Sharon Fichman
Sharon Fichman is a Canadian tennis player.
She plays for Canada but holds both Israeli and Canadian citizenships. Fichman was ranked No. 5 on the junior circuit in December 2006. Since turning professional, her career highs have been No. 77 in singles and No. 48 in doubles.
She was inactive from May 2016 to April 2018, but returned to tennis in doubles at the $60,000 ITF event in Indian Harbour Beach, reaching the quarterfinals with Jamie Loeb.
Personal life
Fichman, who is Jewish, was born and raised in Toronto. She is a citizen of both Canada and Israel. Her parents, Julia and Bobby, emigrated from Romania to Israel in 1982, and then to Canada in 1989. Bobby was a semi-pro tennis player, and is now a nuclear engineer. Her mother is a computer engineer.Fichman started playing tennis at the age of 6. She won her first tournament at six. By age 13, she was the world's No. 2 player under 14. In 2004, at the age of 13, she was Canada's Under-18 Indoor & Outdoor National girls champion, and also won the doubles title with partner Mélanie Gloria. In 2006, Fichman and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova dominated doubles at the Grand Slam juniors by winning the Australian Open and French Open. At the 2006 Juniors US Open, Fichman quartered in singles and came close to capturing her third Grand Slam title in doubles with a finalist showing. She lost in the finals of the Canadian Open Junior Championship in both singles and doubles. She attended Forest Hill Collegiate Institute, a public high school, which she graduated from in July 2008.
Fichman's idol is Belgian Justine Henin.
Tennis career
2005
In 2005, Fichman won the gold medal in women's singles at the 17th Maccabiah Games in Israel, at the age of 14. She defeated 23-year-old Nicole Ptak of the United States in straight sets in the final. "I represented my religion and my country", she said after beating Ptak. "These Games are not just all about sports but meeting people, learning about culture and building friendship. Being the No. 1 Jewish female tennis player in the world is also not too shabby." Fichman also won a bronze medal in the women's doubles, and wrapped up the event with silver medal in mixed doubles. She was also Canada's flag-bearer at the Games.2006–10
In October 2006, while still 15, she beat world No. 114 Hana Šromová. In August 2007, at the age of 16, Fichman beat world No. 90 Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro of France in Toronto. She finished 2007 with a singles record for the year of 16–8. In October 2008, 17 years of age, Fichman beat world No. 137 Jelena Pandžić. She finished 2008 with a singles record for the year of 25–16. In January 2009, she won the singles title at the Ace Sports Group Tennis Classic tournament in Lutz, Florida dropping only one set, and also won the doubles title with Kimberly Couts.In April 2009, she won the Osprey, Florida tournament. Fichman reached the 100K Biella Challenger singles final in September 2009, but lost to Petra Martić. In February 2010 at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Fichman defeated her first top-50 player when she beat world No. 40 Sorana Cîrstea in the first round. She also won two 100K doubles titles in July 2010.
2011–12
In January 2011, Sharon won her first tournament of the year, the 25K in Plantation, by defeating Alexandra Cadanțu in the final. At the Copa Colsanitas WTA tournament, she reached the second round but lost to Catalina Castaño, despite having two match points in the second set. In July, she won her second tournament of the year at the $50,000 event in Waterloo, where she defeated Julia Boserup.In July 2012, Fichman won the 50K Cooper Challenger for the second straight year with a win over Julia Glushko in the championship match. She won in September the 25K in Mamaia, defeating Patricia Maria Ţig in the final.
