Liezel Huber

Liezel Huber (née Horn; born 21 August 1976) is a South African-American retired tennis player who represented the United States internationally since August 2007. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On 12 November 2007, she became the co-world No. 1 in doubles with Cara Black. On 19 April 2010, Huber became the sole No. 1 for the first time in her career.

Personal life At age 15, she moved from South Africa to the United States to attend the Van Der Meer Tennis Academy in Hilton Head, South Carolina in 1992. Huber has since resided in the U.S. and became a naturalized American citizen in July 2007. She married Tony Huber, an American, in February 2000. In 2005, she started a foundation, Liezel's Cause, to raise money and gather basic supplies to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

She competed for the United States in the 2008 Beijing Olympics in doubles, partnering with former World No. 1 (in both singles and doubles) Lindsay Davenport; the pair lost in the quarterfinals. At the 2012 London Olympics, she teamed with Lisa Raymond. Together they reached the semi-finals, losing to Hlaváčková and Hradecká of the Czech Republic. They then lost the bronze medal match to Kirilenko and Petrova of Russia.

Professional career Liezel Huber is primarily a doubles specialist, having achieved one of the best careers in this discipline. She has won 64 women's doubles titles in her career, of which 53 are on the WTA Tour and 11 on the ITF Women's Circuit. In singles, the greatest result in her career was reaching the quarterfinals at the tournament in Pattaya City in 2001, where she lost to Henrieta Nagyová. She participated in two Grand Slam singles main draws, losing to Lindsay Davenport in the second round of the 1998 French Open. She lost in the 1999 US Open first round to Raluca Sandu. Her highest singles ranking was world no. 131, which she achieved on 29 March 1999. She enjoyed the majority of her first eight years on tour on the ITF Circuit.

Huber has enjoyed successful women's partnerships with Magdalena Maleeva, Ai Sugiyama, Martina Navratilova, Lindsay Davenport, Cara Black, Sania Mirza, Nadia Petrova, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, María José Martínez Sánchez, and Lisa Raymond. Huber has been in the final of all four Grand Slams, winning in all except for the French Open. She has won a total of five Grand Slam women's doubles titles with three partners in ten finals with four partners, and finished as a titlist in two of her five mixed doubles finals.

Huber and her Zimbabwean partner Black made up what many tennis experts regard as one of the greatest women's doubles teams in history between mid-2005. and early 2010. Together, the pair reached seven women's doubles finals, winning four. The duo won a total of 29 titles together on the WTA Tour. The partnership suddenly broke up in April 2010.

Huber has also enjoyed success in mixed doubles, winning two titles with American men's doubles legend Bob Bryan, at the 2009 French Open and 2010 US Open. She reached her first career mixed final with Bob's brother Mike at the 2001 Wimbledon Championships, and two additional finals, at the 2005 Australian Open with Kevin Ullyett, and at the 2008 US Open with Jamie Murray.

Huber has also enjoyed impressive success in the Fed Cup national competition. She logged a 9–3 record on the South Africa Fed Cup team, with all but one match being in doubles. Huber is now a major member of the United States Fed Cup team, compiling a 6–2 record in doubles play. In the competition, Huber has played with Julie Ditty, Vania King, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Melanie Oudin, and Sloane Stephens.

Liezel Huber served as executive director of Tennis at the New York Junior Tennis & Learning Cary Leeds Center, in Bronx Crotona Park. As of 4 January 2021, she is Director of Tennis and Racquets at The River Club of New York.

Grand Slam finals Doubles: 10 (5–5)

Mixed doubles: 5 (2–3)

Olympics Doubles: 1 Bronze medal match (0–1)

WTA career finals Doubles: 92 (53–39) Winner — LegendGrand Slam tournaments (5–5)Tour Championships (3–1)Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (14–11)Premier (19–15)International (12–7)

ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 1. Jul 1998 Warsaw Open Clay Karin Kschwendt Olga Lugina Karina Habšudová 7–6(7–2), 7–5Loss 2. Nov 2000 Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic, Kuala Lumpur Hard Vanessa Webb Henrieta Nagyová Sylvia Plischke 6–4, 7–6(7–4)Win 1. Sep 2001 Toyota Princess Cup, Tokyo Hard Cara Black Kim Clijsters Ai Sugiyama 6–1, 6–3Win 2. Oct 2001 Japan Open Tennis Championships, Tokyo Hard Rachel McQuillan Janet Lee Wynne Prakusya 6–2, 6–0Win 3. Oct 2001 China Open, Shanghai Hard Lenka Němečková Evie Dominikovic Tamarine Tanasugarn 6–0, 7–5Loss 3. Nov 2001 PTT Pattaya Open Hard Wynne Prakusya Åsa Carlsson Iroda Tulyaganova 4–6, 6–3, 6–3Win 4. Jan 2002 Auckland Open Hard Nicole Arendt Květa Hrdličková Henrieta Nagyová 7–5, 6–4Win 5. Mar 2003 Miami Masters Hard Magdalena Maleeva Shinobu Asagoe Nana Miyagi 6–4, 3–6, 7–5Win 6. Apr 2003 Sarasota Clay Court Classic Clay Martina Navratilova Shinobu Asagoe Nana Miyagi 7–6(10–8), 6–3Win 7. May 2003 Warsaw Open Clay Magdalena Maleeva Eleni Daniilidou Francesca Schiavone 3–6, 6–4, 6–2Win 8. May 2003 Madrid Open Clay Jill Craybas Rita Grande Angelique Widjaja 6–4, 7–6(8–6)Win 9. Oct 2003 Generali Ladies Linz Hard (i) Ai Sugiyama Marion Bartoli Silvia Farina Elia 6–1, 7–6(8–6)Loss 4. Jan 2004 Brisbane International, Gold Coast Hard Magdalena Maleeva Svetlana Kuznetsova Elena Likhovtseva 6–3, 6–4Win 10. Feb 2004 Hyderabad Open Hard Sania Mirza Li Ting Sun Tiantian 7–6(7–1), 6–4Loss 5. Jul 2004 Wimbledon Grass Ai Sugiyama Cara Black Rennae Stubbs 6–3, 7–6(7–5)Loss 6. Aug 2004 Rogers Cup, Montreal Hard Tamarine Tanasugarn Ai Sugiyama Shinobu Asagoe 6–0, 6–3Loss 7. Nov 2004 Advanta Championships of Philadelphia Hard (i) Corina Morariu Lisa Raymond Alicia Molik 7–5, 6–4Loss 8. Feb 2005 Qatar Total Open, Doha Hard Cara Black Francesca Schiavone Alicia Molik 6–3, 6–4Loss 9. May 2005 Qatar Total German Open, Berlin Clay Cara Black Vera Zvonareva Elena Likhovtseva 4–6, 6–4, 6–3Win 11. May 2005 Rome Masters Clay Cara Black Maria Kirilenko Anabel Medina Garrigues 6–0, 4–6, 6–1Loss 10. Jun 2005 French Open Clay Cara Black Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez 4–6, 6–3, 6–3Win 12. Jun 2005 Wimbledon Grass Cara Black Svetlana Kuznetsova Amélie Mauresmo 6–2, 6–1Win 13. Feb 2006 Bangalore Open Hard Sania Mirza Anastasia Rodionova Elena Vesnina 6–3, 6–3Loss 11. Mar 2006 Sony Ericcson Open, Miami Hard Martina Navratilova Lisa Raymond Samantha Stosur 6–4, 7–5Loss 12. Apr 2006 MPS Group Championships, Ponte Vedra Beach Clay Sania Mirza Shinobu Asagoe Katarina Srebotnik 6–2, 6–4Win 14. May 2006 Internationaux de Strasbourg Clay Martina Navratilova Martina Müller Andreea Vanc 6–2, 7–6(7–1)Loss 13. Jun 2006 DFS Classic, Birmingham Grass Jill Craybas Jelena Janković Li Na 6–2, 6–4Loss 14. Jun 2006 Eastbourne International Grass Martina Navratilova Svetlana Kuznetsova Amélie Mauresmo 6–2, 6–4Win 15. Sep 2006 Sunfeast Open, Kolkata Hard Sania Mirza Yuliya Beygelzimer Yuliana Fedak 6–4, 6–0Loss 15. Oct 2006 Fortis Championships Luxembourg Hard (i) Anna-Lena Grönefeld Francesca Schiavone Květa Peschke 2–6, 6–4, 6–1Loss 16. Oct 2006 Zürich Open Hard (i) Katarina Srebotnik Cara Black Rennae Stubbs 7–5, 7–5Win 