Elitsa Kostova

Elitsa Kostova (Bulgarian: Елица Костова) (born 10 April 1990) is a former professional Bulgarian tennis player.

Elitsa Kostova

Kostova at Biarritz, 2021
Country (sports)	Bulgaria
Residence	Kardzhali, Bulgaria
Born	(1990-04-10) 10 April 1990 (age 35) Haskovo, Bulgaria
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Turned pro	2006
Retired	2021
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Coach	Radu Popescu
Prize money	US$ 637,567
Singles
Career record	439–383
Career titles	6 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 130 (12 September 2016)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	Q2 (2012, 2018)
French Open	Q2 (2017, 2020, 2021)
Wimbledon	Q2 (2015, 2017, 2021)
US Open	Q3 (2016)
Doubles
Career record	168–185
Career titles	7 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 154 (26 October 2015)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	16–18

On 12 September 2016, she reached her highest WTA singles ranking of No. 130, achieved on 12 September 2016, her best doubles ranking is world No. 154, reached on 26 October 2015. Playing for Bulgaria Fed Cup team, she has a win–loss record of 16–18.

Career

At the $25k tournament in Wellington, New Zealand, held in November 2010, Kostova, ranked 254 in the world, achieved her greatest victory in her career. She defeated world No. 42, Jarmila Groth, in the semifinals in two sets. In the final, she lost to world No. 241, Erika Sema, in three sets.^[2]

Kostova won her first match in a WTA Tour main draw by beating Alizé Lim at the 2014 Bucharest Open, after coming through the qualifying competition. At the 2015 Rio Open, she reached her first WTA semifinal in doubles along with Hsu Chieh-yu. They lost to defending champions, Irina-Camelia Begu and María Irigoyen, in straight sets.

In July 2016 came her biggest win when she won the final of the Europe Tennis Center Ladies Open in Budapest against fellow Fed Cup teammate Viktoriya Tomova.

At the 2018 Ladies Championship Gstaad she reached the second round, which she has reached on seven occasions on the WTA level going back to 2014, but lost to Markéta Vondroušová.^[3]

She retired in 2021 with her last match played at the Belgrade Challenger losing to eventual finalist Arantxa Rus.

Grand Slam performance timeline

Key

W

F

SF

QF

#R

RR

Q#

DNQ

A

NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Singles

Tournament	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	W–L
Australian Open	A	Q2	A	A	Q1	A	Q1	Q2	Q1	Q1	Q1	0–0
French Open	Q1	Q1	A	A	Q1	Q1	Q2	Q1	A	Q2	Q2	0–0
Wimbledon	Q1	Q1	A	A	Q2	Q1	Q2	Q1	A	NH	Q2	0–0
US Open	Q2	Q2	A	Q1	Q1	Q3	A	Q1	Q1	A	A	0–0
Win–loss	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0
Career statistics
Year-end ranking	148	224	264	219	252	132	205	214	193	210	316

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 25 (6 titles, 19 runner–ups)

Legend $100,000 tournaments $50/60,000 tournaments $25,000 tournaments $10/15,000 tournaments

