# Silvia Farina Elia

Silvia Farina-Elia (Italian pronunciation:; born 27 April 1972) is a former professional tennis player from Italy. She won three WTA singles titles, reached the quarterfinals of the 2003 Wimbledon Championships and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11 in May 2002. Farina-Elia won her first ITF title at Caltagirone in 1991 and her first WTA tournament at Strasbourg in 2001. She made her debut Grand Slam appearance at the 1991 French Open and was coached by husband Francesco Elia, whom she married September 1999.

## Career

Farina-Elia made steady progression on the ITF circuit during the early 1990s and finished her first year in the top 100 in 1991. She completed her first victory over a top ten player (Gabriela Sabatini, Roland Garros) in 1994 and won her first doubles title the next year. In 1996, she represented Italy at the Atlanta Olympics. 1998 was considered her breakthrough year, reaching the final of four tournaments and in the process securing a place in the year end top 20. She was 26 at the time and thus considered a "late bloomer". She only reached one singles final in 1999 but made a greater impact in doubles, winning three tournaments.
In 2001, Farina-Elia won a belated first WTA Tour title, at the Internationaux de Strasbourg. She ended the year No. 14, what was to be her best year end finish and played in the WTA Tour Championships of 2001 and 2002. She consolidated the Strasbourg win with two more wins at the tournament. In 2003, she achieved her best Grand Slam result at the unlikely venue of Wimbledon, home of her least favourite surface, losing to Kim Clijsters, 7–5, 0–6, 1–6 in the quarterfinals.
Farina-Elia represented Italy at nine Federation Cups and also at three Olympics.
On Monday 24 October 2005, she announced her retirement from the tour due a recurrence of a shoulder injury, saying, "My body has given all it can."

## Personal life

Farina-Elia began playing tennis aged 10; introduced to the sport by her mother, who played recreationally. Her parents are both insurance agents, as is her sister, Olga. Her brother, Enrico, restores furniture. She married Francesco Elia on 22 September 1999 and described the prospect of life after tennis as "exciting".

## WTA career finals
### Singles: 13 (3 titles, 10 runner-ups)

* Legend
* Grand Slam (0)
* Tier I (0)
* Tier II (0)
* Tier III (3)
* Tier IV-V (0)
| Result | W-L | Date | Tournament | Date | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Jul 1991 | San Marino Open | Clay | Katia Piccolini | 2–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 0–2 | Jan 1998 | Auckland, New Zealand | Hard | Dominique van Roost | 6–4, 6–7$^{(9–11)}$, 5–7 |
| Loss | 0–3 | Apr 1998 | Budapest, Hungary | Clay | Virginia Ruano Pascual | 4–6, 6–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 0–4 | Jul 1998 | Warsaw Open, Poland | Clay | Conchita Martínez | 0–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 0–5 | Nov 1998 | Luxembourg Open | Carpet (i) | Mary Pierce | 0–6, 0–2 ret. |
| Loss | 0–6 | Feb 1999 | Prostějov, Czech Republic | Carpet (i) | Henrieta Nagyová | 6–7$^{(2–7)}$, 4–6 |
| Loss | 0–7 | Jan 2001 | Gold Coast, Australia | Hard | Justine Henin | 6–7$^{(5–7)}$, 4–6 |
| Win | 1–7 | May 2001 | Strasbourg, France | Clay | Anke Huber | 7–5, 0–6, 6–4 |
| Win | 2–7 | May 2002 | Strasbourg, France | Clay | Jelena Dokić | 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 |
| Win | 3–7 | May 2003 | Strasbourg, France | Clay | Karolina Šprem | 6–3, 4–6, 6–4 |
| Loss | 3–8 | Jan 2004 | Canberra, Australia | Hard | Paola Suárez | 6–3, 4–6, 6–7$^{(5–7)}$ |
| Loss | 3–9 | Feb 2004 | Antwerp, Belgium | Hard (i) | Kim Clijsters | 3–6, 0–6 |
| Loss | 3–10 | Apr 2005 | Amelia Island, United States | Clay | Lindsay Davenport | 5–7, 5–7 |

