Quick Facts
Biography
Zuzana Kučová (born 26 June 1982 in Bratislava) is a Slovak former professional tennis player.
Kučová won eight singles and four doubles titles on the ITF tour in her career. On 7 June 2010, she reached her best singles ranking of world number 101. On 7 December 2009, she peaked at world number 175 in the doubles rankings. Her favourite surface is clay. She is the sister of Kristína Kučová.
Career
Kučová qualified for the 2004 French Open, and drew 10th seed Vera Zvonareva in the first round of the clay court tournament. She struggled to find a way past the Russian and was beaten in straight sets.
In 2008, Kučová competed at the 2008 GDF Suez Grand Prix in Budapest, Hungary. She knocked young Swiss player Timea Bacsinszky out of the tournament in the opening round, but failed to defeat hometown favourite Gréta Arn in the second, bowing out in straight sets.
Kučová qualified for her second grand slam, the 2010 Australian Open, by beating German Julia Schruff in the third round of qualifying. Kučová drew Argentine Gisela Dulko in the opening round, and after a first set shocker that lasted just 18 minutes, Kučová fought back, but was ultimately knocked out in three sets. Following 18 months absent from the tennis court, Kučová qualified for her first Grand Slam main draw appearance in three years at the 2013 French Open. There, she caused a huge upset by defeating 24th seed Julia Görges in straight sets. In the second round, she lost to Virginie Razzano in three sets. Her last professional tournament was at the 2013 French Open.
ITF finals
Singles 24 (8-16)
| Legend |
|---|
| $100,000 tournaments |
| $75,000 tournaments |
| $50,000 tournaments |
| $25,000 tournaments |
| $15,000 tournaments |
| $10,000 tournaments |
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Runner–up | 1. | 4 September 2000 | Zadar | Clay |  Daniela Casanova | 4-6 1-6 |
| Runner–up | 2. | 2 October 2000 | Cairo | Clay |  Sandra Klemenschits | 4–1, 4–2, 1–4, 4–5(4), 3–5 |
| Winner | 3. | 24 June 2001 | Algiers | Clay |  Mathilde Johansson | 6–3, 6–3 |
| Runner–up | 4. | 24 July 2001 | Horb am Neckar | Clay |  Lenka Novotná | 5-7, 4-6 |
| Runner–up | 5. | 27 Aug 2001 | Bad Saulgau | Clay |  Lisa Fritz | 1-6, 0-6 |
| Runner–up | 6. | September 24, 2001 | Verona | Clay | Angelika Roesch | 4-6, 0-6 |
| Runner–up | 7. | 2 June 2002 | Mostar | Clay | Sybille Bammer | 6–2, 4–6, 5–7 |
| Runner–up | 8. | 8 July 2002 | Darmstadt | Clay | Sandra Klösel | 4–6 6–7(3–7) |
| Winner | 9. | 24 Mar 2003 | Rome | Clay |  Delia Sescioreanu | 6-3 6-7 (5) 6-0 |
| Runner–up | 10. | 13 September 2004 | Sofia | Clay |  Virág Németh | 1-5 RET |
| Runner–up | 11. | 29 May 2005 | Campobasso | Clay |  Mariya Koryttseva | 7-5 1-6 5-7 |
| Runner–up | 12. | 9 April 2006 | Athens | Clay | Aurélie Védy | 2-6 7-5 3-6 |
| Winner | 13. | 15 December 2007 | Lagos | Hard | Syna Kayser | 6-2 6-2 |
| Runner–up | 14. | 22 December 2007 | Lagos | Hard |  Chanelle Scheepers | 2-6 0-6 |
| Winner | 15. | 25 October 2008 | Lagos | Hard | Ágnes Szatmári | 7-6(5) 4-6 6-3 |
| Runner–up | 16. | 8 June 2009 | Zlín | Clay |  Polona Hercog | 3-6 1-6 |
| Runner–up | 17. | 13 July 2009 | Darmstadt | Clay | Sarah Gronert | 1-6 1-6 |
| Runner–up | 18. | 10 October 2009 | Jounieh | Clay | Alexandra Dulgheru | 6-3 3-6 4-6 |
| Winner | 19. | 16 October 2009 | Lagos | Hard |  Anna Gerasimou | 6-3 7-5 |
| Winner | 20. | 24 October 2009 | Lagos | Hard |  Nina Bratchikova | 6-0 7-6(5) |
| Runner–up | 21. | 3 April 2010 | Monzón | Hard |  Anastasiya Yakimova | 4-6 6-4 3-6 |
| Winner | 22. | 24 April 2010 | Bari | Clay | Zuzana Ondrášková | 6-4 6-2 |
| Winner | 23. | 23 October 2010 | Lagos | Hard | Natalie Piquion | 6-2 6-0 |
| Runner–up | 24. | 30 October 2010 | Lagos | Hard | Nina Bratchikova | 5-7 1-6 |
Doubles 8 (4-4)
| Legend |
|---|
| $100,000 tournaments |
| $75,000 tournaments |
| $50,000 tournaments |
| $25,000 tournaments |
| $15,000 tournaments |
| $10,000 tournaments |
| Outcome | No | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents in the final | Score |
| Runner–up | 1. | 31 July 2000 | Bucharest | Clay | Dominika Luzarová | Liana Ungur Edina Gallovits-Hall | 5-7 0-4 RET |
| Runner–up | 2. | 15 October 2000 | Cairo | Clay | Barbora Blahutiakova | Sandra Klemenschits Daniela Klemenschits | 0-4 0-4 |
| Winner | 3. | 25 Mar 2001 | Rome | Clay | Iveta Benešová |  Claudia Ivone Roberta Vinci | 4-6 6-4 6-4 |
| Runner–up | 4. | 29 July 2001 | Horb | Clay |  Martina Strussova | Annette Kolb Ivana Zupa | 6-7(0) 2-6 |
| Winner | 5. | 2 September 2001 | Saulgau | Clay | Renata Kucerova | Gabriela Chmelinová Lenka Novotná | W/O |
| Runner–up | 6. | 22 Jan 2006 | Fort Walton Beach | Hard | Chanelle Scheepers |  Maureen Drake Vladimíra Uhlířová | 6-2 4-6 5-7 |
| Winner | 7. | 17 Mar 2007 | Cairo | Clay | Kristína Kučová |  Melissa Berry Michelle Gerards | 6-7 (3) 6-4 6-3 |
| Winner | 8. | 14 June 2009 | Zlín | Clay | Kristína Kučová | Nikola Fraňková Carmen Klaschka | 6-3 6-4 |
Singles performance timeline
| Tournament | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | W–L | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | Q1 | Q1 | Q1 | A | A | A | Q2 | 1R | Q3 | A | A | 6–6 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| French Open | A | Q2 | 1R | A | Q1 | A | A | Q1 | Q3 | Q1 | A | 2R | 10–7 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | A | Q2 | Q1 | Q1 | A | A | A | Q1 | 1R | Q3 | A | A | 3–6 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| US Open | Q3 | Q1 | Q1 | A | A | A | Q1 | Q2 | 1R | Q1 | A | A | 6–7 | |||||||||||||||||||||
