Bethanie Mattek-Sands

Bethanie Mattek-Sands ( Bethanie Lynn Mattek; born March 23, 1985) is an American inactive professional tennis player. She has won nine Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal, and is a former world No. 1 in doubles. She held the top ranking for 32 consecutive weeks.

Mattek-Sands has won 35 WTA Tour doubles and mixed doubles titles, including five doubles majors at the 2015 Australian Open, 2015 French Open, 2016 US Open, 2017 Australian Open and 2017 French Open, all partnering Lucie Šafářová. The pair also were the runners-up of the 2016 WTA Finals. Mattek-Sands has also found great success in mixed doubles; she won the 2012 Australian Open with and the 2015 French Open and a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Mattek-Sands then suffered a major knee injury in 2017 that required surgery and a year away from competition to heal, but eventually came back to win the 2018 and 2019 US Open mixed doubles titles, both partnering Jamie Murray. Mattek also played World TeamTennis for the Hartford FoxForce in 2000, the Sacramento Capitals in 2006, and the New York Sportimes in 2008.

Mattek-Sands has also won five singles and three doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. Her best results in singles on the WTA Tour are reaching the fourth round of two major events (Wimbledon in 2008 and the French Open in 2013), the semifinals of the tournaments in Cincinnati in 2005 and Birmingham in 2008, and the final of the Bell Challenge in 2008 and 2010. She reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 30 in the world on July 11, 2011. was upset in the first round against then ranked 133rd Misaki Doi from Japan. Despite the loss, Mattek-Sands reached a career-high ranking of world No. 30 for the first time, on 11 July 2011.

She then had to withdraw from her heavily scheduled U.S. hardcourt series events due to a shoulder injury. She did try to play at the US Open, but lost to Polona Hercog in the first round. In the women's doubles competition, she acquired a new partner due to the retirement of Meghann Shaughnessy. She teamed up with Jarmila Gajdošová, and they reached the third round where they lost to the team of Huber/Raymond.

2012: First major mixed-doubles title Mattek-Sands started her year representing the U.S. in the 2012 Hopman Cup with Mardy Fish. She came up short in her singles matches against Wimbledon champion, Petra Kvitová of the Czech Republic and Denmark's world No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki, but beat Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova in the third tie. After an early exit from the Hopman Cup, she played singles at the Hobart International, where she was a finalist, and doubles with partner Gajdošová. In singles, she lost in the second round to Sorana Cîrstea, and in doubles, she reached the semifinals, before having to retire due to a neck injury.

At the Australian Open, Mattek-Sands lost to Agnieszka Radwańska in the first round. In the doubles competition, she reached the third round with Jarmila Gajdošová, before losing to the Indian/Russian pairing of Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina. In the mixed doubles competition, she and Romanian partner, Horia Tecău finally had their breakthrough moment, defeating title favorites, Bhuphati/Mirza in the semifinals. They then went on to win the title by defeating the team of Elena Vesnina and Leander Paes in the final.

Mattek-Sands made it through the qualifying draw at the Paris Indoors. In the main draw, she made it to the second round, before losing to Roberta Vinci in three sets.

Mattek-Sands started to play on the doubles circuit with Sania Mirza, with whom she had had success in the past. In only their second tournament as a team in 2012, the Indian-American duo won the Premier-level event in Brussels, Belgium. However, they could not hold on to the good form as they were upset in the first round at Roland Garros. They made it to the third round of Wimbledon, but were eliminated by the Williams sisters.

Mattek-Sands and Mirza were beaten in the first round of the WTA Tour event in Carlsbad, California by Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan.

After reaching the quarterfinal of the Lexington Challenger, Mattek-Sands failed to win another main-draw match in singles. However, with Mirza in doubles, she reached the quarterfinals of Montreal and the third round of the US Open, playing eventual champions Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci to three sets.

2013: French Open fourth round in singles Mattek-Sands received a wild card to play in Kuala Lumpur, and justified it, as she reached the final ranked at No. 197. She lost to Karolína Plíšková, despite winning first set. At home event in Charleston, she brushed aside fellow American and that year's Australian Open semifinalist Sloane Stephens, before losing to Madison Keys in third round. At Premier event in Stuttgart, Bethanie reached the semifinals as qualifier, stunning No. 7 Sara Errani and Sabine Lisicki in the second round and quarterfinals, respectively. There she lost to Li Na.

At the French Open, Mattek-Sands won against the sixth seeded Li Na in the second round, beating her in three sets. Mattek-Sands was placed 61 places lower than Li, the 2011 champion, in the WTA rankings. She subsequently reached the fourth round, where she lost to Maria Kirilenko. This was her best showing at this Grand Slam in singles in her career.

After a successful clay-court season, she didn't continue in that style, losing in the first or second rounds at all tournaments. At Wimbledon, she lost in round one to Angelique Kerber and to Ekaterina Makarova in the second round of US Open.

