Ai Sugiyama is a Japanese professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1992. In her career so far, she has won 6 singles titles and 36 doubles titles, including three Grand Slam women's doubles titles . Ai is coached by her mother and plays a game based on her fitness and speed, utilizing an aggressive serve and volley whenever feasible.
Career
1990s
In 1993, when she was only 17, Sugiyama had the honour to play against tennis legend Martina Navratilova in her native city, losing in three sets. The same year, she made her Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon but lost in the first round to world number 30 Gigi Fernandez in three sets.
In 1994, Sugiyama again reached the main draw at Wimbledon but lost in her first round to world number six and compatriot Kimiko Date. Later that year she reached her first WTA Tour singles final in Surabaya but was forced to retire against Elena Wagner. She went on to win the Japan Open doubles at Tokyo, her first tour title. Later that year, she broke into the WTA Top 100.
In 1995, she won her first Grand Slam match and reached the 4th round of Roland Garros. In the first round, The Japanese defeated seeded N°15 Grand Slam runner-up and former Top-5 player Helena Sukova by 9-7 in the final set, her first victory over a Top-20 player. Two months after, she defeated Amanda Coetzer to reach the third round, while losing to world number four and former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez. In November, she made an impressive run at the Tier II tournament of Oakland. While she was only ranked number 63, she defeated number 22 Irina Spirlea, former Wimbledon runner-up Zina Garrison Jackson, and world number ten Lindsay Davenport to reach the second final of her career. Unfortunately, she lost to world number seven Magdalena Maleeva. Because of this, Sugiyama broke into the Top-50.
In 1996, she reached the third round at the Australian Open. In Miami, while seeded 23rd, Sugiyama reached the fourth round, defeating world number ten Jana Novotna, her second Top-10 victory
