What happened to former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic?
The name Ana Ivanovic might ring a bell for many tennis fans across the world. She burst onto the tennis scene, quickly becoming one of the most promising stars of her generation. The Serbian even claimed the world No. 1 spot in the ranking, jotting her name down into Grand Slam history after winning the French Open in 2008. This is her story.
First, let's go back to where it all started for Ivanovic, who turned pro in 2003 and started making a name for herself in 2004 with good performances at various tournaments.
In 2005, Ivanovic already claimed her first WTA title at the Canberra International, where she beat Melinda Czink in the final.
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That same year, she also showed her exceptional talent at the French Open, where she reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career.
In 2006, Ivanovic stunned the world by beating legend Martina Hingis (pictured) in the final of the Rogers Cup to claim another WTA title. She ended the year world No. 14.
From then on, Ivanovic took the tennis world by storm, fighting her way to her first Grand Slam final in 2007 at the French Open. However, she lost to Belgium's Justine Henin, at the time the undisputed queen of the Paris clay. Later that year, Ivanovic also reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon and improved her ranking to world No. 4.
2007 was a good year for Ivanovic, but 2008 was even better.
She had an excellent start to the year with a final at the Australian Open, where she took on Maria Sharapova. The Russian deprived Ivanovic of her first Grand Slam title, but the Belgrade native was ready to strike back.
Ivanovic did so at the French Open, where she reached her third Grand Slam final. This time, however, she did not let the title slip away, beating Dinara Safina in straight sets for the biggest triumph of her career.
Her French Open title took her to world No. 1, which she held for a total of 12 weeks.
A couple of years later, in 2010 and 2011, Ivanovic also claimed the WTA Tournament of Champions.
At the time, Ivanovic represented her native Serbia in the Fed Cup and the Hopman Cup, where she reached the final of both tournaments.
After her triumph at the French Open in 2008, Ivanovic failed to make her mark at the majors and did not reach a quarter-final in the following three years.
Ivanovic's last major result at a Grand Slam was a semi-final at the 2015 French Open, the tournament where she celebrated her greatest successes.
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However, in December 2016, she announced the end of her highly successful but also injury-laden career.
Ivanovic called it quits with fifteen titles to her name.
She would not have to struggle to make ends meet after her career, as she reportedly earned more than $15.5 million in prize money.
In her private life, Ivanovic married former Bayern Munich and Manchester United star Bastian Schweinsteiger in July 2016.
They have three children together, three boys, the last of whom was born in May 2023.
Ivanovic is committed not only to the welfare of her own children, but also that of children around the world. Since 2007, she has been a UNICEF National Ambassador for Serbia.
She has also featured in several international magazines, such as Sports Illustrated and Cosmopolitan.
After her tennis career, Ivanovic embarked on a new professional adventure: she started a cosmetics company.
Her brand is called 'Ana Ivanovic Natural Performance' and focuses on natural ingredients and affordability.
Picture credit: Instagram, @ananaturalperformance
"It’s really lot of fine-tuning, which I did not expect. But everything matters -- the texture, the way your skin absorbs it. So it was really a new process for me, a lot of learning along the way," she told WTA Tennis about testing the products in 2022.
Picture credit: Instagram, @ananaturalperformance
Ivanovic has a clear audience in mind: "So our target groups are, for the moment, the working moms, between 25 and 40."
Ivanovic currently runs her business from Austria, where she lives with Schweinsteiger and their three children.
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