Dinara Safina

In May, at the clay-court event in Berlin, Safina defeated world No. 1 Justine Henin in the third round. Safina went on to defeat Serena Williams for the first time in the quarterfinals, ending Williams's 17-match winning streak. She then defeated Elena Dementieva in the final to win the first Tier I title of her career. Safina retrospectively called the tournament "the key to her tennis life". As the 13th seed at the French Open, Safina defeated new world No. 1 Maria Sharapova, having saved a match point. In the quarterfinals, Safina defeated Dementieva, after saving match points again. Then, in her first Grand Slam semifinal, Safina defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova, before losing to Ana Ivanovic in the final. Her results at this tournament caused her ranking to rise to world No. 9.

In 2014, Safina officially retired from tennis after the final day of Madrid Open following years of injuries.

After losing in the first round of the US Open to Maria Elena Camerin, Safina made three semifinals in the fall – in Luxembourg, the Tier I Moscow and Hasselt. In Moscow, she defeated world No. 1 Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals, her first victory over a number one player. She also played a key role in Russia's victory against France in the Fed Cup, partnering Elena Dementieva to win the doubles rubber. Speaking in 2008, Safina stated: "that was a great experience in my life [...] it also boosted my confidence because I showed I could play well even with the [French] crowd against me." Safina finished the year ranked world No. 20, by far her highest finish.

At the French Open, Safina made the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam for the first time in her career. In the fourth round, she defeated fourth-seeded Maria Sharapova. In the third set, she trailed 1–5 and was down a match point but won after almost 2½ hours of play. She went on to lose to Kuznetsova in the next round. To kick off the grass court season, she reached her first grass court final at 's-Hertogenbosch, losing to Michaëlla Krajicek. She then lost in the third round of Wimbledon, losing to Ana Ivanovic.

Safina and fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova met 14 times, with Safina leading their head-to-head 8–6. Kuznetsova led their rivalry on clay courts but trailed their rivalry on hard courts. The pair never met on grass. Their last meeting was in the final of the 2009 French Open, with Kuznetsova winning in straight sets and reversing a semi-final loss to Safina from twelve months earlier.

Dinara announced on June 12, 2012 that she requested wildcards for the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, the Montreal Open, the Cincinnati Open and the US Open. In a later interview, she announced that she withdrew the requests for wildcard entries for all tournaments for 2012. In late 2012, Safina was linked to doping doctor Luis Garcia del Moral.

Safina allegedly retired from professional tennis, as announced by her brother Marat Safin, on October 7, 2011: "Dinara has decided to end her career," Safin said. "She has taken the decision relatively well. She considers it just to be the end of a period in her life." Safin said the main reason for his 25-year-old sister's retirement was a chronic back injury. "Everything is all right with her health. She feels good in everyday life, but (the back injury means) she simply can't play tennis professionally any more." However, Dinara Safina herself later that day issued a Twitter message, where she said she had not made any retirement decision yet, and that she needed more time to decide.

Safina started 2010 by losing in the quarterfinals to Elena Dementieva in Sydney. At the Australian Open, she reached the fourth round where she retired with a back injury which also forced her to withdraw from tournaments in Dubai, Indian Wells, and Miami.

At the Malaysian Open, Dinara was able to end her six-match losing streak with her first win since September 2010, defeating Han Xinyun. Then she lost against Safarova. Safina next competed at BNP Paribas Open, where she reached the fourth round, including wins over 26th seed Daniela Hantuchová and world No. 4 Samantha Stosur. Her run came to an end against Maria Sharapova in the fourth round. Safina announced she would not compete for the rest of 2011 because of a persistent back injury (stress fracture).

Previously, Safina was coached by Glen Schaap, former coach of Anna Chakvetadze and Nadia Petrova, and Željko Krajan, who worked with her during her rise to No. 1 in 2009. From May 2010, she began working with Gastón Etlis. Their partnership ended after several months and in February 2011 she begun working with Davide Sanguinetti.

Safina began 2009 by representing Russia with her brother Marat Safin in the Hopman Cup. They lost to the Slovakian team in the final.

Safina's next tournament was at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open in Cincinnati. In the second round, she lost to Kim Clijsters. Due to her inability to defend her points from 2009, she dropped from world No. 35 to No. 70. At the Rogers Cup she scored wins over world No. 36 Andrea Petkovic and No. 21 Nadia Petrova to reach the third round, where she lost to sixth seed Francesca Schiavone. Safina defeated Schiavone in the first round of the Pilot Pen Tennis in New Haven, but lost to Maria Kirilenko in the quarterfinals. At the US Open, Safina was eliminated in the first round by Daniela Hantuchová.

Safina was runner-up in singles at the 2008 French Open, 2009 Australian Open, and the 2009 French Open, falling to Ana Ivanovic, Serena Williams, and Svetlana Kuznetsova, respectively. She had success at Grand Slam events in women's doubles by winning the 2007 US Open with Nathalie Dechy. She also won the Olympic silver medal in women's singles at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Safina retired in 2014 after a lengthy absence from the tour since 2011 due to an ongoing back injury.

