# Meghann Shaughnessy

Meghann Shaughnessy (born April 13, 1979) is an American former professional tennis player. She achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 in 2001 and won six titles on the WTA Tour. Her best doubles ranking was world No. 4, and she won 17 career doubles titles, including the WTA Championships in 2004. She is best known for her serve, which was one of the most powerful on tour, and has produced as many as 22 aces in a match.
Shaughnessy was coached and managed by Rafael Font de Mora for most of her career. She is the niece of Dan Shaughnessy, a Boston Globe sports columnist.

## Career

Shaughnessy made her debut on the WTA Tour in 1996 in Budapest and broke into the top 100 in 1998. In 2000, she won her first WTA singles title in Shanghai, defeating Iroda Tulyaganova in the final, and breaking into the top 50. In her breakout year of 2001, she achieved a career-high singles ranking of No. 11, won the second singles title of her career in Quebec City, and reached the finals of Hamburg and her home tournament in Scottsdale, Arizona. She also recorded wins over world No. 5 Conchita Martínez, world No. 4 Monica Seles, and world No. 2 Venus Williams.
In 2002, Shaughnessy began the season by reaching the final of Sydney, and recaptured her career-high No. 11 ranking. She also reached the quarterfinals or better of four other tournaments that year, with wins over top five players Jelena Dokić and Serena Williams. In 2003, Shaughnessy had another strong year, finishing the season in the top 20 for the second time in her career. She captured her third career singles title in Canberra and also had strong major results. She defeated Nuria Llagostera Vives, Ľudmila Cervanová, Klára Koukalová and Elena Bovina to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open, and she reached the round of 16 at the US Open. Shaughnessy also scored an upset over world No. 2 Venus Williams, in the round of 16 of the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami. In 2004, she produced sub-par results, finishing just inside of the top 40, with only one top five win, over Anastasia Myskina in Dubai. However, she obtained the best doubles results of her career, winning seven tournaments with partner Nadia Petrova, including the WTA Tour Championships in Los Angeles.
In 2005, Shaughnessy struggled with injuries and consistency. Her year began with a right leg injury, which forced her to withdraw from the Australian Open doubles competition, and from a tournament in Hyderabad, India. However, she showed signs of recovery in February, reaching the final of Memphis, defeating Nicole Vaidišová in the semifinals. The match featured Shaughnessy serving 22 aces in a 7–6, 7–6 win. After Memphis, Shaughnessy struggled with back injuries for the duration of the spring, not reaching another semifinal until June at the Ordina Open in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
By July, her ranking had dropped so low that she was forced to qualify for the Palo Alto tournament. She qualified, and then surprised fifth seed Vera Zvonareva in the first round, before losing to Daniela Hantuchová in the second round. A back injury forced her to withdraw from tournaments in Carlsbad and Los Angeles. As a wildcard in New Haven, she defeated No. 9 seed Nathalie Dechy for the first time in ten attempts, before losing to doubles partner Anna-Lena Grönefeld in the second round. In the opening round of the US Open, Shaughnessy led 16-year-old Sesil Karatantcheva 6–3, 5–2 and held two match points, before losing 6–3, 5–7, 5–7.
However, on March 24, 2006, Shaughnessy beat No. 3 seed Justine Henin 7–5, 6–4 in the second round of the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami. She then won a WTA-level event in Rabat, beating eighth seeded Martina Suchá in three sets. It was her fourth tour title. She became the first American to win a WTA-level title as well as the first to reach a WTA final in 2006. Shaughnessy afterwards reached the second round at Istanbul, beating third seeded Anna Chakvetadze in the first round. She then fell in the first round of the French Open to top-seeded Amélie Mauresmo, 4–6, 4–6.
The next year, she faced the previous year's runner-up, Svetlana Kuznetsova, in the second round of the French Open. Shaughnessy raced into a 5–0 lead in the first set, and in the sixth game held three set points on Kuznetsova's serve. However, Kuznetsova saved them all, won the game and recovered to clinch the set on a tie-break, before winning the second set 6–3.
Shaughnessy then concentrated on doubles, and regularly partnered with fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands. The pair reached the doubles finals of the 2011 Indian Wells Open, by successively defeating Alisa Kleybanova & Yan Zi, Raquel Kops-Jones & Abigail Spears, Liezel Huber & Nadia Petrova and Victoria Azarenka & Maria Kirilenko, but lost to Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina in the finals.

