The 21st century
Italy · born Taranto, 1983 · slice backhand and net play · Rosmalen singles champion 2011 and Wimbledon doubles champion 2014 with Sara Errani
All playersBack to the rankings
2014
Wimbledon ladies' doubles title with Sara Errani
2011
Rosmalen singles title, her first on grass
110
Weeks as world No. 1 in doubles
5
Major doubles titles with Errani, 2012 to 2014
7
Career-high singles ranking, May 2016
Roberta Vinci was born in Taranto on 18 February 1983 and turned professional in 1999. She played an old-fashioned all-court game, a sliced one-handed backhand, a flat forehand and plenty of volleys, and won the Fed Cup with Italy in 2006, 2009 and 2010.
With Sara Errani she won five major doubles titles: the French Open and US Open in 2012, the Australian Open in 2013 and 2014, and Wimbledon in 2014, which completed a career Grand Slam. She spent 110 weeks at No. 1 in doubles. In singles she won ten titles, including her first on grass at Rosmalen in 2011, and reached No. 7 in 2016.
Her most famous singles match came at the 2015 US Open, when she beat Serena Williams 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the semi-finals to end Williams' bid for the calendar Grand Slam, before losing the first all-Italian major final to Flavia Pennetta. She played her last match in Rome in May 2018 and later turned to padel.
| Rosmalen singles final 2011 | Seeded seventh, beat Jelena Dokic 6-7, 6-3, 7-5 after beating the seeds Yanina Wickmayer and Dominika Cibulkova |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon final 2014 | With Errani, seeded second, beat Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic 6-1, 6-3 in 56 minutes |
| Wimbledon 2014, second round | With Errani beat Lyudmyla and Nadiia Kichenok 5-7, 7-6, 6-1 after facing five match points in the second-set tie-break |
| Wimbledon singles | Fourth round in 2012 and 2013; lost to the eventual champion Petra Kvitova in the third round in 2011 |
| Rosmalen doubles 2012 | Won the doubles with Errani the year after her singles title |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Women's doubles | with Sara Errani |
| 's-Hertogenbosch (Rosmalen) | ||
| 2011 | Women's singles Rosmalen Grass Court Championships | |
| 2012 | Women's doubles Rosmalen Grass Court Championships | with Sara Errani |
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
"I honestly can't grasp the fact that we've been able to accomplish all of this."
The person behind the player.
Rosmalen, 2011
After coming from a set down to beat Jelena Dokic in a blustery final for her first grass title, Vinci said: "Now I'm on my way to Wimbledon." She added that she was a little tired after the week, "but that's OK, you know: I won."
Source: Associated Press, Arab News, June 2011Wimbledon, 2014
In the second round Vinci and Errani trailed the Kichenok twins by a set and faced five match points in the second-set tie-break. They won it 12-10 and went on to take the title.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025 (AELTC)New York, 2015
After beating Serena Williams in the US Open semi-final, the 43rd-ranked Vinci told the crowd: "For the American people, for Serena, for the Grand Slam, today's my day. Sorry, guys."
Source: ESPN, September 2015Rome, 2018
Aleksandra Krunic, who beat her in her farewell match at the Foro Italico, said afterwards: "She's a great example and a great role model for all of us. It's nice that she had such an amazing career, but it's sad that role models are leaving the tour."
Source: WTA, May 2018Free 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.
_(29827525856).jpg){kind=link}