Gabriela Andrea Knutson (Czech: Gabriela Andrea Knutsonová; born 21 April 1997, Fair Oaks[1]) is an American-born Czech tennis player.

Gabriela Knutson
Country (sports) Czech Republic
Born (1997-04-21) 21 April 1997 (age 27)
Fair Oaks, United States[1])
Turned pro2022
PlaysRight-handed
CollegeSyracuse
Durham University
Prize money$209,302
Singles
Career record116–65
Career titles5 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 155 (6 November 2023)
Current rankingNo. 233 (6 November 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQ3 (2024)
French OpenQ1 (2024)
WimbledonQ2 (2024)
US OpenQ1 (2024)
Doubles
Career record35–34
Career titles4 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 270 (17 April 2023)
Current rankingNo. 368 (16 September 2024)
Last updated on: 16 September 2024.

Knutson has a career-high singles by the WTA of 155, achieved on 6 November 2023, and a best doubles ranking of world No. 270, reached on 17 April 2023.[2]

Early life

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Knutson is the daughter of an American father and Czech mother. At the age of 12, she moved from California to the Czech Republic.[3] She later accepted an offer from a tennis academy in Prostějov and moved there.[4]

Knutson left mainstream schooling after the fifth grade and completed the rest of her education online.[3] Her childhood tennis idol was Caroline Wozniacki.[5]

Career

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Junior

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As a junior, Knutson reached her highest ranking of 272 on 5 May 2014.[6] Her sole singles title on the ITF Junior Circuit was the 2014 Safina Cup, a Grade 4 event.[7]

College

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Knutson played college tennis at Syracuse University, where she majored in broadcast journalism at the Newhouse School of Public Communications.[8] A blue chip recruit, she ranked as high as No. 4 in the college rankings and participated in the singles draw of the NCAA Division I Championships in both 2018 and 2019.[9][10] In 2018, Knutson was named a singles All-American, the first Syracuse player to do so since 1995.[10] She finished her college career with 179 combined wins, the second most in program history behind fellow Czech Jana Strnadová.[10]

From 2019, Knutson attended Durham University on a postgraduate scholarship, where she studied for a MSc in Marketing as a member of Hatfield College and represented the university in BUCS tennis.[10][11] She stayed on at Durham following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic to undertake a second postgraduate degree, migrating from Hatfield to Ustinov College. In 2022, she was named the Team Durham Sportswoman of the Year.[12]

Senior

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Knutson made her WTA Tour main-draw debut at the 2023 Prague Open, after defeating Greet Minnen and Naiktha Bains in qualifying. She was offered a wildcard for the main draw of the 2023 US Open but declined, as it was conditional on switching her sporting nationality to the United States.[4]

Performance timeline

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# P# DNQ A Z# PO G S B NMS NTI P NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

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

Singles

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Current through the 2024 Australian Open.

Tournament 2023 2024 SR W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A Q3 0 / 0 0–0
French Open A Q1 0 / 0 0–0
Wimbledon A Q2 0 / 0 0–0
US Open A Q1 0 / 0 0–0
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0 / 0 0–0
Career statistics
Tournaments 1 0 Career total: 1
Overall win-loss 0–1 0–0 0 / 1 0–1

ITF Circuit finals

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Singles: 9 (5 titles, 4 runner–ups)

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Legend
W60 tournaments (0–2)
W40/W50 tournaments (2–1)
W25 tournaments (3–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (5–4)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Feb 2023 Georgia's Rome Open, United States W60 Hard (i)   Peyton Stearns 6–3, 0–6, 2–6
Win 1–1 Mar 2023 ITF Fredericton, Canada W25 Hard   Himeno Sakatsume 6–4, 6–4
Win 2–1 May 2023 ITF Monzón, Spain W25 Hard   Maddison Inglis 6–2, 6–2
Loss 2–2 May 2023 ITF Monastir, Tunisia W25 Hard   Taylah Preston 6–3, 6–7(5), 3–6
Win 3–2 Jun 2023 ITF Guimarães, Portugal W25 Hard   Madison Sieg 6–3, 6–4
Win 4–2 Oct 2023 ITF Quinta do Lago, Portugal W40 Hard   Harriet Dart 6–4, 6–1
Loss 4–3 Nov 2023 Open Nantes Atlantique, France W60 Hard (i)   Océane Dodin 7–6(2), 3–6, 2–6
Loss 4–4 Jun 2024 ITF Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal W50 Hard   Eudice Chong 6–3, 2–6, 1–6
Win 5–4 Jul 2024 ITF Corroios, Portugal W50 Hard   Mariam Bolkvadze 6–1, 6–3

Doubles: 6 (4 titles, 2 runner–ups)

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Legend
W60/75 tournaments (1–1)
W40/50 tournaments (1–0)
W25 tournaments (2–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (4–2)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Apr 2022 ITF Nottingham, UK W25 Hard   Katarína Strešnaková   Lauryn John-Baptiste
  Alice Robbe
7–6(5), 6–3
Loss 1–1 Jun 2022 ITF Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic
W25 Hard   Katarína Strešnaková   Alicia Herrero Liñana
  Melany Krywoj
2–6, 4–6
Win 2–1 Oct 2022 GB Pro-Series Loughborough, UK W25 Hard (i)   Joanna Garland   Martyna Kubka
  Elena Malõgina
6–3, 6–3
Loss 2–2 Feb 2023 Georgia's Rome Open, U.S. W60 Hard (i)   Mana Ayukawa   Fanny Stollár
  Lulu Sun
4–6, 5–7
Win 3–2 Feb 2024 ITF Pretoria, South Africa W50 Hard   Lina Glushko   Sofia Costoulas
  Hanne Vandewinkel
7–6(5), 7–6(4)
Win 4–2 Mar 2024 Říčany Open, Czech Republic W75 Hard (i)   Tereza Valentová   Fanny Stollár
  Lulu Sun
6–4, 3–6, [10–4]

References

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  1. ^ a b Gabriela Andrea Knutson, cited 11. January 2024 (in German).
  2. ^ "Gabriela Knutson | Rankings History – WTA Official". Women's Tennis Association.
  3. ^ a b Crane, Andrew (8 May 2019). "Matter of Time". The Daily Orange Graduation Guide 2019: 14, 16. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  4. ^ a b Sehnálková, Marie (22 August 2023). "Tenistka z Ameriky se hrdě hlásí k Česku. Kvůli tomu se vzdala i US Open". iSport.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  5. ^ "Gabriela Andrea Knutson Biography". Tennis Europe. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  6. ^ "Gabriela Knutson Junior Singles Overview". ITF. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Gabriela Knutson Junior Singles Titles". ITF. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Gabriela Knutson – Tennis". Syracuse University Athletics.
  9. ^ Wrege, Julie (10 November 2014). "Fall Signing Week '14: Overview and Blue Chip Update". Tennis Recruiting. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d Crane, Andrew (31 May 2019). "Gabriela Knutson named All-American for 2nd-straight season". The Daily Orange. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Durham University Tennis Club". Facebook. 8 April 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Palatinate Dinner". Durham University. 11 June 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
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