Catalina Castaño

Catalina Castaño
Catalina Castaño at the 2013 French Open
Country (sports) Colombia
ResidencePereira
Born (1979-07-07) 7 July 1979 (age 45)
Pereira
Height1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Turned proJanuary 1998
Retired2014
PlaysRight (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$1,162,113
Singles
Career record421–369
Career titles6 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 35 (10 July 2006)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open2R (2006, 2008)
French Open2R (2001, 2005-07)
Wimbledon1R (2001, 2004–08)
US Open2R (2005)
Doubles
Career record118–161
Career titles1 WTA, 1 WTA 125
Highest rankingNo. 71 (8 July 2013)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open2R (2006, 2007)
French Open2R (2005, 2013)
Wimbledon3R (2008)
US Open2R (2006)
Team competitions
Fed Cup51–23

Catalina Castaño Álvarez (Latin American Spanish: [kataˈlina kasˈtaɲo ˈalβares]; born 7 July 1979) is a Colombian former tennis player. Her highest singles ranking is world No. 35 which she achieved July 2006.

In her career, she won ten titles on the ITF Women's Circuit, six in singles and four in doubles, as well as one doubles title on both the WTA Tour and Challenger Tour.

Castaño defeated top-20 players such as Nicole Vaidišová, Anna-Lena Grönefeld, Patty Schnyder, Paola Suárez, Li Na and Lucie Šafářová. She was coached by Peruvian-born British citizen Pablo Giacopelli since 2004.

Career summary

1999–2004

In 1999 she won her first ITF title in Santiago. The following year she won two ITF titles in Midlothian and Cali. In 2001, she reached the quarterfinals in her home tournament of Bogotá, Colombia (Tier III). In 2002, Castaño advanced the semifinals in Bogotá. She reached four ITF finals, winning two of them - in Gorizia and Campobasso. She won 39 matches in the year and lost 18. In 2004, she reached the quarterfinals in Bogotá for the third time. She was the last player to be defeated by Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon in the ladies singles, losing the match 0–6, 1–6. She won her sixth ITF title in Orbetello.

2005

In April, she won five matches in Miami (Tier I) including back-to-back wins over world No. 19, Paola Suárez, and world No. 13, Patty Schnyder, before falling to world No. 9, Venus Williams, in three sets in the round of 16. In May, she won four matches in Rome (Tier I) before losing to world No. 10, Vera Zvonareva, in the round of 16. In August, she reached her first ever WTA Tour final in Budapest. She lost to the top seed Anna Smashnova in the final, in straight sets. In October, she reached the semifinals in Seoul (Tier IV) but lost to the eventual champion Nicole Vaidišová.

2006

She commenced January with a semifinal showing in Canberra (Tier IV) and passed the first round of the Australian Open for the first time. In Charleston in mid-April, Catalina reached her first Tier I quarterfinal, after defeating Ashley Harkleroad, Nicole Vaidišová and Marion Bartoli. Her two-sets win over Vaidišová, who was ranked 14 at the time, was her best win of the year. The following week in Berlin, Catalina beat Anna-Lena Grönefeld, who was ranked 14 at the time. It was her second win over a top-15 player in as many weeks. In May, she reached the quarterfinals in Istanbul (Tier III) for the first time. She reached her highest ranking of No. 35 on July 16.

2007

Catalina commenced the new season with a solid start, recording two quarterfinal appearances at the Gold Coast and Hobart in January. At the Gold Coast, she defeated Li Na who was ranked 21 at the time.

2014

Castaño retired from professional tennis after a diagnosis of breast cancer.

