Quick Facts
LeoBiography
Iva Majoli Marić (Iva Majoli) (born 12 August 1977) is a former professional tennis player from Croatia. She upset Martina Hingis to win the women's singles title at the French Open in 1997. Majoli also won seven other singles titles and one doubles title during her career. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4 in February 1996.
Career
Majoli was born in Zagreb in SR Croatia, Yugoslavia and turned professional in 1991 at the age of 14. Aged 19, she won the 1997 French Open singles title, defeating Sandra Kleinová, Alexandra Fusai, Ann Grossman, Lindsay Davenport, Ruxandra Dragomir and Amanda Coetzer before beating the 16-year-old Martina Hingis in straight sets 6–4, 6–2. Majoli played aggressively from the baseline to ended Hingis's 37-match winning streak and hand her opponent her first defeat in a final of a Grand Slam.
Majoli played her best tennis as a teenager, reaching her career high ranking of World No. 4 in 1996.After a quarter-final appearance at the 1998 French Open, she failed to reach the fourth round of any subsequent Grand Slam singles tournament. In 2002, ranked World No. 58, Majoli defeated Patty Schnyder, in the final of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina. The victory increased Majoli's ranking to World No. 33, but her game steadily declined thereafter, with her ranking plummeting to World No. 131 in 2003. In the final years of her tennis career, Majoli suffered from a series of injuries – most notably a shoulder injury – and struggled to play consistently. Her jet-setting lifestyle, well documented by the press, may have contributed and on June 12, 2004, she announced her retirement from the game.
In 2006, she announced that she was engaged and pregnant with her first child. She married a local businessman, Stipe Marić, on 9 September 2006, with Jennifer Capriati and Mary Pierce attending the wedding. She gave birth to her daughter Mia on 31 October 2006.
In 2007, Majoli participated in the second season of the Croatian version of Dancing with the Stars. Her partner was Marko Herceg. She was eliminated in the fourth episode.
In 2012, she was selected to be the non-playing captain of the Croatian Fed Cup team.
Majoli made a comeback in professional tennis at the 2015 Kremlin Cup, where she received a wildcard with Anastasia Bukhanko in the doubles.
Significant finals
Grand Slam finals
Singles: 1 (1 title)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1997 | French Open | Clay | Martina Hingis | 6–4, 6–2 |
Tier I finals
Singles: 3 (3 titles)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1995 | Zurich Open | Carpet (i) | Mary Pierce | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Winner | 1996 | Pan Pacific Open | Carpet (i) | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | 6–4, 6–1 |
| Winner | 2002 | Charleston Open | Clay | Patty Schnyder | 7–6, 6–4 |
WTA Tour finals
Singles: 17 (8–9)
| Titles by surface |
|---|
| Winner — Legend |
| Grand Slam tournaments (1–0) |
| WTA Tour Championships (0–0) |
| Tier I (3–0) |
| Tier II (4–5) |
| Tier III, IV & V / International (0–4) |
| Titles by surface |
| Hard (1–1) |
| Grass (0–0) |
| Clay (3–3) |
| Carpet (4–5) |
| Grand Slam tournaments (1–0) |
| WTA Tour Championships (0–0) |
| Tier I (3–0) |
| Tier II (4–5) |
| Tier III, IV & V / International (0–4) |
| Hard (1–1) |
| Grass (0–0) |
| Clay (3–3) |
| Carpet (4–5) |
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 7 February 1994 | Osaka | Carpet (i) | Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere | 1–6, 6–4, 5–7 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 18 April 1994 | Barcelona | Clay | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | 0–6, 2–6 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 24 October 1994 | Essen | Carpet (i) | Jana Novotná | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 4. | 24 April 1995 | Barcelona | Clay | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | 7–5, 0–6, 2–6 |
