Mara Santangelo

Mara Santangelo, born on 28 June 1981 in Latina and raised in the Fiemme Valley in Trentino, is a former Italian tennis player and a Grand Slam champion in doubles, having won the 2007 French Open. As a singles player she won a decisive match in the final against Belgium, over Kirsten Flipkens, which gave Italy its first Fed Cup in 2006. She won her first WTA Tour title in 2006, beating Jelena Kostanić in the final, reached the fourth round of the 2004 Australian Open and reached her career high singles ranking of world number 31 at the end of 2006. Her WTA doubles record is nine titles from twelve finals, including three tournaments in 2009 with Nathalie Dechy. She played the 2008 Beijing Olympics, chose to play doubles only in May 2010 because of a recurring foot injury, and announced her retirement on 28 January 2011.