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Kimiko Date-Krumm (クルム伊達 公子, Kurumu-Date Kimiko, née Date; born 28 September 1970) is a Japanese professional tennis player. She reached the semifinals of the 1994 Australian Open, the 1995 French Open and the 1996 Wimbledon Championships, and has won the Japan Open four times. In 1994, she was ranked in the top-ten women players in the world and reached a career-high World No. 4. In 1992, the WTA awarded her the "Most Improved Player of the Year". After playing in her second Olympic Games, she announced her retirement on 24 September 1996.
She returned to tennis nearly 12 years later, announcing an unexpected comeback in April 2008. She has since won several ITF titles. She won her eighth WTA Tour title at the 2009 Hansol Korea Open in Seoul, becoming the second-oldest player in the Open era, after Billie Jean King, to win a singles title on the WTA Tour. In 2013 she won three WTA International events in doubles and reached the third round at two of the four Grand Slam singles tournaments. At the 2014 US Open, she reached the semi-finals of a Grand Slam doubles tournament for the first time in her career.
Professional career
In her debut year, 1988, Date played mainly on the ITF Circuit. She started playing at the WTA level in 1989. She began 1990 by reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open, where she was defeated in straight sets by fourth seed Helena Suková. The following year, she was runner-up of Virginia Slims Of Los Angeles Tournament, defeating Sabatini, but losing to Monica Seles in the finals.
In 1992, Date defeated Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in the Toray Pan-Pacific Open and reached the semi-finals. That year she also won the Japan Open, reached the semi-finals in the Mizuno World Ladies Open, and the quarter-finals in the Lipton Championship and the Grand Slam, Roland Garros. She also participated in the Barcelona Olympics. She also had her best Grand Slam doubles result, reaching the QF of the Australian Open doubles championships, partnering Australian Michelle Jaggard-Lai.
In 1993, Date again won the Japan Open. She was runner-up in the Asia Women's Open and the Nichiray Ladies Cup. She reached the semi-finals in the Lipton Championships defeating Mary Joe Fernández. In the US Open, she reached the quarter-finals beating Jana Novotná in the fourth round.
In 1994, Date won her third consecutive Japan Open. She won the gold medal in Hiroshima Asia competition. She reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open (first time from Japan in over two decades beating Conchita Martínez in the quarter final, lost to Steffi Graf) and the Virginia Slims Championships (lost to Sabatini).
In 1995, Date won the Toray PPO, and was runner-up in the Lipton Championships and the Japan Open. In the semifinals of the Lipton Championships in Key Biscayne, Kimiko staged a dramatic comeback against Sabatini after Sabatini took a 6–1, 5–1 lead. Bothered by a sore shoulder, Kimiko saved 3 match points, beating Sabatini 1–6, 7–6(7–2), 7–6(7–4). Date's next opponent in the final was defending champion Steffi Graf, whom she had yet to beat in four previous meetings. Steffi prevailed 6–1, 6–4, ending Kimiko's remarkable run at the title. She reached the semi-finals in Roland Garros (lost to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario), and the quarter-finals at Wimbledon (lost to Jana Novotná). Date also reached her career high of World Number 4 in 1995.
In 1996, Date reached her 200th win in tournament play. She also won both singles and doubles in the Japan Open. In the Fed Cup, she defeated Graf for the first time in an epic encounter, winning 12–10 in the 3rd set. Date reached the semi-final at Wimbledon after beating Mary Pierce in the quarter-final then battling Graf over two days in the semi-final. Trailing 0–5 in the first set, she stormed back in the second set. Although the chair umpire initially refused to call off the match due to darkness despite Graf's plea, he changed his mind and postponed the final set until the next day. Steffi Graf swiftly won that and her seventh title there. Kimiko Date also won a major tournament in San Diego and reached the quarter-finals in the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. Her last match was at the 2nd round of 1996 WTA Tour Championships; she lost to Martina Hingis 1–6, 2–6.
Date made a brief comeback on 16 September 2002 when she received a wildcard to play in the doubles event of the Japan Open Tennis Championships held in Tokyo. She paired up with compatriot Miho Saeki and faced Cara Black and Elena Likhovtseva in the first round, but the team was forced to retire after losing the first set 3–6 due to Date suffering a left achilles tendon injury.
Comeback
2008
On 6 April 2008, nearly 12 years after retiring, Date announced she would return to the women's professional tour at the age of 37.
