Patti Schnyder, whose biography is presented in this article, is one of the most famous Swiss tennis players. During her sports career, she became the winner of many prestigious tournaments.
First successes in big sport
Schnyder Patti was born in December 1978 in Basel. At the age of 14, the Swiss tennis player participated in the ITF tournament for the first time. In 1994, Patti Schnyder began to constantly take part in professional competitions, even getting into the TOP-100 of the best tennis players on the planet.
1995 brought the first serious achievements for the athlete. On May 14, she made it to the final of the ITF tournament in Nitra, Slovakia, where she confidently defeated the Chilean Barbara Castro in three sets. A week later, Schnider Patti became the winner of a similar competition in Presov. This time she didn't leave a chance to the Czech Jana Ondrousovei (6:0, 6:1).
A month later, on her native Swiss soil, the tennis player won the next ITF tournament in Courella, and in September she reached the final in Athens. In the same year, Schnyder made her debut in Zurich at competitions under the auspices of the WTA. Successful performances allowed her to finish the season at 152 in the rating.
BIn 1996, Patti Schnider, for whom tennis had become not only a hobby, but also a way of earning a lot of money, continued to actively compete in international competitions. She managed to reach the final of the ITF tournament in Spanish Murcia in April. In September, she repeated this result in Bratislava. A week later, for the first time in her career, the athlete reached the final of the WTA tournament in Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic), where she lost in three sets to the Belgian Ruksandra Dragomir.
In the same year, Schnyder Patti became a participant in the Olympic Games in Atlanta, where she completed her performances in the first round. She also made her Grand Slam debut. At the Australian Open, the 18-year-old athlete failed to qualify, but she managed to break into the main draw of competitions in London and Paris. Schnyder's highest ranking in 1996 was 58th in singles.
Joining the world tennis elite
In 1997 on the courts of the Australian Open Schnyder Patty created a small sensation when she managed to break into the fourth round of the competition. In addition, she defeated the eighth seed Iva Majorli in the opening match. Successfully performing at various tournaments, the tennis player rose to 26th place in the world rankings by the end of the season.
The next year was one of the most successful in Schnyder's entire career. She started the season with a victory at the WTA tournament in Hobart, Australia, and a month later, in the final of similar competitions in Hannover, she defeated Czech Jan Novotna in three sets. In May, Patti had no equal on the clay courts of Madrid, and inJuly - Austrian Maria-Linkowitz and Italian Palermo.
The performances in doubles were no less successful. In a duet with Austrian Barbara Schett, Schnider won the WTA tournament in Hamburg, and also reached the final in Palermo and Amelia Island.
Not without success at the Grand Slam tournaments. On the courts of Rolland Garros and the US Open, Patti Schnyder reached the quarterfinals. This gave her the right to participate in the Grand Slam Cup. At this tournament, she beat the then world No. 1 Martina Hingis in the semi-finals, but lost to the famous Venus Williams in the decisive match.
In August 1998, the athlete took a record for her 11th place in the world ranking in singles, and 29 in doubles.
After a brilliant season in the career of the Swiss tennis player came a recession. Over the next three years, Schnyder won two WTA tournaments in the Gold Coast (Australia) and Pattaya (Thailand), and also reached the finals several times in both singles and doubles. At the Grand Slam tournaments, Patty never made it past the fourth round.
Return of the star
Starting in 2002, Schneider Patti began to regain her status as a world sports star. Having won the supertournament final in Charleston and the WTA tournament in Zurich, the Swiss again managed to break into the Top 20.
Slowly getting in shape, Schnyder once again made a name for herself in 2005. She won two WTA tournaments and reached the final in three more. This season Patti for the first time in his careermade it into the Top 10 at 7.
The following year, Schnyder failed to win a single prestigious tournament, but the constant getting into the finals and semi-finals allowed her to keep her place in the top ten tennis players on the planet
End of playing career
After two brilliant seasons, Patty Schnyder continued to regularly make it to the tournament finals, but this happened less and less. In the Grand Slam tournaments, she never managed to go further than the fourth round in singles, and beyond the quarter-finals in doubles.
In 2010, Schnyder began to pursue injuries: first there were problems with the feet, and then with the Achilles tendon. In May 2011, Patti decided to end her playing career.
Four years later, Schnyder returned to the ITF tournaments, having managed to win them twice in two seasons.
Performances for the national team of Switzerland
18-year-old Patty Schnyder, whose achievements at the time spoke for her, was first invited to defend her country's honor in the Fed Cup in 1996. With six victories in seven matches, she helped lift Switzerland into the second World Group.
A year later, together with Martina Hingis, Schnyder defeated the Slovak duet Gabshudova-Zrubakova in the decisive match, and then participated in the defeat of the Argentine team. This allowed the Swiss team to get into the elite division.
In 1998, Schnyder and Hingis created a small miracle with their victories in the Fed Cup, bringing their team to the final, where they lost to Spain.
Private lifefemale tennis players
In December 2003, Patty Schnyder married Rainer Hoffman, who later became her coach. Their marriage lasted 10 years: due to the financial fraud of her husband, the tennis player filed for divorce.
A year later, Schnyder gave birth to a daughter, Kim Ayla, from her new common-law husband Jan Heino.