| Winner | 1. | 2 October 1995 | Zürich | Carpet (i) | Mary Pierce | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Winner | 2. | 9 October 1995 | Filderstadt | Hard (I) | Gabriela Sabatini | 6–4, 7–6 |
| Winner | 3. | 29 January 1996 | Tokyo | Carpet (i) | Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | 6–4, 6–1 |
| Runner-up | 5. | 12 February 1996 | Paris | Carpet (i) | Julie Halard-Decugis | 5–7, 6–7 |
| Winner | 4. | 19 February 1996 | Essen | Carpet (i) | Jana Novotná | 7–5, 1–6, 7–6 |
| Runner-up | 6. | 30 September 1996 | Leipzig | Carpet (i) | Anke Huber | 7–5, 3–6, 1–6 |
| Winner | 5. | 17 February 1997 | Hanover | Carpet (i) | Jana Novotná | 4–6, 7–6, 6–4 |
| Winner | 6. | 28 April 1997 | Hamburg | Clay | Ruxandra Dragomir | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Winner | 7. | 26 May 1997 | French Open | Clay | Martina Hingis | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Runner-up | 7. | 6 November 2000 | Kuala Lumpur | Hard | Henrieta Nagyová | 4–6, 2–6 |
| Runner-up | 8. | 17 September 2001 | Quebec City | Carpet (i) | Meghann Shaughnessy | 1–6, 3–6 |
| Winner | 8. | 15 April 2002 | Charleston | Clay | Patty Schnyder | 7–6, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 9. | 29 April 2002 | Bol | Clay | Åsa Svensson | 3–6, 6–4, 1–6 |
Doubles: 5 (1–4)
| Titles by surface |
|---|
| Winner — Legend |
| Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) |
| WTA Tour Championships (0–0) |
| Tier I (0–1) |
| Tier II (1–2) |
| Tier III, IV & V / International (0–1) |
| Titles by surface |
| Hard (0–1) |
| Grass (0–0) |
| Clay (0–2) |
| Carpet (1–1) |
| Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) |
| WTA Tour Championships (0–0) |
| Tier I (0–1) |
| Tier II (1–2) |
| Tier III, IV & V / International (0–1) |
| Hard (0–1) |
| Grass (0–0) |
| Clay (0–2) |
| Carpet (1–1) |
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1 | 20 February 1995 | Linz | Carpet (i) | Petra Schwarz | Meredith McGrath Nathalie Tauziat | 1–6, 2–6 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 24 April 1995 | Barcelona | Clay | Mariaan de Swardt | Larisa Neiland Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | 5–7, 6–4, 5–7 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 14 August 1995 | Toronto | Hard | Martina Hingis | Gabriela Sabatini Brenda Schultz-McCarthy | 6–4, 0–6, 3–6 |
| Runner-up | 4. | 28 April 1997 | Hamburg | Clay | Ruxandra Dragomir | Anke Huber Mary Pierce | 6–4, 6–7, 2–6 |
| Winner | 1. | 5 February 2001 | Paris | Carpet (i) | Virginie Razzano | Kimberly Po Nathalie Tauziat | 6–3, 7–5 |
Grand Slam singles performance timeline
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | A | NH |
| Tournament | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | Career SR | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | A | A | QF | 1R | 3R | A | A | 3R | 2R | 1R | A | 0 / 6 | 9–6 |
| French Open | A | 4R | 4R | QF | QF | W | QF | A | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | A | 1 / 10 | 28–9 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | 1R | 1R | A | QF | 2R | A | A | 1R | 3R | 1R | A | 0 / 7 | 7–7 |
| US Open | 2R | 2R | 4R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | A | 3R | 3R | 1R | A | 0 / 11 | 11–11 |
| Win–Loss | 1–1 | 4–2 | 6–3 | 4–3 | 8–3 | 12–3 | 8–4 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–4 | 6–4 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 1 / 34 | 55–33 |
| Year End Ranking | 50 | 46 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 25 | 163 | 73 | 42 | 32 | 131 | 315 |