Bethanie Mattek-Sands is a professional female tennis player from the United States. Born in 1985, Bethanie Mattek-Sands has won multiple titles on the ITF Circuit and currently competes on the WTA Tour. She has had success as a singles player but has won world titles on the WTA Tour as a doubles player, notably the 2015 Australian Open as well as the 2015 French Open. In singles she has a career high ranking of #30 in the world and is currently in the top 10 in doubles, with a peak of #3 in the world.
Personal Background
Bethanie was born in Rochester, Minnesota in 1985. Her father, Tim Mattek is an accountant an her mother, Heidi Mattek, works as a nurse. She has two brothers and a sister. She began playing tennis when she was 5 years old and played her first professional matches at just 14 years old. She did not begin playing full time until 2005, when she was 20 years old. Currently she lives in Miami, Florida but she trains under Adam Altschuler in Phoenix Arizona. On November 29, 2008, Bethanie married Justin Sands and is well known for her eccentric fashion style.
Bethanie Mattek-Sands Fashion and Style
Bethanie Mattek-Sands is not only known for her strong skills on the tennis court; her unconventional fashion choices have also received notable attention and in 2011 was dubbed Tennis’ Lady Gaga after she wore a vivid yellow and yellow dress adorned with tennis balls. Her 2011 outfit was not the first time her head-turning style was featured. In 2004 and 2007 she wore leopard print outfits at the US Open. In 2006, she wore vivid neon pink socks at the JPMorgan Chase Open.
Her eccentric style has not always been without issues, however. At the 2005 US Open, Bethanie wore a cowboy hat during her matches that featured a blue checkered pattern. According to Bethanie Mattek-Sands, the fine was $10,000. Due to her wardrobe, she received a fine. She has also worn other hats on the court including a brown fedora with a bright blue ribbon.
In addition to her unique clothing choices, she is also known for her vivid hair color. In 2013, she dyed her hair a vivid blue and fluorescent green. She has also had her hair dyed white with pink ends, blue and purple, and many other unique color combinations.
Tennis Career
Her first WTA tour was in 1999 when she was 14 years old where she participated in a Philadelphia event. She lost the qualifying round to Nana Miyagi and afterwards did not compete in any tour matches for the rest of the year. In 2000 she participated at the US Open and the Lipton International Players Championships but also lost in the first rounds of those events.
By the end of the year in 2001 she was ranked 338 but she quickly began to rise in rankings over the next few years. By 2008 she had risen to become the #38 ranked player in the world in singles. She made it to the 2008 French Open as well as the second round of the 2008 US Open. She won her first match against a top-10 opponent in Marion Bartoli during the 2008 Wimbeldon.
She continued to have success over the next few years and reached a career high of #30 in the world in singles. In 2014 she was forced to have hip surgery and tried to return in 2014 but lost in qualifying matches in Wuhan and the na first round qualifier to Mona Barthel.
In 2015 Bethanie Mattek-Sands found great success as a doubles player, winning the Australian Open as well as the French Open women’s doubles events with Lucie Safarova and also won the 2015 French Open mixed doubles event with American tennis player Mike Bryan.
Playing Style
Bethanie Mattek-Sands is a very versatile player which shines through as a doubles player, able to adapt to various styles and work well with her partner. She utilizes speed and agility near the net which can be too much for her opponents to keep up with. She focuses on maintaining an all-around style of play, doing well in every area and not focusing too much on just speed or power and she is able to do well on all styles of court.
Social Media
You can follow Bethanie Mattek-Sands on
Facebook: facebook.com/BethanieMattekSands
Instagram: @matteksands
Twitter: @BMATTEK
Her Website www.bmattek.com is currently under construction.
