Kristina Brandi (born March 29, 1977) is a Puerto Rican former tennis player. She was the first tennis player representing Puerto Rico to win a singles match in an Olympic tennis tournament.

Kristina Brandi
Country (sports) Puerto Rico
Born (1977-03-29) March 29, 1977 (age 47)
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Turned pro1995
Retired2007
PlaysRight-handed
Prize money$1,248,528
Singles
Career record441–333
Career titles1 WTA, 16 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 27 (December 4, 2000)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open4R (2000)
French Open2R (2000, 2005)
Wimbledon4R (2000)
US Open2R (1996, 2000, 2004)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games2R (2004)
Doubles
Career record48–86
Career titles1 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 246 (June 19, 1995)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open2R (2006)
French Open1R (2005)
Wimbledon1R (2005)
US Open1R (1999, 2005)
Medal record
Pan American Games
Silver medal – second place 2003 Santo Domingo Doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Santo Domingo Singles

Some of Brandi's career highlights: She achieved her best ranking in singles of number 27 on 4 December 2000, and her highest rank for doubles of number 246 in June 1995. Brandi won one career singles title, in 1999 on grass at 's Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands.

Career

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Early years

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Brandi was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where she became interested in the sport of tennis at an early age. She made her professional debut in 1995 when she was 17 years old.[1] Her father is Joe Brandi, who coached Pete Sampras.

USTA Circuit

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In 2003, Brandi won the most titles of any woman on the "USTA Circuit".[citation needed] She took home trophies from six events. Brandi was a member of the 2003 Puerto Rican Fed Cup team where she captured the singles championship at the $75k event in Albuquerque, New Mexico, plus the $50k event in Troy, Alabama and the $25k event in Peachtree City, Georgia.[2]

2004 Olympics

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Brandi represented Puerto Rico in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. She became the first tennis player representing Puerto Rico to win a singles match in an Olympic tournament when she beat Jelena Kostanić from Croatia (7–5, 6–1). She lost in the second round to Russian Anastasia Myskina.[3]

Later years

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Kristina Brandi resides in Tampa, Florida and continued to be active on the WTA Tour for many years after the 2004 Olympic Games.

Brandi defended her ITF-Surbiton title, defeating Laura Granville from the U.S. Brandi's grass-court season for 2006 at the WTA Tour level included the main draw of the Birmingham tournament, as well as the qualifying tournament at Eastbourne, before heading to compete in the Wimbledon Championships main draw.

Brandi, who has since retired, is the niece of Andy Brandi who played for the Trinity Tigers men's tennis team in NCAA Division I competition.[4]

WTA career finals

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Singles: 1 (1 title)

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Result Date Tier Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 20 June 1999 Tier III Rosmalen Championships, Netherlands Grass   Silvija Talaja 6–0, 3–6, 6–1

ITF Circuit finals

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Singles: 25 (16 titles, 9 runner-ups)

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Legend
$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Finals by surface
Hard (13–8)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (3–1)
Carpet (0–0)
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1. 4 July 1994 ITF Indianapolis, United States Hard   Mashona Washington 6–1, 6–3
Loss 2. 25 July 1994 ITF Roanoke, United States Hard   Keiko Nagatomi 6–7, 3–6
Loss 3. 9 October 1995 ITF Sedona, United States Hard   Tami Whitlinger 4–6, 4–6
Loss 4. 6 April 1997 ITF Phoenix, United States Hard   Li Fang 1–6, 2–6
Win 5. 26 January 1998 ITF Clearwater, United States Hard   Mashona Washington 6–1, 6–2
Win 6. 5 April 1998 ITF Phoenix, United States Hard   Lilia Osterloh 6–0, 6–4
Win 7. 20 July 1998 ITF Peachtree City, United States Hard   Anne Kremer 6–3, 6–3
Loss 8. 2 August 1998 ITF Salt Lake City, United States Hard   Mariaan de Swardt 2–6, 2–6
Win 9. 1 November 1998 ITF Austin, United States Hard   Meilen Tu 3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win 10. 1 August 1999 ITF Salt Lake City, United States Hard   Li Fang 6–4, 6–3
Loss 11. 30 April 2000 ITF Sarasota, United States Hard   Meghann Shaughnessy 1–6, 3–6
Loss 12. 4 June 2001 ITF Surbiton, United Kingdom Grass   Rika Fujiwara 3–6, 3–6
Win 13. 13 May 2003 ITF Charlottesville, United States Clay   Christina Wheeler 4–6, 6–4, 6–2
Win 14. 8 June 2003 ITF Surbiton, United Kingdom Grass   Cho Yoon-jeong 6–1, 6–3
Win 15. 8 July 2003 ITF College Park, United States Hard   Lioudmila Skavronskaia 6–1, 6–1
Win 16. 28 July 2003 ITF Louisville, United States Hard   Shenay Perry 3–6, 6–4, 6–4
Win 17. 14 September 2003 ITF Peachtree City, United States Hard   Allison Bradshaw 6–0, 6–1
Win 18. 22 September 2003 ITF Albuquerque, United States Hard   Milagros Sequera 6–2, 6–2
Win 19. 5 October 2003 ITF Troy, United States Hard   Maria Elena Camerin 7–6(7), 6–3
Loss 20. 19 October 2003 ITF Sedona, United States Hard   Samantha Reeves 5–7, 6–1, 4–6
Win 21. 4 June 2005 ITF Surbiton, United Kingdom Grass   Laura Granville 6–3, 6–1
Loss 22. 2 October 2005 ITF Ashland, United States Hard   Napaporn Tongsalee 4–6, 6–2, 4–6
Win 23. 16 October 2005 ITF San Francisco, United States Hard   Lilia Osterloh 5–7, 6–4, 6–4
Win 24. 10 June 2006 ITF Surbiton, United Kingdom Grass   Laura Granville 7–5, 6–0
Loss 25. 19 September 2006 ITF Albuquerque, United States Hard   Ahsha Rolle 2–6, 4–6

Doubles: 6 (1 title, 5 runner-ups)

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$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1. 20 June 1994 ITF Hilton Head, United States Clay   Karin Miller   Angela Lettiere
  Stacy Sheppard
6–4, 2–6, 6–7
Win 2. 4 July 1994 ITF Indianapolis, United States Hard   Karin Miller   Angela Lettiere
  Vera Vitels
6–2, 4–6, 7–6
Loss 3. 25 July 1994 ITF Roanoke, United States Hard   Karin Miller   Gail Biggs
  Claudine Toleafoa
6–4, 3–6, 5–7
Loss 4. 1 February 1998 ITF Clearwater, United States Hard   Karin Miller   Maureen Drake
  Renata Kolbovic
6–4, 3–6, 4–6
Loss 5. 10 September 2002 ITF Peachtree City, United States Hard   Allison Baker   Jennifer Russell
  Christina Wheeler
2–6, 6–7(3)
Loss 6. 8 July 2003 ITF College Park, United States Hard   Kim Grant   Jennifer Russell
  Lisa McShea
2–6, 6–4, 5–7

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Kristina Brandi". Tennis-X.com.
  2. ^ "Kristina Brandi Tennis Diary: Advice for junior players". SportsIllustrated.cnn.com. March 14, 2000. Archived from the original on August 19, 2000.
  3. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Kristina Brandi". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020.
  4. ^ Paul Jenkins, "Gators hire new women's tennis coach," The Gainesville Sun, pp. 1D & 4D (August 22, 1984). Retrieved June 16, 2011.
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