Introduction
Dominique Monami (born 31 May 1973) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. She is her country's first ever top 10 tennis professional.
Monami was born in Verviers. In 1995, she married her coach Bart Van Roost, with whom she has a daughter, and played under the name Dominique Van Roost until their divorce in 2003.
Career
Monami won her first WTA tournament in 1996 in Cardiff (Welsh Open). Before this win, she had been on the ITF circuit where she won seven ITF events, five of which in 1990. In 1997, she reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. The following year, Van Roost became the first ever Belgian tennis player (male or female) to reach the top 10 in WTA rankings.
Monami won a total of four WTA singles titles and reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 9 in October 1998. In total, she participated in 36 Grand Slam tournaments during her professional career.
Another achievement for Van Roost came during the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney where she won the bronze medal in doubles, partnering Els Callens. Also in doubles, she reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 1999 and 2000, and the semifinals of the 2000 US Open.
In November 2000, Monami ended her professional tennis career when she became pregnant by Bart van Roost, whom she divorced later in 2003. She became embroiled in political controversy in Belgium because of her name change. She had been criticized in the country for abandoning her Walloon surname and adopting that of her Flemish husband. After her divorce, she reverted to her original last name. Subsequently, in 2006, she married Erik Vink, a manager in Sony BMG.
After retiring from playing, Monami became involved in Belgian tennis in various capacities, including as a tournament director (Brussels Open) and as the Belgian Fed Cup captain. She also wrote a book titled Een Kwestie van Karakter (Tout est dans le caractere). Monami was awarded Belgian Sports Personality of the Year in 1998.
Significant finals
Olympics
Doubles: 1 bronze medal
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 2000 | Sydney | Hard | Els Callens | Olga Barabanschikova Natalia Zvereva |
4–6, 6–4, 6–1 |
WTA career finals
| Legend (Singles) |
|---|
| Tier I (0–0) |
| Tier II (0–3) |
| Tier III (0–4) |
| Tier IV (4–5) |
Singles: 16 (4 wins, 12 losses)
| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1. | Oct 1993 | Open Languedoc Roussillon, Montpellier | Carpet (i) | Elena Likhovtseva | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 2. | Oct 1995 | Bell Challenge, Quebec City | Carpet (i) | Brenda Schultz-McCarthy | 6–7, 2–6 |
| Win | 1. | May 1996 | British Clay Court Championships, Cardiff | Clay | Laurence Courtois | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Win | 2. | Jan 1997 | Tasmanian International, Hobart | Hard | Marianne Werdel-Witmeyer | 6–3, 6–3 |
| Win | 3. | Sep 1997 | Wismilak International, Surabaya | Hard | Lenka Němečková | 6–1, 6–3 |
| Loss | 3. | Oct 1997 | Bell Challenge, Quebec City | Carpet (i) | Brenda Schultz-McCarthy | 4–6, 7–6, 5–7 |
| Loss | 4. | Nov 1997 | PTT Pattaya Open, Pattaya City | Hard | Henrieta Nagyová | 5–7, 7–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 4. | Jan 1998 | ASB Classic, Auckland | Hard | Silvia Farina | 4–6, 7–6, 7–5 |
| Loss | 5. | Jan 1998 | Hobart International | Hard | Patty Schnyder | 3–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 6. | Feb 1998 | Open Gaz de France, Paris | Carpet (i) | Mary Pierce | 3–6, 5–7 |
| Loss | 7. | Feb 1998 | Generali Ladies Linz | Carpet (i) | Jana Novotná | 1–6, 6–7 |
| Loss | 8. | May 1998 | Madrid Open | Clay | Patty Schnyder | 6–3, 4–6, 0–6 |
| Loss | 9. | Jan 1999 | ASB Classic, Auckland | Hard | Julie Halard-Decugis | 4–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 10. | Sep 1999 | Luxembourg Open, Luxembourg City | Carpet (i) | Kim Clijsters | 2–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 11. | Jun 2000 | Eastbourne International, Eastbourne | Grass | Julie Halard-Decugis | 6–7, 4–6 |
| Loss | 12. | Jul 2000 | French Community Championships, Knokke | Clay | Anna Smashnova | 2–6, 5–7 |
Doubles: 9 (4 wins, 5 losses)
| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Pertner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1. | May 1993 | Belgian Open, Liege | Clay | Ann Devries | Radka Bobková María José Gaidano |
6–4, 2–6, 7–6 |
| Win | 1. | Jul 1993 | Austrian Open, Kitzbühel | Clay | Li Fang | Maja Murić Pavlína Rajzlová |
6–2, 6–1 |