2014: Multiple injuries and loss of form At Sydney International, she qualified for tournament and then beat Eugenie Bouchard and No. 5, Agnieszka Radwańska. Both defeated players would go on to reach semifinals of the first Grand Slam event of the season, which made Mattek-Sands' wins bigger. But during her quarterfinal match against Madison Keys, she retired in the first set due to lumbar spine injury.

At Australian Open, she wasn't happy with draw, as she was the first opponent of third seed Maria Sharapova, losing in two sets. At the Pattaya Open, Mattek-Sands lost in the first round to Karolína Plíšková. In Doha, she beat again Bouchard, before losing to Monica Niculescu.

After losing in first round of Miami, Bethanie underwent hip surgery. She came back on court in September, when she played in Wuhan and lost in qualifying. She qualified for the China Open, but lost in the first round to another qualifier, Mona Barthel, in three sets. Her season was finished, after playing two more events without success.

2015: Australian & French Open doubles and mixed doubles champion

In 2015, Mattek-Sands won the 2015 Australian Open and 2015 French Open women's doubles alongside Lucie Šafářová.

She also won the French Open mixed doubles title with partner Mike Bryan.

2016: Olympic gold medal and US Open champion In 2016, Mattek-Sands had success in both doubles and mixed doubles.

At the Australian Open, she was unable to defend her title with Lucie Šafářová because of a bacterial infection. Mattek-Sands competed with Sabine Lisicki instead, and lost in the second round.

In March, she competed in the Indian Wells Open women's doubles event. She competed with fellow American CoCo Vandeweghe. Mattek-Sands and Vandeweghe claimed the title, defeating Julia Görges and Karolína Plíšková. Next, in Miami, Mattek-Sands (partnering with Šafářová, her regular partner again) reached the final, in which she and Šafářová won against Tímea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova. These were Mattek-Sands' second and third Premier-Mandatory/Premier-5 titles, respectively.

At the French Open, Mattek-Sands and Šafářová (the defending champions) lost in the first round to Kiki Bertens and Johanna Larsson. In June, at Wimbledon, they had another first-round exit, losing to Daria Gavrilova and Daria Kasatkina.

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Mattek-Sands became an Olympic gold medalist when she won the mixed-doubles title with Jack Sock against Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram in an all-American match-up.

Her success with Šafářová was reignited at the US Open, when the pair won the title against Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic, the No. 1 seeds. This was Mattek-Sands' third major title with Šafářová, and third overall (in women's doubles).

In September 2016, hacked documents from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) revealed that Mattek-Sands had twice applied for a therapeutic-use exemption for hydrocortisone and DHEA. Both times the request was granted by the International Tennis Federation before being revoked by WADA, but an application for exemption for hydrocortisone alone was eventually approved. Mattek-Sands has refused to comment on the exemption.

Mattek-Sands and Šafářová had an excellent finish during the Asian leg, the final leg of the WTA Tour. The pair competed at the Wuhan Open, their first Premier-Mandatory/ Premier-5 tournament since May. They ended up winning the title, defeating the doubles world No. 1 and defending champion, Sania Mirza, and Barbora Strýcová. Their winning streak continued over in Beijing, where Mattek-Sands and Šafářová claimed the title again Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic. These were their fourth and fifth Premier-Mandatory/Premier-5 titles together, respectively, and their fourth and fifth titles of 2016. These victories also allowed Mattek-Sands and Šafářová to qualify for the 2016 WTA Finals. They were the fourth team to do so.

At the WTA Finals, Mattek-Sands and Šafářová defeated Tímea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova in the quarterfinals, and their rivals Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic in the semifinals. Had the pair won in the final, Mattek-Sands would have become the WTA doubles year-end No. 1. However, the American-Czech team was defeated by Makarova and Vesnina.

2017: World No. 1 doubles ranking, and second Australian and French Open title Mattek-Sands played at the Brisbane International with Sania Mirza, the defending champion, in doubles. The duo defeated Makarova and Vesnina in the final, with Mattek-Sands succeeding Mirza as the new world No. 1 in doubles.

At the Australian Open, Mattek-Sands competed with Šafářová. The pair won their second Australian Open doubles title in three years, and their second straight Grand Slam tournament, defeating Andrea Hlaváčková and Peng Shuai in the final, in three sets.

Mattek-Sands won the French Open women's doubles title, again with Šafářová, by beating Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua, in straight sets.

Playing Sorana Cîrstea in the second round of the Wimbledon singles, Mattek-Sands was running to the net at the beginning of the third set when she collapsed in agony, clutching at her right knee. She shouted out a large number of expletives for which she later apologized. She was treated on the court before being rushed to a local hospital with an "acute knee injury" which was later revealed to be a dislocated kneecap and ruptured patellar ligament, for which surgery was required. Mattek-Sands had suffered a torn medial collateral ligament on the same knee in September 2013.

