American former professional tennis player
Corina Morariu Full name Corina Maria Morariu Country (sports) United States Residence Boca Raton , Florida, U.S.Born (1978-01-26 ) January 26, 1978 (age 47) Detroit , Michigan, U.S.Turned pro 1994 Retired 2007 Plays Right (one-handed backhand) Prize money $1,733,916 Career record 160–134 Career titles 1 WTA, 5 ITF Highest ranking No. 29 (August 24, 1998) Australian Open 2R (1998 ) French Open 2R (1998 , 2000 , 2003 ) Wimbledon 3R (1998 , 1999 ) US Open 2R (1997 ) Career record 248–158 Career titles 13 WTA, 9 ITF Highest ranking No. 1 (April 3, 2000)Australian Open F (2001 , 2005 ) French Open SF (2005 ) Wimbledon W (1999 )US Open QF (1999 , 2002 , 2005 , 2007 ) Career record 21–22 Career titles 1 Australian Open W (2001 )French Open QF (2003 , 2005 ) Wimbledon 3R (2006 ) US Open SF (2002 , 2005 )
Corina Maria Morariu (born January 26, 1978) is an American former professional tennis player.
Morariu (pronounced: mo-RA-R'ju) was born in Detroit , Michigan and is of Romanian descent.[ 1] She turned professional in 1994. Mainly known as a doubles specialist, she won the women's doubles title at Wimbledon in 1999 with Lindsay Davenport . She also won the mixed-doubles title at the 2001 Australian Open with Ellis Ferreira . She reached the Australian Open women's doubles final with Davenport in 2005. She also reached the world No. 1 ranking in doubles in 2000.[ 2]
In 2001, Morariu was diagnosed with leukemia and began a program of chemotherapy .[ 3] During this time, Jennifer Capriati dedicated her 2001 French Open victory to Morariu.[ 4] After recovering from cancer, along with shoulder surgery, Morariu was largely restricted to doubles play.[ 2] The WTA then created the Corina Comeback Award, which was presented to Morariu by Capriati.[ 5]
Morariu retired from the tour in 2007. She is an International Sports Ambassador for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society , and has released a memoir titled Living Through the Racket: How I Survived Leukemia...and Rediscovered My Self .[ 5] Following her retirement, she began working as a commentator for Tennis Channel .[ 6]
Grand Slam finals
Doubles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)
Mixed doubles: 1 (title)
WTA Tour finals
Corina Morariu hitting a forehand
Singles: 4 (1–3)
Legend
Tier I (0–0)
Tier II (0–0)
Tier III (0–1)
Tier IV (1–2)
Doubles: 20 (13–7)
Legend
Grand Slam (1–2)
Tier I (1–2)
Tier II (3–2)
Tier III (7–1)
Tier IV (1–0)
Result
No.
Date
Tournament
Surface
Partner
Opponents
Score
Loss
1.
Apr 1997
Japan Open, Tokyo
Hard
Kerry-Anne Guse
Alexia Dechaume-Balleret Rika Hiraki
4–6, 2–6
Win
1.
Nov 1997
Pattaya Open , Thailand
Hard
Kristine Kunce
Florencia Labat Dominique Monami
6–3, 6–4
Win
2.
Jan 1999
Brisbane International , Australia
Hard
Larisa Neiland
Kristine Kunce Irina Spîrlea
6–3, 6–4
Win
3.
Apr 1999
Japan Open, Tokyo
Hard
Kimberly Po
Kerry-Anne Guse Catherine Barclay
6–3, 6–2
Win
4.
Jun 1999
Birmingham Classic , UK
Grass
Larisa Neiland
Inés Gorrochategui Alexandra Fusai
6–4, 6–4
Win
5.
Jul 1999
Wimbledon Championships , UK
Grass
Lindsay Davenport
Mariaan de Swardt Elena Tatarkova
6–4, 6–4
Win
6.
Jul 1999
Stanford Classic , U.S.
Hard
Lindsay Davenport
Anna Kournikova Elena Likhovtseva
6–4, 6–4
Win
7.
Aug 1999
San Diego Open , U.S.
Hard
Lindsay Davenport
Venus Williams Serena Williams
6–4, 6–1
Win
8.
Feb 2000
Cellular South Cup , U.S.
Hard (i)
Kimberly Po
Tamarine Tanasugarn Elena Tatarkova
6–4, 4–6, 6–2
Win
9.
Mar 2000
Indian Wells Open , U.S.
Hard
Lindsay Davenport
Anna Kournikova Natasha Zvereva
6–2, 6–3
Win
10.
May 2000
Bol Ladies Open, Croatia
Clay
Julie Halard-Decugis
Katarina Srebotnik Tina Križan
6–2, 6–2
Loss
2.
May 2000
German Open , Berlin
Clay
Amanda Coetzer
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Conchita Martínez
6–3, 2–6, 6–7(7–9)
Win
11.
Oct 2000
Japan Open, Tokyo
Hard
Julie Halard-Decugis
Tina Križan Katarina Srebotnik
6–1, 6–2
Loss
3.
Jan 2001
Australian Open , Melbourne
Hard
Lindsay Davenport
Serena Williams Venus Williams
2–6, 6–2, 4–6
Loss
4.
Nov 2004
Philadelphia Championships , U.S.
Hard (i)
Liezel Huber
Lisa Raymond Alicia Molik
5–7, 4–6
Loss
5.
