Helena Sukova Bio

Helena Suková (born February 23, 1965, in Prague, Czechoslovakia) is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. During her career, she won 14 Grand Slam titles, 9 of them in women's doubles and 5 of them in mixed doubles. She also was a four-time Grand Slam singles runner-up. Suková comes from a prominent Czech tennis family. Her mother, Věra Pužejová Suková, was a women's singles finalist at Wimbledon in 1962. Her father, Cyril Suk II, was president of the Czechoslovakian Tennis Federation. Her brother, Cyril Suk III, is a former professional player on the men's tour who teamed with Suková to win three Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, at the French Open in 1991 and at Wimbledon in 1996 and 1997. Suková turned professional in 1981. Her career-high world rankings were fourth in singles and first in women's doubles. Suková was a singles runner-up at the Australian Open twice (in 1984 and 1989) and at the US Open twice (in 1986 and 1993). Suková's most memorable Grand Slam singles win was against Martina Navratilova in a semifinal of the 1984 Australian Open, where she ended Navratilova's 74-match winning streak and her chance at winning a calendar year Grand Slam. Suková was a particularly outstanding doubles player. She had a career Grand Slam in women's doubles, winning four titles at Wimbledon, two at the US Open, one at the Australian Open, and one at the French Open. She won three mixed doubles titles at Wimbledon, one at the US Open, and one at the French Open. She also was a women's doubles silver medalist at the Olympic Games in 1988 and 1996 (both times partnering Jana Novotná). Suková helped Czechoslovakia win the Fed Cup four times, in 1983, 1984, 1985, and 1988. She also teamed with Miloslav Mečíř to win the inaugural Hopman Cup for Czechoslovakia in 1989. Over the course of her career, Suková won 10 singles titles and 69 doubles titles. Despite retiring from the professional tour in 1998, she was given a wild card into the 2006 Wimbledon mixed doubles tournament with her brother Cyril Suk. They lost their first round match.