Julie Halard-Decugis (born 10 September 1970) is a French former professional tennis player.

Tennis career

Halard-Decugis lived in La Baule, France, during the initial stages of her career and later moved to Pully, Switzerland. She turned professional in 1986. She won the French Open junior singles title in 1988 and was the Wimbledon junior singles runner-up in 1987. She retired from the WTA Tour tennis circuit at the end of the 2000 season. Her highest WTA Tour singles and doubles rankings was number seven and number one respectively. She had been coached by Arnaud Decugis since 1989.

Halard-Decugis won her first WTA Tour singles title in Puerto Rico. She enjoyed her best season in 1996, when she won her first WTA Tour Tier II singles title in Paris and finished the year with a career-high season-ending singles ranking of No. 15 and as the No. 1 singles player from France. This occurred despite the fact that her playing schedule in the second half of 1996 was curtailed because of a wrist injury sustained during the Fed Cup semifinal match against Spain. She only played two tournaments in late 1997 because of injuries.

By winning the singles title in Rosmalen in 1998, she became the 20th player to have won singles titles on all four surfaces in the Open Era. Halard also won the singles and doubles titles in Pattaya that year, and broke into the top 10 singles ranking in August 1999, becoming the fifth Frenchwoman after Françoise Dürr, Mary Pierce, Nathalie Tauziat and Amélie Mauresmo to do so. In 1999, she won WTA Tour singles titles in Auckland and Birmingham and was runner-up on three other occasions. Between 15 November 1999 and 9 January 2000, Julie Halard, Nathalie Tauziat, Amélie Mauresmo and Mary Pierce were all ranked inside the singles top 10, the first time France had four players ranked among the singles top 10.

2000 was to be the final and perhaps the finest year of Halard's professional playing career. She reached the Australian Open singles quarterfinal for the second time, captured the second WTA Tour Tier II title of her career in Eastbourne and reached her career-high singles ranking of No. 7 in February. Halard was also runner-up in Tokyo's Princess Cup in October and won the doubles title with Ai Sugiyama. The following week, she won both the singles and doubles titles at the Japan Open in Tokyo, saving three match points in the final to defeat the defending champion Amy Frazier.

On her 30th birthday, Halard won the 2000 US Open women's doubles title with Ai Sugiyama, her only Grand Slam title as a professional. The pair also reached the final at Wimbledon, the semifinal at the French Open and the quarterfinal at the Australian Open that year. Halard-Decugis won nine other doubles titles in 2000, five of them with Sugiyama, and became the first Frenchwoman to attain the No. 1 doubles ranking in the Open Era. Halard-Decugis represented her country in the Federation Cup Fed Cup from 1990 to 2000 and in the Olympic Games in 1992 and 2000.

Personal life

She married her coach, Arnaud Decugis, on 22 September 1995. Arnaud Decugis is the great nephew of Max Decugis, a leading tennis player from France during the early 20th century. The couple have three children[citation needed]

Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss2000WimbledonGrassJapan Ai SugiyamaUnited States Serena Williams United States Venus Williams3–6, 2–6
Win2000US OpenHardJapan Ai SugiyamaZimbabwe Cara Black Russia Elena Likhovtseva6–0, 1–6, 6–1

