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Abigail Spears

American tennis player

Field	Value
name	Abigail Spears
image	Spears 2009 US Open 01.jpg
caption	Spears at the 2009 US Open
image_upright	.8
country	United States
birth_date
birth_place	San Diego, California, U.S.
height	1.75 m
turnedpro	October 2000
retired	2021
coach	Larry Willens
plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
careerprizemoney	$2,994,112
singlesrecord
singlestitles	0
highestsinglesranking	No. 66 (June 6, 2005)
AustralianOpenresult	3R (2005)
FrenchOpenresult	1R (2005)
Wimbledonresult	1R (2005)
USOpenresult	1R (2004, 2005)
doublesrecord
doublestitles	21
highestdoublesranking	No. 10 (March 2, 2015)
AustralianOpenDoublesresult	SF (2014)
FrenchOpenDoublesresult	3R (2004)
WimbledonDoublesresult	SF (2015, 2016, 2018)
USOpenDoublesresult	QF (2008)
Mixed	yes
mixedtitles	1
AustralianOpenMixedresult	W (2017)
FrenchOpenMixedresult	QF (2018)
WimbledonMixedresult	QF (2018)
USOpenMixedresult	F (2013, 2014)
updated	February 3, 2020

Abigail Michal Spears (born July 12, 1981) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. Spears won 21 double titles including the 2017 Australian Open.

Spears started playing tennis in 1988 when she was 7 years old, and turned professional in 2000. Spears and compatriot, Raquel Kops-Jones, were one of the most successful doubles team of the 2012 season, winning four tour titles and reaching the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. In 2017, Spears partnered with Juan Sebastián Cabal at the Australian Open to win the mixed-doubles tournament. After being suspended for much of the 2020 and 2021 seasons, Spears retired in September 2021.

Biography

July 12, 1981 Abigail Spears was born in San Diego, California, she is a distant relation of the well known singer Britney Spears.

2000–2010

Spears turned professional in 2000. She reached the third round at the 2005 Australian Open and the first round at the 2005 French Open, 2005 Wimbledon tournament (where she also reached the third round in the doubles tournament with Lisa McShea), and the 2005 US Open. She reached the third round at the 2008 Wimbledon doubles tournament with Raquel Kops-Jones, and the duo bettered that result by reaching the quarterfinals at the 2008 US Open.

Spears also qualified in singles for the US Open twice. She achieved a singles ranking of world No. 66 on June 6, 2005. Her highest doubles ranking was world No. 11 on June 24, 2013. Spears has not won a WTA singles title, but as of the end of December 2018 she has won 21 WTA doubles titles. She participated in the US Open doubles draw eleven times between 1998 and 2010.

2010-2020

Spears and compatriot Raquel Kops-Jones were one of the most successful doubles team of the 2012 season, winning four titles at Carlsbad, Seoul, Tokyo and Osaka. The pair also reached two other finals as well as the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.

2017 was expected to be Spears' farewell year on tour. At the Australian Open, she partnered with Juan Sebastián Cabal to win the mixed-doubles tournament. In the final, they defeated the second-seeded team of Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig in straight sets. The American-Colombian duo recovered from a 1–4 deficit in the second set to reel off five straight games to clinch the title. It was a revenge match for Spears, having lost to Mirza the last time she made it to a Grand Slam final losing 9–11 in the super tiebreak to Mirza and Bruno Soares at the 2014 US Open.

Retirement

Spears was suspended for 22 months doping offences from 7 November 2019 until 6 September 2021. She retired from the pro tour on 16 September 2021.

In 2023, Spears played at the Peak Tennis Pro Am charity event in Missoula, Montana along with others such as Mats Wilander. In April 2024, Spears played at annual Gootter-Jensen charity event in Tucson along with Kim Clijsters and others.

Personal life

Aside from tennis, Spears enjoys watching movies and going to the beach to surf or play beach volleyball. Her idols were Steffi Graf and Monica Seles.

Significant finals

Grand Slam finals

Mixed doubles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents
Loss	2013	US Open	Hard	MEX Santiago González	CZE Andrea Hlaváčková
BLR Max Mirnyi	6–7(5–7), 3–6
Loss	2014	US Open	Hard	MEX Santiago González	IND Sania Mirza
BRA Bruno Soares	1–6, 6–2, [9–11]
Win	2017	Australian Open	Hard	COL Juan Sebastián Cabal	IND Sania Mirza
CRO Ivan Dodig	6–2, 6–4

Premier Mandatory/Premier 5 finals

Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents
Loss	2012	Doha	Hard	USA Raquel Kops-Jones	USA Liezel Huber
USA Lisa Raymond	3–6, 1–6
Win	2012	Tokyo	Hard	USA Raquel Kops-Jones	GER Anna-Lena Grönefeld
CZE Květa Peschke	6–1, 6–4
Win	2014	Cincinnati	Hard	USA Raquel Kops-Jones	HUN Tímea Babos
FRA Kristina Mladenovic	6–1, 2–0 ret.

