The Sport Player: Agnieszka Radwanska

Agnieszka Radwańska (born 6 March 1989 in Kraków, full name Agnieszka Roma Radwańska) is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player. Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 31 January 2011, she is ranked World No. 10. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title when she won the Nordea Nordic Light Open. In 2008, she won three more singles titles: the Pattaya Women's Open, the Istanbul Cup, and the International Women's Open. Radwańska has also reached four Grand Slam Quarterfinals, becoming the first Polish woman in WTA to reach that far in a Grand Slam. On 24 May 2008, she became the first Polish female tennis player to surpass US$1 million in career prize money.
Radwańska is an all-court player as shown with her results on different surfaces. She won three titles in 2008 on hard, clay, and grass courts. She hits consistently on both the forehand and the backhand sides. Her favorite shot is her forehand, particularly the inside-out forehand which is her most powerful shot. Overall she is a very defensive player, also called a pusher, especially against the top WTA players. She is also very accurate with the drop shot and lob. She lacks much of the "power plays" of other players like Maria Sharapova or the Williams sisters, thus she relies on tactical accuracy and patience on constructing the point before hitting a winner. In addition, Radwańska is known for her gamesmanship. Because of this playing style, several commentators (including former men's pro Wojtek Fibak) have compared her to Martina Hingis, saying that she is "a natural mover who understands the geometry of the court". However, several commentators have also said that Radwańska lacks the serving power and offensive capabilities to become a top 3 player.

In May 2006, Radwańska played her first WTA tournament at the Tier II J&S Cup in Warsaw, where she reached the quarterfinals. In her first match, she defeated seventh-seeded Anastasia Myskina 6–4, 4–6, 6–4. In the second round, she beat Klara Koukalová but lost in the quarterfinals to Elena Dementieva in three sets. In June, Radwańska won her second Grand Slam junior singles title, defeating top-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the final of the French Open. She reached the top of the ITF rankings and received a wild card for the main draw at Wimbledon. At Wimbledon, Radwańska lost in the fourth round to second-seeded Kim Clijsters. Radwańska was just the fifth ever wildcard to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon. In August, Radwańska won three qualifying matches to reach the main draw of the U.S. Open. She lost in the second round to Tatiana Golovin. At the Fortis Championships Luxembourg tournament, Radwańska lost in the semifinals to Francesca Schiavone after defeating former World No. 1 Venus Williams in the second round and top-seeded Dementieva in the quarterfinals 7–5, 6–2. At the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, World No. 49 Radwańska defeated World No. 6 Martina Hingis in the third round 4–6, 6–3, 6–2. She lost to Tathiana Garbin in the next round 6–3, 6–4. In May, Radwańska won her first WTA doubles title at the Tier III Istanbul Cup, partnering her younger sister Urszula. However, in singles, she lost to World No. 2 Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals. In August, Radwańska won her first WTA singles title at the Tier IV Nordea Nordic Light Open in Stockholm, without losing a set. She defeated Vera Dushevina in the final and became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA tour singles title. At the U.S. Open, Radwańska defeated defending champion Sharapova in the third round 6–4, 1–6, 6–2. This was the first time that a second-seeded female player had lost before the fourth round since Andrea Jaeger in 1981. Radwańska then lost to Shahar Pe'er in the fourth round 6–4, 6–1.

Radwańska upset World No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the third round of the Australian Open 6–3, 6–4. She then defeated 14th-seededed Nadia Petrova 1–6, 7–5, 6–0 to reach her first Grand Slam singles tournament quarterfinal. There, Radwańska lost to ninth-seeded Daniela Hantuchová 6–2, 6–2. This tournament was the first time that two female Poles, Radwańska and Marta Domachowska, reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam singles tournament. At the Tier IV Pattaya Women's Open in Thailand, Radwańska won her second career WTA tournament singles title, beating Jill Craybas in the final. In February, Radwańska reached her first Tier I semifinal at the Qatar Total Open in Doha, defeating Dominika Cibulková in a nearly three hour quarterfinal match 6–4, 6–7, 6–4. Maria Sharapova then defeated Radwańska 6–4, 6–3. In March, Radwańska lost in the quarterfinals of the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California to Kuznetsova 6–2, 6–4. In May, just before the French Open, Radwańska won the Tier III Istanbul Cup on red clay, defeating Elena Dementieva in straight sets. This was her third WTA singles title. At the French Open in Paris, Radwańska lost in the fourth round to third-seeded Jelena Janković 6–3, 7–6(3). On grass, Radwańska won the Tier II International Women's Open in Eastbourne, United Kingdom, defeating Petrova in the final. At Wimbledon, Radwańska was seeded 14th but defeated fourth-seeded Kuznetsova in the fourth round 6–4, 1–6, 7–5. She then lost to sixth-seeded Serena Williams in the quarterfinals 6–4, 6–0, with Williams becoming the first woman to defeat both Radwańska sisters in the same tournament. At the Olympics in Beijing, Radwańska was seeded eighth but lost in the second round to Francesca Schiavone 6–3, 7–6(6). Radwańska was seeded ninth at the US Open and lost to seventh–seeded Venus Williams in the fourth round 6–1, 6–3. Radwańska stepped in for the ill Ana Ivanović at the 2008 Sony Ericsson Championships. She defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–2, 7–5. She ended the year ranked World No. 10.