WTA career finals

Singles: 21 (12 titles, 9 runner-ups)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments
Virginia Slims
Tier I
Tier II
Tier III
Tier IV & V
ResultW/LDateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss0–1Oct 1987Athens Open, GreeceClayBulgaria Katerina Maleeva0–6, 1–6
Loss0–2Aug 1991Albuquerque, U.S.HardUnited States Gigi Fernández0–6, 2–6
Win1–2Oct 1991San Juan Open, Puerto RicoHardSouth Africa Amanda Coetzer7–5, 7–5
Win2–2Apr 1992Taranto Trophy, ItalyClaySwitzerland Emanuela Zardo6–0, 7–5
Loss2–3Feb 1994Paris Indoors, FranceCarpet (i)United States Martina Navratilova5–7, 3–6
Win3–3Apr 1994Taranto, ItalyClayRomania Irina Spîrlea6–2, 6–3
Win4–3May 1995Prague Open, Czech RepublicClayCzech Republic Ludmila Richterová6–4, 6–4
Win5–3Jan 1996Hobart International, AustraliaHardJapan Mana Endo6–1, 6–2
Win6–3Feb 1996Paris, FranceCarpet (i)Croatia Iva Majoli7–5, 7–6(7–4)
Loss6–4Feb 1996Linz Open, AustriaCarpet (i)Belgium Sabine Appelmans2–6, 4–6
Loss6–5May 1998Internationaux de Strasbourg, FranceClayRomania Irina Spîrlea6–7(5–7), 3–6
Win7–5Jun 1998Rosmalen Championships, NetherlandsGrassNetherlands Miriam Oremans6–3, 6–4
Win8–5Nov 1998Pattaya Open, ThailandHardChina Li Fang6–1, 6–2
Win9–5Jan 1999Auckland Open, New ZealandHardBelgium Dominique Monami6–4, 6–1
Loss9–6Apr 1999Bol Ladies Open, CroatiaClayUnited States Corina Morariu2–6, 0–6
Loss9–7May 1999German Open, BerlinClaySwitzerland Martina Hingis0–6, 1–6
Win10–7Jun 1999Birmingham Classic, UKGrassFrance Nathalie Tauziat6–2, 3–6, 6–4
Loss10–8Aug 1999Los Angeles Classic, U.S.HardUnited States Serena Williams1–6, 4–6
Win11–8Jun 2000Eastbourne International, UKGrassBelgium Dominique Monami7–6(7–4), 6–4
Loss11–9Oct 2000Tokyo Cup, JapanHardUnited States Serena Williams5–7, 1–6
Win12–9Oct 2000Tokyo Championships, JapanHardUnited States Amy Frazier5–7, 7–5, 6–4

Doubles: 25 (15 titles, 10 runner-ups)

ResultW/LDateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss0–1Sep 1991Clarins Open Paris, FranceClayFrance Alexia DechaumeCzechoslovakia Petra Langrová Czechoslovakia Radka Zrubáková4–6, 4–6
Loss0–2Apr 1994Barcelona Open, SpainClayFrance Nathalie TauziatLatvia Larisa Neiland Spain Arantxa Sánchez Vicario2–6, 4–6
Win1–2Aug 1994Los Angeles Classic, USHardFrance Nathalie TauziatCzech Republic Jana Novotná United States Lisa Raymond6–1, 0–6, 6–1
Win2–2Sep 1994Tokyo International, JapanHardSpain Arantxa Sánchez VicarioUnited States Amy Frazier Japan Rika Hiraki6–1, 0–6, 6–1
Win3–2Jan 1996Auckland Open, New ZealandHardBelgium Els CallensCanada Jill Hetherington Australia Kristine Kunce6–0, 6–1
Loss3–3Feb 1996Paris Indoors, FranceCarpet (i)France Nathalie TauziatNetherlands Kristie Boogert Czech Republic Jana Novotná4–6, 3–6
Loss3–4Mar 1996Indian Wells Open, USHardFrance Nathalie TauziatUnited States Chanda Rubin Netherlands Brenda Schultz1–6, 4–6
Loss3–5Sep 1997Tokyo Cup, JapanHardUnited States Chanda RubinUnited States Monica Seles Japan Ai Sugiyama1–6, 0–6
Loss3–6Jan 1998Auckland Open, New ZealandHardSlovakia Janette HusárováJapan Nana Miyagi Thailand Tamarine Tanasugarn6–71, 4–6
Loss3–7Jan 1998Hobart International, AustraliaHardSlovakia Janette HusárováSpain Virginia Ruano Pascual Argentina Paola Suárez6–76, 3–6
Win4–7Jun 1998Birmingham Classic, UKGrassBelgium Els CallensUnited States Lisa Raymond Australia Rennae Stubbs2–6, 6–4, 6–4
Win5–7Nov 1998Pattaya Open, ThailandHardBelgium Els CallensJapan Rika Hiraki Poland Aleksandra Olsza3–6, 6–2, 6–2
Loss5–8Oct 1999Kremlin Cup, RussiaCarpet (i)Germany Anke HuberUnited States Lisa Raymond Australia Rennae Stubbs0–6, 1–6
Win6–8Jan 2000Gold Coast Hardcourts, AustraliaHardRussia Anna KournikovaBelgium Sabine Appelmans Italy Rita Grande6–3, 6–0
Win7–8Jan 2000Sydney International, AustraliaHardJapan Ai SugiyamaSwitzerland Martina Hingis France Mary Pierce6–0, 6–3
Win8–8Feb 2000Paris Indoors, FranceCarpet (i)France Sandrine TestudFrance Émilie Loit Sweden Åsa Carlsson3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win9–8Mar 2000Miami Masters, USHardJapan Ai SugiyamaUnited States Nicole Arendt Netherlands Manon Bollegraf4–6, 7–5, 6–4
Win10–8May 2000Bol Ladies Open, CroatiaClayUnited States Corina MorariuSlovenia Tina Križan Slovenia Katarina Srebotnik6–2, 6–2
Loss10–9Jun 2000Wimbledon, UKGrassJapan Ai SugiyamaUnited States Serena Williams United States Venus Williams3–6, 2–6
Loss10–10Aug 2000Rogers Cup Montreal, CanadaHardJapan Ai SugiyamaSwitzerland Martina Hingis France Nathalie Tauziat3–6, 6–3, 4–6
Win11–10Aug 2000Connecticut Open, USHardJapan Ai SugiyamaSpain Virginia Ruano Pascual Argentina Paola Suárez6–4, 5–7, 6–2
Win12–10Aug 2000US OpenHardJapan Ai SugiyamaZimbabwe Cara Black Russia Elena Likhovtseva6–0, 1–6, 6–1
Win13–10Oct 2000Tokyo Cup, JapanHardJapan Ai SugiyamaJapan Nana Miyagi Argentina Paola Suárez6–0, 6–2
Win14–10Oct 2000Tokyo Championships, JapanHardUnited States Corina MorariuSlovenia Tina Križan Slovenia Katarina Srebotnik6–1, 6–2
Win15–10Oct 2000Kremlin Cup, RussiaCarpet (i)Japan Ai SugiyamaSwitzerland Martina Hingis Russia Anna Kournikova4–6, 6–4, 7–65