Date qualified for the 50k ITF Kangaroo Cup in Gifu, Japan. In the first round, she played compatriot and World Number 183 Rika Fujiwara. In only her 4th match on the tour for 11 years, Date won 2–6, 6–4, 6–4. At the quarter-final stage, Date came up against World Number 80 and fellow Japanese Aiko Nakamura, whom she beat 7–6, 4–6, 6–3. This marked her first Top 100 win of her comeback. In her semi-final match, she defeated Number 3 seed Melanie South 7–6, 6–3. However, in the final, she was defeated by Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand in three sets, 6–4, 5–7, 2–6. She won the doubles title at that tournament with teenage and fellow Japanese partner Kurumi Nara, defeating Melanie South and Nicole Thijssen in a match tie-breaker, 6–1 6–7, [10–7].
Date's next event was another 50k ITF event in Fukuoka, Japan. She defeated both Nicole Kriz and Rika Fujiwara to reach the quarter finals where she lost to Aiko Nakamura in straight sets, 6–2 6–2. She then defeated Shiho Hisamatsu and Zhou Yimiao to reach the quarter-final where she lost to Tomoko Yonemura in straight sets, 6–2 6–2, in another tournament in Japan, a 50k event in Kurume. On 15 June 2008, she defeated Shiho Akita 6–3, 6–2 to win the Tokyo Ariake International Ladies Open for her first post-comeback championship. Her second post-comeback championship came over a month after, as on 20 July, she won a 25k ITF event in Miyazaki, Japan, defeating Chae Kyung-yee in the final, 6–3 6–2. On 3 August she won the 25k ITF event in Obihiro, Japan. In the final she beat Suchanun Viratprasert 6–3, 7–6.
Date made her WTA Tour comeback at the Tier I event in Tokyo, Japan, where she has been awarded a wildcard into the qualifying tournament. She won through to the final round of qualifying after defeating Mari Tanaka of Japan and Australian Casey Dellacqua (the 5th seed in the qualifying competition). Both of these victories came in tight three-set matches. She lost in the final round to Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada in straight sets, 6–1 6–1. Along with fellow Japanese Fujiwara, Date, also competed in Doubles, as WC entrant. However, they lost in 3 tight sets 6–3, 3–6, 10–8 tiebreak in the 1st round. Date was in the main draw for the AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships but lost in the first round to Shahar Pe'er.
In October, Date played her first tournament out of Japan since November 1996: she had a quarterfinal showing at the OEC Taipei Ladies Open.
In November, Date competed at the All-Japan Tennis Championship, her first appearance there in 16 years. Date won both the Singles and Doubles titles.
2009
Date received a wild card entrant to the main draw of the 2009 ASB Classic in Auckland, where she was overpowered by Jill Craybas in the first round. Later in January, Date qualified for the Australian Open and met Kaia Kanepi in the first round, where she lost a close match, battling a tough three-setter before losing 4–6, 6–4, 6–8.
Date then played in the main draw of the international event in Pattaya City, Thailand. In the first round, she was defeated by the 8th-seeded Slovak Magdaléna Rybáriková in three sets, 2–6 6–4 4–6. She then reached the quarter-finals of an ITF event in Clearwater, Florida, beating Lauren Embree of the USA and fellow Japanese player Aiko Nakamura before losing to third-seeded Slovak Jarmila Groth in three sets, 6–3 5–7 5–7. She then played at a $25,000 ITF event in Hammond, Louisiana where she breezed past qualifier Heidi El Tabakh 6–2 6–0. She then beat American Lauren Albanese in the round of 16 for a place in the quarter-finals where she lost to qualifier Lindsay Lee-Waters in three sets. Date moved onto the $75,000 ITF in Monzón Spain, her first European event since July 1996. Seeded sixth, victories over Spaniard Eva Fernandez-Bruges and Croat Ana Vrljić took her to the quarter finals. In the quarter finals she beat British top seed Elena Baltacha 5–7, 6–4, 7–6 she followed that win by beating Arantxa Parra Santonja 6–4 7–5 to reach the final. In the final Date earned a 7–5, 6–2 victory over Romanian qualifier Alexandra Dulgheru to claim the biggest title of her comeback that far.
Date was awarded a wildcard entry to the 2009 Wimbledon Championships. This was her first competition at Wimbledon in 13 years. In the first round she lost to 9th seed Caroline Wozniacki 7–5, 3–6, 1–6 with her performance in the second and third sets diminished due to an injury.
In the 2009 Guangzhou International Women's Open, Date, partnering Sun Tiantian, reached her first WTA tour final since she has come back to the WTA tour, but lost after a tight match 6–3, 2–6, 8–10.
