The 21st century
Greece · born Chania, Crete, 1982 · right-handed, one-handed backhand · Rosmalen champion in 2002
All playersBack to the rankings
2002
Rosmalen singles champion, unseeded, her first WTA title
8
Matches won in a row on grass in June 2002, through Rosmalen and into the Wimbledon fourth round
5
WTA singles titles
No. 14
Career-high ranking, May 2003
3
Olympic Games for Greece: 2000, 2004 and 2008
Eleni Daniilidou was born in Chania, Crete, in 1982. She began her professional career in 1996, reaching the final of her first ITF event aged 14, and broke into the top 100 in 2001.
2002 was her best year. She won her first WTA title on the grass at Rosmalen, reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and finished the year at No. 22. In 2003 she won in Auckland, reached the Australian Open mixed doubles final with Todd Woodbridge, the first Greek player in a Grand Slam final, and rose to No. 14 in May; she remained the only Greek woman to have reached the top 20 until Maria Sakkari in 2020. She defended her Auckland title in 2004 and added titles in Seoul in 2006 and Hobart in 2008: five in all.
She played for Greece at the Olympics in Sydney, Athens and Beijing; at the home Games in 2004 she reached the last 16 in singles. A knee injury cost her much of 2008, and she continued on the ITF circuit for several more years. The WTA lists her as inactive.
| Rosmalen 2002 | Unseeded and ranked 51st, beat the seeds Cristina Torrens Valero, Amélie Mauresmo and Justine Henin, the defending champion, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 in the semi-final, then Elena Dementieva 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the final |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon 2002 | Won three more matches to reach the fourth round, where she lost to the third seed Jennifer Capriati 1-6, 6-3, 1-6 |
| Wimbledon 2005 | Ranked 76th, beat the French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne 7-6, 2-6, 7-5 in the first round. Henin-Hardenne saved two match points at 4-5 in the final set and then double-faulted twice in the last game |
| Other grass finals | Birmingham 2005 doubles with Jennifer Russell, lost. ITF Nottingham: singles champion in 2011, beating Olga Govortsova, and doubles champion in 2012 with Casey Dellacqua |
| 's-Hertogenbosch (Rosmalen) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Women's singles Rosmalen Grass Court Championships | |
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
The person behind the player.
Rosmalen, June 2002
Ranked 51st and unseeded, she beat Mauresmo in the quarter-finals, the defending champion Henin in a second-set tiebreak won 11-9 in the semi-finals, and Dementieva from a set down in the final.
Source: WikipediaWimbledon, June 2005
Against Henin-Hardenne she led 4-2 in the final set and had two match points at 5-4, both saved. Two games later Henin-Hardenne double-faulted twice, the second time on match point, her serve clipping the net cord. Daniilidou had a trainer treat her leg during the set.
Source: Taipei Times, from agency reportsAthens, 2004
At the Athens Olympics she played singles and doubles for Greece, reaching the last 16 in singles; she partnered Christina Zachariadou in the doubles.
Source: OlympediaMelbourne, 2003
With Todd Woodbridge she reached the Australian Open mixed doubles final, where they lost to Leander Paes and Martina Navratilova 4-6, 5-7. No Greek player had reached a Grand Slam final before.
Source: WikipediaFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
Join freePage updated 4 November 2026. Spotted an error? Send a correction.
