Christina McHale



Christina McHale (born May 11, 1992 ) is an American professional tennis player. Her highest-ever Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings are No. 24 in singles and No. 60 in doubles.

Known for an aggressive baseline game, McHale has been recgonized by The New York Times for her "booming" groundstrokes and fast footwork. She has reached the third round of all four Grand Slam tournaments, and has represented the United States in Fed Cup and Olympic competitions. In September 2016, McHale won her first WTA title at the Japan Women's Open.

Early life
Christina McHale was born in Teaneck, New Jersey. She is the daughter of John and Margarita McHale. Her father John is an Irish American, while her mother Margarita was born in Cuba. Her family lived in Hong Kong from the time she was three until she was eight, and she speaks a degree of Mandarin Chinese, along with fluent Spanish. In 2000, the McHale family moved back to the United States and bought a home in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. In June 2006, she graduated from Upper School of the Englewood Cliffs Public Schools as the eighth-grade valedictorian.

At the age of 15, she left home to train at the USTA Training Center headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida. She has been homeschooled through Kaplan Online High School since age 15. Her sister Lauren is a junior at UNC-Chapel Hill, where she plays tennis for the Tar Heels.

Career
McHale began professional training at the USTA Training Center in Carson, California.

2009
McHale was granted a wildcard into the main draw of the 2009 Australian Open, where she lost a three-set match in the first round to Jessica Moore. She also joined the US Fed Cup team and competed against France. She received a wildcard into the main draw of the 2009 US Open, where she won her first career Grand Slam match by defeating Polona Hercog in straight sets. However, she lost to Maria Sharapova in the second round.

2010
In Boca Raton, Florida, McHale beat Asia Muhammad in qualifying. Soon afterwards, she earned a qualifying victory over Beatrice Capra for the 2010 French Open. She lost in the first round to Varvara Lepchenko.

At the 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open, McHale defeated Nadia Petrova in the first round and Ayumi Morita in the second. She then lost in the third round to the eventual winner and former world no. 1 Kim Clijsters.

2011
In June, she gained her first ITF singles title, winning a $50,000 event in Italy.

At the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, McHale won her second Grand Slam match by defeating 28th seed Ekaterina Makarova in three sets. She lost in the second round to Tamira Paszek of Austria. In the second round of the Western & Southern Open, McHale beat then-world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets.

In the first round of the US Open, she earned a three-set victory over Aleksandra Wozniak. She went on to beat eighth seed Marion Bartoli in straight sets. McHale exited after a third-round loss to 25th seeded Maria Kirilenko.

2012
McHale kicked off her season with a straight sets win over Alexandra Dulgheru at the 2012 ASB Classic in Auckland. She lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the second round. At the 2012 Australian Open, she beat Lucie Safarová in the first round and Marina Erakovic in the second, only to be defeated in the third round by Jelena Jankovic. She won both of her Fed Cup matches against Belarus in February, beating Anastasiya Yakimova and Darya Kustova. McHale then traveled to Doha, where she recorded wins over Chanelle Scheepers, Peng Shuai, and Shahar Pe'er, before falling to Agnieszka Radwańska in the quarterfinals of the 2012 Qatar Total Open.

McHale opened March with wins over Elena Vesnina and Petra Kvitová after receiving a bye in the opening round, before losing to Angelique Kerber in the 4th Round of the 2012 BNP Paribas Open. McHale wrapped up March with a win over Galina Voskoboeva, before going out to Petra Cetkovská in the 2nd Round of the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open.

McHale started the clay court season in Charleston at the 2012 Family Circle Cup, where she lost in the first round to Aleksandra Wozniak. She was then selected for the Fed Cup World Group Playoff Tie in Kharkiv, Ukraine. McHale played the opening rubber against Lesia Tsurenko, and prevailed in three sets.

In the 2012 French Open, McHale defeated Kiki Bertens and fellow American Lauren Davis in the first two rounds before falling to defending champion Li Na in the 3rd round.

McHale advanced to the third round for the fourth consecutive grand slam event in the 2012 Wimbledon Championships. She advanced over Johanna Konta and Mathilde Johansson but was defeated by 8th seeded Angelique Kerber in the third round.

McHale then participated at the Olympic tennis tournament in London where she was defeated in the first round by Ana Ivanovic. In New York at the 2012 US Open, McHale was defeated in the first round by Kiki Bertens. McHale then competed in the China Open in Beijing, but she was defeated in the first round by Ana Ivanovic once again.

2013
McHale started her 2013 season in Auckland, New Zealand at the 2013 ASB Classic, but lost to Pauline Parmentier in the opening round. McHale's slump continued into the 2013 Australian Open, falling to Yulia Putintseva in the first round.

McHale then recorded her first win of the year (and first since August 2012) in Paris at the 2013 Open GDF Suez, defeating Pauline Parmentier in the first round. She subsequently lost to Marion Bartoli in the second round.

McHale's next tournament was the 2013 Qatar Total Open in Doha, Qatar, where she defeated Vera Dushevina in the opening round. Following that, she went on to defeat Lucie Šafárová in the second round (marking her first back-to-back victory in 2013) before falling to Victoria Azarenka in the third round.

The following week, McHale continued in the middle east swing by partaking in the qualifying event for the 2013 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, in which she defeated Kai-Chen Chang before falling to Kurumi Nara. She continued her 2013 campaign at the WTA Premier Mandatory 2013 BNP Parbias Open in Indian Wells, California, opening with a victory against Tsvetana Pironkova. She subsequently lost to Maria Kirilenko in the next round.

McHale started her European clay swing at the 2013 Mutua Madrid Open in Madrid Spain. She was the second seed in the qualifying event in which she advanced through to the main draw with victories over Andrea Hlavácková and Mathilde Johansson. In the main draw, McHale opened with a win against Peng Shuai, before falling to Maria Sharapova in the second round. In Rome, McHale defeated Karin Knapp in the first round, before losing to seventh seed Sara Errani in the second. The match against Errani was the third time in as many meetings in which the match was decided in the third set.

Her French Open campaign ended in a first round defeat, whilst Wimbledon saw an improvement, where she reached the second round and was defeated by the 15th seed and eventual champion, Marion Bartoli of France.

At the US Open, McHale reached the third round, where she faced Serbian nemesis Ana Ivanovic. After winning the first set, she served for the match at 5–4 up in the second set, but was broken, and ultimately lost the match in three sets. Despite the loss, she earned praise for her fighting performance against the former world number one.

2014 – 2016
McHale reached her first WTA final in Acapulco in 2014, where she was runner-up to Dominika Cibulkova. By 2016, she had also achieved the feat of reaching the third round in every Grand Slam tournament. At the 2016 Wimbledon Championships, she pushed eventual champion Serena Williams to three sets, winning the first and briefly holding the lead in the third. In September 2016, she won her first WTA title at the Japan Women's Open, defeating Kateřina Siniaková in three sets. "I don't even want to put my trophy down—I just want to hold it all the time," McHale stated after the match.

Playing style
An aggressive baseliner, McHale is noted for her powerful forehand groundstrokes, as well as for her speed around the court. During her second-round match at Wimbledon in 2016, Eurosport commended McHale for displaying "superb court coverage". The New York Times has noted McHale's "booming" groundstrokes as one of her primary strengths.

Singles
''Only Main Draw results in WTA Tour are considered. This table is current through the 2017 Australian Open.

Doubles
''Only Main Draw results in WTA Tour are considered. This table is current through the US Open.