2005 Family Circle Cup

Where the Stars Shined

When people question the depth in women’s professional tennis they need look no further than the 2005 Family Circle Cup. It was a tournament that not only showcased the surprising maturity of tomorrow’s stars, but also celebrated the incredible talent of today’s seasoned veterans as well. Year after year, the Family Circle Cup continues to highlight a well-known fact - this tournament truly has it all.

In addition to the return of Lindsay Davenport, Justine Henin and Venus Williams, the 2005 tournament also played host to a crop of phenomenal tour players hailing from Russia and Czechoslovakia who over the last couple years have taken the sport by storm. At the time of tournament, eight of the world’s Top 20 was from Russia and five (Anastasia Myskina, Elena Dementieva, Vera Zvonareva, Nadia Petrova and Elena Likhovtseva) were entered in the 2005 Family Circle Cup. The tournament started with five Czechoslovakian players and by the third round three of those players (Iveta Benesova, Klara Koukalova and Nicole Vaidisova) were still contenders for the title.

For over three decades this event as been billed as the “Birthplace of the Stars” where tennis greats such as Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Gabriela Sabatini, Martina Hingis and Jennifer Capriati made headlines on their way to establishing brilliant careers. The 2005 event tournament was no different. In a huge upset, while trying to defend her championship title, No. 4 seed Venus Williams was upset in the third round by seventeen-year-old Tatiana Golovin who made a memorable debut in her first Family Circle Cup. Following that victory, Golovin marched on to the semifinals meeting a formidable opponent in Henin-Hardenne. Though she lost that match, Golovin seat a new career record in reaching her first Tier 1 semifinal. Equally surprising was the Czech Republic’s Nicole Vaidosova’s win over No.3 seed and former French Open champion Anastasia Myskina, just a few days shy of Nicole’s Sweet Sixteen. The tennis world can expect to hear a lot more from these two in the coming years.

The 2005 Family Circle Cup final saw a former Cup champion and World No.1 fighting to reclaim a top spot in women’s tennis. In only her second tournament back, after a seven-month layoff due to various injuries and other health problems, Justine Henin surprised everyone, including herself, by reaching the finals. Facing No. 2 seed Elena Dementieva in a hard fought match, Justine won her second Family Circle Cup championship with a score of 7-5, 6-4 and became one of only two players in the tournament’s 33-year history to win as an unseeded player. The future of women’s professional tennis is as bright as ever with the stars shining through on all levels.

 • 2004 FCC Tournament Summary
 • 2003 FCC Tournament Summary