Virginia Ruano Pascual (Spanish pronunciation:[biɾˈxinjaˈrwanopasˈkwal]; born 21 September 1973) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. She had moderate success in singles, winning three WTA Tour titles as well as reaching two major quarterfinals and a top-30 ranking, but she had been far more successful in doubles.
She won 43 career doubles titles, including eleven at Grand Slam tournaments: ten in women's doubles (eight partnering Paola Suárez, and two partnering Anabel Medina Garrigues) and one in mixed doubles (partnering Tomás Carbonell). Between 2002 and 2004, along with Suárez, she reached nine consecutive Grand Slam tournament finals (won five) and they reached at least the semifinals of the last twelve Grand Slam tournaments they played. Their winning run came to an end when they lost in the 2009 Wimbledon semifinals. Alongside Suarez, the pair was named as a ITF World Champions for the three consecutive years in a row (2002-2004).
Personal life
Her father, Juan Manuel Ruano, worked for Iberia Airlines; her mother, Virginia Pascual, is a housewife. She has a brother, Juan Ramón, a tennis pro who also serves as her coach, and a sister, Marbella. Initially, Virginia hyphenated her family names ("Ruano-Pascual") but has omitted the hyphen since 1998.[citation needed]
Career
Ruano Pascual in 2003
Women's doubles
Majors
Ruano Pascual was very successful at the Grand Slam tournaments. In total, she won ten titles in doubles events.[1] She lifted the French Open trophy six times. The first one she won in 2001 along with Paola Suárez, with whom she one year ago played final but they lost. In 2002, she defended her title again with Suárez. The following year, she also reached final but finished as a runner-up, again with Suárez. The pair then triumphed again in 2004 and 2005. After three years without reaching final at the French Open, in 2008 she won another title but this time with Anabel Medina Garrigues. They successfully defended their title in 2009.[2]
French Open is not the only major she has won. In 2004, with Suarez, she won her first and only Australian Open title.[3] At the US Open, she collected three titles. Her first final and also title was in 2002 with Suarez. After that, the pair defended their title in the following two years (2003 and 2004).[4] Despite not winning any title at the Wimbledon Championships, she finished as a runner-up three times (2002,[5]2003[5] and 2006). Along with her success in women's doubles, she also won one mixed doubles title at the 2001 French Open. Alongside Suárez, the pair was named as a ITF World Champions for three consecutive years in-a-row (2002-2004).[6]
Other significant results
Along with great performances at the highest-level tournaments (Grand Slams), she had success at the WTA Premier Mandatory & 5 tournaments as well. It all started with the title at the Italian Open in 1998, that also was her first either quarterfinal, semifinal or final on this level. In 2000, she did well at the Charleston Open, winning her second level title. Two years later, she went a step further, winning two titles (Italian Open & Canadian Open). After winning per two titles in 2003 and 2004, in 2005 she won three titles to reach the total of 11 titles from this level. Her last title was the 2005 San Diego Open. At most of the level tournaments, she had at least quarterfinal with one exception, the China Open that was reclassified as WTA Premier Mandatory tournament just two years before Pascual's retirement. She also has one year-end championships title at the 2003 WTA Tour Championships.[7]
Ranking and national contribution
Being one of the most successful doubles players, she did not leave her mark only on the Grand Slams & WTA Premier Mandatory/5 tournaments. She also is former world No. 1 that she achieved in September 2003. She finished 2004 as the top ranked player. In 2005, she also spent some weeks at the highest position, but finished the year as world No. 4. Until her retirement in 2010, she spent at least one week in the top 10 in each season. She also left her mark playing for Spain at the national competitions. At the Summer Olympics, she won two silver medals, in 2004 with Conchita Martínez[8] and in 2008 with Medina Garrigues.[9]
Singles
Along with her doubles success, she had a solid singles career as well. In April 1999, she reached 28th place. She has won three WTA Tour titles. At the majors, she reached two quarterfinals; at the French Open in 1995 and Australian Open in 2003.
Performance timelines
Key
W
F
SF
QF
#R
RR
Q#
P#
DNQ
A
Z#
PO
G
S
B
NMS
NTI
P
NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.
Named WTA Tour Doubles Team of the Year for third straight year for 2004 with partner Paola Suárez.
With partner Paola Suárez, received Premio Consagración Clarín al Mérito Deportivo 2003, an award presented to Argentine athletes for their achievements
With partner Paola Suárez, named 2002 WTA Tour Doubles Team of the Year and 2002 ITF Women's Doubles World Champions
In 1993 helped Spain recapture the Fed Cup title and defended it in 1994
^The first Premier 5 event of the year has switched back and forth between the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Ladies Open since 2009. Dubai was classified as a Premier 5 event from 2009 to 2011 before being succeeded by Doha for the 2012–2014 period. In 2015, Dubai regained its Premier 5 status while Doha was demoted to Premier status. The Premier 5 tournaments were reclassified as WTA 1000 tournaments in 2021.