WTA career finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Winner — Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
Tour Championships (0–0)
Tier I / Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (0–0)
Tier II / Premier (0–0)
Tier III, IV & V / International (0–1)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1.	Nov 2004	Bell Challenge, Quebec City, Canada	Hard	SVK Martina Suchá	5–7, 6–3, 2–6

Doubles: 31 (21 titles, 10 runner-ups)

Winner — Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
Tour Championships (0–0)
Tier I / Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (2–1)
Tier II / Premier (8–5)
Tier III, IV & V / International (11–4)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents
Win	1.	Jan 2003	Auckland Open, New Zealand	Hard	USA Teryn Ashley	ZIM Cara Black
RUS Elena Likhovtseva	6–2, 2–6, 6–0
Win	2.	Aug 2004	Odlum Brown Vancouver Open, Canada	Hard	USA Bethanie Mattek	BEL Els Callens
GER Anna-Lena Grönefeld	6–3, 6–3
Loss	1.	Feb 2005	Cellular South Cup, United States	Hard	USA Laura Granville	JPN Yuka Yoshida
JPN Miho Saeki	3–6, 4–6
Win	3.	Jul 2005	Western & Southern Women's Open, United States	Hard	USA Laura Granville	CZE Květa Peschke
ARG María Emilia Salerni	3–6, 6–2, 6–4
Win	4.	May 2009	Estoril Open, Portugal	Clay	USA Raquel Kops-Jones	CAN Sharon Fichman
HUN Katalin Marosi	2–6, 6–3, [10–5]
Loss	2.	Jun 2009	Aegon Classic, Birmingham, Great Britain	Grass	USA Raquel Kops-Jones	ZIM Cara Black
USA Liezel Huber	1–6, 4–6
Win	5.	Sep 2009	Hansol Korea Open, Seoul, South Korea	Hard	TPE Chan Yung-jan	USA Carly Gullickson
AUS Nicole Kriz	6–3, 6–4
Loss	3.	Oct 2009	HP Open, Osaka, Japan	Hard	RSA Chanelle Scheepers	USA Lisa Raymond
TPE Chuang Chia-jung	2–6, 4–6
Loss	4.	Aug 2011	Mercury Insurance Open, San Diego, United States	Hard	USA Raquel Kops-Jones	CZE Květa Peschke
SLO Katarina Srebotnik	0–6, 2–6
Win	6.	Sep 2011	Bell Challenge, Quebec City	Hard	USA Raquel Kops-Jones	USA Jamie Hampton
GEO Anna Tatishvili	6–0, 3–6, [10–6]
Loss	5.	Jan 2012	Brisbane International, Australia	Hard	USA Raquel Kops-Jones	ESP Nuria Llagostera Vives
ESP Arantxa Parra Santonja	6–7(2–7), 6–7(2–7)
Loss	6.	Feb 2012	Qatar Ladies Open, Doha	Hard	USA Raquel Kops-Jones	USA Liezel Huber
USA Lisa Raymond	3–6, 1–6
Win	7.	Jul 2012	Mercury Insurance Open, Carlsbad, United States	Hard	USA Raquel Kops-Jones	USA Vania King
RUS Nadia Petrova	6–2, 6–4
Win	8.	Sep 2012	Hansol Korea Open, Seoul	Hard	USA Raquel Kops-Jones	UZB Akgul Amanmuradova
USA Vania King	2–6, 6–2, [10–8]
Win	9.	Sep 2012	Toray Pan Pacific Open, Tokyo, Japan	Hard	USA Raquel Kops-Jones	GER Anna-Lena Grönefeld
CZE Květa Peschke	6–1, 6–4
Win	10.	Oct 2012	HP Open, Osaka	Hard	USA Raquel Kops-Jones	JPN Kimiko Date-Krumm
GBR Heather Watson	6–1, 6–4
Win	11.	Jul 2013	Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, United States	Hard	USA Raquel Kops-Jones	GER Julia Görges
CRO Darija Jurak	6–2, 7–6(7–4)
Win	12.	Aug 2013	Southern California Open, Carlsbad, United States	Hard	USA Raquel Kops-Jones	TPE Chan Hao-ching
SVK Janette Husárová	6–4, 6–1
Loss	7.	Sep 2013	KDB Korea Open, Seoul	Hard	USA Raquel Kops-Jones	TPE Chan Chin-wei
CHN Xu Yifan	5–7, 3–6
Loss	8.	Feb 2014	Dubai Tennis Championships, United Arab Emirates	Hard	USA Raquel Kops-Jones	RUS Alla Kudryavtseva
AUS Anastasia Rodionova	2–6, 7–5, [8–10]
Win	13.	Jun 2014	Aegon Classic, Birmingham	Grass	USA Raquel Kops-Jones	AUS Ashleigh Barty
AUS Casey Dellacqua	7–6(7–1), 6–1
Win	14.	Aug 2014	Cincinnati Masters, United States	Hard	USA Raquel Kops-Jones	HUN Tímea Babos
FRA Kristina Mladenovic	6–1, 2–0 ret.
Loss	9.	Jan 2015	Apia International Sydney, Australia	Hard	USA Raquel Kops-Jones	USA Bethanie Mattek-Sands
IND Sania Mirza	3–6, 3–6
Win	15.	Feb 2015	Qatar Total Open, Doha	Hard	USA Raquel Kops-Jones	TPE Hsieh Su-wei
IND Sania Mirza	6–4, 6–4
Win	16.	Jun 2015	Aegon Nottingham Open, Great Britain	Grass	USA Raquel Kops-Jones	GBR Jocelyn Rae
GBR Anna Smith	3–6, 6–3, [11–9]
Win	17.	Oct 2015	Generali Ladies Linz, Austria	Hard	USA Raquel Kops-Jones	CZE Andrea Hlaváčková
CZE Lucie Hradecká	6–3, 7–5
Win	18.	Jul 2016	Bank of the West Classic, Stanford	Hard	USA Raquel Atawo	CRO Darija Jurak
AUS Anastasia Rodionova	6–3, 6–4
Win	19.	Feb 2017	Qatar Total Open, Doha	Hard	SLO Katarina Srebotnik	UKR Olga Savchuk
KAZ Yaroslava Shvedova	6–3, 7–6(9–7)
Loss	10.	Apr 2017	Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Stuttgart, Germany	Clay (i)	SLO Katarina Srebotnik	USA Raquel Atawo
LAT Jeļena Ostapenko	4–6, 4–6
Win	20.	Aug 2017	Bank of the West Classic, Stanford	Hard	USA CoCo Vandeweghe	FRA Alizé Cornet
POL Alicja Rosolska	6–2, 6–3
Win	21.	Jun 2018	Nottingham Open, Great Britain	Grass	POL Alicja Rosolska	ROU Mihaela Buzărnescu
GBR Heather Watson	6–3, 7–6(7–5)