2013
At the end of January, Fichman won the eighth singles title of her career at the $25,000 event in Port St. Lucie, with a victory over Tadeja Majerič. In August, she reached the final of the 100K in Vancouver, but was defeated by Johanna Konta. She won the doubles title alongside Maryna Zanevska. A week later at the Rogers Cup, she reached the second round for the first time of her career in singles after defeating compatriot Stéphanie Dubois in her opening match. She also made it to the semi-finals in doubles with fellow Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski, after an upset over first seeds Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci. They were eliminated by Jelena Janković and Katarina Srebotnik.In August at the US Open, Fichman qualified for her first-ever Grand Slam main draw with a victory over Alexandra Panova. She lost to world No. 22 Sorana Cîrstea in the first round. In September, Fichman made it to the Premier Mandatory main draw in Beijing with wins over Paula Ormaechea and Yaroslava Shvedova in first and last round of qualifying respectively. She was eliminated by Galina Voskoboeva in the first round.
2014
At the first tournament of her season, the ASB Classic, Fichman qualified and upset world No. 22 Sorana Cîrstea in the first round to record the second top-50 win of her career. The same week, she won her first WTA doubles title alongside Maria Sanchez with a victory over Lucie Hradecká and Michaëlla Krajicek in the final. In February, at the 100K ITF in Midland, Fichman scored her third top-50 win when she beat world No. 45 Urszula Radwańska to reach the semi-finals. She was defeated by Ksenia Pervak in the next round. At the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in late February, Fichman upset world No. 39 Yvonne Meusburger in her opening match to advance to the second round. She lost to Caroline Garcia in her next match.At the beginning of March, she qualified for the WTA Premier Mandatory in Indian Wells and defeated Shahar Pe'er in the first round. She was eliminated by world No. 10 Sara Errani in the second round. In May, Fichman reached her first singles final of the season at the 100K in Cagnes-sur-Mer, where she won the biggest tournament of her career so far with a victory over Timea Bacsinszky. At the French Open in May, Fichman earned direct entry in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time, but was eliminated in the opening round by world No. 7 Jelena Janković in three sets. At Wimbledon, Fichman was defeated by Timea Bacsinszky in the first round. At the US Open, her first tournament after having knee surgery at the end of July, she lost to world No. 5 Agnieszka Radwańska in the opening round.
2015–16
In August 2015, at the Rogers Cup, Fichman reached the quarterfinals in doubles with compatriot Carol Zhao.She played a match at the 100K in Trnava in May 2016, losing in the qualifying second round to Ágnes Bukta, and was inactive for nearly two years thereafter.
2018
In April 2018, Fichman returned to the pro circuit at age 27 after nearly two years away, playing in doubles at the $60,000 event in Indian Harbour Beach. She reached the quarterfinals with partner Jamie Loeb.Style of play