WTA Tour finals

Singles: 1 (runner-up)

Outcome Date Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up Jul 2005 Budapest Grand Prix, Hungary Tier IV Clay Israel Anna Smashnova 2–6, 2–6

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Outcome Date Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner Jul 2012 Swedish Open,
Båstad
International Clay Colombia Mariana Duque Mariño Czech Republic Eva Hrdinová
Bosnia and Herzegovina Mervana Jugić-Salkić
4–6, 7–5, [10–5]
Runner-up Mar 2013 Mexican Open,
Acapulco
International Clay Colombia Mariana Duque Mariño Spain Lourdes Domínguez Lino
Spain Arantxa Parra Santonja
4–6, 6–7(1–7)

WTA Challenger finals

Singles: 1 (runner-up)

Result Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss Feb 2013 Copa Bionaire Cali, Colombia Clay Spain Lara Arruabarrena 3–6, 2–6

Doubles: 1 (title)

Result Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win Feb 2013 Copa Bionaire, Colombia Clay Colombia Mariana Duque Mariño Argentina Florencia Molinero
Brazil Teliana Pereira
3–6, 6–1, [10–5]

ITF Circuit finals

Legend
$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments

Singles (6–7)

Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1. 29 March 1999 ITF Santiago, Chile Clay Argentina María Fernanda Landa 6–4, 6–2
Loss 1. 18 October 1999 ITF Nashville, United States Hard Argentina Florencia Labat 1–6, 1–6
Win 2. 8 May 2000 ITF Midlothian, Canada Clay Austria Evelyn Fauth 6–3, 7–5
Loss 2. 23 April 2000 ITF San Luis Potosí, Mexico Clay Venezuela Milagros Sequera 4–6, 6–3, 5–7
Loss 3. 13 November 2000 ITF Naples, United States Clay Netherlands Yvette Basting 0–4, 0–4, 2–4
Win 3. 10 December 2000 ITF Bogotá, Colombia Clay Colombia Fabiola Zuluaga 4–1 ret.
Loss 4. 14 October 2001 ITF Hallandale Beach, United States Clay Colombia Fabiola Zuluaga 6–3, 3–6, 4–3 ret.
Win 4. 1 June 2003 ITF Campobasso, Italy Clay Russia Nina Bratchikova 6–2, 6–2
Loss 5. 9 June 2003 Grado Tennis Cup, Italy Clay Slovakia Martina Suchá 1–6, 2–6
Win 5. 16 June 2003 ITF Gorizia, Italy Clay Czech Republic Michaela Paštiková 7–6(2), 6–4
Runner-up 6. 1 September 2003 ITF Fano, Italy Clay Spain Cristina Torrens Valero 3–6, 7–5, 3–6
Win 6. 29 June 2004 ITF Orbetello, Italy Clay Ukraine Alona Bondarenko 2–6, 6–2, 6–3
Loss 7. 24 June 2012 Open de Montpellier, France Clay France Séverine Beltrame 2–6, 6–7(4)

Doubles (4–3)

Result No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1. 14 September 1998 ITF La Paz, Bolivia Clay Colombia Carolina Mayorga Paraguay Laura Bernal
Uruguay Daniela Olivera
5–7, 7–6(5), 1–6
Win 1. 24 January 2011 ITF Bucaramanga, Colombia Clay Colombia Viky Núñez Fuentes Brazil Nathália Rossi
Slovakia Zuzana Zlochová
7–6(3), 6–1
Loss 2. 25 July 2011 ITF Bad Saulgau, Germany Clay Colombia Mariana Duque Mariño Croatia Maria Abramović
Italy Nicole Clerico
3–6, 7–5, [7–10]
Win 2. 17 January 2012 ITF Plantation, United States Clay France Laura Thorpe United States Jessica Pegula
United States Ahsha Rolle
6–4, 6–2
Win 3. 22 October 2012 Internationaux de Poitiers, France Hard Bosnia and Herzegovina Mervana Jugić-Salkić France Stéphanie Foretz Gacon
Germany Tatjana Maria
6–4, 5–7, [10–4]
Win 4. 29 October 2012 Open Nantes Atlantique, France Hard Bosnia and Herzegovina Mervana Jugić-Salkić Czech Republic Petra Cetkovská
Czech Republic Renata Voráčová
6–4, 6–4
Loss 3. 12 May 2013 Open de Cagnes-sur-Mer, France Clay Brazil Teliana Pereira United States Vania King
Netherlands Arantxa Rus
6–4, 5–7, [8–10]

