Kimiko Date-Krumm Biography
The story of Japan's Kimiko Date-Krumm is one of the more remarkable ones in tennis. Ranked No. 51 in the world at the end of the 2010 season, Date-Krumm debuted on tour in a year (1988) in which many of her current competitors were not even alive.
Even more remarkable, after three Top 10 finishes between 1994-1996, she vanished from the ranks, only to come back to tennis in 2008 at age 38, and finish the next two seasons ranked int he Top 100. After the 1996 Olympics, she announced her retirement, only to reutrn to the tour 12 years later. In 2009, she won the Hansol Korean Open, becoming the second-oldest player in Open Era history to win a crown. Date-Krumm has eight career WTA singles titles and one in WTA doubles.
Date-Krumm debuted in 1988 and first finished in the Top 100 in 1990 at No. 79. She upped her stake considerably in 1991, particularly considering she started the season ranked 117th. She had only moved up to 112th when she unexpectedly reached the finals at Los Angeles, defeating No. 3 Gabriela Sabatini in the semifinals before falling to No. 1 Monica Seles in the final. The victory saw her jump 79 spots in the rankings to No. 33, and she finished the year ranked 32nd.
She moved just outside the Top 20 in 1992, racking up a 29-14 record. She reached back-to-back semifinals at the Pan Pacific and Osaka early in thes eason, then won Tokyo for her first career title in April. The victory pushed her to a career-best No. 16 ranking, but she slipped back outside the Top 20 by year's end.
In 1993, she began a run of four straight seasons inside the Top 15, finishing 13th. She reached the finals of Osaka and the semifinals of at Miami, defeating Mary Joe Fernandez. She defended her title at Tokyo to re-enter the Top 20 and capped the season with her most-impressive Grand Slam effort to date, reaching the quarterfinals of the US Open by upsetting No. 8 Jana Novotna. She finished the year ranked 13th.
In 1994, Date-Krumm gained access to the Top 10 for the first time. She started the year in style, winning Sydney, defeating No. 4 Conchita Martinez in the quarterfinals and Fernandez in the finals. She followed it up with her first-ever Grand Slam semifinal, defeating Martinez again in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open before falling to Steffi Graf in the next round. Despite the loss, Date-Krumm moved up to No. 7 in the world, then won Tokyo for a third straight year.
She continued to play well on hard courts, as she reached the semifinals at Montreal and the quarters at the Open itself. For the first time in her career, Date-Krumm qualified for the year-end championships and reached the semifinals, falling to Sabatini to finish No. 9 in the world with a 33-14 record.
The next season would be the very best of Date-Krumm's impressive career. She racked up a 41-12 record in 1995, finishing No. 4 in the world. For a fourth straight season she won the Pan Pacific, knocking off Lindsay Davenport in the final, then reached the final at Miami before falling to Graf. She reached two more finals, then lost in the semifinals of the French Open, moving up to No. 6 in the world. She followed that with her best performance yet at Wimbledon, reaching the quarterfinals. Her fourth-round appearance at the US Open followed by a quarterfinal appearance at the Tour Championships pushed her up to the Top 5.
She dropped back to eight in 1996, the stunning culmination of the early part of her career.She made it five straight titles at Tokyo in April, and reached the semifinals of Wimbledon for the first time, falling to Graf, but pushing her to three sets. She also reached the quarterfinals of the Olympics, as well as Los Angeles, then won San Diego, defeating No. 3 Martinez and No. 2 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario back to back. After falling in the semifinals at Nicheirei, she made the stunning announcement that she would retire from the game just shy of her 26th birthday. She finished the year No. 9.
On April 6, 2008, Date-Krumm surprised the world by announcing she would return to the women's tour at age 37. Her first tournament back was the 50k ITF in Gifu, Japan. She reached the finals of the singles and won the title in doubles. Her first tour event was Tokyo in September, and she lost in the third round of qualifiers. At year's end, she was 34-9, but only two of those wins had come in WTA competition. She finished the season ranked 198th.
She amped up her WTA dates in 2009, her first full season back, reaching the main draw of the Australian Open and at Los Angeles. In September, she entered Seoul ranked No. 155 in the world, then turned the tour on its ear by taking the title, defeating two Top 25 players in the process. She beat No. 18 Yanina Wickmayer in Bali en route to reaching the semifinals and finished the year at No. 82.
Date-Krumm turned 40 late in 2010, but her body showed no signs of slowing down as she leapt into the Top 50 in the third year of her comeback. She reached the quarterfinals at Auckland and the second round at Sydney and the French Open. Her finest effort came in Tokyo, where she shocked No. 15 Maria Sharapova in the opening round, then beat No. 29 Daniela Hantuchova before falling in the third round. At Osaka, she reached the final, knocking off No. 8 Samantha Stosur in the quarterfinals, her first win over a Top 10 player in 14 years. In November, she announced that 2011 would be her final season on tour.
The story of Japan's Kimiko Date-Krumm is one of the more remarkable ones in tennis. Ranked No. 51 in the world at the end of the 2010 season, Date-Krumm debuted on tour in a year (1988) in which many of her current competitors were not even alive.
