Heidi El Tabakh (born September 25, 1986) is an Egyptian and Canadian former professional tennis player.

Heidi El Tabakh
Heidi El Tabakh in 2011
Country (sports) Egypt (2002–2005)
 Canada (2005–present)
ResidenceToronto, Ontario, Canada
Born (1986-09-25) September 25, 1986 (age 38)
Alexandria, Egypt
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Turned pro2002
RetiredApril 2016
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$328,338
Singles
Career record317–291
Career titles7 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 146 (October 8, 2012)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQ2 (2010)
French Open1R (2010, 2012)
WimbledonQ2 (2011, 2012)
US OpenQ3 (2012)
Doubles
Career record133–136
Career titles10 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 173 (February 8, 2010)

Her highest singles ranking by the WTA is 146, which she reached in October 2012. Her career-high of 173 in doubles, she set in February 2010. She represented Egypt, the country of her birth, from 2002 to April 2005, but since then has represented Canada.

She retired in April 2016[1] and became Canada's Fed Cup captain in 2019.[2][3] She won with her team the Billie Jean King Cup in 2023.

Tennis career

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El Tabakh at the 2010 French Open

2002–2016

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El Tabakh won one of the biggest singles tournaments of her career in 2009 at the $25k in Valladolid, Spain.[4] In May 2010, she qualified for her Grand Slam debut at the French Open, where she lost to Aravane Rezaï in the first round.[5]

In April 2012, El Tabakh won the second $25k event of her career at the Challenger in Jackson. She defeated former world No. 14, Elena Bovina, in the final.[6] The week after, she won her second straight and third $25k tournament of her career in Pelham.[7] In May 2012, El Tabakh qualified again for the French Open, but lost to fellow Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak in the first round.[8]

In May 2014, she won the fourth $25k title of her career when she defeated Maria Sanchez in Raleigh.[9] In August 2015 at the Rogers Cup, she reached the second round in doubles with fellow Canadian Françoise Abanda.[10] In September 2015 in Redding, El Tabakh captured the seventh singles title of her career, her fifth $25k, by defeating Shérazad Reix in the final.[11]

She played her last match on the professional circuit in April 2016, at the $50k Charlottesville Classic where she had to retire in the first round against Sachia Vickery.[1]

Grand Slam performance timeline

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles

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Tournament 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 W–L
Australian Open A Q2 Q1 A A A A Q1 0–0
French Open A 1R Q1 1R A A Q1 A 0–2
Wimbledon A Q1 Q2 Q2 A Q1 A A 0–0
US Open Q2 Q2 Q1 Q3 A Q2 A A 0–0
Win–loss 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–2

ITF Circuit finals

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Singles: 9 (7 titles, 2 runner-ups)

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Legend
$25,000 tournaments (5–2)
$10,000 tournaments (2–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Oct 2003 Lagos Open, Nigeria 10,000 Hard   Sai Jayalakshmy Jayaram 6–4, 6–4
Win 2–0 Sep 2007 ITF Lleida, Spain 10,000 Clay   Eva Fernández-Brugués 6–2, 6–3
Loss 2–1 Jun 2009 Waterloo Challenger, Canada 25,000 Clay   Johanna Konta 2–6, 6–3, 3–6
Win 3–1 Jul 2009 ITF Valladolid, Spain 25,000 Hard   Estrella Cabeza Candela 6–2, 3–6, 6–3
Win 4–1 Apr 2012 ITF Jackson, United States 25,000 Clay   Elena Bovina 6–0, 6–4
Win 5–1 Apr 2012 ITF Pelham, United States 25,000 Clay   Edina Gallovits-Hall 3–6, 6–2, 6–4
Loss 5–2 Jan 2014 ITF Port St. Lucie, United States 25,000 Clay   Françoise Abanda 3–6, 4–6
Win 6–2 May 2014 ITF Raleigh, United States 25,000 Clay   Maria Sanchez 6–3, 6–4
Win 7–2 Sep 2015 ITF Redding, United States 25,000 Hard   Shérazad Reix 6–1, 6–3

Doubles: 19 (10 titles, 9 runner-ups)

