Vania King life and biography

Vania King is an American female tennis player. King won both the 2010 Wimbledon Women's Doubles and 2010 US Open Women's Doubles titles with Kazakh partner Yaroslava Shvedova.

CAREER:

2010:
King began the year ranked 80th in the world at the Brisbane International. She reached the second round of the singles tournament losing to Andrea Petkovic 4–6 6–2 6–1. In doubles, she partnered with Anna-Lena Grönefeld and lost in the first round to Bacsinszky/Garbin. King/Grönefeld fared better at the Medibank International in Sydney, where they were seeded 4th. They lost in the semifinals to Garbin/Petrova 6–3 7–5. In the singles tournament, King failed to qualify, losing in the first round of the qualifying tournament to top seed Ágnes Szávay, who went on to defeat Jelena Janković in the first round of the tournament.

At the 2010 Australian Open, King lost in the second round to Roberta Vinci 7–6(7) 7–5. In doubles, she partnered with Grönefeld again and entered the tournament seeded 14th. They lost in the second round to Kuznetsova/Azarenka 6–3 4–6 6–3.

King's next major tournament was the Memphis international in mid-February. She entered the singles tournament seeded seventh and lost in the second round to Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden 3–6 6–4 6–2. In the doubles tournament, she and partner Michaëlla Krajicek were seeded third and won the tournament without dropping a set, defeating Mattek-Sands/Shaughnessy in the final 7–5 6–2.

King then traveled to the Monterrey Open. In doubles, she reunited with Groenefeld and reached the finals of the doubles tournament as the 1st seed, falling 3–6 6–4 10–8 to 2nd-seeded Benešová/Záhlavová. In singles she lost in the quarterfinals to second seed Daniela Hantuchová 2–6 6–2 6–1.

At the Premier Mandatory BNP Paribas tournament in Indian Wells, King lost in the second round to second seed Caroline Wozniacki 5–7 6–2 6–4. She did not enter the doubles tournament. King fared better in the Premier Mandatory Sony Ericsson Open in Miami later that month. She partnered with Julie Coin and reached the quarterfinals of the doubles tournament before losing 6–3 6–2 to 3rd seed Petrova/Stosur, who went on to become the runners-up.

King's next Premier was the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, where she reunited with Krajicek and reached the finals of the tournament before falling to top seeds Huber/Petrova 6–3 6–4. In singles, she lost to Petrova in the second round 6–2 6–1.

At the Premier Mandatory Madrid Masters, King paired with Chuang Chia-jung for the first time for the doubles tournament. They defeated 4th seeds Huber/Medina Garrigues before falling in the quarterfinals to Pe'er/Schiavone 7–6(3) 6–3. In singles, King lost in the first round to Karolina Šprem.

King then entered the Strasbourg International. In the doubles tournament, she partnered with Alizé Cornet and won the tournament after an injury to Lucie Hradecká forced top seed Hradecká/Chuang to walkover in the second round. King/Cornet defeated 2nd seed Rodionova/Kudryavtseva 3–6 6–4 10–7 in the final for her 10th tour doubles title. In singles, King defeated 2nd seed Elena Vesnina in the first round and reached the semifinals before falling to Kristina Barrois 2–6 6–2 7–6(6).

For the 2010 French Open, she lost in the first round to Bethanie Mattek-Sands 2–6 2–6. She entered the mixed doubles tournament with Christopher Kas, reaching the semifinals before falling to Shvedova/Knowle 4–6 4–6. In women's doubles, she reunited with Michaëlla Krajicek and reached the 2nd round, losing to 4th-seeded Petrova/Stosur 4–6 7–6(5) 4–6.

At Wimbledon, King won the 2010 Ladies' Doubles title in straight sets on July 3, 2010 with Kazakh partner Yaroslava Shvedova. They defeated Russians Elena Vesnina and Vera Zvonareva 7–6(6), 6–2 in the final.

At the 2010 US Open, King and doubles partner Yaroslava Shvedova won their second Grand Slam doubles title defeating the second seeded pair Liezel Huber and Nadia Petrova 2–6, 6–4, 7–6(4) in the rain-delayed final.

PERSONAL:
Coached by father, David King
Travels with father and mother (Karen); also has one brother (Phillip, a Duke University graduate and now an ATP player) and two sisters (Mindy, a senior at University of Pennsylvania, and Ivana, a senior at Princeton)
Has two pets, "Sunny" (a sun conure) and "Coco" (a cockatiel)
Began playing at age 4 when father introduced her to the sport at local high school
Baseliner who prefers hardcourts; favorite shot is forehand
Also enjoys biking, swimming
Speaks English, Mandarin
Favorite types of music are Rock, Metal, Christian, New Age, Celtic, Trance, Alternative, Broadway
Favorite movies are Transformers, 300
Favorite books are The Kite Runner, Orphans of Chaos, Night, My Sister's Keeper; favorite types of book are fantasy, romance
Favorite food is Chinese
Relaxes by meditating, going to beach, singing, talking to herself or random objects, listening to music
Self-described as hopeful, stubborn and random
Admires Pete Sampras.

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