Quick Facts
LeoBiography
Julia Sergeyevna Apostoli (née Salnikova; Russian: Юлия Сергеевна Апостоли, Greek: Τζούλια Σεργκέιεβνα Αποστόλη; born 13 August 1964) is a Russian-born Greek former professional tennis player who represented the Soviet Union and (from 1990 onwards) Greece.
Early life
Apostoli was born in Moscow, the daughter of Russian football player and manager Sergei Salnikov, who was half Greek and half Russian. Her father was a member of the Soviet association football national team which won the gold medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics, and at club level both played and managed FC Spartak Moscow. Her father died when she was 18 years old. She has a twin sister.
She originally was supposed to be a diver, having taken lessons at Dynamo Moscow, but later switched sports to tennis.
Career
She debuted for the Soviet Union Fed Cup team in the 1980 quarterfinal loss to the United States, featuring in the doubles with Olga Zaitseva, a dead rubber which they lost to the Americans. Over the next two years she competed in all ties for the Soviet Union. In 1981 she played the opening rubber in each tie and won them all, over Denmark's Tine Scheuer-Larsen, Czechoslovakia's Renáta Tomanová and Britain's Virginia Wade, the latter in the Soviet Union's quarter-final loss. She extended her singles record to five wins from five matches in 1982 when she beat her Spanish and Peruvian opponents, also appearing in a live doubles rubber to win the second round tie against Peru. In the 1982 quarter-final she suffered her only singles loss, to Dianne Fromholtz, as the Soviet Union went down to Australia.
At the Friendship Games in 1984, Apostoli won a gold medal in women's doubles, as well as a bronze in the singles.
She rarely featured in international tennis for the remainder of the 1980s in order to concentrate on her studies, graduating with a journalism degree from Moscow State University in 1990.
Apostoli returned to tennis in 1990 under the flag of Greece, having taken up citizenship through her marriage to Greek tennis coach Apostolos Tsitsipas. She played on the WTA Tour until 1992.
Personal life
Her eldest son, Stefanos Tsitsipas, competes on the professional ATP tour. Apostoli has four children with her husband, and all of them are tennis players. She lives in Monaco when not traveling. She is also officially listed as a coach of her younger son Petros Tsitsipas on his ATP profile.
ITF finals
Singles: 4 (3–1)
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1. | 12 March 1990 | Reims, France | Clay | Marie-Pierre Villani | 7–5, 4–6, 6–0 |
| Loss | 2. | 14 May 1990 | Marsa, Malta | Clay | Nadin Ercegović | 3–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 3. | 6 August 1990 | Paderborn, West Germany | Clay | Heike Thoms | 6–1, 6–0 |
| Win | 4. | 4 April 1994 | Athens, Greece | Clay | Irina Zvereva | 6–0, 6–3 |
Doubles: 4 (1–3)
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1. | 21 August 1989 | Neumünster, West Germany | Clay | Agnese Blumberga | Catarina Bernstein Annika Narbe | 6–1, 6–2 |
| Loss | 2. | 12 March 1990 | Reims, France | Clay | Kaye Hand | Leona Lásková Michaela Peterová | 2–6, 6–3, 3–6 |
| Loss | 3. | 6 August 1990 | Paderborn, West Germany | Clay | Anna Mirza | Heike Thoms Tanja Hauschildt | 3–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 4. | 8 May 1995 | Le Touquet, France | Clay | Sylvie Sabas | Amélie Mauresmo Amanda Wainwright | 4–6, 2–6 |
Other finals
Singles (0-1)
| Result | No. | Year | Tournament | Location | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1. | 1985 | USSR Tennis National Championship | Tbilisi, Georgian SSR | Svetlana Parkhomenko | 7–6, 4–6, 2–6 |
Doubles (0-2)
| Result | No. | Year | Tournament | Location | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1. | 1983 | USSR Tennis National Championship | Jūrmala, Latvian SSR | Natasha Reva | Svetlana Parkhomenko Larisa Savchenko | 2–6, 0–6 |
| Loss | 2. | 1984 | USSR Tennis National Championship | Tashkent, Uzbek SSR | Elena Eliseenko | Svetlana Parkhomenko Larisa Savchenko | 1–6, 2–6 |
Mixed (2-1)
| Result | No. | Year | Tournament | Location | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1. | 1982 | USSR Tennis National Championship | Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR | Aleksandr Bogomolov | Natasha Chmyreva Sergey Leonyuk | 0–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 2. | 1984 | USSR Tennis National Championship | Tashkent, Uzbek SSR | Ģirts Dzelde | Larisa Savchenko Alvis Zilgalvis | 7–5, 6–2 |
| Win | 3. | 1985 | USSR Tennis National Championship | Tbilisi, Georgian SSR | Ģirts Dzelde | Elena Eliseenko Sergey Leonyuk | 7–6, 7–5 |