At the 2009 Hansol Korea Open in Seoul, Date won her first WTA Tour level match after the return, against Lee Ye-Ra, and came up with a second victory right after over Alisa Kleybanova, coming back from a set and 5–2 down. In the quarterfinals Kimiko defeated top seed Daniela Hantuchová in three sets lasting over two and a half hours. Date-Krumm prevailed with the score 7–6, 4–6, 6–4. In the semifinals she defeated defending champion Maria Kirilenko 3–6, 6–2, 6–4. In the final, which was held one day before her 39th birthday, Date-Krumm defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues 6–3, 6–3 to win her first WTA Tour title since her comeback. Thus, she became the second-oldest player in the Open era to win a singles title on the WTA Tour, after Billie Jean King, who won Birmingham in 1983, aged 39 years, 7 months and 23 days.
Date-Krumm then received a wildcard to play at the inaugural 2009 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, a year-end championships, held in Bali, Indonesia. She was in Group C, along with Yanina Wickmayer and Anabel Medina Garrigues. She lost her first match against Wickmayer by a close 6–7, 2–6, but she won her second match against Medina Garrigues 6–4, 6–3. Due to Wickmayer's ban from the sport for one year, Date-Krumm made the semifinals but lost to top seed Marion Bartoli.
2010
Date-Krumm started 2010 with participation at the 2010 ASB Classic, in Auckland where she received a wildcard to enter the maindraw. She beat former world number five Anna Chakvetadze in the first round by 6–1, 6–2, and then recovered from a set down to beat 5th seed Virginie Razzano 3–6, 6–3, 6–2 for her first win over a top twenty opponent since her comeback. In the quarter finals Date-Krumm was beaten 6–2, 6–2 by the 3rd seed and eventual champion Yanina Wickmayer. Date-Krumm then qualified for 2010 Medibank International Sydney, a premier tournament. In the opening round she defeated Nadia Petrova 6–3, 5–7, 6–4 for her second top twenty victory of 2010. In the second round Date-Krumm came close to claiming her first top ten win since 1996 when she pushed world number seven Victoria Azarenka 1–6, 7–5, 5–7 having at one stage trailed 1–6, 2–4. Date-Krumm competed at the Australian Open in Melbourne, the first time since her comeback that she has had direct acceptance into a Grand Slam main draw. In the first round she fell to Yaroslava Shvedova in straight sets.
In February, Date-Krumm played for Japan's Fed Cup Team for the first time since 1996. By winning all of her four matches, she was instrumental in securing her team's advance to the World Group II play-offs. At the PTT Pattaya Open in Pattaya City, Thailand, Date-Krumm was seeded 7th but fell to Anastasia Rodionova in the first round.
Date-Krumm defeated Melinda Czink in the first round of the 2010 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells before falling to No. 15 seed Francesca Schiavone 6–3, 6–4 in the second. Date-Krumm also made it to the second round of the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami by defeating former top 10 player Anna Chakvetadze 7–5, 3–6, 6–4. Date-Krumm then lost to No. 16 seed Nadia Petrova 6–3, 7–6.
Date-Krumm began her clay court season at the 2010 Estoril Open in Portugal. In the first round, she outlasted 19-year-old Petra Martić, defeating her in 3 hours and 12 minutes 6–7, 7–5, 7–6. Date-Krumm played Anastasija Sevastova (who ousted top seed Ágnes Szávay in the first round) in the second round, but retired due to a recurring calf injury.
At the second Grand Slam tournament of the year, the 2010 French Open, Date-Krumm defeated No.9 seed and former world number 1, 2009 runner-up Dinara Safina in the first round 3–6, 6–4, 7–5, despite being 2–4 down in the second set and two breaks down at 1–4 in the third, plus having an apparent calf injury. This was her first win in a grandslam's main draw since 1997 and at 39y/7m/26d, she became the oldest player ever to beat a Top 10 player (previous-oldest was Billie Jean King at 39y/6m/29d). She was defeated by wildcard Jarmila Groth 6–0, 6–3 in the second round. In Stanford, Date-Krumm again defeated Safina, 4–6, 7–6, 6–2 in the first round, after trailing by a set and 2–0. Following the conclusion of the US Open Series, Date-Krumm, ranked number 50, became the oldest top-50 player since Billie Jean King in 1984.
