Former Wimbledon semifinalist Tsvetana Pironkova has announced her plans to make her come-back to professional tennis after a three-year period away from tennis. The 32-year-old Bulgarian player gave birth to a son in March 2018. She played her last match against Dane Caroline Wozniacki in her last match at Wimbledon in 2017.
Pironkova reached a career-high of world number 31 in 2010, the year when she achieved the semifinal at Wimbledon 2010, the best result of her career so far. She became the first Bulgarian player to reach a Grand Slam semifinal in nearly 20 years. She did not drop a set in five matches and upset former Grand Slam champion Venus Williams. Pironkova reached the quarter final at Wimbledon in 2011 and for this reason she deserved her nickname as the “Wimbledon Darkhorse”.
Pironkova lifted her only WTA title at the Premier-level tournament in Sydney 2014 after coming through the qualifying round. At that time she was ranked outside the top 100 and she scored eight wins, including three top 10 wins. During her career Pironkova achieved 12 wins over top 10 players and reached the quarter final at 2016 Roland Garros after beating Aga Radwanska in the fourth round.
Pironkova started playing tennis at the age of four and was introduced to the sport by her father Kiril Pironkov, who was a former canoeing champion. Her mother Radosveta Chinkova Nikolova was a former swimmer. She married her long-time boyfriend Mikhail Mirchev, who was a former Bulgarian football player.
Pironkova owns the current Bulgarian record in Fed Cup for singles wins (22) and is tied with Katerina Maleeva for most overall wins (29). She is considered as one of the best grass court players of her generation and is known for her reputation to upset higher ranked players at Grand Slam tournaments. She made her debut on the WTA Tour at the 2005 Istanbul Cup.
“For the past three months I have been intensively training in order to compete at a professional level. It wasn’t an easy decision, considering the extent of the challenge. There are many circumstances that I have to take into account, but what matters the most is that I have the love and full support of my family. I would also like to thank everyone who has been supporting me throughout my tennis journey for the past 15 years. It truly means a lot and it is definitely a source of inspiration”, said Pironkova.