Even more remarkable, after three Top 10 finishes between 1994-1996, she vanished from the ranks, only to come back to tennis in 2008 at age 38, and finish the next two seasons ranked int he Top 100. After the 1996 Olympics, she announced her retirement, only to reutrn to the tour 12 years later. In 2009, she won the Hansol Korean Open, becoming the second-oldest player in Open Era history to win a crown. Date-Krumm has eight career WTA singles titles and one in WTA doubles.
Date-Krumm debuted in 1988 and first finished in the Top 100 in 1990 at No. 79. She upped her stake considerably in 1991, particularly considering she started the season ranked 117th. She had only moved up to 112th when she unexpectedly reached the finals at Los Angeles, defeating No. 3 Gabriela Sabatini in the semifinals before falling to No. 1 Monica Seles in the final. The victory saw her jump 79 spots in the rankings to No. 33, and she finished the year ranked 32nd.
She moved just outside the Top 20 in 1992, racking up a 29-14 record. She reached back-to-back semifinals at the Pan Pacific and Osaka early in thes eason, then won Tokyo for her first career title in April. The victory pushed her to a career-best No. 16 ranking, but she slipped back outside the Top 20 by year's end.
In 1993, she began a run of four straight seasons inside the Top 15, finishing 13th. She reached the finals of Osaka and the semifinals of at Miami, defeating Mary Joe Fernandez. She defended her title at Tokyo to re-enter the Top 20 and capped the season with her most-impressive Grand Slam effort to date, reaching the quarterfinals of the US Open by upsetting No. 8 Jana Novotna. She finished the year ranked 13th.
In 1994, Date-Krumm gained access to the Top 10 for the first time. She started the year in style, winning Sydney, defeating No. 4 Conchita Martinez in the quarterfinals and Fernandez in the finals. She followed it up with her first-ever Grand Slam semifinal, defeating Martinez again in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open before falling to Steffi Graf in the next round. Despite the loss, Date-Krumm moved up to No. 7 in the world, then won Tokyo for a third straight year.
She continued to play well on hard courts, as she reached the semifinals at Montreal and the quarters at the Open itself. For the first time in her career, Date-Krumm qualified for the year-end championships and reached the semifinals, falling to Sabatini to finish No. 9 in the world with a 33-14 record.
The next season would be the very best of Date-Krumm's impressive career. She racked up a 41-12 record in 1995, finishing No. 4 in the world. For a fourth straight season she won the Pan Pacific, knocking off Lindsay Davenport in the final, then reached the final at Miami before falling to Graf. She reached two more finals, then lost in the semifinals of the French Open, moving up to No. 6 in the world. She followed that with her best performance yet at Wimbledon, reaching the quarterfinals. Her fourth-round appearance at the US Open followed by a quarterfinal appearance at the Tour Championships pushed her up to the Top 5.
She dropped back to eight in 1996, the stunning culmination of the early part of her career.She made it five straight titles at Tokyo in April, and reached the semifinals of Wimbledon for the first time, falling to Graf, but pushing her to three sets. She also reached the quarterfinals of the Olympics, as well as Los Angeles, then won San Diego, defeating No. 3 Martinez and No. 2 Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario back to back. After falling in the semifinals at Nicheirei, she made the stunning announcement that she would retire from the game just shy of her 26th birthday. She finished the year No. 9.
On April 6, 2008, Date-Krumm surprised the world by announcing she would return to the women's tour at age 37. Her first tournament back was the 50k ITF in Gifu, Japan. She reached the finals of the singles and won the title in doubles. Her first tour event was Tokyo in September, and she lost in the third round of qualifiers. At year's end, she was 34-9, but only two of those wins had come in WTA competition. She finished the season ranked 198th.
She amped up her WTA dates in 2009, her first full season back, reaching the main draw of the Australian Open and at Los Angeles. In September, she entered Seoul ranked No. 155 in the world, then turned the tour on its ear by taking the title, defeating two Top 25 players in the process. She beat No. 18 Yanina Wickmayer in Bali en route to reaching the semifinals and finished the year at No. 82.
Date-Krumm turned 40 late in 2010, but her body showed no signs of slowing down as she leapt into the Top 50 in the third year of her comeback. She reached the quarterfinals at Auckland and the second round at Sydney and the French Open. Her finest effort came in Tokyo, where she shocked No. 15 Maria Sharapova in the opening round, then beat No. 29 Daniela Hantuchova before falling in the third round. At Osaka, she reached the final, knocking off No. 8 Samantha Stosur in the quarterfinals, her first win over a Top 10 player in 14 years. In November, she announced that 2011 would be her final season on tour.
Kimiko Date-Krumm
Kimiko Date-Krumm
Kimiko Date-Krumm
Kimiko Date-Krumm
Kimiko Date-Krumm
Kimiko Date-Krumm
Kimiko Date-Krumm
Kimiko Date-Krumm
Venus Williams vs Kimiko Date-Krumm 2011 Wimbledon Highlights
Venus Williams vs Kimiko Date-Krumm [First Round Short Compilation - Sony Ericsson Open 2012]
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