At the US Open, Date-Krumm received direct entry into the main draw but lost to two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round 2–6, 6–4, 1–6. She then traveled to Seoul to defend her title at the 2010 Hansol Korea Open but lost in the quarterfinals to Ágnes Szávay. One week later, she accepted wild card entry at the 2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. She beat the defending champion and former world no.1, Maria Sharapova, in the first round 7–5, 3–6, 6–3. She then faced Daniela Hantuchová in the second round and won 2–6, 6–0, 4–0 after Hantuchová retired. This was on her 40th birthday. She then lost to French Open champion Francesca Schiavone in the third round 6–3, 6–3. Later on that same week, she went to China to participate at the China Open. She beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 6–0, 6–4 in the first round, but lost to Elena Dementieva 6–3, 1–6, 6–3 in the second round. Kimiko then returned home to compete at the 2010 HP Open in Osaka, Japan. Seeded 6th she defeated teenage qualifier Laura Robson in the first round 6–3, 6–3 and compatriot Aiko Nakamura 6–2, 6–0. In the quarterfinals she upset top seed and World No.8 Samantha Stosur 5–7, 6–3, 7–6 (becoming the first 40-something player to win a match against a Top 10 player) to book a semifinal encounter with 3rd seed Shahar Pe'er. She beat Shahar Pe'er 3–6, 7–6, 7–5 but lost the final match to unseeded Tamarine Tanasugarn 7–5, 6–7, 6–1. With that reaching of the final in Osaka, she once again entered the Top 50 WTA Rankings at #48. Also, this final in Osaka had the oldest combined age of WTA tournament finalists at 73 (Date-Krumm 40, Tanasugarn 33).
Date-Krumm then received a wild card to enter the 2010 Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions in Bali, Indonesia for the second time in a row. Despite at one point having her serve broken seven consecutive times, she defeated first seeded, Li Na in the quarterfinals by 6–4, 3–6, 6–4 after being down 1–3 in the third set. She lost to Ana Ivanovic in the semifinals 7–5, 6–7, 6–2, but won the third place match against Daniela Hantuchová by the scoreline of 7–5, 7–5. With that performance in Bali, she is once again in the Top 50 of the WTA rankings, moving up to #46, but falling back to finish the year at #51.
Date-Krumm's last activity of 2010 was participation in the 2010 Asian Games, where she won a bronze medal in singles and with Japan in the team competition.
2011
Date-Krumm's first two tournaments of 2011 were in the 2011 ASB Classic and 2011 Moorilla Hobart International. She would go on to lose in both first rounds to Kateryna Bondarenko 6–4, 6–3 then Angelique Kerber 7–5, 7–6 the following week. Date-Krumm's next tournament was the 2011 Australian Open where she lost a close encounter 4–6, 6–4, 5–7 to 12th seed Agnieszka Radwańska in the first round . Date-Krumm held a 4–1 lead in the final set when her opponent called a medical time out. When play resumed, she suffered from cramps and found it hard to move losing six of the final seven games after the rhythm of the match had been interrupted as she stated in her post match interview . Date-Krumm earned her first victory of the 2011 season at the 2011 PTT Pattaya Open, defeating Renata Voráčová 6–2, 6–2. At the 2011 BNP Paribas Open Date-Krumm gained direct entry into the tournament. In the first round she defeated Yaroslava Shvedova, in straight sets, but lost to Ana Ivanovic in the second round. She then also reached the second round of 2011 Sony Ericsson Open but again lost to Ivanovic in straight sets.
Date-Krumm then suffered four consecutive losses in her clay court campaign, in Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, and Strasbourg. In the French Open she lost in straight sets in the first round to world no.1 Caroline Wozniacki. She started out the grass season with a surprise doubles championship with Zhang Shuai in the Nottingham ITF tournament. But her singles losing streak continued, as she lost in the first round of Birmingham to eventual champion Sabine Lisicki. The week after, she ended her seven consecutive losses in 's-Hertogenbosch where she defeated sixth-seeded Maria Kirilenko 7–6, 6–2 in the first round and Lourdes Domínguez Lino 7–6, 6–0 in the second round. In her first quarterfinals appearance in 2011, she lost to Romina Oprandi 6–7, 4–6.
Date-Krumm then appeared at Wimbledon, where she defeated British wildcard Katie O'Brien, 6–0, 7–5. This win also marked her first main draw victory at Wimbledon in fifteen years. In the second round, after winning the opening set, Date-Krumm lost a close-fought match on Centre Court to former world number one and 23rd seed Venus Williams 7–6, 3–6, 6–8 in a match lasting 2 hours, 56 minutes. With her partner Zhang Shuai, Date-Krumm advanced to the third round of the Ladies Doubles at Wimbledon for the first time in her career.
After qualifying for the 2011 Western & Southern Open, Date-Krumm had an accident falling in the bathtub and injuring her left hand, forcing her out of competition for four to six weeks, requiring her to pull out of the tournament and not playing competitively until losing in the first round of the 2011 U.S. Open to Sílvia Soler Espinosa 7–6, 7–6.
At the HP Open, Date-Krumm again teamed with Zhang Shuai and defeated Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova 7–5, 3–6, [11–9] in the doubles final to win her first WTA level doubles title since 1996. Date-Krumm then flew to Europe to participate at the BGL Luxembourg Open but lost in the first round. At this point, her ranking fell to world no. 144.