Finals by surface Hard (2–11) Clay (4–8)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Apr 2008	ITF Antalya, Turkey	10,000	Clay	Michelle Gerards	2–6, 6–2, 6–7(3)
Win	1–1	Jun 2008	ITF Alcobaça, Portugal	10,000	Hard	Amanda Carreras	3–6, 6–2, 6–2
Loss	1–2	Dec 2008	ITF Vinaròs, Spain	10,000	Clay	Conny Perrin	4–6, 2–6
Win	2–2	Nov 2009	ITF Le Havre, France	10,000	Clay (i)	Sina Haas	6–0, 6–4
Loss	2–3	Feb 2010	ITF Albufeira, Portugal	10,000	Hard	Evelyn Mayr	4–6, 4–6
Loss	2–4	Jul 2010	ITF Mont-de-Marsan, France	25,000	Clay	Petra Cetkovská	2–6, 2–6
Loss	2–5	Jul 2010	ITF Les Contamines, France	25,000	Hard	Andrea Hlaváčková	5–7, 6–0, 4–6
Loss	2–6	Nov 2010	ITF Wellington, New Zealand	25,000	Hard	Erika Sema	2–6, 6–3, 4–6
Loss	2–7	Dec 2010	Bendigo International, Australia	25,000	Hard	Tímea Babos	6–3, 3–6, 5–7
Loss	2–8	Feb 2011	ITF Vale do Lobo, Portugal	10,000	Hard	Alison van Uytvanck	4–6, 6–4, 2–6
Loss	2–9	Jul 2011	Open de Pozoblanco, Spain	50,000	Hard	Eleni Daniilidou	3–6, 2–6
Loss	2–10	Aug 2011	Empire Slovak Open, Slovakia	50,000	Clay	Yvonne Meusburger	6–0, 2–6, 0–6
Loss	2–11	Aug 2011	ITF Koksijde, Belgium	25,000	Clay	Kiki Bertens	2–6, 1–6
Win	3–11	Oct 2011	ITF Dobrich, Bulgaria	25,000	Clay	Elena Bogdan	7–6(6), 6–2
Loss	3–12	Nov 2011	ITF Benicarló, Spain	25,000	Clay	Garbiñe Muguruza	6–7(3), 7–6(4), 3–6
Loss	3–13	Apr 2013	ITF Dijon, France	15,000	Hard (i)	Kristina Barrois	3–6, 5–7
Loss	3–14	Nov 2013	John Newcombe Challenge, United States	50,000	Hard	Anna Tatishvili	4–6, 4–6
Win	4–14	Jun 2014	Open de Montpellier, France	25,000	Clay	Sofiya Kovalets	7–5, 6–1
Loss	4–15	Nov 2014	ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt	25,000	Hard	Margarita Gasparyan	3–6, 0–6
Loss	4–16	Feb 2015	Open Andrézieux-Bouthéon, France	25,000	Hard (i)	Margarita Gasparyan	4–6, 4–6
Win	5–16	Jul 2016	Budapest Ladies Open, Hungary	100,000	Clay	Viktoriya Tomova	6–0, 7–6(3)
Loss	5–17	Sep 2017	Las Vegas Open, United States	60,000	Hard	Sesil Karatantcheva	4–6, 6–4, 5–7
Loss	5–18	Mar 2018	ITF Pula, Italy	25,000	Clay	Başak Eraydın	4–6, 1–6
Win	6–18	Jun 2019	ITF Santa Margarita, Spain	25,000	Hard	Arina Rodionova	7–5, 6–3
Loss	6–19	Jun 2019	Zubr Cup, Czech Republic	25,000	Clay	Anhelina Kalinina	1–6, 6–4, 1–6

Doubles 21 (7 titles, 14 runner–ups)

Legend $100,000 tournaments $50/60,000 tournaments $25,000 tournaments $10/15,000 tournaments