16. Jan 2007 Australian Open Hard Cara Black Chan Yung-jan Chuang Chia-jung 6–4, 6–7(4–7), 6–1Win 17. Feb 2007 Open Gaz de France, Paris Carpet (i) Cara Black Gabriela Navrátilová Vladimíra Uhlířová 6–2, 6–0Win 18. Feb 2007 Proximus Diamond Games, Antwerp Carpet (i) Cara Black Elena Likhovtseva Elena Vesnina 7–5, 4–6, 6–1Win 19. Feb 2007 Dubai Tennis Championships Hard Cara Black Svetlana Kuznetsova Alicia Molik 7–6(8–6), 6–4Loss 17. Apr 2007 Sony Ericcson Open, Miami Hard Cara Black Lisa Raymond Samantha Stosur 6–4, 3–6, [10–2]Win 20. Jun 2007 Wimbledon Grass Cara Black Katarina Srebotnik Ai Sugiyama 3–6, 6–3, 6–2Win 21. Jul 2007 Acura Classic, San Diego Hard Cara Black Victoria Azarenka Anna Chakvetadze 7–5, 6–4Loss 18. Aug 2007 Canada Masters, Toronto Hard Cara Black Katarina Srebotnik Ai Sugiyama 6–4, 2–6, [10–5]Loss 19. Aug 2007 New Haven Open at Yale Hard Cara Black Sania Mirza Mara Santangelo 6–1, 6–2Win 22. Oct 2007 Kremlin Cup, Moscow Carpet Cara Black Victoria Azarenka Tatiana Poutchek 4–6, 6–1, [10–7]Win 23. Oct 2007 Generali Ladies Linz Hard (i) Cara Black Katarina Srebotnik Ai Sugiyama 6–2, 3–6, [10–8]Win 24. Nov 2007 WTA Tour Championships, Madrid Hard (i) Cara Black Katarina Srebotnik Ai Sugiyama 5–7, 6–3, [10–8]Win 25. Feb 2008 Proximus Diamond Games, Antwerp Carpet Cara Black Květa Peschke Ai Sugiyama 6–1, 6–3Loss 20. Feb 2008 Qatar Total Open, Doha Hard Cara Black Rennae Stubbs Květa Peschke 6–1, 5–7, [10–7]Win 26. Mar 2008 Dubai Tennis Championships Hard Cara Black Yan Zi Zheng Jie 7–5, 6–2Loss 21. Apr 2008 Miami Masters Hard Cara Black Katarina Srebotnik Ai Sugiyama 7–5, 4–6, [10–3]Win 27. May 2008 German Open, Berlin Clay Cara Black Nuria Llagostera Vives María José Martínez Sánchez 3–6, 6–2, [10–2]Win 28. Jun 2008 DFS Classic, Birmingham Grass Cara Black Virginia Ruano Pascual Séverine Brémond 6–2, 6–1Win 29. Jun 2008 International Women's Open, Eastbourne Grass Cara Black Květa Peschke Rennae Stubbs 2–6, 6–0, [10–8]Win 30. Jul 2008 Bank of the West Classic, Stanford Hard Cara Black Elena Vesnina Vera Zvonareva 6–4, 6–3 Win 31. Aug 2008 Canada Masters, Montreal Hard Cara Black Maria Kirilenko Flavia Pennetta 6–1, 6–1Win 32. Sep 2008 US Open Hard Cara Black Samantha Stosur Lisa Raymond 6–4, 7–6(8–6)Loss 22. Oct 2008 Kremlin Cup, Moscow Hard (i) Cara Black Nadia Petrova Katarina Srebotnik 6–4, 6–4Win 33. Oct 2008 Zurich Open Hard (i) Cara Black Anna-Lena Grönefeld Patty Schnyder 6–1, 7–6(7–3)Loss 23. Oct 2008 Generali Ladies Linz Hard (i) Cara Black Katarina Srebotnik Ai Sugiyama 6–4, 7–5Win 34. Nov 2008 WTA Tour Championships, Doha Hard Cara Black Květa Peschke Rennae Stubbs 6–1, 7–5Win 35. Feb 2009 Open GDF Suez, Paris Hard (i) Cara Black Květa Peschke Lisa Raymond 6–4, 3–6, [10–4]Win 36. Feb 2009 Dubai Tennis Championships Hard Cara Black Maria Kirilenko Agnieszka Radwańska 6–3, 6–3Win 37. May 2009 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open Clay Cara Black Květa Peschke Lisa Raymond 4–6, 6–3, [10–6]Win 38. Jun 2009 Aegon Classic, Birmingham Grass Cara Black Raquel Kops-Jones Abigail Spears 6–1, 6–4Win 39. Aug 2009 Cincinnati Masters Hard Cara Black Nuria Llagostera Vives María José Martínez Sánchez 6–3, 0–6, [10–2]Loss 24. Sep 2009 US Open Hard