Jan 2005
Australian Open, Melbourne
Hard
Lindsay Davenport
Svetlana Kuznetsova Alicia Molik
3–6, 4–6
Loss
6.
Feb 2005
Pan Pacific Open , Tokyo
Carpet (i)
Lindsay Davenport
Janette Husárová Elena Likhovtseva
4–6, 3–6
Win
12.
Jan 2006
Sydney International , Australia
Hard
Rennae Stubbs
Paola Suárez Virginia Ruano Pascual
6–3, 5–7, 6–2
Win
13.
Sep 2006
Bali Classic , Indonesia
Hard
Lindsay Davenport
Natalie Grandin Trudi Musgrave
6–3, 6–4
Loss
7.
Oct 2006
Ladies Linz , Austria
Hard (i)
Katarina Srebotnik
Lisa Raymond Samantha Stosur
3–6, 0–6
ITF Circuit finals
$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Singles (5–0)
Outcome
No.
Date
Location
Surface
Opponent
Score
Winner
1.
22 August 1994
Nicolosi , Italy
Hard
Giulia Casoni
7–5, 7–6(5)
Winner
2.
22 May 1995
Salzburg , Austria
Clay
Patricia Wartusch
6–2, 6–2
Winner
3.
29 May 1995
Katowice , Poland
Clay
Ewa Radzikowska
6–4, 6–2
Winner
4.
21 August 1995
Sochi , Russia
Clay
Anne-Gaëlle Sidot
6–4, 4–6, 6–0
Winner
5.
23 February 1997
Bogotá , Colombia
Clay
Lenka Němečková
6–2, 6–3
Doubles (9–4)
Outcome
No.
Date
Location
Surface
Partner
Opponents
Score
Runner-up
1.
July 17, 1994
Olsztyn, Poland
Clay
Henrieta Nagyová
Marielle Bruens Amanda Hopmans
4–6, 7–5, 5–7
Winner
2.
August 22, 1994
Nicolosi, Italy
Hard
Loretta Sheales
Natalie Frawley Jenny Anne Fetch
6–1, 7–5
Winner
3.
January 30, 1995
İstanbul, Turkey
Hard
Christina Zachariadou
Dora Djilianova Desislava Topalova
6–3, 7–5
Runner-up
4.
April 3, 1995
Athens, Greece
Clay
Christina Zachariadou
Denisa Chládková Patrícia Marková
2–6, 5–7
Winner
5.
May 22, 1995
Salzburg, Austria
Clay
Aarthi Venkatesan
Tjaša Jezernik Marina Lazarovska
w/o
Winner
6.
August 14, 1995
Carthage, Tunisia
Clay
Christina Zachariadou
Denisa Chládková Daphne van de Zande
6–4, 7–6(7)
Winner
7.
August 27, 1995
Sochi, Russia
Hard
Elena Tatarkova
Natalia Egorova Petra Thorén
6–3, 7–5
Runner-up
8.
August 28, 1995
Athens, Greece
Clay
Christina Zachariadou
Magdalena Grzybowska Henrieta Nagyová
w/o
Winner
9.
December 4, 1995
Cergy, France
Hard (i)
Angela Lettiere
Dally Randriantefy Natacha Randriantefy
6–3, 7–5
Winner
10.
January 27, 1996
Mission, United States
Hard
Angela Lettiere
Shannan McCarthy Julie Steven
7–6(7) , 6–2
Winner
11.
February 17, 1996
Midland, United States
Hard (i)
Angela Lettiere
Katrina Adams Debbie Graham
7–6(4) , 7–6(6)
Runner-up
12.
May 19, 1996
Athens, Greece
Clay
Angela Lettiere
Liezel Horn Christína Papadáki
5–7, 2–6
Winner
13.
October 12, 1997
Sedona, United States
Hard
Cătălina Cristea
Liezel Horn Paola Suárez
7–5, 6–2
Key
W
F
SF
QF
#R
RR
Q#
DNQ
A
NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Awards
The Corina Comeback Award (established by the WTA and named after her; she was the first recipient)[ 5]
The 2002 WTA Tour Comeback Player of the Year Award[ 5]
References
^ Roberts, John (December 19, 2003). "Morariu returns after leukaemia battle" . The Independent . Retrieved February 17, 2021 .
^ a b DeSimone, Bonnie (March 26, 2007). "Corina Morariu happy to be on tour" . ESPN . Retrieved March 19, 2012 .
^ Banerjee, Sudeshna (July 28, 2009). "Corina Morariu: The Braveheart Who Defied Death" . Bleacherreport.com . Retrieved April 21, 2012 .
^ DeSimone, Bonnie (May 26, 2002). "She won't stay down for long" . Chicago Tribune . Retrieved March 19, 2012 .
^ a b c d "WTA Profile" . wtatennis.com . Archived from the original on April 13, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2012 .
^ Thurmond, Sarah (February 12, 2010). "Q&A With Corina Morariu, Cancer Survivor and Former Pro" . tennis.com . Retrieved March 19, 2012 .
Publications
Morariu, Corina (2010). Living through the Racket: How I Survived Leukemia…and Rediscovered My Self . Hay House Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4019-2649-6 .
External links
WTA rankings incepted on 4 September 1984
(year first held/year last held – number of weeks (w))
current No. 1 in bold, as of week of 15 July 2024[update]