The European Clay Tour Trivia Quiz

Answer: Conchita Martinez

The Italian Open has a rich history. It was first held in 1930, when Milan was the host city. In 1935 the event would move to Rome, where it was held ever since, although the event briefly took place in Turin in 1961 to commemorate 100 years of the Italian State. The Italian Open was also held in Taranto and Perugia, but finally settled at the Foro Italico venue in the city of Rome in 1987.

The first winner of the event was Spanish player Lili de Alvarez in 1930. Although Aranxta Sanchez Vicario was considered a clay court specialist, she never won at the Italian Open. She did make the final in 1989 and 1995. Maria-Jose Martinez Sanchez was a surprise winner in 2010, when she defeated Serbian Jelena Jankovic in the final. One of the best Spanish runs at the Italian Open however remains the one made by Conchita Martinez. She won four consecutive titles between 1993 and 1996, defeating Gabriela Sabatini, Martina Navratilova, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Martina Hingis respectively. She made the final in 1997, but a fifth consecutive title was denied to her by Mary Pierce.

Answer: Hamburg

In 1982 the tournament in Hamburg started as the Casino Open. There had been tournaments in this city before, with the German Open officially taking place here between 1896 and 1978, before moving to Berlin. There was no event between 1984 and 1986. In 1987 the tournament started up again as the Citizen Cup, until its last edition in 2002 (now as the Betty Barclay Cup). The first edition was won by American player Lisa Bonder-Kreiss, defeating her Czech opponent Renata Tomanova. Steffi Graf would win a total of six times, between 1987 and 1992. Other multiple winners include Aranxta Sanchez Vicario (three times), Martina Hingis (two times) and Venus Williams (two times). The last edition in 2002 was won by Belgian Kim Clijsters, winning against Venus Williams.

In 1993 the event had a setback, when Monica Seles, the number one player in the rankings at the time, was stabbed by deranged Steffi Graf fan Gunther Parche, in her quarter final match against Bulgarian Magdalena Maleeva. As a result of this incident, security measures were stepped up. Seles did not return to competitive play until 1995.

Answer: Carla Suarez Navarro

In 2009 the tournament in Marbella had its first edition, with former Spanish star Conchita Martinez taking up the role of tournament director. The event was placed in the week after the tournament in Miami. The first edition was won by Serbian Jelena Jankovic, defeating Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro in the final. The Spaniard would go on to make the final the year after, but lost again, this time to Flavia Pennetta.

Unfortunately for the Spaniards, they eventually did not get a home winner. Victoria Azarenka of Belarus would win the last edition of the Andalucia Tennis Experience, as the tournament was officially called. She defeated Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania in the final. The tournament did not remain entirely without a home win however. Nuria Llagostera Vives and Arantxa Parra Santonja won the doubles title in 2011.

Answer: Warsaw

The tournament in Warsaw started out in 1995 as the Warsaw Cup, with Barbara Paulus of Austria winning the first edition, defeating Alexandra Fusai of France in the final. Paulus would go on to win the tournament again in 1997. Other winners of this event include Belgian Justine Henin (winning twice), Kim Clijsters, Conchita Martinez and Venus Williams. In 2002 the name changed to J&S Cup, a name the tournament held until 2007.

After the tournament was not held in 2008, it returned again in 2009 as the Warsaw Open. Both the editions of 2009 and 2010 were won by Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru. In 2011 the slot for this tournament in the calendar was given to the tournament in Brussels, apparently due to the fact that the tournament was unable to find sufficient sponsors.

Answer: Silvia Farina-Elia

In 1987 the first edition of the Internationaux de Strasbourg was held. American player Carling Bassett would win the title, defeating Italian Sandra Cecchini in the final. Cecchini would win the event a year later, winning against Austrian Judith Wiesner. Several players have won the event multiple times. They include American Lindsay Davenport (1995 and 1996) and Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues (2005, 2007 and 2008).

Few players will have a similar attachment to the tournament as Italian Silvia Farina-Elia. Considered a late bloomer by many, she would go on to win the event in Strasbourg three consecutive times between the years of 2001 and 2003. They were her only single wins on the WTA Tour.

Answer: Dinara Safina

The tournament now held in Madrid used to be a hardcourt event on the ATP Tour held in different cities like Essen, Stockholm and Stuttgart, before moving to Madrid in 2002. In 2009 the surface was changed to clay and a women's event was also started. The first ever winner was Dinara Safina, defeating Danish Caroline Wozniacki in the final. Safina is the younger sister of Marat Safin, a player on the ATP Tour. The next year Safina would lose in the first round to Czech Klara Zakopalova.

Since the tournaments was held just after Rome, the semifinalist of this tournament were given a bye for Madrid in 2009 and 2010. The tournament is considered mandatory for higher ranked players. In 2011 Madrid was moved to a slot in the week just before Rome however.

Answer: Estoril

The tournament in Estoril started as men's event in 1990. In 1998 the first women's event was held here at the same venue, then part of the ITF Tour. It became a tournament on the WTA Tour a year later. The first ITF edition was won by Austrian Barbara Schwartz, the first WTA Tour edition had Slovenian Katarina Srebotnik as the winner. They defeated Romanian Raluca Sandu and Hungarian Rita Kuti-Kis respectively.

Over the years the tournament had very different winners. In 2002 and 2003 Spanish Magui Serna became the first to win the tournament twice in a row. Chinese Na Li (or Li Na as some people prefer to write it) made the final in 2005 and 2006, losing both times. She would later go on to win Roland Garros however in 2011.

Answer: Karin Kschwendt

The tournament in Palermo was first held in 1988. The tournament's official name is the Internazionali Femminili di Palermo. The first edition was won by Karin Kschwendt. She defeated Italian Marzia Grossi in the final. Kschwendt represented Luxembourg at the time. She has also played for both Austria and Germany during her tennis career.

It took quite long before an Italian winner was crowned in Palermo. Sara Errani was the first, winning the title in 2008. She made the final again in 2009, losing this time to her countrywoman Flavia Pennetta. Anabel Medina Garrigues, the Spanish player has a long history with this event, first winning in 2001. In 2011 she celebrated her fifth win at the event in Palermo (2001, 2004-5-06, 2001).

Answer: Jana Novotna

The tournament in Prague started out in 1992 as the Strabag Open. The first edition was won by Czech player Radka Zrubakova, defeating her compatriot Katerina Siskova in the final. For the five years 2000 to 2004 the tournament was not held, but it started up again in 2005, with Russian Dinara Safina winning this edition. In 2012 the tournament was downgraded to a challenger, due to financial problems.

In 1998 the tournament was won by Jana Novotna. She had a great season that year, later going on to win her first and only Grand Slam in singles at Wimbledon. In Prague she defeated French Sandrine Testud in two easy sets.

Answer: Budapest

Als known as the Budapest Grand Prix, the first edition of the tournament was held in 1993, with American Zina Garrison lifting the title, defeating Belgian Sabine Appelmans in the final. After a two year absence (the tournament was not held in 1994 or 1995), Romanian Ruxandra Dragomir won the second edition in 1996, defeating Austrian Melanie Schnell in the final. The tournament has had many different names depending on the sponsor at the time, with Gaz de France (later GDF Suez) being the main sponsor for several years.

In 2006 Israelian Anna Smashnova became the first player to win back-to-back titles, defeating Colombian Catalina Castano in 2005 and Spanish Lourdes Dominguez Lino in 2006. Agnes Szavay became the first Hungarian winner in 2009, also lifting the title in 2010.