Finals by surface Hard (1–9) Clay (5–5) Carpet (1–0)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Nov 2009	ITF Équeurdreville, France	10,000	Hard (i)	Kinnie Laisné	Elixane Lechemia Constance Sibille	4–6, 3–6
Win	1–1	May 2011	Zagreb Ladies Open, Croatia	25,000	Clay	Barbara Sobaszkiewicz	Ani Mijačika Ana Vrljić	1–6, 6–3, [12–10]
Win	2–1	Jun 2012	ITF Zlín, Czech Republic	25,000	Clay	Jasmina Tinjić	Verónica Cepede Royg Teliana Pereira	4–6, 6–1, [10–8]
Loss	2–2	Apr 2013	ITF Dijon, France	15,000	Hard (i)	Marina Shamayko	Nicole Clerico Giulia Gatto-Monticone	4–6, 2–6
Loss	2–3	May 2013	ITF Casablanca, Morocco	25,000	Clay	Sandra Zaniewska	Justine Ozga Anna Zaja	4–6, 2–6
Win	3–3	Sep 2013	Open de Saint-Malo, France	25,000	Clay	Florencia Molinero	Kathinka von Deichmann Nina Zander	6–2, 6–4
Loss	3–4	Dec 2013	ITF Madrid, Spain	25,000	Hard	Evgeniya Rodina	Demi Schuurs Eva Wacanno	1–6, 2–6
Loss	3–5	Jun 2014	Bredeney Ladies Open, Germany	25,000	Clay	Ysaline Bonaventure	Kristina Barrois Tatjana Maria	2–6, 2–6
Loss	3–6	Jun 2014	Open de Montpellier, France	25,000	Clay	Hsu Chieh-yu	Inés Ferrer Suárez Sara Sorribes Tormo	6–2, 3–6, [10–12]
Loss	3–7	Dec 2014	Ankara Cup, Turkey	50,000	Hard (i)	Oleksandra Korashvili	Ekaterine Gorgodze Nastja Kolar	4–6, 6–7(5)
Loss	3–8	Sep 2015	ITF Sofia, Bulgaria	25,000	Clay	Kateřina Kramperová	Sofia Shapatava Anastasiya Vasylyeva	2–6, 2–6
Loss	3–9	Sep 2015	ITF Dobrich, Bulgaria	25,000	Clay	Kateřina Kramperová	Sofia Shapatava Anastasiya Vasylyeva	2–6, 0–6
Loss	3–10	Oct 2015	ITF Rock Hill, United States	25,000	Hard	Florencia Molinero	Ema Burgić Bucko Renata Zarazúa	5–7, 2–6
Win	4–10	Jul 2017	Contrexéville Open, France	100,000	Clay	Anastasiya Komardina	Manon Arcangioli Sara Cakarevic	6–3, 6–4
Loss	4–11	Aug 2017	ITF Chiswick, United Kingdom	25,000	Hard	Katy Dunne	Laura Ioana Andrei Julia Wachaczyk	5–7, 5–7
Loss	4–12	Aug 2017	Mençuna Cup, Turkey	60,000	Hard	Yana Sizikova	Gabriela Cé Ankita Raina	2–6, 3–6
Win	5–12	Oct 2017	ITF Óbidos, Portugal	25,000	Carpet	Yana Sizikova	Georgia Brescia Alice Matteucci	w/o
Win	6–12	Sep 2018	Budapest Ladies Open, Hungary	60,000	Clay	Ulrikke Eikeri	Dalma Gálfi Réka Luca Jani	2–6, 6–4, [10–8]
Loss	6–13	Nov 2018	Toronto Challenger, Canada	60,000	Hard (i)	Maja Chwalińska	Sharon Fichman Maria Sanchez	0–6, 4–6
Win	7–13	Feb 2019	Trnava Indoor, Slovakia	25,000	Hard (i)	Elena Bogdan	Michaela Hončová Ganna Poznikhirenko	7–5, 7–6(5)
Loss	7–14	May 2019	ITF Santa Margarida, Spain	25,000	Hard	Samantha Murray	Sofia Shapatava Emily Webley-Smith	4–6, 5–7

Fed Cup participation

Elitsa Kostova debuted for the Bulgaria Fed Cup team in 2008. Since then, she has a 10–12 singles and a 6–6 doubles record (16–18 overall).

Singles (10–12)