| Loss | 2. | Oct 1993 | Open Languedoc Roussillon, Montpellier | Carpet (i) | Janette Husárová | Meredith McGrath Claudia Porwik |
3–6, 6–2, 7–6 |
| Loss | 3. | Oct 1996 | SEAT Open, Luxembourg City | Carpet (i) | Barbara Rittner | Kristie Boogert Nathalie Tauziat |
2–6, 6–4, 6–2 |
| Win | 2. | Jan 1997 | ASB Classic, Auckland | Hard | Janette Husárová | Aleksandra Olsza Elena Pampoulova |
6–2, 6–7, 6–3 |
| Loss | 4. | Jan 1997 | Tasmanian International, Hobart | Hard | Barbara Rittner | Naoko Kijimuta Nana Miyagi |
6–3, 6–1 |
| Loss | 5. | Nov 1997 | Volvo Women's Open, Pattaya City | Hard | Florencia Labat | Kristine Kunce Corina Morariu |
6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 3. | May 1998 | Madrid Open | Clay | Florencia Labat | Rachel McQuillan Nicole Pratt |
6–3, 6–1 |
| Win | 4. | Aug 2000 | East West Bank Classic, Los Angeles | Hard | Els Callens | Kimberly Po Anne-Gaëlle Sidot |
6–2, 7–5 |
ITF finals
Singles (7–1)
| $100,000 tournaments |
| $75,000 tournaments |
| $50,000 tournaments |
| $25,000 tournaments |
| $10,000 tournaments |
| Outcome | No. | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 6 August 1990 | Koksijde, Belgium | Clay | Magdalena Feistel | 6–2, 6–1 |
| Winner | 2. | 17 September 1990 | Napoli, Italy | Clay | Klára Bláhová | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Winner | 3. | 24 September 1990 | Napoli, Italy | Clay | Catarina Bernstein | 4–6, 6–4, 6–2 |
| Winner | 4. | 15 October 1990 | Burgdorf, Switzerland | Carpet (i) | Sabine Lohmann | 5–7, 6–2, 6–4 |
| Winner | 5. | 22 October 1990 | Lyss, Switzerland | Clay | Katja Meichelbock | 6–2, 6–2 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 12 November 1990 | Swindon, Great Britain | Carpet (i) | Sandrine Testud | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Winner | 6. | 27 February 1995 | Southampton, Great Britain | Carpet (i) | Angela Kerek | 0–6, 6–4, 6–3 |
| Winner | 7. | 29 September 1996 | Limoges, France | Hard (i) | Åsa Carlsson | 2–6, 7–6, 6–1 |
Doubles (1–1)
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 27 February 1995 | Southampton, Great Britain | Carpet (i) | Andrea Temesvari | Seda Noorlander Christína Papadáki |
6–4, 6–2 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 28 September 1996 | Limoges, France | Hard (i) | Caroline Dhenin | Natalia Medvedeva Larisa Neiland |
1–6, 1–6 |
Singles performance timeline
| Tournament | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | SR | W–L | W% | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | 4R | 2R | 1R | Q1 | 2R | QF | 3R | QF | 2R | 0 / 8 | 15–8 | 65% | |||||||||||
| French Open | Q1 | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 3R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 9 | 6–9 | 40% | |||||||||||
| Wimbledon | A | 1R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 3R | 1R | 4R | 4R | 1R | 0 / 9 | 11–9 | 55% | |||||||||||
| US Open | 3R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 0 / 10 | 10–10 | 50% | |||||||||||
| Year-end championships | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tour Championships | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | QF | QF | A | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | 50% | |||||||||||
| Tier I tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tokyo | Tier II | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | ||||||||||||
| Indian Wells | Tier II | A | 3R | 1R | 4R | 0 / 3 | 4–3 | 57% | ||||||||||||||||
| Miami | A | A | A | 2R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 3R | 0 / 7 | 5–6 | 45% | |||||||||||
| Berlin | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | A | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | 33% | |||||||||||
| Rome | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | 3R | 3R | QF | 2R | 0 / 5 | 8–5 | 62% | |||||||||||
| Montreal / Toronto | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | 1R | 0 / 3 | 1–3 | 25% | |||||||||||
| Moscow | T V | Not Held | Tier III | SF | A | SF | A | 0 / 2 | 6–2 | 75% | ||||||||||||||
| Zürich | Tier II | A | A | A | A | 2R | QF | QF | 1R | 0 / 4 | 5–4 | 56% | ||||||||||||
| Year-end ranking | 129 | 100 | 59 | 133 | 43 | 46 | 18 | 12 | 14 | 24 | ||||||||||||||
Statistics
- Head-to-head vs. top 10:
- Martina Hingis 1–5
- Venus Williams 1–2
- Serena Williams 1–1
- Kim Clijsters 1–1
- Elena Dementieva 1–0
- Lisa Raymond 1–1
- Mary Pierce 0–5
- Barbara Schett 3–1
- Julie Halard-Decugis 2–2
- Lindsay Davenport 2–1
- Nadia Petrova 1–0
- Jennifer Capriati 0–2
- Monica Seles 0–3
- Amanda Coetzer 4–1