019, their first daughter was born, and in 2021 she gave birth to a second daughter.
Her cousin is tennis player Claudia Giovine.
Pennetta is a Catholic.
Equipment
- Coach: former professional tennis player from Spain Salvador Navarro, who worked previously for David Ferrer and Tommy Robredo.