Edition	Round	Date	Location	Against	Surface	Opponent	W/L	Result
2008	Z1 PO	2 Feb 2008	Budapest (HUN)	Hungary	Carpet (i)	Gréta Arn	L	2–6, 1–6
2009	Z1 RR	4 Feb 2009	Tallinn (EST)	Estonia	Hard (i)	Maret Ani	L	2–6, 2–6
		6 Feb 2009		Croatia		Petra Martić	L	2–6, 1–6
	Z1 RPO	7 Feb 2009		Bosnia and Herzegovina		Sandra Martinović	L	4–6, 6–0, 2–6
2010	Z1 RR	5 Feb 2010	Lisbon (POR)	Slovenia	Hard (i)	Maša Zec Peškirič	W	7–5, 6–1
2011	Z1 RR	2 Feb 2011	Eilat (ISR)	Poland	Hard	Magda Linette	W	6–4, 4–6, 7–6(7–5)
		4 Feb 2011		Israel		Julia Glushko	L	0–6, 2–6
	Z1 RPO	5 Feb 2011		Latvia		Līga Dekmeijere	W	6–3, 6–3
2012	Z1 RR	1 Feb 2012	Eilat (ISR)	Estonia	Hard	Margit Rüütel	W	6–2, 6–1
		3 Feb 2012		Austria		Patricia Mayr	L	3–6, 3–6
2013	Z1 RR	8 Feb 2013	Eilat (ISR)	Luxembourg	Hard	Laura Correia	W	6–1, 6–3
2014	Z1 RR	4 Feb 2014	Budapest (HUN)	Portugal	Hard (i)	Michelle Larcher de Brito	L	6–4, 2–6, 6–7(3–7)
		6 Feb 2014		Turkey		Çağla Büyükakçay	L	6–7(3–7), 1–6
	Z1 RPO	9 Feb 2014		Luxembourg		Anne Kremer	W	6–3, 6–7(7–9), 7–6(9–7)
2015	Z1 RR	4 Feb 2015	Budapest (HUN)	Portugal	Hard (i)	Maria João Koehler	W	6–2, 6–1
		5 Feb 2015		Belarus		Olga Govortsova	L	2–6, 3–6
		6 Feb 2015		Georgia		Sofia Shapatava	W	6–3, 7–6(7–4)
2016	Z1 RR	3 Feb 2016	Eilat (ISR)	Hungary	Hard	Dalma Gálfi	W	7–5, 6–2
		4 Feb 2016		Latvia		Diāna Marcinkēviča	W	2–6, 6–3, 6–3
		5 Feb 2016		Belgium		Ysaline Bonaventure	L	3–6, 6–3, 3–6
2017	Z1 RR	8 Feb 2017	Tallinn (EST)	Israel	Hard (i)	Julia Glushko	L	3–6, 5–7
		10 Feb 2017		Estonia		Anett Kontaveit	L	1–6, 3–6

Doubles (6–6)

Edition	Round	Date	Location	Against	Partner	Surface	Opponents	W/L	Result
2009	Z1 RR	4 Feb 2009	Tallinn (EST)	Tsvetana Pironkova	Hard (i)	Estonia	Maret Ani Kaia Kanepi	L	1–6, 6–4, 2–6
		6 Feb 2009		Tsvetana Pironkova		Croatia	Jelena Kostanić Tošić Petra Martić	L	6–7(3–7), 1–6
	Z1 RPO	7 Feb 2009		Tsvetana Pironkova		Bosnia and Herzegovina	Mervana Jugić-Salkić Sandra Martinović	L	4–6, 6–3, 3–6
2010	Z1 RR	5 Feb 2010	Lisbon (POR)	Biljana Pawlowa	Hard (i)	Slovenia	Andreja Klepač Maša Zec Peškirič	W	6–1, 6–2
2013	Z1 RR	7 Feb 2013	Eilat (ISR)	Isabella Shinikova	Hard	Netherlands	Arantxa Rus Bibiane Schoofs	W	6–2, 7–6(7–5)
		9 Feb 2013		Isabella Shinikova		Slovenia	Tina Rupert Andreja Klepač	W	6–2, 6–3
2014	Z1 RR	6 Feb 2014	Budapest (HUN)	Isabella Shinikova	Hard (i)	Turkey	Çağla Büyükakçay Pemra Özgen	L	7–5, 1–6, 5–7
		7 Feb 2014		Viktoriya Tomova		Belarus	Ilona Kremen Iryna Shymanovich	W	4–6, 6–3, 7–5
2015	Z1 RR	6 Feb 2015	Budapest (HUN)	Dia Evtimova	Hard (i)	Georgia	Oksana Kalashnikova Sofia Shapatava	L	3–6, 2–6
2016	Z1 PO	6 Feb 2016	Eilat (ISR)	Isabella Shinikova	Hard	Georgiav	Oksana Kalashnikova Sofia Shapatava	L	2–6, 6–4, 4–6
2017	Z1 RR	8 Feb 2017	Tallinn (EST)	Sesil Karatantcheva	Hard (i)	Israel	Julia Glushko Shelly Krolitzky	W	2–6, 6–3, 7–5
		9 Feb 2017		Sesil Karatantcheva		Serbia	Bojana Marinković Dejana Radanović	W	6–1, 6–3