2018–19: Comeback and two US Open mixed-doubles titles In March 2018, Mattek-Sands returned to compete at the 2018 Miami Open in singles as a wildcard and in doubles. At the French Open, she reached the second round with Latisha Chan, and at Wimbledon, she reached quarterfinals with Lucie Šafářová. She also reached quarterfinals in the US Open mixed doubles and won the title, partnering Scotsman Jamie Murray in their first entry as a pair; it was her eighth Grand Slam doubles title overall and Murray's sixth (including the same tournament the previous year). The pair defended their title at the 2019 US Open.

2020–21: Third French Open final Mattek-Sands and Jamie Murray ended runners-up at the 2020 Australian Open.

Seeded 14th at the 2021 French Open, Mattek-Sands partnered with previous year's singles champion, Iga Świątek. The pair, who were playing just their third event together, reached the final in which they were defeated by Czech duo Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková in straight sets.

2022–25: Comeback, Miami champion & 30th doubles title, hiatus After a whole year off since October 2021, she came back for the last WTA 1000 in 2022 as a wildcard pair with Viktoria Azarenka at the inaugural Guadalajara Open.

At the 2023 Italian Open, she reached the semifinals with Marie Bouzková using protected ranking; they lost to fourth seeds and eventual champions, Elise Mertens and Storm Hunter.

In March 2024, partnering Sofia Kenin, she won her second Miami title and seventh overall at the WTA 1000 level, having entered the tournament as alternates. It was her second doubles title at this level with Kenin, third overall as a team and 30th in her career.

At the 2024 Prague Open in July, she reached the final with Lucie Šafářová where they lost to top seeds Krejčíková and Siniaková.

Fashion Mattek has achieved extensive publicity as a result of her eccentric fashion sense on the court. Notable outfits include leopard print outfits at the 2004 US Open and 2007 US Open, a striped cowboy hat that garnered her a fine at the 2005 US Open, a "soccer theme" at the 2006 Wimbledon Championships that included £10 football socks, chandelier earrings, a tube top worn over a strappy vest top, tiny running shorts and a headband, pink knee-high socks at the 2006 JPMorgan Chase Open, and a loosely draped beige top, with a crocheted waist and split sleeves that resembled a toga and beige knee-high socks at the 2006 US Open. During the 2011 pre-Wimbledon party in London, Mattek-Sands wore a fluorescent green dress, by designer Alex Noble, that featured tennis balls as components and a Mohican-style hat.

Personal life Mattek grew up in Minnesota and Wisconsin. On November 29, 2008, she married insurance executive Justin Sands in Naples, Florida. Since then she has used the name Mattek-Sands professionally. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona.

Performance timelines

Only main-draw results on WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Fed Cup/Billie Jean King Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.

Singles Current through the 2022 US Open.

Doubles

Mixed doubles

Grand Slam tournament finals Doubles: 6 (5 titles, 1 runner-up)

Mixed doubles: 6 (4 titles, 2 runner-ups)

Other significant finals WTA Tour Championships Doubles: 1 (runner-up) ResultYearTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 2016WTA Finals, Singapore Hard (i) Lucie Šafářová Ekaterina Makarova Elena Vesnina 6–7(5–7), 3–6

WTA 1000 tournaments Doubles: 8 (7 titles, 1 runner-up)

Olympic Games Mixed doubles: 1 (gold medal) ResultYearLocationSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreGold 2016Rio de Janeiro Hard Jack Sock Venus Williams Rajeev Ram 6–7(3–7), 6–1, [10–7]

WTA Tour finals Singles: 4 (4 runner-ups) LegendGrand SlamWTA 1000 (Tier I / Premier M & Premier 5)WTA 500 (Tier II / Premier)WTA 250 (Tier III, IV & V / International) (0–4)Finals by surfaceHard (0–2)Clay (0–0)Grass (0–0)Carpet (0–2)

Doubles: 49 (30 titles, 19 runner-ups) LegendGrand Slam (5–1)WTA Finals (0–1)WTA 1000 (Tier I / Premier M & Premier 5) (7–1)WTA 500 (Tier II / Premier) (13–8)WTA 250 (Tier III, IV & V / International) (5–8)Finals by surfaceHard (19–8)Clay (11–8)Grass (0–2)Carpet (0–1)

ITF Circuit finals Singles: 9 (5–4) Legend$75,000 tournaments (1–1)$50,000 tournaments (4–3)Finals by surfaceHard (3–2)Clay (2–2)

Junior Grand Slam tournament finals Doubles: 1 (runner-up) ResultYearTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 2001 Wimbledon Grass Christina Horiatopoulos Gisela Dulko Ashley Harkleroad 3–6, 1–6

Top-10 wins per season

World TeamTennis Mattek-Sands has played three seasons with World TeamTennis, making her debut in 2000 with the Hartford FoxForce, later playing a season with the Sacramento Capitals in 2006, and the New York Sportimes in 2008. Mattek-Sands joined the Chicago Smash for their inaugural season during the 2020 WTT season at The Greenbrier. The team advanced to the final as the second seed with a win over the Orlando Storm in the semifinals, but ultimately fell in the Championship match to the New York Empire in a Supertiebreaker. Mattek-Sands was named the 2020 WTT MVP due to her doubles play throughout the season.