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 2 (2–0)

Legend
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
OutcomeNo.DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Winner1.13 July 1987ITF Erlangen, West GermanyClayWest Germany Wiltrud Probst4–6, 6–4, 6–2
Winner2.27 July 1987ITF Neumünster, West GermanyClayNetherlands Brenda Schultz-McCarthy6–2, 6–4

Doubles: 4 (2–2)

OutcomeNo.DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Winner1.20 July 1987ITF Vaihingen, West GermanyClayFrance Virginie PaquetCzechoslovakia Hana Fukárková Czechoslovakia Denisa Krajčovičová6–4, 6–3
Winner2.3 December 1990ITF Le Havre, FranceClayFrance Agnès ZugastiNetherlands Gaby Coorengel Netherlands Amy van Buuren6–3, 6–0
Runner-up1.7 December 1992ITF Val-d'Oise, FranceHard (i)Belgium Sabine AppelmansFrance Isabelle Demongeot France Catherine Suire5–7, 4–6
Runner-up2.7 December 1997ITF Cergy-Pontoise, FranceHard (i)France Anne-Gaëlle SidotNetherlands Kristie Boogert Netherlands Miriam Oremans5–7, 4–6

Grand Slam performance timelines

Key
WFSFQF#RRRQ#DNQANH

Singles

Tournament19871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000SRW–L
Australian OpenA2R1R3R2R1RQF2R1R3RAA2RQF0 / 1116–11
French Open2R2R1R3R2R3R3RQF3R2RA2R4R1R0 / 1320–13
WimbledonA1R2R2R2R4R1R1R1RAA3R3R1R0 / 1110–11
US Open3R1R2R2R2R2R2R2R2RAA1R4R1R0 / 1212–12
Overall win–loss3–22–42–46–44–46–47–46–43–43–20–03–39–44–40 / 4758–47
Career statistics
Titles0000110113012212
Finals1000210214025321
Year-end ranking627511841202729215120–22915

Doubles

Tournament19871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000SRW–L
Australian OpenA1R2R2RA1R1R1R2R3RAA3RQF0 / 1010–10
French OpenA1R2R1R3R2R1RSFQF3RA2R1RSF0 / 1218–12
WimbledonAAAA1R1R2R3R3RAAQF2RF0 / 814–8
US OpenAAAA1R1R1R1RQFAA3R3RW1 / 813–7
Overall win–loss0–00–22–21–22–31–41–46–49–44–20–06–35–418–31 / 3855–37

Head-to-head records

External links