Her first tournament in 2009 was the Australian Medibank International Sydney, where she was sixth seed. She won in the first round against Sybille Bammer of Austria 6–4, 6–3. In the second round she met Daniela Hantuchová of Slovakia, Agnieszka won in straight sets 6–3, 7–5. She reached the quarterfinals, where she lost in three sets to the third seeded and eventual champion Elena Dementieva 2–6, 7–5, 4–6. Radwańska was the ninth seed at the Australian Open but suffered a shock first round defeat to Kateryna Bondarenko in three sets. At the Open GDF Suez in Paris, Radwańska was seeded fourth and won her first two matches, including a three setter against Russia's Alisa Kleybanova. She was then upset in the quarterfinals by Amélie Mauresmo 6–2, 6–0. Agnieszka lost to her sister Urszula in the first round of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships 6–4, 6–3. With partner Maria Kirilenko, Agnieszka lost in the final of the doubles tournament to Cara Black and Liezel Huber. Radwańska then lost in the first round of the Monterrey Open to China's Li Na even though Radwańska was the top seed. Due to her performance in Tokyo, Agnieszka received a bye into the second round of the 2009 China Open, where she defeated Patty Schnyder, who defeated her sister Urszula in the first round. She then defeated María José Martínez Sánchez in three sets to go through her eleventh quarterfinal of the year, and then upset fourth seeded Elena Dementieva and 13th seeded Marion Bartoli in straight sets to advance to her first ever final of the year, where she lost in straight sets to Svetlana Kuznetsova. Because of her super run in Beijing, she returned to the Top 10 in the WTA rankings. She entered Linz as the second seed, and reached her third semifinal in as many weeks without dropping a set. However, in her semifinal match, she was stunned by world No. 54 Petra Kvitová in straight sets. In Moscow, she lost her first round match to Maria Kirilenko, therefore qualifying as an alternate for the 2009 WTA Tour Championships in Doha for the second consecutive time. In Doha, a turn of unusual events saw Agnieszka replace Vera Zvonareva, the first alternate, in the White group after Zvonareva suffered an ankle injury. Zvonareva, who had already stepped in for Safina, would be one of four players to retire at the Championships, joining Safina, Azarenka, and Wozniacki. In her round robin rubber, Agnieszka faced the sixth seed, Victoria Azarenka. Agnieszka won the match, despite Azarenka having built a hefty 6–4 5–2 lead. With Radwańska up 4–6 7–5 4–1, Azarenka retired due to cramping. Radwańska's win gave good friend, Caroline Wozniacki, a semifinal berth at the Championships against Serena Williams. For the second consecutive year, Radwańska finished the year ranked World No. 10. Radwańska made the final at the 2010 Mercury Insurance Open, where she fell to Svetlana Kuznetsova. Due to this performance, Radwanska rose to World No. 9. In her next tournament at the Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open, she lost to eventual finalist Maria Sharapova in the third round. At the 2010 Rogers Cup she lost in the third round to Svetlana Kuznetsova in three sets. At the US Open she was the No. 9th seed, Agnieszka was upset in the second round by Peng Shuai of China 2-6, 6-1, 6-4. In the doubles draw of the 2010 US Open, Agnieszka and her doubles partner, Maria Kirilenko, were seeded 10, falling to Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs,the number 5th seeds, in straight sets. Seeded 6th at the Toray Pan Pacific Open, she retired in her quarterfinal match due to pain in her left foot after falling behind to Caroline Wozniacki 0-5. At the China Open she lost her opening match to Angelique Kerber 5-7, 7-6(3), 7-5. This turned out to be her last match of the season due to a stress fracture in her foot.