## Personal life

Shaughnessy was in a relationship with her coach Rafael Font de Mora; they met when she was 13 and she moved in with him a year later. Their romantic and coaching relationship ended in 2005. However, she briefly reunited with Font De Mora as her coach during the latter part of 2006.
Shaughnessy was in a relationship with Major League Baseball player Roberto Alomar from 2004 to 2006, whom she alleged had exposed her to HIV. The lawyer of Alomar's ex-wife claimed that Alomar paid $4 million in settlements to Shaughnessy and another ex-girlfriend.

## WTA Tour finals
### Singles: 10 (6 titles, 4 runner-ups)

* Legend
* Grand Slam
* Tier I
* Tier II (0–3)
* Tier III, IV & V (6–1)
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 1. | Oct 2000 | China Open, Shanghai | Hard (i) | Iroda Tulyaganova | 7–6, 7–5 |
| Loss | 1. | Mar 2001 | Scottsdale Tennis Classic, US | Hard | Lindsay Davenport | 2–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 2. | May 2001 | Hamburg European Open, Germany | Clay | Venus Williams | 3–6, 0–6 |
| Win | 2. | Sep 2001 | Tournoi de Québec, Canada | Carpet (i) | Iva Majoli | 6–1, 6–3 |
| Loss | 3. | Jan 2002 | Sydney International, Australia | Hard | Martina Hingis | 2–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 3. | Jan 2003 | Canberra International, Australia | Hard | Francesca Schiavone | 6–1, 6–1 |
| Loss | 4. | Feb 2005 | National Indoor Championships, US | Hard (i) | Vera Zvonareva | 6–7$^{(3–7)}$, 2–6 |
| Win | 4. | May 2006 | Rabat Grand Prix, Morocco | Clay | Martina Suchá | 6–2, 3–6, 6–3 |
| Win | 5. | Aug 2006 | Forest Hills Tennis Classic, US | Hard | Anna Smashnova | 1–6, 6–0, 6–4 |
| Win | 6. | Jun 2007 | Barcelona Ladies Open, Spain | Clay | Edina Gallovits | 6–3, 6–2 |