Cara Black Serena Williams Venus Williams 6–2, 6–2Loss 25. Nov 2009 WTA Tour Championships, Doha Hard Cara Black Nuria Llagostera Vives María José Martínez Sánchez 7–6(7–0), 5–7, [10–7]Win 40. Jan 2010 Auckland Open Hard Cara Black Natalie Grandin Laura Granville 7–6(7–4), 6–2Win 41. Jan 2010 Medibank International Sydney Hard Cara Black Tathiana Garbin Nadia Petrova 6–1, 3–6, [10–3]Loss 26. Jan 2010 Australian Open Hard Cara Black Serena Williams Venus Williams 6–4, 6–3Loss 27. Feb 2010 Open GDF Suez, Paris Hard (i) Cara Black Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová Iveta Benešová w/oWin 42. Apr 2010 Family Circle Cup, Charleston Clay Nadia Petrova Vania King Michaëlla Krajicek 6–3, 6–4Loss 28. Jun 2010 Aegon Classic, Birmingham Grass Bethanie Mattek-Sands Cara Black Lisa Raymond 6–3, 3–2 ret.Win 43. Aug 2010 Bank of the West Classic, Stanford Hard Lindsay Davenport Chan Yung-jan Zheng Jie 7–5, 6–7(8–10), [10–8]Loss 29. Sep 2010 US Open Hard Nadia Petrova Yaroslava Shvedova Vania King 2–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–4)Win 44. Feb 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships Hard María José Martínez Sánchez Květa Peschke Katarina Srebotnik 7–6(7–5), 6–3Loss 30. Feb 2011 Qatar Ladies Open, Doha Hard Nadia Petrova Květa Peschke Katarina Srebotnik 7–5, 6–7(2–7), [10–8]Loss 31. Apr 2011 Miami Hard Nadia Petrova Daniela Hantuchová Agnieszka Radwańska 7–6(7–5), 2–6, [10–8]Loss 32. Jun 2011 Aegon International, Eastbourne Grass Lisa Raymond Květa Peschke Katarina Srebotnik 6–3, 6–0Loss 33. Jul 2011 Bank of the West Classic, Stanford Hard Lisa Raymond Victoria Azarenka Maria Kirilenko 6–1, 6–3Win 45. Aug 2011 Rogers Cup, Toronto Hard Lisa Raymond Victoria Azarenka Maria Kirilenko w/oWin 46. Sep 2011 US Open Hard Lisa Raymond Vania King Yaroslava Shvedova 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–3)Win 47. Oct 2011 Toray Pan Pacific Open, Tokyo Hard Lisa Raymond Gisela Dulko Flavia Pennetta 7–6(7–4), 0–6, [10–6]Win 48. Oct 2011 WTA Championships, Istanbul Hard (i) Lisa Raymond Květa Peschke Katarina Srebotnik 6–4, 6–4Loss 34. Jan 2012 Sydney International Hard Lisa Raymond Květa Peschke Katarina Srebotnik 6–1, 4–6, [13–11]Win 49. Feb 2012 Open GDF Suez, Paris Hard (i) Lisa Raymond Anna-Lena Grönefeld Petra Martić 7–6(7–3), 6–1Win 50. Feb 2012 Qatar Ladies Open, Doha Hard Lisa Raymond Raquel Kops-Jones Abigail Spears 6–3, 6–1Win 51. Feb 2012 Dubai Tennis Championships Hard Lisa Raymond Sania Mirza Elena Vesnina 6–2, 6–1Win 52. Mar 2012 Indian Wells Masters Hard Lisa Raymond Sania Mirza Elena Vesnina 6–2, 6–3Loss 35. Jun 2012 Birmingham Grass Lisa Raymond Tímea Babos Hsieh Su-wei 5–7, 7–6(7–2), [8–10]Loss 36. Jun 2012 Eastbourne Grass Lisa Raymond Nuria Llagostera Vives María José Martínez Sánchez 4–6, ret.Win 53. Aug 2012 New Haven Open at Yale Hard Lisa Raymond Andrea Hlaváčková Lucie Hradecká 4–6, 6–0, [10–4]Loss 37. Feb 2013 Open GDF Suez, Paris Hard (i) Andrea Hlaváčková Sara Errani Roberta Vinci 1–6, 1–6Loss 38. Apr 2013 Family Circle Cup, Charleston Clay Andrea Hlaváčková Kristina Mladenovic Lucie Šafářová 3–6, 6–7(6–8)Loss 39. Sep 2013 Toray Pan Pacific Open, Tokyo Hard Chan Hao-ching Cara Black Sania Mirza 4–6, 6–0, [9–11]