Grand Slam performance timelines

Singles

Tournament	2004	2005	SR	W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	A	3R	0 / 1	2–1
French Open	A	1R	0 / 1	0–1
Wimbledon	A	1R	0 / 1	0–1
US Open	1R	1R	0 / 2	0–2

Doubles

Tournament	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	SR	W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	A	A	A	A	2R	1R	1R	1R	1R	A	A	2R	1R	3R	1R	2R	SF	QF	2R	1R	2R	2R	0 / 16	15–16
French Open	A	A	A	A	1R	2R	3R	A	A	A	A	1R	1R	1R	2R	1R	2R	1R	2R	2R	1R	3R	0 / 14	9–14
Wimbledon	A	A	A	A	1R	1R	1R	3R	1R	A	3R	1R	1R	2R	QF	3R	3R	SF	SF	1R	SF	3R	0 / 17	26–17
US Open	1R	1R	A	1R	2R	2R	1R	1R	1R	1R	QF	1R	1R	1R	3R	2R	1R	3R	1R	1R	1R	2R	0 / 21	11–21
WTA Premier Mandatory tournaments
Indian Wells	A	A	A	A	A	1R	1R	2R	A	A	A	2R	2R	2R	1R	1R	2R	1R	QF	1R	1R	2R	0 / 14	8–14
Miami	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	Q2	A	A	A	QF	2R	1R	1R	1R	SF	1R	1R	1R	1R	QF	0 / 11	8–11
Madrid	Not Held	1R	1R	1R	1R	QF	QF	2R	1R	1R	QF	1R	0 / 11	7–11
Beijing	Not Held	Not Tier I	A	A	QF	QF	QF	QF	1R	1R	1R	QF	1R	0 / 9	10–9

References

"Abigail Spears: Profile". University of California, Los Angeles.
"Abigail Spears: Info". Women's Tennis Association.
Dillman, Lisa. (January 21, 2005). "Nerves Have Been Her Toughest Opponent". Los Angeles Times.
"Abigail Spears: Stats". Women's Tennis Association.
"Wimbledon 2005 Ladies' Doubles Championship". Women's Tennis Association.
"Women's Bios: Abigail Spears". US Open.
(January 29, 2017). "Spears, Cabal win mixed doubles, continue 30s theme in Oz". USA Today.
"Abigail Spears, Juan Sebastian Cabal win mixed doubles title in Melbourne". ESPN.
"ITF Tennis – ANTIDOPING".
(6 February 2020). "Transactions".
"ITIA - Retired Players List".
Speltz, Bill. (Sep 23, 2023). "Mats Wilander in Missoula for Charity Event".
(9 April 2024). "Tennis Event Helps Get Defibrillators in Place".

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