### Doubles: 33 (17 titles, 16 runner-ups)

* Legend (pre/post 2009)
* WTA Tour Championships (1–0)
* Tier I / Premier M & Premier 5 (5–5)
* Tier II / Premier (6–6)
* Tier III, IV & V / International (5–5)
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 1. | May 1999 | Bol Ladies Open, Croatia | Clay | Andreea Vanc | Jelena Kostanić Michaela Paštiková | 5–7, 7–6$^{(7–1)}$, 2–6 |
| Loss | 2. | May 1999 | Antwerp, Belgium | Clay | Louise Pleming | Laura Golarsa Katarina Srebotnik | 4–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 3. | Oct 2000 | Shanghai Open, China | Hard | Rita Grande | Lilia Osterloh Tamarine Tanasugarn | 5–7, 1–6 |
| Win | 1. | Nov 2000 | Tournoi de Québec, Canada | Hard (i) | Nicole Pratt | Els Callens Kimberly Po | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 4. | Jan 2001 | Hard Court Championships, Australia | Hard | Katie Schlukebir | Giulia Casoni Janette Husárová | 6–7$^{(9–11)}$, 5–7 |
| Loss | 5. | Mar 2001 | Scottsdale Tennis Classic, United States | Hard | Kim Clijsters | Lisa Raymond Rennae Stubbs | w/o |
| Win | 2. | May 2001 | German Open, Berlin | Clay | Els Callens | Cara Black Elena Likhovtseva | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Loss | 6. | Oct 2001 | Stuttgart Open, Germany | Hard (i) | Justine Henin | Lindsay Davenport Lisa Raymond | 4–6, 7–6$^{(7–4)}$, 5–7 |
| Win | 3. | Jan 2002 | Australian Hard Court Championships | Hard | Justine Henin | Åsa Carlsson Miriam Oremans | 6–1, 7–6$^{(8–6)}$ |
| Loss | 7. | Oct 2002 | Stuttgart Open, Germany | Hard (i) | Paola Suárez | Lindsay Davenport Lisa Raymond | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 4. | Oct 2003 | Kremlin Cup, Russia | Carpet (i) | Nadia Petrova | Anastasia Myskina Vera Zvonareva | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 8. | Jan 2004 | Sydney International, Australia | Hard | Dinara Safina | Cara Black Rennae Stubbs | 5–7, 6–3, 4–6 |
| Win | 5. | Apr 2004 | Miami Open, United States | Hard | Nadia Petrova | Svetlana Kuznetsova Elena Likhovtseva | 6–2, 6–3 |
| Win | 6. | Apr 2004 | Amelia Island Championships, US | Clay | Nadia Petrova | Myriam Casanova Alicia Molik | 3–6, 6–2, 7–5 |
| Win | 7. | May 2004 | German Open | Clay | Nadia Petrova | Janette Husárová Conchita Martínez | 6–2, 2–6, 6–1 |
| Win | 8. | May 2004 | Italian Open, Rome | Clay | Nadia Petrova | Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez | 2–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
| Win | 9. | Jul 2004 | Los Angeles Championships, US | Hard (i) | Nadia Petrova | Conchita Martínez Virginia Ruano Pascual | 6–7$^{(2–7)}$, 6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 10. | Aug 2004 | New Haven Open, US | Hard | Nadia Petrova | Martina Navratilova Lisa Raymond | 6–1, 1–6, 7–6$^{(7–4)}$ |
| Win | 11. | Nov 2004 | WTA Finals Los Angeles | Hard | Nadia Petrova | Cara Black Rennae Stubbs | 7–5, 6–2 |
| Loss | 9. | Mar 2005 | Indian Wells Open, US | Hard | Nadia Petrova | Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez | 6–7$^{(3–7)}$, 1–6 |
| Win | 12. | Sep 2005 | Bali Tennis Classic, Indonesia | Hard | Anna-Lena Grönefeld | Yan Zi Zheng Jie | 6–3, 6–3 |
| Win | 13. | Jan 2006 | Australian Hard Court Championships | Hard | Dinara Safina | Cara Black Rennae Stubbs | 6–2, 6–3 |
| Win | 14. | Mar 2006 | Mexico Open, Acapulco | Clay | Anna-Lena Grönefeld | Shinobu Asagoe Émilie Loit | 6–1, 6–3 |
| Loss | 10. | Mar 2006 | Indian Wells Open, US | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Lisa Raymond Samantha Stosur | 2–6, 5–7 |
| Loss | 11. | Apr 2006 | Charleston Open, US | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Lisa Raymond Samantha Stosur | 6–3, 1–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 12. | Aug 2006 | San Diego Open, US | Hard | Anna-Lena Grönefeld | Cara Black Rennae Stubbs | 2–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 15. | Jan 2007 | Sydney International, Australia | Hard | Anna-Lena Grönefeld | Marion Bartoli Meilen Tu | 6–3, 3–6, 7–6$^{(7–2)}$ |
| Loss | 13. | Feb 2010 | U.S. National Indoor Championships | Hard (i) | Bethanie Mattek-Sands | Vania King Michaëlla Krajicek | 5–7, 2–6 |
| Win | 16. | May 2010 | Warsaw Open, Poland | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual | Cara Black Yan Zi | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 14. | Aug 2010 | New Haven Open, US | Hard | Bethanie Mattek-Sands | Květa Peschke Katarina Srebotnik | 5–7, 0–6 |
| Win | 17. | Feb 2011 | Paris Indoors, France | Hard (i) | Bethanie Mattek-Sands | Vera Dushevina Ekaterina Makarova | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Loss | 15. | Mar 2011 | Indian Wells Open, US | Hard | Bethanie Mattek-Sands | Sania Mirza Elena Vesnina | 0–6, 5–7 |
| Loss | 16. | Apr 2011 | Charleston Open, US | Clay | Bethanie Mattek-Sands | Sania Mirza Elena Vesnina | 4–6, 4–6 |