### Doubles: 17 (9 titles, 8 runner-ups)

| Result | W-L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | May 1990 | Taranto Trophy, Italy | Clay | Rita Grande | Elena Brioukhovets Eugenia Maniokova | 6–7, 1–6 |
| Loss | 0–2 | Jul 1993 | Palermo, Italy | Clay | Brenda Schultz | Karin Kschwendt Natalia Medvedeva | 4–6, 6–7$^{(4–7)}$ |
| Win | 1–2 | Jul 1995 | Maria Lankowitz, Austria | Clay | Andrea Temesvári | Alexandra Fusai Wiltrud Probst | 6–2, 6–2 |
| Loss | 1–3 | Nov 1996 | Kremlin Cup, Russia | Carpet (i) | Barbara Schett | Natalia Medvedeva Larisa Savchenko | 6–7$^{(5–7)}$, 6–4, 1–6 |
| Loss | 1–4 | Jan 1997 | Gold Coast, Australia | Hard | Ruxandra Dragomir | Naoko Kijimuta Nana Miyagi | 7–6, 6–1 |
| Win | 2–4 | Jul 1997 | Palermo, Italy | Clay | Barbara Schett | Florencia Labat Mercedes Paz | 2–6, 6–1, 6–4 |
| Win | 3–4 | Jul 1998 | Prague, Czech Republic | Clay | Karina Habšudová | Květa Hrdličková Michaela Paštiková | 2–6, 6–1, 6–2 |
| Win | 4–4 | Jan 1999 | Auckland, New Zealand | Hard | Barbara Schett | Seda Noorlander Marlene Weingärtner | 6–2, 7–6 |
| Win | 5–4 | Jun 1999 | Rosmalen Open, Netherlands | Grass | Rita Grande | Cara Black Kristie Boogert | 7–5, 7–6 |
| Win | 6–4 | Jul 1999 | Pörtschach, Austria | Clay | Karina Habšudová | Olga Lugina Laura Montalvo | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 6–5 | Feb 2000 | Hanover, Germany | Hard (i) | Karina Habšudová | Åsa Carlsson Natalia Zvereva | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 7–5 | Jul 2000 | Palermo, Italy | Clay | Rita Grande | Ruxandra Dragomir Virginia Ruano Pascual | 6–4, 0–6, 7–6$^{(8–6)}$ |
| Win | 8–5 | May 2001 | Strasbourg, France | Clay | Iroda Tulyaganova | Amanda Coetzer Lori McNeil | 6–1, 7–6$^{(7–0)}$ |
| Loss | 8–6 | Oct 2003 | Linz, Austria | Hard (i) | Marion Bartoli | Liezel Huber Ai Sugiyama | 1–6, 6–7$^{(6–8)}$ |
| Loss | 8–7 | Feb 2004 | Paris, France | Hard | Francesca Schiavone | Barbara Schett Patty Schnyder | 3–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 9–7 | May 2004 | Warsaw, Poland | Clay | Francesca Schiavone | Gisela Dulko Patricia Tarabini | 3–6, 6–2, 6–1 |
| Loss | 9–8 | Jan 2005 | Gold Coast, Australia | Hard | Maria Elena Camerin | Elena Likhovtseva Magdalena Maleeva | 6–3, 5–7, 6–1 |

## ITF finals
### Singles (2–1)

* Legend
* $100,000 tournaments
* $75,000 tournaments
* $50,000 tournaments
* $25,000 tournaments
* $10,000 tournaments
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 1. | 29 October 1990 | ITF Putignano, Italy | Clay | Nathalie Baudone | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 2. | 24 June 1991 | ITF Caltagirone, Italy | Clay | Ann Devries | 7–5, 6–3 |
| Win | 3. | 5 April 1993 | ITF Limoges, France | Carpet (i) | Laurence Courtois | 6–3, 6–3 |

### Doubles (6–2)

| Result | No | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1. | 11 June 1990 | ITF Modena, Italy | Hard | Simona Isidori | Heleen van den Berg Miriam Oremans | 6–2, 6–3 |
| Win | 2. | 23 July 1990 | ITF Milan, Italy | Hard | Simona Isidori | Nathalie Ballet Agnes Romand | 2–6, 6–1, 6–3 |
| Win | 3. | 29 October 1990 | ITF Putignano, Italy | Clay | Nathalie Baudone | Darija Dešković Karin Lušnic | 6–1, 6–1 |
| Win | 4. | 24 June 1991 | ITF Caltagiron, Italy | Hard | Misumi Miyauchi | Alexandra Fusai Olivia Gravereaux | 6–7, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 5. | 13 April 1992 | ITF Salerno, Italy | Hard | Linda Ferrando | Kirrily Sharpe Angie Woolcock | 6–1, 6–4 |
| Loss | 6. | 7 September 1992 | ITF Arzachena, Italy | Clay | Linda Ferrando | Laura Garrone Laura Golarsa | 4–6, 6–4, 4–6 |
| Win | 7. | 11 April 1993 | ITF Limoges, France | Carpet (i) | Elena Pampoulova | Stephanie Reece Danielle Scott | 6–2, 6–7$^{(5)}$, 6–2 |
| Loss | 8. | 16 August 1993 | ITF Arzachena, Italy | Clay | Linda Ferrando | Akiko Kijimuta Naoko Kijimuta | 0–6, 5–7 |

## Head-to-head record against players in the top 10

Players who have been ranked world No. 1 are in boldface.
* Dominique Monami 1–4
* Martina Hingis 1–4
* Lindsay Davenport 1–7
* Dinara Safina 0–2
* Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 0–5
* Serena Williams 1–1
* Maria Sharapova 1–1
* Justine Henin 0–3
* Kim Clijsters 0–6
* Amélie Mauresmo 0–7
* Jelena Janković 2–1
* Elena Dementieva 1–3
* Iva Majoli 0–4
* Jana Novotná 1–5
* Anna Kournikova 3–4
* Flavia Pennetta 1–0
* Nadia Petrova 0–4
* Karina Habšudová 2-1