Valentina Sassi

Valentina Sassi (born 12 July 1980) is an Italian tennis coach and an instructor of the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA). She is a former professional tennis player[1] and a doubles bronze medalist for Italy at the 2001 Mediterranean Games.

Valentina Sassi
Full nameValentina Sassi
Country (sports) Italy
Born (1980-07-12) 12 July 1980
Seravezza, Italy
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
PlaysRight-handed
Prize money$175,976
Singles
Career titles6 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 144 (8 April 2002)
Doubles
Career titles7 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 153 (11 September 2006)

Born in Seravezza, Sassi made her WTA Tour main-draw debut at the Madrid Open in 2001, as a qualifier. In 2002, she reached her best singles ranking of 144, making main-draw appearances at Oporto and Casablanca that year. Sassi, a right-handed player, won six singles and seven doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit, before retiring in 2008.

Career

Sassi started playing tennis when she was six years old before developing into a professional tennis player. She made her WTA Tour debut at the Madrid Open in 2000,[1] and competed in the majors of Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Australian Open, and the Internazionali di tennis in Rome. In 2004, she won the Italian Absolute Championships. At the peak of her career, Sassi played in doubles with players such as Jelena Janković, Kim Clijsters, Miroslava Vavrinec, Jelena Dokic and Daniela Hantuchová. She played 488 games with 60 per cent winning rate before quitting in 2006.[1][2]

Coaching

Sassi moved to the United States in 2008 and started coaching tennis. Later, she joined Rick Macci tennis academy where she was involved in coaching players such as Maria Sharapova, Jennifer Capriati and Andy Roddick.[3][4] In May 2020, Sassi earned the title of International Professional Tennis Coach as Instructor of the Italian Tennis Federation USPTA, the highest level instructor of young tennis players.[5]

ITF Circuit finals
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments

Singles: 10 (6–4)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. 29 November 1998 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Hard Brazil Joana Cortez 7–6, 3–6, 6–3
Winner 2. 8 November 1999 Le Havre, France Clay France Virginie Razzano 6–1, 2–6, 7–5
Runner-up 1. 1 May 2000 Bari, Italy Clay Argentina Natalia Gussoni 6–0, 4–6, 2–6
Winner 3. 11 June 2001 Grado, Italy Clay Italy Antonella Serra Zanetti 6–3, 7–5
Runner-up 2. 31 May 2004 Galatina, Italy Clay Spain Paula García 1–6, 6–3, 2–6
Runner-up 3. 17 January 2006 Fort Walton Beach, United States Hard Germany Gréta Arn 5–7, 2–6
Winner 4. 14 July 2007 Imola, Italy Hard Italy Giulia Gatto-Monticone 7–6(1), 6–2
Winner 5. 12 September 2007 Casale Monferrato, Italy Clay France Aurélie Védy 3–6, 7–6(7), 6–2
Winner 6. 29 September 2007 Ciampino, Italy Clay Italy Verdiana Verardi 6–1, 1–6, 6–3
Runner-up 4. 19 October 2007 Settimo San Pietro, Italy Clay Italy Anna Floris 6–7(2), 3–6

Doubles: 17 (7–10)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1. 22 August 1999 Alghero, Italy Carpet Italy Sabina Da Ponte Italy Roberta Vinci
Italy Flavia Pennetta		 2–6, 1–6
Winner 1. 7 November 1999 Saint-Raphaël, France Hard Slovenia Maja Matevžič France Victoria Courmes-Benedetti
France Laëtitia Sanchez		 6–3, 6–1
Runner-up 2. 6 August 2000 Alghero, Italy Clay Italy Alice Canepa Japan Ayami Takase
Hong Kong Tong Ka-po		 6–3, 3–6, 1–6
Runner-up 3. 19 November 2000 Naples, United States Clay Estonia Maret Ani Japan Nana Miyagi
Ukraine Elena Tatarkova		 3–5, 4–2, 4–2, 3–5, 1–4
Runner-up 4. 2 February 2003 Rockford, United States Hard Czech Republic Michaela Paštiková Netherlands Debby Haak
Netherlands Seda Noorlander		 5–7, 4–6
Runner-up 5. 11 October 2005 Victoria, Mexico Hard Argentina Soledad Esperón Argentina María José Argeri
Brazil Letícia Sobral		 3–6, 4–6
Runner-up 6. 13 November 2005 Mexico City Clay Italy Francesca Lubiani Brazil Jenifer Widjaja
Brazil Carla Tiene		 6–7(5), 3–6
Winner 2. 22 November 2005 San Luis Potosí, Mexico Hard Italy Francesca Lubiani Brazil Jenifer Widjaja
Poland Olga Brózda		 6–3, 4–6, 7–5
Runner-up 7. 18 December 2005 Bergamo, Italy Carpet (i) Italy Francesca Lubiani Russia Marina Shamayko
Russia Ekaterina Bychkova		 1–6, 3–6
Winner 3. 1 May 2006 Catania, Italy Clay Italy Francesca Lubiani France Diana Brunel
France Virginie Pichet		 w/o
Runner-up 8. 30 May 2006 Galatina, Italy Clay Hungary Kira Nagy Montenegro Danica Krstajić
Czech Republic Renata Voráčová		 4–6, 0–6
Winner 4. 29 July 2006 Monteroni d'Arbia, Italy Clay France Aurélie Védy Croatia Matea Mezak
Croatia Nika Ožegović		 5–7, 6–4, 6–0
Winner 5. 28 July 2007 Monteroni d'Arbia, Italy Clay Russia Alisa Kleybanova Italy Elena Pioppo
Italy Verdiana Verardi		 7–5, 6–2
Winner 6. 25 August 2007 Trecastagni, Italy Hard Italy Valentina Sulpizio Switzerland Lisa Sabino
Italy Nicole Clerico		 4–6, 6–4, 7–5
Runner-up 9. 17 September 2007 Lecce, Italy Clay Hungary Kira Nagy France Claire de Gubernatis
Germany Tatjana Priachin		 3–6, 2–6
Runner-up 10. 19 October 2007 Settimo San Pietro, Italy Clay Italy Stefania Chieppa Italy Anna Floris
Italy Valentina Sulpizio		 1–6, 4–6
Winner 7. 5 May 2008 Florence, Italy Clay Hungary Kira Nagy Kyrgyzstan Ksenia Palkina
Italy Martina Caciotti		 6–2, 6–3

References
  1. "VALENTINA SASSI, ORGOGLIO ITALIANO IN USA - Day Italia News" (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-08-26.
  2. Redazione (2020-01-04). "Valentina Sassi, tennis tra Miami e Casltenuovo Magra". www.cittadellaspezia.com (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-08-26.
  3. "VALENTINA SASSI, DAL TITOLO DEGLI ASSOLUTI ALLA RICK MACCI ACADEMY, PASSANDO PER QUEL DOPPIO CON MIRKA FEDERER". SpazioTennis (in Italian). 2020-05-24. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
  4. Redazione. "Valentina Sassi da stella del tennis ad istruttrice". Città della Spezia (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-08-26.
  5. "Miroslava Vavrinec Matches | Past Tournaments & More – WTA Official". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
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