Performance timelines

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles

Tournament 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 SR W-L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A A Q1 Q2 1R 2R 1R 2R Q2 A A A A 0 / 4 2–4
French Open A Q2 2R Q1 A 1R 2R 2R 2R 1R Q2 Q1 A A Q1 0 / 6 4–6
Wimbledon A A 1R Q1 A 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R A Q1 A A Q1 0 / 6 0–6
US Open A Q1 1R Q1 1R 1R 2R 1R 1R Q1 Q1 Q3 A Q3 Q3 0 / 6 1–6
Olympic Games
Summer Olympics NH A NH 1R NH A NH A NH 0 / 1 0–1
Premier Mandatory
Indian Wells A A A A A Q1 Q1 2R 1R 1R A A A A A 0 / 3 1–3
Miami A A Q1 Q1 A Q1 4R 1R 2R Q1 A A A A A 0 / 3 4–3
Beijing A A A A A Q2 A 1R Q3 A A A A A A 0 / 1 0–1
Premier 5
Doha A A A A A A A A 1R A Not Held A A A 0 / 1 0–1
Rome A A A Q1 A A 3R 2R 2R Q2 A A A A A 0 / 3 4–3
Cincinnati NH A A A 1R A A A A A A 0 / 1 0–1
Premier
Charleston A A 1R A A 2R A QF A A Q2 2R A Q1 Q1 0 / 4 5–4
San Diego A A A A A A A A 1R NH Q1 A A A 0 / 1 0–1
WTA International
Brisbane A A A A A A A A QF A Q2 A A A A 0 / 1 2–1
Auckland A A A A A Q1 A 1R A Q1 A A A A A 0 / 1 0–1
Bogotá 1R 2R QF SF QF QF QF QF A QF 1R 2R QF 2R 1R 0 / 14 19–14
Acapulco NH Q2 A A A QF 2R A Q1 A 2R A Q3 1R 0 / 4 4–4
Budapest A A A A A A F QF A A A 2R A A A 0 / 3 7–3
Istanbul A A A A A A 1R QF QF A A A A A A 0 / 3 4–3
Quebec A A 2R A A A A A 1R A A A A A Q2 0 / 2 1–2
Barcelona NH A A A A 1R 1R A A A A NH 0 / 2 0–2
Seoul A A A A A 2R SF 2R QF A A A A Q3 A 0 / 4 7–4
Luxembourg A A A A A Q2 A A A 2R 1R A A Q1 A 0 / 2 1–2
WTA 125s
Cali NH A A A A 1R 1R F 0 / 3 4–3
Year-end ranking A 143 122 201 133 110 59 55 115 147 219 183 251 236 196 0 / 78 64-78

Doubles

Tournament 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 SR W-L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A A A 2R 2R A A A A A A 0 / 2 2–2
French Open A A A A 2R 1R A 1R A A A A 2R 0 / 4 2–4
Wimbledon A A A A 1R A A 3R A A A A 1R 0 / 3 2–3
US Open A A A A 1R 2R A 1R A A A A A 0 / 3 1–3
Olympic Games
Summer Olympics NH 2R NH A NH A NH 0 / 1 1–1
Premier 5
Doha A A A A A A QF A NH A A A 0 / 1 1–1
Rome A A A A A A 2R A A A A A 2R 0 / 2 2–2
Cincinnati NH A A A 1R A A A A A A 0 / 1 0–1
WTA International
Bogotá QF QF 1R A QF 1R A 1R QF 1R A QF 1R 0 / 10 5–10
Acapulco A A A A A A A 1R A A A A F 0 / 2 3–2
Estoril A A A A A A A A A A A A 1R 0 / 1 0–1
Båstad NH A A A W A 1 / 0 4–0
Washington NH A A QF 0 / 1 1–1
Quebec A A A A A A 1R A A A A A 1R 0 / 2 0–2
WTA 125s
Cali NH A A A A 1R QF W 1 / 2 5–2
Year-end ranking 316 361 A 305 236 144 91 163 280 455 238 96 104 2 / 33 29–33

Head-to-head record

Players who have been ranked world No. 1 are in boldface.