Johanna Konta is a former British professional tennis player, who has competed on the WTA Tour since 2008.
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Date of Birth: |
17 May 1991 |
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Birthplace: |
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
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Residence: |
Eastbourne, England |
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Height: |
5'11" (180 cm)
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Weight: |
154 lbs (70 kg)
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Plays: |
Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
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Turned Pro: |
2008 |
Johanna Konta was born on May 17, 1991, in Sydney, Australia, to Hungarian parents Gabor and Gabriella. At the age of 14, she attended the Sanchez-Casal Tennis Academy in Barcelona. During this time, her parents settled in Eastbourne, England.
In May 2012, Konta became a British citizen and switched her sporting allegiance from Australia to Great Britain. This proved controversial among some, but she has repeatedly said throughout her career that she is proud to represent Great Britain.
Konta got her first two wins on the WTA Tour in 2012. She remained outside the Top 100 until the end of 2014, with her most notable achievement during this period being winning a maiden Grand Slam main-draw match at the 2012 US Open against Timea Babos.
The Briton’s first breakthrough came at the 2015 US Open, where she progressed to the fourth round. Konta defeated Louisa Chirico, future Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza, and Andrea Petkovic to achieve this before losing to Petra Kvitova.
2016 brought even more success for Konta. She began the year with a run to the semi-final of the Australian Open. This included a comprehensive win against seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams. She fell in the semi-final 5-7, 2-6 to the eventual champion Angelique Kerber.
In July 2016, Konta claimed her first WTA title. She achieved this with another triumph against Venus Williams in the final. It was a close match, but Konta prevailed 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 to lift the trophy. Konta also progressed to a maiden WTA 1000 final in Beijing in October 2016. After beating Madison Keys in the semi-final, Agnieszka Radwanska proved to be too big a hurdle in the final.
Konta ended 2016 ranked inside the Top 10 for the first time. 2017 was the best season of Konta’s career. She won her biggest title at the WTA 1000 event in Miami. Konta beat the No. 1 seed Kerber in the quarter-final and prevailed against Venus Williams once again in the semi-final.
She reigned supreme at the Miami Open by beating Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-3 in the final. Konta reached a second Grand Slam semi-final at the 2017 Wimbledon Championships. She overcame Simona Halep 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 in an epic quarter-final battle. However, Venus Williams got her revenge for previous defeats, with Konta being swept aside 2-6, 4-6 in the semi-final.
After a less successful 2018, Konta returned to form in 2019 during the clay court season. After reaching the final of the Morocco Open, she was also the runner-up at the WTA 1000 event in Rome, losing 3-6, 4-6 in the final.
A few weeks later, Konta made another Grand Slam semi-final at the French Open. Unfortunately, it was the third time unlucky for the Briton. She lost in two close sets to the future Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova. Konta’s level dropped after 2019, with injuries playing a major role in this.
She did have one last triumph by claiming her fourth and final WTA title at the 2021 Nottingham Open by easily defeating Zhang Shuai 6-2, 6-1 in the final. On December 1, 2021, Konta announced her retirement from the sport after struggling for some time with a chronic injury to her right knee.