Post to her loss in Luxembourg, Date-Krumm had good runs participating at three higher-tier tournaments in the ITF Circuit. She came in victorious in Poitiers and placed runner-up in both Taipei and Toyota. Her good runs in the ITF Circuit brought her ranking back to within the top 100. Date-Krumm finished 2011 ranked 87th in the world, her third successive top 100 finish since her 2008 comeback.
2012
Date-Krumm started her year participating at an ITF 50,000+H event in Quanzhou, China as the first seed in both singles and doubles. She came in victorious in singles, winning the title by beating Tímea Babos 6–3, 6–3 in the final; and finished as the runner up in doubles, partnering with Zhang Shuai, to Chan Hao-ching and Rika Fujiwara 6–4, 4–6, [7–10].
At the 2012 Australian Open Date-Krumm lost in the first round to Eleni Daniilidou 3–6, 2–6 in singles, and with Zhang Shuai, lost in the first round in doubles to 14th seeds Hsieh Su-wei and Galina Voskoboeva 2–6, 1–6. However, she and Kei Nishikori received a wild-card entry into the mixed doubles draw and, in her first ever Grand Slam mixed doubles match, defeated the team of Gisela Dulko and Eduardo Schwank 6–4, 6–1 to advance to the Round of 16.
Then, Date-Krumm earned her first WTA main draw victory of the season in Pattaya by reaching the second-round where she lost to Hsieh Su-wei. She lost in the first round of Monterrey and reached the second round of Indian Wells where she lost to Vera Zvonareva. In the first round of Miami, she faced former world no.1 Venus Williams for the second time. She lost 0–6, 3–6. After consecutive losses in Charleston and Copenhagen, she played at an ITF 50,000 event in Gifu, Japan as the first seed. She eventually won the title after defeating Noppawan Lertcheewakarn 6–1, 5–7, 6–3 in the final. She then lost first round 7–6(6), 3–2 at ITF Cagnes-Sur-Mer when she had to retire against Anastasiya Yakimova. Following this, she made the quarter finals of ITF Prague losing to number 2 seed Klára Zakopalová 2–6,6–0,6–4. Date-Krumm then lost in the first found of 10 consecutive tournaments all of which were WTA or Grand-Slam events except for ITF Nottingham. Nevertheless, she finished the year strong. She made the quarter finals of ITF Limoges losing to Stefanie Vögele 2–6,6–4,6–4. She then lost narrowly (as defending champion) in the first round of ITF Poitiers 3–6, 7–6(4),6–4 to Elena Vesnina. She then made the quarterfinals of WTA Taipei losing to Kristina Mladenovic 6–3,6–0. From here, Date-Krumm caught fire making the finals of each of her next 3 tournaments. She lost to Elina Svitolina at the WTA Pune final 6–2,6–3; and to Stefanie Vögele 7–6(3), 6–4 at the ITF Toyota final. She then won ITF Al Habtoor (Dubai) beating Yulia Putintseva 6–1,3–6,6–4. This was her last tournament of the year. She ended the calendar year ranked 99 on 31 December 2012 (not to be confused with the WTA's 'Year End Ranking' which is determined prior to this date), securing a berth in the upcoming 2013 Australian Open, and finishing in the top 100 for a 4th consecutive calendar year (and 10th overall).
2013
Date-Krumm started the year narrowly losing to Duan Yingying in the first round of WTA Shenzhen 7-6(5) 7-5 after going through qualifying. She then went through qualifying in Sydney and lost to Agnieszka Radwańska in the round of 16 6-4 6-3. At the 2013 Australian Open, Date-Krumm won a singles match in this tournament for the first time since 1996, defeating number 12 seed Nadia Petrova in straight sets, and becoming the oldest woman to ever win a main draw singles match in the Australian Open. She beat Shahar Pe'er in the second round, but then lost to Serbian Bojana Jovanovski. She went on to lose in the second round of Pattaya City to Ayumi Morita 4-6 6-4 6-1. After a string of losses in Fed Cup and Florianópolis she made the second round of Indian Wells pushing Elena Vesnina to 3 sets losing 3-6 7-5 6-1. She made the second round of Miami losing to Venus Williams 7-6(3) 3-6 6-4. She retired in her 1st and 2nd round matches at Monterrey and ITF Gifu.
Date-Krumm skipped most of the clay court season choosing only to participate in one warm-up tournament prior to the French Open. At Strasburg, she picked up a sixth WTA doubles title partnering with Chanelle Scheepers. She began the grass court season in Birmingham losing first round to Alla Kudrayavtseva 6-4 7-6(3). At Wimbledon, she impressed many by becoming the oldest female ever to reach the third round, losing to Serena Williams 6–2, 6–0.