Safina is an aggressive baseliner who likes to take the ball on the rise with full power on every shot. Her sharp angled forehand can force a return that she can hit with a big and heavy forehand for a winner. Her backhand can be flat, heavy, and devastating. She boasts a powerful first serve that sometimes lacks consistency in tight moments. Her primary weakness is her mental toughness, particularly in Grand Slam finals, although it has improved. Her emotions on court can hurt her game. A tenacious fighter, Safina made several notable comebacks, including at the 2008 French Open: down 6–7, 2–5 against Maria Sharapova, she fought off match point and won 6–7, 7–6, 6–2. She was also regarded as one of the most healthy and fit players on tour. Though an adequate lateral mover, she is less nimble moving forward and tends to avoid net play.

Safina started 2008 poorly, winning just 11 of her first 21 matches. Her best result in singles play during this period was a run to the quarterfinals of Miami, defeating Lindsay Davenport in the fourth round. Safina has admitted that she was considering quitting tennis during this period. Meanwhile, she won doubles titles in Gold Coast, partnering Ágnes Szávay; and in Indian Wells, partnering Elena Vesnina.

Safina won her first tournament of 2007 in Gold Coast, defeating Martina Hingis in the final. Following the match, Hingis praised Safina, saying that "everyone should watch her because she's gonna be maybe even better than her brother", and that she has "more will and desire" than Safin. She also won the doubles title at the tournament. She then lost in the third round of the Australian Open to Li Na.

Safina started 2006 by losing in the second round of the Australian Open to Sofia Arvidsson. The highlight of the remainder of the spring hardcourt season was a run to the quarterfinals in Indian Wells, defeating fifth seed Anastasia Myskina before losing to Martina Hingis. On clay, Safina reached her first final at a Tier I tournament in Rome, defeating top 10 players Kim Clijsters, Elena Dementieva, and Svetlana Kuznetsova, before being defeated by Hingis.

At Wimbledon, Safina advanced to the fourth round for the first time, where she defeated 2006 champion Amélie Mauresmo. She went on to reach the semifinals before losing to Venus Williams. She lost 1–6, 0–6 which is the biggest defeat for a current number one in WTA Tour history. Her performance invoked criticism about her status as the No. 1 player in particular from the new Wimbledon champion and world No. 2, Serena Williams who openly mocked her credibility as the top player.

Safina continued to climb the rankings in 2005. At the Australian Open, she lost in the second round to Amélie Mauresmo. However, she defeated Mauresmo in the final in Paris three weeks later, in order to win the third title of her career. This marked her first win over a player ranked in the top 5. Following her win, Safina remarked: "You can't imagine how happy I am. I can't find words to explain how I feel right now. It's by far the best day of my career. I played well, took my chances and beat a top 5 player. It's just too much in one day."

Safina won her second title of 2005 in May at Prague, defeating Zuzana Ondrášková in the final. However, she then lost in the first round of the French Open to Virginie Razzano. She won a match at Wimbledon for the first time, eventually losing in the third round to top seed Lindsay Davenport.

Safina won her second title over Katarina Srebotnik at Palermo in July 2003. She lost in the first round in her debuts at the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon, although she reached the fourth round at the US Open before losing to second seed and eventual champion Justine Henin. She also made the quarterfinals in Doha, Sopot and Shanghai. She beat world No. 11 Magdalena Maleeva in Moscow, her best win at that point. She finished the season as world No. 54.

Safina and Dementieva have been playing each other since 2003, four times on clay, five times on hard and one on grass and carpet, their series ended 6–5 in Dementieva's favour. Their most significant meeting was at the final of the 2008 Summer Olympics which Dementieva won in three sets and a gold medal for Russia. When they met at the 2008 French Open quarterfinals, Safina was down a set and was down 2–5 after saving match point. She then went on to win the match with a score of 4–6, 7–6, 6–0.

Safina made her debut in the main draw of a WTA Tour tournament in May 2002, on clay at Estoril, where she lost in the semifinals. She won her first title in Sopot, defeating two seeds – including world No. 24 Patty Schnyder – en route to the final, which she won when opponent Henrieta Nagyová retired during the second set. In doing so, she became the youngest Tour champion in four years and the first qualifier to win a title in three years. She entered the top 100 on the WTA rankings as a result of this win. Later that year, Safina made her debut at a Grand Slam tournament, losing in the second round of the US Open to top seed and eventual champion Serena Williams. In October at Kremlin Cup, she defeated a top 20 player for the first time, world No. 14 Silvia Farina Elia. She finished the season as world No. 68.

Dinara Mubinovna Safina (Russian: Динара Мубиновна Сафина ; pronounced [dʲɪˈnarə ˈsafʲɪnə] Tatar: Динара Мөбин кызы Сафина ; born April 27, 1986 in Moscow) is a Russian former world No. 1 tennis player.

At the Australian Open, Safina defeated a seed at a major event for the first time, upsetting 27th seed Amanda Coetzer in the second round before losing to second seed Kim Clijsters in the third round. However, she failed to make an impact at any of the other Grand Slam tournaments, losing in the second round of the French Open and the first round of both Wimbledon and the US Open, although she pushed eventual runner-up Elena Dementieva to three sets in the latter. She made the third final of her career and first off of clay in October at Luxembourg, losing to Alicia Molik. She finished the season as world No. 44, her first time finishing in the world's top 50.