Fichman is an aggressive counter puncher, and is known for her tenacity as well as her feistiness on the court.WTA career finals
Doubles: 7 (3 titles, 4 runner-ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | 2009 Estoril Open – Women's Doubles| | Estoril Open, Portugal | International | Clay |  Katalin Marosi |  Raquel Kops-Jones Abigail Spears | 6–2, 3–6, |
| Loss | 0–2 | 2011 Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas – Doubles| | Copa Colsanitas, Bogota, Colombia | International | Clay |  Laura Pous Tió |  Edina Gallovits-Hall Anabel Medina Garrigues | 6–2, 6–7, |
| Win | 1–2 | 2014 ASB Classic – Doubles| | Auckland Open, New Zealand | International | Hard | Maria Sanchez |  Lucie Hradecká  Michaëlla Krajicek | 2–6, 6–0, |
| Loss | 1–3 | 2019 Nürnberger Versicherungscup – Doubles| | Nuremberg Cup, Germany | International | Clay | Nicole Melichar |  Gabriela Dabrowski  Xu Yifan | 6–4, 6–7, |
| Win | 2–3 | 2019 Baltic Open – Doubles| | Baltic Open, Jūrmala, Latvia | International | Clay |  Nina Stojanović |  Jeļena Ostapenko  Galina Voskoboeva | 2–6, 7–6, |
| Loss | 2–4 | 2020 Abierto Mexicano Telcel – Women's Doubles| | Mexican Open, Acapulco | International | Hard |  Kateryna Bondarenko | Desirae Krawczyk  Giuliana Olmos | 3–6, 6–7 |
| Win | 3–4 | 2020 Monterrey Open – Doubles| | Monterrey Open, Mexico | International | Hard | Kateryna Bondarenko |  Miyu Kato Wang Yafan | 4–6, 6–3, |
WTA 125K series finals
Doubles: 1 (1 runner–up)
ITF Circuit finals
Singles: 22 (9 titles, 13 runner–ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | ITF Ashkelon, Israel | $10,000 | Hard |  Pemra Özgen | 6–1, 6–1 | |
| Loss | 1–1 | ITF Ramat HaSharon, Israel | $10,000 | Hard |  Margalita Chakhnashvili | 3–6, 6–7 | |
| Loss | 1–2 | ITF Hamilton, Canada | $25,000 | Clay | Stéphanie Dubois | 2–6, 2–6 | |
| Loss | 1–3 | ITF Calgary, Canada | $10,000 | Hard | Ana Veselinović | 2–6, 1–6 | |
| Loss | 1–4 | ITF Waterloo, Canada | $25,000 | Clay | Alexandra Mueller | 3–6, 3–6 | |
| Loss | 1–5 | ITF Boca Raton, United States | $25,000 | Clay |  Gabriela Paz Franco | 4–6, 6–7 | |
| Win | 2–5 | ITF Lutz, United States | $25,000 | Clay | Lauren Albanese | 6–4, 7–6 | |
| Win | 3–5 | ITF Osprey, United States | $25,000 | Clay | Yuliana Fedak | 4–6, 1–6 | |
| Loss | 3–6 | ITF Biella, Italy | $100,000 | Clay |  Petra Martić | 5–7, 4–6 | |
| Win | 4–6 | ITF Plantation, United States | $25,000 | Clay |  Alexandra Cadanțu | 6–3, 7–6 | |
| Win | 5–6 | 2011 WOW Tennis Challenger – Singles| | ITF Waterloo, Canada | $50,000 | Clay | Julia Boserup | 6–3, 4–6, 6–4 |
| Win | 6–6 | 2012 Cooper Challenger – Singles| | ITF Waterloo, Canada | $50,000 | Clay |  Julia Glushko | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 7–6 | ITF Mamaia, Romania | $25,000 | Clay | Patricia Maria Țig | 6–3, 6–7, 6–3 | |
| Loss | 7–7 | ITF Sofia, Bulgaria | $25,000 | Clay | Cristina Mitu | 4–6, 6–3, 3–6 | |
| Loss | 7–8 | ITF Troy, United States | $25,000 | Hard | Stéphanie Dubois | 6–3, 4–6, 3–6 | |
| Loss | 7–9 | ITF Rock Hill, United States | $25,000 | Hard | Rebecca Marino | 6–3, 6–7, 2–6 | |
