BEIJING — Agnes Szavay claimed the biggest title of her career at the China Open in 2007 before back injuries forced her to retire from tennis at just 24 years old. The Hungarian teenager, then 18, rallied from the brink of defeat in Beijing to secure a breakthrough victory that remains the defining moment of her career.
Szavay arrived in Beijing as the sixth seed at the then WTA 500-level tournament, already building momentum after winning her first WTA title in Palermo and reaching the US Open quarter-finals. She did not drop a single set en route to the final, where she faced second seed Jelena Jankovic, at the time a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist. Jankovic led by a set and 5-1, one game from the title, before Szavay produced an astonishing turnaround to win 12 of the next 14 games and clinch the championship.
The victory propelled Szavay to WTA Newcomer of the Year honors in 2007 and a career-high ranking of world No. 13 the following year. She added three more titles after Beijing, all at WTA 250 level, and reached the quarter-finals of three WTA 1000 tournaments and the fourth round at both the US Open and Roland Garros. Former champions in Beijing include Serena Williams, Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek, all multiple Grand Slam winners, a context that underlines the scale of Szavay's achievement.
Persistent back issues hampered Szavay in the latter years of her career and ultimately ended it. Announcing her retirement in 2013, she said, “It’s a shocking moment, as my life has revolved around tennis for the past 10 years. It was hard, but I owe a lot to this sport. I learned that I cannot hope for a full recovery from surgery, so I had to realize that, unfortunately, there is no other way. I know this will be a big change in my life, but I have plans and I will get it done.” One of those plans was her own tennis academy, which she later opened before it officially closed in 2023.