Klára Koukalová (formerly Zakopalová; born 24 February 1982) is áraKoukalováa Czech former professional tennis player. She was born and still lives in Prague. Having turned professional in 1999, she reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 20, on 15 April 2013. In doubles, she reached a career-high ranking of 31, on 19 May 2014. Koukalová won three WTA singles titles and four doubles titles during her career.
Career
2003–2009
Koukalová made her Grand Slam debut at the 2003 Australian Open, defeating fellow qualifier and Grand Slam debutante Maria Sharapova in the first round before going on to upset sixth-seed Monica Seles. Her run ended in the third round.
In January 2006, she played comeback player Martina Hingis, at the WTA Tour tournament in Gold Coast, where she lost in the second round. Koukalová was seeded 29th at the Australian Open, but lost in the first round to Ekaterina Bychkova. In that year, she had ten first-round losses in singles and failed to win a doubles match.
In 2008, Koukalová reached the final of the inaugural Cachantún Cup in Chile. She played the top seed Flavia Pennetta, but was forced to retire due to a sprained ankle. This also forced her to withdraw from the next tournament in Bogotá, where she had made the quarterfinals in 2007.
Koukalová's biggest win came at the 2009 Andalucia Tennis Experience in Marbella, Spain. She defeated world No. 1 and ten-time Grand Slam champion, Serena Williams, in three sets. Williams was also her first-round opponent at the French Open, Koulalová this time lost.
2010
She gained another good win over a top-5 player, defeating Dinara Safina in the first round of the Madrid Open.
In the first round of the Warsaw Open, Koukalová caused a big upset by defeating fourth seed and world No. 14, Marion Bartoli. She was then defeated by world No. 205, Gréta Arn, in the second round.
At the Wimbledon Championships, Koukalová advanced to the fourth round for the first time at a Grand Slam. She scored upset wins over 18th seed Aravane Rezaï and tenth seed Flavia Pennetta, before falling to qualifier Kaia Kanepi.
Koukalová made the final at the Danish Open, where she lost to then world No. 3, Caroline Wozniacki. She defeated Rossana de los Rios, Tatjana Malek, Sorana Cîrstea, and Li Na en route to the final. After this tournament, she could not match her performance as she went on to do poorly in her last four tournaments, only advancing to the second round at Linz, where she lost to Patty Schnyder.
2011
Koukalová started season at the Hobart International. Seeded fifth, she lost in her semifinal match to sixth seed and eventual champion, Jarmila Groth. At the Australian Open, Koukalová was defeated in the second round by 31st seed Lucie Šafářová.
Playing in at Paris Indoor, Koukalová lost in the second round to seventh seed Yanina Wickmayer. She was seeded 31st for the French Open, her first seeding at a Grand Slam tournament since 2006. She was upset in the first round by Taiwanese qualifier Chan Yung-jan.
After her defeat at Roland Garros, Koukalová traveled to Copenhagen to defend her finalist points from the year before. Seeded second, she was upset in the first round by German Kathrin Wörle.
Koukalová then returned to the site of her greatest Grand Slam accomplishment, Wimbledon. Unseeded, she came from a set down to defeat British wildcard Emily Webley-Smith in the first round. In the second round, she avenged her Australian Open loss by upsetting 31st seed Lucie Šafářová in three sets. In the third round, Koukalová fell to eventual finalist Maria Sharapova.
She then made the semifinals in Budapest, where she lost to the eventual champion Roberta Vinci, and then made the quarterfinals in Palermo, where she lost to eventual finalist Polona Hercog.
2013
2014
Koukalová began her year at the Shenzhen Open. Despite being the third seed and last year finalist, she lost in the second round to Patricia Mayr-Achleitner. In doubles, she and Niculescu won the title defeating Lyudmyla Kichenok/Nadiia Kichenok in the final. Seeded seventh at the Hobart International, Koukalová reached the final where she was defeated by qualifier Garbiñe Muguruza. However, in doubles, she and Niculescu won the title defeating Lisa Raymond/Zhang Shuai in the final. At the Australian Open, Koukalová lost in the first round to 17th seed Sam Stosur.