At the age of 24, nine years into her pro career and 18 years after starting playing tennis, Hungarian star Agnes Szavay announced her retirement from the sport, eventually resigning to her chronic back injury. She gave up on a risky surgery on her broken vertebra (which could have involved bolts and screws in her healthy vertebrae), as it did not guarantee successful outcome, and after thorough consideration decided to officially stop playing competitively. A tennis academy and work with children is where Szavay sees herself in the future.

Last season Szavay entered just four events, including the Olympics, but each time she lost in the first round. Her last match was at the US Open, where she retired in the second set against fellow Hungarian Greta Arn.

Szavay won five WTA singles titles: Budapest in 2009 and 2010, Prague in 2010, Palermo and Beijing in 2009. Her highest singles ranking was No.13, reached in April 2008. Her best Grand Slam result was the quarterfinal of the 2007 US Open.

On a different note, maybe Szavay would like to update her biography info on the WTA's official website which states: "Most admires Lance Armstrong for his successful battle with cancer (his autobiography is her favorite book)". (photo: sr_cranks)

Have you been wondering about Agnes Szavay? The former world No.13 won back-to-back WTA titles in 2010 (Prague and Budapest), and after the Seoul semifinal in September that year, the Hungarian’s results plunged. Her 2011 was very much affected by illness and back injury, she played only six tournaments where she recorded a total of just four wins. Her last match in 2011 was at Roland Garros, in May.

Szavay’s current ranking has four digits – 1115! In 2012 she finally returned to play, at the Stuttgart qualifying on clay, her favorite surface. She lost her first match 7-6(4) 6-3 to Yvonne Meusburger and even though prior to the tournament she had had great plans of competing in Budapest, Madrid, Roland Garros, and the Olympics, her wishes have faced a setback.

Here’s what Szavay said on her Facebook on April 28, after Stuttgart:

I’m happy to be playing again, and it’s great to be back on court. A lot of people were asking me how I was, what I’ve been doing and it was nice to be around the players again. Playing matches is completely different than practice, and of course my back reacts differently, and it got a little stiff already in the first set. Unfortunately it’s not perfect yet, so I’ve decided to withdraw from Madrid. I’ll be focusing on Roland Garros and I hope to be there.

Now we know that even Roland Garros is out of option. The next tournament at which we can expect to see Szavay is Bastad in mid-July. Read more »

Women's tennis fashion is attracting a lot of attention, especially at Grand Slams when clothing sponsors and players try to showcase the best they have. So let's see what they've come up for the 2010 US Open.

I'll start with adidas, my overall favorite, as they always make outfits that have a glamorous touch but can also be easily worn at everyday practice.

Daniela Hantuchova and Ana Ivanovic are sporting pink adidas Women's Fall adilibria Dress.

Russians Dinara Safina and Maria Kirilenko are clad in adidas Barricade Top and Skort.

Caroline Wozniacki is looking great in Stella McCartney Tennis Performance Dress, contrasting nicely with Tennis Performance Bra Top. Elena Dementieva and Yonex once again failed to impress with design and fellow blogger C Note, who saw the dress live at the US Open, said that it even looks two sizes too big on Dementieva.

As usual for a Grand Slam, Maria Sharapova has two versions of a Nike dress – one for day matches and a darker piece for night. When we reviewed the dresses from the photos prior to the Open they looked somewhat questionable, but when seen on Sharapova they are a perfect match. You can see the dresses closer here and here.

Read more »

Agnes Szavay has won ten straight matches and after defending her title at the home tournament in Budapest last week the Hungarian won her second straight title with a finals victory against Barbora Zahlavova Strycova at the ECM Prague Open.

Szavay, seeded seventh in Prague, started her match against the eighth-seeded first-time finalist Zahlavova Strycova strongly and finished it on the same note to take the match 6-2 1-6 6-2.

The world No.49, once ranked 13th, has now collected five Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles titles: Palermo and Beijing in 2007, two in Budapest, and now this one in Prague.

Partnered with Monica Niculescu, Szavay also played the doubles final at the $220,000 International-level event, but the unseeded pair lost to third seeds Timea Bacsinszky and Tathiana Garbin 7-5 7-6(4). (source: Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

For the second year in a row Hungarian’s No.1 player Agnes Szavay won her home tournament of GDF SUEZ Grand Prix and in both the finals she defeated Swiss Patty Schnyder.

In last year’s final Szavay rallied from a set down to win 2-6 6-4 6-2, while this time she had a more straightforward victory, 6-2 6-4. The first set featured an eight deuce final game which lasted as much as the rest of the set and the second set was a closer battle.

The world No.49 Szavay has now won four Sony Ericsson WTA Tour titles: Palermo, Beijing, and Budapest twice. (source: Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)