ITF finals Singles (0–4) $100,000 tournaments $75,000 tournaments $50,000 tournaments $25,000 tournaments $10,000 tournaments ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 1. 27 July 1994 Salisbury, United States Hard Camille Benjamin 6–3, 2–6, 1–6Loss 2. 3 June 1996 Skopje, Macedonia Clay Linda Sentis 4–6, 0–6Loss 3. 3 August 1997 Lexington, United States Hard Karin Miller 7–6(7–2), 1–6, 2–6Loss 4. 28 April 2002 Dothan, United States Clay Milagros Sequera 6–7(7–9), 6–4, 1–6

Doubles (11–9) ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 1. 29 March 1992 Harare, Zimbabwe Hard Jennie McMahon Julia Muir Sally McDonald 6–2, 4–6, 5–7Loss 2. 12 April 1992 Gaborone, Botswana Hard Estelle Gevers Elizma Nortje Louise Venter 0–6, 7–6(7–2), 4–6Loss 3. 23 August 1992 Cuernavaca, Mexico Hard Estelle Gevers Cláudia Chabalgoity Isabela Petrov 5–7, 7–5, 2–6Loss 4. 16 May 1993 Basingstoke, Great Britain Hard Sabine Haas Valda Lake Robyn Mawdsley 6–3, 4–6, 1–6Win 5. 4 October 1993 Pretoria, South Africa Hard Rene Mentz Surina De Beer Karen van der Merwe 7–6(7–4), 7–5Win 6. 8 May 1994 San Luis Potosí, Mexico Hard Mariaan de Swardt Michelle Jackson-Nobrega Katarzyna Teodorowicz 4–6, 6–3, 6–4Loss 7. 24 July 1994 Salisbury, United States Hard Hiroko Mochizuki Mareze Joubert Christína Papadáki 6–3, 1–6, 4–6Win 8. 19 May 1996 Athens, Greece Clay Christína Papadáki Angela Lettiere Corina Morariu 7–5, 6–2Win 9. 29 July 1996 Roanoke, United States Hard Nino Louarsabishvili Rebecca Jensen Shannan McCarthy 6–4, 6–4Loss 10. 18 August 1996 Bronx, United States Hard Christína Papadáki Nanne Dahlman Clare Wood 2–6, 3–6Win 11. 23 March 1997 Woodlands, United States Hard Nancy Feber Sabine Haas Kristina Triska 6–1, 6–2Loss 12. 12 October 1997 Sedona, United States Hard Paola Suárez Cătălina Cristea Corina Morariu 5–7, 2–6Win 13. 29 March 1997 Woodlands, United States Hard Els Callens Nathalie Dechy Lea Ghirardi 6–4, 6–2Win 14. 10 May 1998 Cardiff, Great Britain Clay Katarina Srebotnik Petra Langrová Nancy Feber 6–4, 6–3Loss 15. 2 August 1998 Salt Lake City, United States Hard Karin Kschwendt Mariaan de Swardt Samantha Smith 2–6, 2–6Win 16. 21 September 1998 Seattle, United States Hard Els Callens Lilia Osterloh Mashona Washington 6–2, 3–6, 6–3Loss 17. 1 November 1998 Austin, United States Hard Nannie de Villiers Maureen Drake Lindsay Lee-Waters 1–6, 1–6Win 18. 21 February 1999 Midland, United States Hard (i) Samantha Smith Kirstin Freye Sonya Jeyaseelan 7–6(8–6), 0–6, 7–5Win 19. 15 October 2000 Miramar, United States Clay Lisa McShea Rossana de los Ríos Samantha Reeves 5–3, 4–1, 4–1Win 20. 27 November 2000 Tucson, United States Hard Katalin Marosi Dawn Buth Jolene Watanabe 6–4, 6–2

Women's doubles performance timeline