Kimiko Date

Infobox Tennis player
playername = Kimiko Date Krumm


nickname =
country = JPN
residence = Tokyo, Japan
datebirth = birth date and age|1970|9|28
placebirth = Kyoto, Japan
height = height|m=1.63
weight = convert|53.0|kg|lb st|abbr=on|lk=on
turnedpro = March 1989
retired = 1996; comeback in 2008
plays = right-handed
careerprizemoney = US $1,991,190
singlesrecord = 263–101
singlestitles = 7 WTA, 8 ITF
highestsinglesranking = 4 (13 May1995)
AustralianOpenresult = SF (1994)
FrenchOpenresult = SF (1995)
Wimbledonresult = SF (1996)
USOpenresult = QF (1993, 1994)
doublesrecord = 70–52
doublestitles = 1 WTA, 5 ITF
highestdoublesranking = 353 (4 August2008)
grandslamsdoublesresults = yes
AustralianOpenDoublesresult = QF (1992)
FrenchOpenDoublesresult = 2nd round (1993)
WimbledonDoublesresult = 2nd round (1991)
USOpenDoublesresult = 2nd round (1993)
updated = 16 September2008

nihongo|Kimiko Date Krumm|伊達 公子|Date Kimiko|extra=born 28 September1970 is a Japanese professional tennis player. In her career, she won over 200 tournament matches, including the Japan Open four times. In 1994, she was ranked in the top-ten women players in the world. In 1992, the WTA awarded her the "Most Improved Player Of The Year" and the "Japan Men's Fashion Association" named her "Most Fashionable." After playing in her second Olympiad, she announced her retirement on September 24, 1996. Yet, she came back on court nearly 12 years later, announcing an unexpected comeback in April 2008. On June 15th, she won the Tokyo Ariake International Ladies Open, her first title since her comeback began.

Early career

Born in Kyoto, Japan, Date started playing tennis when she was 7 years old. By the age of 14, she reached the semi-finals in the All-Japan Junior Under-14 championship. In next year, she won the 3rd place in the Japanese National Junior High School Tennis Championship.

In 1986, while attending Sonoda-Joshi High School, she won the All-Japan Junior Under-16 Championship in doubles. In 1987, she reached the semi-finals in the All-Japan Tennis Championship.

In 1988, she won the Invitational All-Japan Junior Indoor Championship (for both women single and doubles), the Wimbledon Junior Championship (for singles), the Japanese National High School Athlete Meet (for singles and doubles), the Japanese All-Japan Junior Tennis Tournament Under-18 (for singles and doubles), and the International Women Circuit, Masters, despite already having a heavy smoking habit.

Professional career

Date played in her first Grand Slam event in 1990 at the Australian Open, where she reached the 4th round. At Wimbledon she won her first match, but lost her second match.

In 1991, she was runner-up of Virginia Slim Of Los Angeles Tournament, defeating Gabriela Sabatini, but losing to Monica Seles in the finals.

In 1992, Date defeated Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in the Toray Pan-Pacific Open and reached the semi-finals. That year she also won the Japan Open, reached the semi-finals in the Mizuno World Ladies Open, and the quarter-finals in the Lipton Championship and the Grand Slam, Roland Garros. She also participated in the Barcelona Olympics.

In 1993, she again won the Japan Open. She was runner-up in the Asia Women's Open and the "Nichiray Ladies Cup". She reached the semi-finals in the Lipton Championships defeating M. J. Fernandez. In the U.S. Open, she reached the quarter-finals.

In 1994, she won her third consecutive Japan Open. She won the gold medal in Hiroshima Asia competition. She reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open (first time from Japan in over two decades, lost to Steffi Graf) and the Virginia Slims Championships.

In 1995, she won the Toray PPO , and was runner-up in the Lipton Championship and the Japan Open. She reached the semi-finals in the Grand Slam, Roland Garros (lost to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario), and the quarter-finals at Wimbledon (lost to Jana Novotná). Date also reached her career high of World No.4 in 1995.

In 1996, she reached her 200th win in tournament play. She also won both singles and doubles in Japan Open. In the Federation Cup, she defeated Steffi Graf for the first time. Date reached semifinals of Wimbledon, battling Graf over two days. Trailing 0–4 io the first set, she stormed back in the second set. Although the chair umpire initially refused to call off the match due to darkness despite Graf's plea, he changed his mind and postponed the final set until the next day. Graf swiftly won that and her seventh title there. Date also won a major tournament in San Diego and reached quarterfinals in the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. She held her last match at the 2nd round of WTA Tour Championships; she lost to Martina Hingis 1–6, 2–6.

In 1997, she starred in the first commercial for the hybrid car, Toyota Prius and was the first celebrity owner of one.

Kimiko Date lives in Tokyo and is married to German motor racing driver Michael Krumm.

Comeback

On 6 April 2008, nearly 12 years after retiring, Date announced she would return to the women's professional tour at the age of 37. [http://uk.reuters.com/article/UK_TENNIS/idUKT9587820080406]

Date qualified for a 50k ITF event in Gifu, Japan. In the first round, she played Japanese counterpart and World No.183 Rika Fujiwara. In only her 4th match on the tour for 11 years, Date won 2-6 6-4 6-4. At the quarterfinal stage, Date came up against World No.80 and fellow compatriot Aiko Nakamura, whom she beat 7-6(7) 4-6 6-3. This marked her first Top 100 win of her comeback. In her semifinal match, she defeated #3 seed Melanie South 7-6(5) 6-3. However, in the final, she was defeated by Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand in three sets, 6-4 5-7 2-6. She successfully won the doubles title at that tournament with teenage and fellow Japanese partner Kurumi Nara, defeating Melanie South and Nicole Thyssen in a match tie-breaker, 6-1 6-7(8) [10-7] .

Kimiko's next event was another 50k ITF event in Fukuoka, Japan. She defeated both Nicole Kriz and Rika Fujiwara to reach the quarter finals where she lost to Aiko Nakamura in straight sets, 6-2 6-2. She then defeated Shiho Hisamatsu and Zhou Yi-Miao to reach the quarterfinals where she lost to Tomoko Yonemura in straight sets, 6-2 6-2, in another tournament in Japan, a 50k event in Kurume. On June 15th, 2008, she defeated Shiho Akita 6-3, 6-2 to win the Tokyo Ariake International Ladies Open for her first post-comeback championship. Her second post-comeback championship came over a month after, as on July 20th, she won a 25k ITF event in Miyazaki, Japan, defeating Kyung-Yee Chae in the final, 6-3 6-2. On August 3rd she won the 25k ITF event in Obihiro, Japan. In the final she beat Suchanun Viratprasert 6-3, 7-6.

Date makes her WTA Tour comeback at the Tier I event in Tokyo, Japan, where she has been awarded a wildcard into the qualifying tournament. She won through to the final round of qualifying after defeating Mari Tanaka of Japan and Australian Casey Dellacqua (the 5th seed in the qualifying competition). Both of these victories came in tight three-set matches. She lost in the final round to Aleksandra Wozniak of Canada in straight sets, 6-1 6-1. Along with fellow Japanese Rika Fujiwara, Kimiko, also competed in Doubles, as WC entrant. However, they lost in 3 tight sets 6-3, 3-6, 10-8 tiebreak in the 1st round. Kimiko was in the main draw for the AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships but lost in the first round to Shahar Peer.

WTA Tour titles (8)

ingles wins (7)

External links

*wta|id=40130|name=Kimiko Date
*ITF female profile|number=20001734
*FedCupplayerlink|id=20001734