Paris, 2003
A junior champion
At 17 she won the Roland Garros girls' title, the first German to do so since 1957, and rose to No. 1 in the junior world rankings in both singles and doubles.
Source: WTAThe 21st century
Anna-Lena Grönefeld
Germany · born Nordhorn, 1985 · right-handed · Wimbledon mixed doubles champion 2009 with Mark Knowles
All playersBack to the rankings
2009
Wimbledon mixed doubles champion with Mark Knowles, beating the top seeds
2
Wimbledon mixed doubles finals, 2009 and 2016
2
Major mixed doubles titles: Wimbledon 2009 and Roland Garros 2014
No. 14
Singles world ranking, reached on 17 April 2006
No. 7
Doubles world ranking, reached in March 2006
Playing career
Anna-Lena Grönefeld was born in Nordhorn, West Germany, on 4 June 1985. In 2003 she won the junior title at Roland Garros, the first German to do so since 1957, and was junior world No. 1 in singles and doubles. She turned professional that year and rose quickly: in 2005 she won the Toronto doubles with Martina Navratilova, and in 2006 she won her only WTA singles title in Acapulco, reached the Roland Garros quarter-finals and climbed to No. 14 in singles and No. 7 in doubles.
After a slump she took a break from the tour in August 2007 and came back in May 2008. She reached the fourth round of the 2008 US Open, and in 2009 won the Wimbledon mixed doubles with Mark Knowles of the Bahamas. At the end of 2011 she decided to concentrate on doubles. She won the 2014 Roland Garros mixed with Jean-Julien Rojer, played for Germany in the 2014 Fed Cup final, and was a Wimbledon and Roland Garros mixed finalist with Robert Farah in 2016 and 2017.
In her last season, 2019, she and Demi Schuurs reached three Premier 5 finals and the semi-finals of the WTA Finals. She retired that December at 34, ranked No. 11 in doubles, with 17 WTA doubles titles.
On grass
| Wimbledon mixed final 2009 | With Mark Knowles, seeded 9: beat the top seeds Leander Paes and Cara Black 7-5, 6-3 in 88 minutes, after trailing 2-5 in the first set |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon mixed final 2016 | With Robert Farah, seeded 15: lost to Henri Kontinen and Heather Watson 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 |
| Birmingham 2019 | Doubles final with Demi Schuurs, lost to Hsieh Su-wei and Barbora Strýcová 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 8-10 (match tie-break) |
| Wimbledon singles | Six appearances in the main draw, all ending in the first round |
Every grass title: 1
Show every title, tournament by tournament
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Mixed doubles | with Mark Knowles |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. † single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"We were waiting and waiting."
Anecdotes
The person behind the player.
Toronto, 2005
Partnering Navratilova
At 20 she won the Toronto doubles with Martina Navratilova, beating Conchita Martínez and Virginia Ruano Pascual 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.
Source: WikipediaWimbledon, 2009
After the longest final
The mixed final had to wait for the 77-game men's final between Federer and Roddick. "We were waiting and waiting," she said. "But you're always ready." Knowles, who had won the men's doubles at the other three majors, finally had his Wimbledon title; he said he had told her at a changeover, "Let's stay positive."
Source: Taipei Times (AP); Tennis.com2011
Choosing doubles
After two doubles finals but a poor singles season in 2011, she announced on her website that she would become a doubles specialist: "I've come to the conclusion that it will be in my best interest to primarily focus on doubles for now."
Source: Tennis.comDecember 2019
Another dream
She retired at 34 to start a family. "This little girl had dreams! For the last 18 years, she was able to live one of them!" she wrote, naming her next goal as "another dream of having a family!"
Source: WTAJoin Grass Tennis Club
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Where they won on grass
Rivals and partners
On Grass Tennis Club
Elsewhere online
Sources
- Wimbledon Compendium 2025 (AELTC)
- "Anna-Lena Groenefeld calls time on her career", WTA, 2019
- Wimbledon mixed doubles final report, Taipei Times (AP), 7 July 2009
- "Knowles, Groenefeld win mixed doubles title", Tennis.com, 2009
- "Groenefeld to focus exclusively on doubles", Tennis.com, 2011
- Anna-Lena Grönefeld, Wikipedia
- GTC roll of grass champions, checked against a second source where one exists
Page updated 4 November 2026. Spotted an error? Send a correction.
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