She lost in the quarter finals of ITF Vancouver and in qualifying at Cincinnati. She lost first round at the U.S. Open to Paula Ormaechea 6-3, 7-6(7). She lost in the quarterfinals of Seoul to Francesca Schiavone 4-6 6-4 6-4 after beating 2nd seed (and then 19th ranked) Maria Kirilenko in the second round 6-3 6-1. Her WTA 'Year End Ranking' was 54th, but finished the calendar year ranked 75th due to losses in qualifying and early rounds of Tokyo, Beijing, Osaka, Nanjing, and Taipei near the end of the year. This was the fifth consecutive calendar year she finished in the top 100 (and 11th overall).
2014
In the round of 16 at Brisbane, Date-Krumm pushed Dominika Cibulková (who would become a 2014 Australian Open finalist) to 3 sets, losing 6-3 1-6 6-3. After qualifying and first round losses at Sydney and the Australian Open, she lost in the quarter finals of Pattaya City to Ekaterina Makarova in 3 sets. She lost in qualifying and early rounds of Acapulco, Indian Wells, and Miami. She made the semi finals of Monterrey losing to Jovana Jakšić 6-7(5) 6-4 6-4. She lost in early rounds of Kuala Lumpur, and Seoul. She then lost in the first round of the French Open to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3 0-6 6-2. She made the quarter finals of Birmingham losing to Casey Dellaqua 6-1 6-0. She lost first round of Wimbledon to eventual quarter finalist Ekaterina Makarova 3-6 6-4 7-5. She lost early in Stanford, Montréal, and Cincinnati. She lost in the first round of the U.S. Open to Venus Williams 2-6 6-3 6-3, but made the semi-finals of doubles with Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová. She retired from her second round match in Hong Kong losing to Francesca Schiavone. She then lost first round in Tokyo to Victoria Azarenka 3-6 6-0 6-2. In October she matched her career high doubles ranking of 33.
Playing style
Date-Krumm plays with short backswings on both forehand and backhand sides. Date-Krumm's playstyle is representative of those that dominated during her first career in the 1990s using less topspin in favour of a flatter shot. She is considered to possess the most notable 'pancake' forehand in the Women's game, with one of the lowest average spin RPM ever. She relies on her opponent's power to hit sharp angles and catch her opponents offguard.
Since her comeback, Date-Krumm plays best on grass, and her style is "all stealthy, neat athleticism."
Personal life
Date-Krumm was born in Kyoto, Japan. Her father is Juichi (died in 2007) and her mother is Masako. She has two siblings: Ryusuke and Junko. Date-Krumm first played tennis at the age of 6. She is left-handed, but was trained to play right-handed to follow Japanese custom. She was the tennis champion at Sonoda High School, where she graduated in 1989.
She married German motor racing driver Michael Krumm on 1 December 2001 at St. Mary's Cathedral, Tokyo. They currently reside in Tokyo.
They divorced on September 26th, 2016.
WTA career finals
Singles: 15 (8 titles, 7 runners-up)
| Winner – Legend |
|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) |
| WTA Tour Championships (0–0) |
| Tier I / Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (1–1) |
| Tier II / Premier (3–2) |
| Tier III, IV & V / International (4–4) |
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 12 August 1991 | LA Women's Tennis Championships, Manhattan Beach, USA | Hard |  Monica Seles | 3–6, 2–6 |
| Winner | 1. | 6 April 1992 | Japan Open Tennis Championships, Tokyo, Japan | Hard |  Sabine Appelmans | 7–5, 3–6, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 8 February 1993 | Asian Open, Osaka, Japan | Carpet (i) |  Jana Novotná | 3–6, 2–6 |
| Winner | 2. | 5 April 1993 | Japan Open Tennis Championships, Tokyo, Japan | Hard |  Stephanie Rottier | 6–1, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 20 September 1993 | Nichirei International Championships, Tokyo, Japan | Hard |  Amanda Coetzer | 3–6, 2–6 |
| Winner | 3. | 10 January 1994 | Medibank International Sydney, Sydney, Australia | Hard |  Mary Joe Fernández | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Winner | 4. | 4 April 1994 | Japan Open Tennis Championships, Tokyo, Japan | Hard | Amy Frazier | 7–5, 6–0 |
| Winner | 5. | 30 January 1995 | Toray Pan Pacific Open, Tokyo, Japan | Carpet (i) | Lindsay Davenport | 6–1, 6–2 |