| Loss | 7–10 | 2012 Tevlin Women's Challenger – Singles| | ITF Toronto, Canada | $50,000 | Hard | Eugenie Bouchard | 1–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 8–10 | ITF Port St. Lucie, United States | $25,000 | Clay |  Tadeja Majerič | 6–3, 6–2 | |
| Loss | 8–11 | ITF Wiesbaden, Germany | $25,000 | Clay |  Yvonne Meusburger | 7–5, 4–6, 1–6 | |
| Loss | 8–12 | 2013 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open – Women's Singles| | ITF Vancouver, Canada | $100,000 | Hard |  Johanna Konta | 4–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 9–12 | 2014 Open GDF Suez de Cagnes-sur-Mer Alpes-Maritimes – Singles| | ITF Cagnes-sur-Mer, France | $100,000 | Clay |  Timea Bacsinszky | 6–2, 6–2 |
| Loss | 9–13 | ITF Winnipeg, Canada | $25,000 | Hard | Kristie Ahn | 2–6, 5–7 |
Doubles: 37 (21–16)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | Toronto, Canada | 25,000 | Hard | Gabriela Dabrowski |  Maria Fernanda Alves  Christina Wheeler | 6–3, 6–0 | |
| Loss | 1–1 | Saguenay, Canada | 50,000 | Hard | Gabriela Dabrowski | Katalin Marosi Marina Tavares | 6–2, 4–6, | |
| Loss | 1–2 | Boca Raton, United States | 25,000 | Clay | Kimberly Couts |  Alina Jidkova  Darya Kustova | 4–6, 2–6 | |
| Win | 2–2 | Lutz, United States | 25,000 | Clay | Kimberly Couts | Story Tweedie-Yates Mashona Washington | 6–4, 7–5 | |
| Win | 3–2 | Rock Hill, United States | $25,000 | Hard | Anna Tatishvili | Lauren Albanese Jamie Hampton | 7–6, 4–6, | |
| Win | 4–2 | Phoenix, United States | 50,000 | Hard | Mashona Washington | Marie-Ève Pelletier Anna Tatishvili | 4–6, 6–4, | |
| Loss | 4–3 | Toronto, Canada | 50,000 | Hard | Mashona Washington | Maureen Drake Marianne Jodoin | 3–2 ret. | |
| Win | 5–3 | Biarritz, France | 100,000 | Clay |  Julia Görges | Lourdes Domínguez Lino Monica Niculescu | 7–5, 6–4 | |
| Loss | 5–4 | Contrexéville, France | 50,000 | Clay | Jelena Dokić | Nina Bratchikova Ekaterina Ivanova | 6–4, 4–6, | |
| Win | 6–4 | Pétange, Luxembourg | 100,000 | Clay | Monica Niculescu |  Sophie Lefèvre Laura Thorpe | 6–4, 6–2 | |
| Win | 7–4 | Toronto, Canada | 50,000 | Hard | Gabriela Dabrowski | Brittany Augustine Alexandra Mueller | 6–4, 6–0 | |
| Loss | 7–5 | Lutz, United States | 25,000 | Clay | Gabriela Dabrowski | Ahsha Rolle Mashona Washington | 4–6, 4–6 | |
| Win | 8–5 | Jackson, United States | 25,000 | Clay | Marie-Ève Pelletier | Eva Hrdinová Natalie Piquion | 7–6, 7–6 | |
| Win | 9–5 | Charlottesville, United States | 50,000 | Clay | Marie-Ève Pelletier | Julie Ditty Carly Gullickson | 6–3, 6–3 | |
| Win | 10–5 | Raleigh, United States | 50,000 | Clay | Marie-Ève Pelletier | Beatrice Capra Asia Muhammad | 6–1, 6–3 | |
| Loss | 10–6 | Boston, United States | 50,000 | Hard | Marie-Ève Pelletier | Tetiana Luzhanska Alexandra Mueller | 6–7, 3–6 | |
| Win | 11–6 | 2011 Challenger Banque Nationale de Granby – Women's Doubles| | Granby, Canada | 25,000 | Hard | Sun Shengnan | Viktoryia Kisialeva Nathália Rossi | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Loss | 11–7 | 2012 Dothan Pro Tennis Classic – Doubles| | Dothan, United States | 50,000 | Clay | Marie-Ève Pelletier | Eugenie Bouchard Jessica Pegula | 4–6, 6–4, |
| Win | 12–7 | 2012 Cooper Challenger – Doubles| | Waterloo, Canada | 50,000 | Clay | Marie-Ève Pelletier | Shuko Aoyama Gabriela Dabrowski | 6–2, 7–5 |
