Birthdate: 07 June 1991 Current Australia Ranking:
Birthplace: Melbourne, VIC, Australia Career High Australia Ranking:
Residence: Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Height: 175 cm
Weight: kg
Play: Right-handed
Coach: Chris Johnson

Olivia Rogowska came to the Australian public’s attention in 2009 after a stunning upset of top 50 player Maria Kirilenko in the first round of the French Open, and by being one match away from qualifying for the main draw of Wimbledon. These were her biggest senior results to date and helped her achieve a top 200 WTA ranking. She performed excellently at senior level in Australian ITF events, reaching the Bundaberg final, Ipswich semifinals and Mildura quarterfinals. In doubles she claimed the senior ITF Ipswich title with Japanese partner Maki Arai. Rogowska improved her ranking by more than 500 places in 2008, breaking into the junior top 400. As has been the case throughout her young career, Olivia continued to play more senior than junior events in 2008, and the investment paid off with her reaching the semifinal of the $10,000 singles event in Budapest and the semifinal of the doubles at the $10,000 tournament in Prokuplje. A member of the victorious 2007 Optus Australian Junior Fed Cup team in Reggio Emilia, Olivia began playing tennis when she was five years old. Her father, Slavek, introduced her to the game. Olivia says it is her coach, Andrew McLean, who has had the biggest influence on her career to date. Her dream is to play at all the Grand Slam tournaments, her favourite of which is Wimbledon. When she’s not playing tennis she enjoys playing the piano and soccer, performing yoga and reading. Olivia’s mother is Joanna and she has a sister, Sylvia.
Career Highlights
Singles titles: (SENIOR) ITF 1 | AMT 2
Doubles titles: (SENIOR) ITF 1
Representation: Junior Fed Cup debut 2007, ties played 1, win–loss 0-1 (singles 0-1)

Results 2009 Singles
Grand Slams: 3r Australian Open; 2r French Open; 1r Wimbledon | ITF: R/U Aegon International; 1r Trofeo Bonfiglio | (SENIORS) Grand Slams: 2r French Open; 1r Australian Open; 3r Wimbledon qualifying | WTA: 1r Hobart | ITF: R/U Bundaberg; SF Ipswich; QF Mildura; 2r Burnie, Sydney; 3r Marseille qualifying | AMT: Won Bundaberg No.3

Doubles
Grand Slams: QF French Open (w/Isabella Holand, AUS); 1r Australian Open (w/Brittany Sheed, AUS) | ITF: 2r Aegon International (w/Holland) | (SENIORS) Grand Slams: 1r Australian Open (w/Monique Adamczak, AUS) | WTA: 1r Hobart (w/Jessica Moore, AUS) | ITF: Won Ipswich (w/Maki Arai, JPN); SF Burnie; QF Sydney (w/Sheed), Bundaberg (w/Moore)

2008 Singles
Grand Slams: 1r Australian Open | ITF: 3r Sarawak, Mitsubishi-Lancer International; 2r Nottinghill, ITF/LTAT | (SENIORS) Grand Slams: 1r Australian Open qualifying | WTA: 1r Sydney qualifying | ITF: Won Sorrento; SF Budapest; QF Berri, Traralgon; 2r Prokuplje 1, Mount Gambier, Port Pirie; 1r Rockhampton, Kawana, Hamilton, Prokuplje 2, Perth; 2r Wellington qualifying | AMT: Won AMT 5 Melbourne

Doubles
Grand Slams: 1r Australian Open (w/Benita Milenkiewicz, AUS) | ITF: 2r ITF/LTAT (w/Chelsea Te Tai, NZL), Mitsubishi-Lancer International (w/Anna Arina Marenko, RUS) | (SENIORS) ITF: SF Prokuplje 1 (w/Marija Mirkovic, AUS); QF Kawana (w/Tyra Calderwood, AUS), Budapest (w/Daniela Scivetti, AUS), Prokuplje 2 (w/Mirkovic), Sorrento (w/Arina Rodionova, RUS); 1r Rockhampton (w/Calderwood

Back to work for Rogowska


New York,02 September 2009
AAP

Olivia Rogowska will return to Australia to contest a series of Challenger events.

Getty Images

A shattered Olivia Rogowska will return to "the boondocks" to toughen up her mental game after falling agonisingly short of creating tennis history at the US Open in New York.

The Melbourne teenager admitted the thought of her excited parents and "pretty much everyone I know" watching her on TV as she raced to a 3-0 lead in the deciding set had contributed to her demise in a 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-4 first-round loss to world No.1 Dinara Safina.

"That's a lot of pressure," Rogowska told AAP after fighting back tears in the post-match press conference.

"I'm gutted ... I'm disappointed I lost and I didn't expect to say that after playing the No.1 player in the world. It's a bit weird."

Rogowska would have been the first woman in the 41-year professional era to eliminate the top seed in the opening round in New York.

And, at No.167 in the world, the 18-year-old wildcard entrant was also bidding to become the third lowest ranked woman ever to defeat a world No.1.

"Personally, I didn't think I played great. I thought I could have served much better ... I let it go," said Rogowska, who coughed up 13 double-faults to Safina's 11 during the tension-filled two-hour, 35-minute thriller.

While pleased to have competed with Safina on literally the biggest stage in world tennis, Rogowska's overiding emotion was one of regret at being unable to serve out the match.

Many of her 13 double-faults came after grabbing a 4-2 lead in the deciding set.

"My heart was just going crazy and I was breathing like really fast," Rogowska said.

"My ball toss was going everywhere. If I served a bit better, it would have been a different result.

"So next time, I guess again, I'm just going to have to learn to stay calm and not get too excited."

Although last time was not quite against the world No.1 at Arthur Ashe Stadium - which houses 23,763 fans - this was the second occasion this year Rogowska had blown a match-winning advantage against a high-ranked foe.

The first-year tour rookie also lost after leading world No.34 Alona Bondarenko a set and 3-0 in the first round of the Australian Open.

Hence why she will head home to Australia with AIS head women's coach Chris Johnstone and contest a load of low-level Challenger tournaments.

"It will be quite a come down from playing the world No.1 at the US Open to playing in the boondocks in Darwin, but she needs to learn how to cope with the pressures of beating players she should beat," Johnstone said.

"She's shown something that lots of players never have: that she can compete with the world No.1.

"But she's 18 years of age. So she's still got a lot to work on. She's still a bit raw."

Rogowska's dramatic near-miss overshadowed first-round Open victories for fellow Australians Carsten Ball and Russian-born Anastasia Rodionova on Wednesday (AEST).

Into the third round of the @AustralianOpen