| Runner-up | 4. | 25 March 1995 | Miami Masters, Key Biscayne, United States | Hard |  Steffi Graf | 1–6, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 5. | 10 April 1995 | Japan Open Tennis Championships, Tokyo, Japan | Hard | Amy Frazier | 6–7(5–7), 5–7 |
| Runner-up | 6. | 22 May 1995 | Internationaux de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France | Clay | Lindsay Davenport | 6–3, 1–6, 2–6 |
| Winner | 6. | 15 April 1996 | Japan Open Tennis Championships, Tokyo, Japan | Hard | Amy Frazier | 6–4, 7–5 |
| Winner | 7. | 19 August 1996 | San Diego Open, San Diego, United States | Hard |  Arantxa Sánchez Vicario | 3–6, 6–3, 6–0 |
| Winner | 8. | 27 September 2009 | Hansol Korea Open, Seoul, South Korea | Hard | Anabel Medina Garrigues | 6–3, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 7. | 17 October 2010 | HP Open, Osaka, Japan | Hard |  Tamarine Tanasugarn | 5–7, 7–6(7–4), 1–6 |
Doubles: 10 (6 titles, 4 runners-up)
| Winner – Legend |
|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) |
| WTA Tour Championships (0–0) |
| Tier I / Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (0–0) |
| Tier II / Premier (0–1) |
| Tier III, IV & V / International (6–3) |
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 6 April 1992 | Japan Open Tennis Championships, Tokyo, Japan | Hard | Stephanie Rehe | Amy Frazier Rika Hiraki | 7–5, 6–7(5–7), 0–6 |
| Winner | 1. | 21 April 1996 | Japan Open Tennis Championships, Tokyo, Japan | Hard | Ai Sugiyama | Amy Frazier Kimberly Po | 7–6(8–6), 6–7(6–8), 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 14 September 2009 | Guangzhou International Women's Open, Guangzhou, China | Hard |  Sun Tiantian |  Olga Govortsova Tatiana Poutchek | 6–3, 2–6, [8–10] |
| Winner | 2. | 16 October 2011 | HP Open, Osaka, Japan | Hard | Zhang Shuai | Vania King Yaroslava Shvedova | 7–5, 3–6, [11–9] |
| Runner-up | 3. | 26 February 2012 | Monterrey Open, Monterrey, Mexico | Hard | Zhang Shuai |  Sara Errani Roberta Vinci | 2–6, 6–7(6–8) |
| Winner | 3. | 15 April 2012 | E-Boks Open, Copenhagen, Denmark | Hard (i) | Rika Fujiwara |  Sofia Arvidsson Kaia Kanepi | 6–2, 4–6, [10–5] |
| Runner-up | 4. | 14 October 2012 | HP Open, Osaka, Japan | Hard |  Heather Watson | Raquel Kops-Jones Abigail Spears | 1–6, 4–6 |
| Winner | 4. | 3 February 2013 | PTT Pattaya Open, Pattaya City, Thailand | Hard |  Casey Dellacqua |  Akgul Amanmuradova Alexandra Panova | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Winner | 5. | 7 April 2013 | Monterrey Open, Monterrey, Mexico | Hard |  Tímea Babos | Eva Birnerová Tamarine Tanasugarn | 6–1, 6–4 |
| Winner | 6. | 25 May 2013 | Internationaux de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France | Clay (red) | Chanelle Scheepers |  Cara Black Marina Erakovic | 6–4, 3–6, [14–12] |
ITF Circuit finals
| Legend |
|---|
| WTA 125s tournaments |
| $100,000 tournaments |
| $75,000 tournaments |
| $50,000 tournaments |
| $25,000 tournaments |
| $10,000 tournaments |
Singles Finals: 20 (14–6)
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 7 November 1988 | Matsuyama, Japan | Hard | Maya Kidowaki | 6-3 6-4 |
| Winner | 2. | 14 November 1988 | Kyoto, Japan | Hard | Maya Kidowaki | 7-5 4-6 6-4 |
| Winner | 3. | 24 April 1989 | Sutton, United Kingdom | Clay | Samantha Smith | 6-2 6-1 |
| Winner | 4. | 8 May 1989 | Lee-on-the-Solent, United Kingdom | Clay | Andrea Noszaly | 6-4 6-0 |
| Winner | 5. | 15 May 1989 | London, United Kingdom | Clay | Caroline Vis | 6-3 6-0 |
| Runner-Up | 1. | 4 May 2008 | Gifu, Japan | Carpet | Tamarine Tanasugarn | 6–4, 5–7, 2–6 |
| Winner | 6. | 15 June 2008 | Tokyo, Japan | Hard | Shiho Akita | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Winner | 7. | 20 July 2008 | Miyazaki, Japan | Carpet |  Chae Kyung-yee | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Winner | 8. | 5 August 2008 | Obihiro, Japan | Carpet | Suchanun Viratprasert | 6–3, 7–6 (7–5) |
| Winner | 9. | 11 April 2009 | Monzon, Spain | Hard |  Alexandra Dulgheru | 7–5, 6–2 |
| Winner | 10. | 19 November 2009 | Toyota, Japan | Carpet |  Bojana Jovanovski | 7–5, 6–2 |
| Winner | 11. | 30 October 2011 | Poitiers, France | Hard (i) | Elena Baltacha | 7–6 (7–3) , 6–4 |
| Runner-Up | 2. | 6 November 2011 | Taipei, Chinese Taipei | Hard (i) | Ayumi Morita | 2–6, 2–6 |