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Legend
$75,000 tournaments (1–0)
$50,000 tournaments (1–2)
$25,000 tournaments (5–5)
$10,000 tournaments (3–2)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Oct 2003 Lagos Open, Nigeria 10,000 Hard   Yomna Farid   Rebecca Dandeniya
  Michelle Snyman
5–7, 3–6
Win 1–1 Nov 2003 Lagos Open, Nigeria 10,000 Hard   Yomna Farid   Lizaan du Plessis
  Noha Mohsen
6–1, 5–7, 6–1
Win 2–1 Jun 2004 ITF Edmond, United States 10,000 Hard   Anne Mall   Kelly Anderson
  Carine Vermeulen
3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss 2–2 Jul 2004 ITF Evansville, United States 10,000 Hard   Vania King   Kelly Schmandt
  Aleke Tsoubanos
4–6, 4–6
Loss 2–3 Nov 2006 Tevlin Challenger, Canada 25,000 Hard (i)   Raluca Olaru   Angelika Bachmann
  Hana Šromová
4–6, 1–6
Win 3–3 May 2008 ITF Landisville, United States 10,000 Hard   Audra Cohen   Stefania Boffa
  Anna Fitzpatrick
6–3, 7–6(3)
Win 4–3 Jul 2008 ITF Valladolid, Spain 25,000 Hard   Story Tweedie-Yates   Stefania Boffa
  Anna Fitzpatrick
6–2, 6–4
Win 5–3 Jul 2008 ITF Darmstadt, Germany 25,000 Clay   Emma Laine   Michelle Gerards
  Marcella Koek
6–3, 6–4
Loss 5–4 Apr 2009 ITF Osprey, United States 25,000 Clay   Melanie Klaffner   Lindsay Lee-Waters
  Story Tweedie-Yates
3–6, 7–6(5), [10–12]
Win 6–4 May 2009 ITF Indian Harbor Beach, U.S. 50,000 Clay   Melanie Klaffner   Tetiana Luzhanska
  Lilia Osterloh
6–3, 3–6, [10–7]
Loss 6–5 Jun 2009 Waterloo Challenger, Canada 25,000 Clay   Tetiana Luzhanska   Alexandra Mueller
  Allie Will
2–6, 1–6
Win 7–5 Jul 2009 ITF Valladolid, Spain 25,000 Hard   Paula Fondevila Castro   Estrella Cabeza Candela
  Sara del Barrio Aragón
6–2, 6–4
Win 8–5 Nov 2009 ITF Bayamón, Puerto Rico 25,000 Hard   Kimberly Couts   María Fernanda Álvarez
  Karen Castiblanco
6–3, 6–1
Win 9–5 Aug 2010 Vancouver Open, Canada 75,000 Hard   Chang Kai-chen   Irina Falconi
  Amanda Fink
3–6, 6–3, [10–4]
Loss 9–6 Sep 2010 Challenger de Saguenay, Canada 50,000 Hard (i)   Rebecca Marino   Jorgelina Cravero
  Stéphanie Foretz Gacon
3–6, 4–6
Loss 9–7 Mar 2011 ITF Clearwater, United States 25,000 Hard   Arina Rodionova   Kimberly Couts
  Līga Dekmeijere
1–6, 4–6
Loss 9–8 Apr 2011 ITF Pelham, United States 25,000 Clay   Kimberly Couts   Līga Dekmeijere
  Marie-Ève Pelletier
6–2, 4–6, [10–12]
Loss 9–9 Apr 2011 Hardee's Pro Classic, United States 50,000 Clay   Alison Riske   Valeria Solovieva
  Lenka Wienerová
3–6, 4–6
Win 10–9 Jul 2013 Winnipeg Challenger, Canada 25,000 Hard   Allie Kiick   Samantha Murray
  Jade Windley
6–4, 2–6, [10–8]

Notes

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References

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  1. ^ a b "$50,000 Charlottesville, VA". ITFTennis.com. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  2. ^ Canada vs Netherlands Archived 2020-06-08 at the Wayback Machine, Fed Cup 2019
  3. ^ "Tennis sensation Bianca Andreescu fronts Canada's Fed Cup roster | CBC Sports".
  4. ^ "Drawsheet: $25,000 Valladolid". ITFTennis.com. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
  5. ^ "France's Rezai demolishes Canadian El Tabakh in first round". France 24. 23 May 2010. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
  6. ^ "Drawsheet: $25,000 Jackson, MS". ITFTennis.com. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
  7. ^ "El Tabakh collects second straight Challenger title". Tennis Canada. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
  8. ^ "Wozniak beats El Tabakh in Canadian battle at French Open". TSN.ca. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
  9. ^ "Drawsheet: $25,000 Raleigh, NC". ITFTennis.com. Retrieved May 11, 2014.
  10. ^ "Draws". RogersCup.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  11. ^ "Drawsheet: $25,000 Redding, CA". ITFTennis.com. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
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