| Win | 13–7 | 2012 Challenger Banque Nationale de Granby – Women's Doubles| | Granby, Canada | 25,000 | Hard | Marie-Ève Pelletier | Shuko Aoyama Miki Miyamura | 4–6, 7–5, |
| Loss | 13–8 | Troy, United States | 25,000 | Hard | Marie-Ève Pelletier | Angelina Gabueva Arina Rodionova | 4–6, 4–6 | |
| Loss | 13–9 | 2012 Challenger Banque Nationale de Saguenay – Doubles| | Saguenay, Canada | 50,000 | Hard | Marie-Ève Pelletier | Gabriela Dabrowski Alla Kudryavtseva | 2–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 14–9 | Wiesbaden, Germany | 25,000 | Clay | Gabriela Dabrowski | Dinah Pfizenmaier Anna Zaja | 6–3, 6–3 | |
| Loss | 14–10 | 2013 Aegon Trophy – Women's Doubles| | Nottingham, United Kingdom | 75,000 | Grass | Gabriela Dabrowski | Maria Sanchez Nicola Slater | 6–4, 3–6, |
| Win | 15–10 | 2013 Cooper Challenger – Doubles| | Waterloo, Canada | 50,000 | Clay | Gabriela Dabrowski | Misa Eguchi Eri Hozumi | 7–6, 6–3 |
| Win | 16–10 | 2013 Odlum Brown Vancouver Open – Women's Doubles| | Vancouver, Canada | 100,000 | Hard | Maryna Zanevska | Jacqueline Cako Natalie Pluskota | 6–2, 6–2 |
| Loss | 16–11 | 2014 Dow Corning Tennis Classic – Doubles| | Midland, United States | 100,000 | Hard | Maria Sanchez | Anna Tatishvili Heather Watson | 5–7, 7–5, |
| Loss | 16–12 | 2014 Open Saint-Gaudens Midi-Pyrénées – Doubles| | Saint-Gaudens, France | 50,000 | Clay | Johanna Konta |  Verónica Cepede Royg  María Irigoyen | 5–7, 3–6 |
| Loss | 16–13 | 2014 Aegon Trophy – Women's Doubles| | Nottingham, United Kingdom | 75,000 | Grass | Maria Sanchez | Jocelyn Rae Anna Smith | 6–7, 6–4, |
| Win | 17–13 | Rock Hill, United States | 25,000 | Hard | Cindy Burger |  Despina Papamichail Janina Toljan | 4–6, 6–1, | |
| Loss | 17–14 | Grado, Italy | 25,000 | Clay |  Katarzyna Piter | Viktorija Golubic Beatriz Haddad Maia | 3–6, 2–6 | |
| Win | 18–14 | Winnipeg, Canada | 25,000 | Hard | Jovana Jakšić | Kristie Ahn Lorraine Guillermo | 6–2, 6–1 | |
| Loss | 18–15 | 2015 Challenger Banque Nationale de Saguenay – Doubles| | Saguenay, Canada | 50,000 | Hard | Maria Sanchez | Mihaela Buzărnescu Justyna Jegiołka | 6–7, 6–4, |
| Win | 19–15 | 2015 Tevlin Women's Challenger – Doubles| | Toronto, Canada | 50,000 | Hard | Maria Sanchez | Kristie Ahn Fanny Stollár | 6–2, 6–7, |
| Loss | 19–16 | Daytona Beach, United States | 25,000 | Clay | Carol Zhao | Natela Dzalamidze Veronika Kudermetova | 4–6, 3–6 | |
| Win | 20–16 | Jackson, United States | 25,000 | Clay | Jarmila Wolfe | Yuki Kristina Chiang Lauren Herring | 6–2, 6–3 | |
| Win | 21–16 | 2018 Tevlin Women's Challenger – Doubles| | Toronto, Canada | 60,000 | Hard | Maria Sanchez | Maja Chwalińska  Elitsa Kostova | 6–0, 6–4 |
Junior Grand Slam finals
Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)
Grand Slam singles performance timeline
Grand Slam doubles performance timeline
Record against top-50 players
Fichman's win-loss record against players who were ranked world No. 50 or higher when played is as follows:Players who have been ranked world No. 1 are in boldface.
- Sorana Cîrstea 2–1
- Urszula Radwańska 1–0
- Yvonne Meusburger 1–0
- Agnieszka Radwańska 0–1
- Maria Kirilenko 0–1
- Bethanie Mattek-Sands 0–1
- Kiki Bertens 0–1
- Jelena Janković 0–2