| Runner-Up | 3. | 22 November 2011 | Toyota, Japan | Carpet (i) | Tamarine Tanasugarn | 2–6, 5–7 |
| Winner | 12. | 8 January 2012 | Quanzhou, China | Hard | Tímea Babos | 6–3, 6–3 |
| Winner | 13. | 6 May 2012 | Gifu, Japan | Hard | Noppawan Lertcheewakarn | 6–1 5–7 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 4. | 11 November 2012 | Pune, India | Hard |  Elina Svitolina | 2–6, 3–6 |
| Runner-Up | 5. | 25 November 2012 | Toyota, Japan | Carpet (i) |  Stefanie Vögele | 6–7 (3–7) , 4–6 |
| Winner | 14. | 1 December 2012 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Hard | Yulia Putintseva | 6–1, 3–6, 6–4 |
| Runner-Up | 6. | 16 November 2014 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Hard | Alexandra Dulgheru | 3–6, 4–6 |
Performance timelines
Singles
| W | F | SF | QF | R# | RR | Q# | A | P | Z# | PO | G | F-S | SF-B | NMS | NH |
| Tournament | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997–2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam events | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | LQ | 4R | 2R | 2R | 2R | SF | 3R | 2R | A | A | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | Q1 | 16–14 |
| French Open | A | 2R | LQ | A | 4R | 2R | 1R | SF | 4R | A | A | Q1 | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | Q1 | A | 14–11 |
| Wimbledon | LQ | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | A | 3R | QF | SF | A | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 3R | 1R | Q1 | A | 16–13 |
| US Open | A | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | QF | QF | 4R | 1R | A | A | Q2 | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | Q1 | A | 14–13 |
| Win–Loss | 0–0 | 1–3 | 5–3 | 2–3 | 6–4 | 6–3 | 11–4 | 14–4 | 9–4 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 1–4 | 0–4 | 4–4 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 60–51 |
| Year-End Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||
| WTA Finals | Did Not Qualify | SF | QF | QF | Did Not Qualify | 4–3 | ||||||||||||||
| WTA Premier Mandatory Tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | A | SF | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2R | LQ | LQ | A | 10–6 |
| Miami | A | A | A | 1R | 4R | SF | QF | F | QF | A | A | A | 2R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | LQ | A | 20–11 |
| Madrid | Not Held | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | 0–1 | ||||||||||
| Beijing | Not Prem Man | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | LQ | A | A | A | 1–3 | ||||||||||
| Olympic Games | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Summer Olympics | A | Not Held | 2R | Not Held | QF | NH / A | A | Not Held | A | Not Held | A | 4–2 | ||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Titles / Finals | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 1 / 1 | 1 / 3 | 2 / 2 | 1 / 4 | 2 / 2 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 1 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 8 / 15 |
| Year-end ranking | 322 | 119 | 79 | 32 | 21 | 13 | 9 | 4 | – | – | 198 | 82 | 46 | 100 | 146 | 54 | 116 | 141 | 804 | |
Doubles
| Tournament | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997–2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam events | ||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | 1R | A | QF | 3R | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 2R | A | 9–9 |
| French Open | A | A | 1R | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 2R | A | 5–7 |
| Wimbledon | A | 2R | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 2R | A | 5–8 |
| US Open | A | 1R | 1R | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | 1R | 1R | SF | 1R | A | 6–8 |
| Win–Loss | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–4 | 4–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 4–3 | 0–4 | 3–4 | 6–4 | 3–4 | 0–0 | 25–32 |
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||
| Titles / Finals | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 1 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 1 / 1 | 1 / 3 | 3 / 3 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 6 / 10 |
| Year-end ranking | 252 | 73 | 51 | 116 | – | – | – | – | 221 | 126 | 131 | 55 | 86 | 40 | 34 | 95 | – | |
Video games
- Date Kimiko no Virtual Tennis (1994)