Early years Pe'er began playing tennis competitively when she was six. In 2001, Pe'er won the
Nike Junior Tour International Masters tennis tournament and the Israeli women's tennis championship (the youngest Israeli to do so). She also won her age category at the
Junior Orange Bowl. In 2002, Pe'er won in singles at the
Bat Yam International and in doubles at the
Haifa International. She won the Amata Cup in
Thailand in March 2003.
Junior Grand Slam Records 2004–2005 Pe'er turned professional in 2004, a year during which she played both the ITF Circuit and the WTA Tour. In 2005, Pe'er first played the main draw of a Grand Slam event, reaching the third round in both the
French Open and the
US Open. Pe'er finished 2005 ranked No. 45 in the world.
2006–2007 In January 2006 in Canberra, Australia, she lost a marathon semifinal match (the first of her career) against Spain's
Anabel Medina Garrigues that lasted 3 hours and 45 minutes. At the time it was one of the ten longest matches in WTA Tour history. In May 2006 she beat world no. 15
Anna-Lena Grönefeld of Germany in the semifinals and then upset world No. 2
Anastasia Myskina of Russia, to win in the finals of a level III event in Turkey. At the
2006 French Open, Pe'er defeated world No. 8
Elena Dementieva of Russia in the round of 32, but lost to
Martina Hingis, in their fourth-round match. Pe'er reached the fourth round of the 2006 US Open, defeating world No. 15
Francesca Schiavone, but later fell to
Justine Henin Hardenne. Pe'er finished 2006 ranked 20th in the world, after winning her first three WTA singles titles that year in Pattaya, Prague, and Istanbul. At the
2007 Australian Open, Pe'er made history by becoming the first Israeli woman to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event. In the fourth round she defeated world No. 4
Svetlana Kuznetsova, but was defeated in her quarterfinal match against eventual champion
Serena Williams. In March 2007 at Indian Wells, she defeated world no. 11
Anna Chakvetadze of Russia before losing in the quarterfinals to eventual winner
Daniela Hantuchová. The following month at the
Miami Masters, Pe'er made it to her first
Tier 1 tournament semifinals before losing to eventual champion Serena Williams. At the
2007 Rome Masters, Pe'er was defeated in the third round, again by
Serena Williams. It was her fourth career loss to Williams, and the third in 2007. After beating Kuznetsova twice earlier in 2007, she met Kuznetsova for the third time in the fourth round of the
French Open and lost. Pe'er's impressive year soured with a disappointing appearance in
Wimbledon in early July, where she lost in the third round to eventual runner-up
Marion Bartoli. This was followed by three tournaments in California (the
Bank of the West Classic, the
Acura Classic, and the
JPMorgan Chase Open) in which Pe'er was seeded, but was ousted by an unseeded player in either the first or second round. In late August, at the
Rogers Cup in Toronto, Pe'er managed to pass the first two rounds, only to be ousted again by unseeded
Virginie Razzano. Pe'er went into the
2007 US Open seeded 18th and suffering from a chest injury. She beat Americans
Meilen Tu and
Bethanie Mattek, world No. 15 Czech
Nicole Vaidišová, and
Agnieszka Radwańska from Poland to reach her first US Open and second Grand Slam quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals she lost in straight sets to world No. 6, Anna Chakvetadze. Following her successful appearance at the US Open, Pe'er lost in the second round at
Luxembourg and at
Stuttgart and fell in the quarterfinals of a Tier III event in
Bangkok. Her return to center stage at the Zurich Open was again cut short with a first round loss. Finishing as a doubles runner-up in Luxembourg (partnering Victoria Azarenka) helped Pe'er achieve a career-high doubles ranking of 25 on 1 October. Pe'er finished 2007 ranked 17th in the world.
2008 At the
Australian Open, Pe'er was seeded No. 17, and lost in the third round to No. 11 seed
Elena Dementieva. In the doubles tournament, Pe'er and her partner Azarenka were seeded No. 12. They got to final, where they lost to
Alona and
Kateryna Bondarenko. Following her first doubles Grand Slam final appearance Pe'er achieve a career-high doubles ranking of 16. Late February, Pe'er became the first Israeli to compete in a WTA Tour event in the
Arabian Peninsula when she reached the third round of the
Qatar Total Open in Doha. Pe'er lost at the second round in Indian Wells, the third in Miami and the first in Berlin. At the
French Open, Pe'er was seeded No. 17 but lost in the first round to wild card recipient, Australian
Samantha Stosur, a former top 30 player that was making a comeback from an injury. Together with partner Azarenka she reached the semifinals in both Miami and Berlin. In early May, Pe'er achieved a career-high doubles ranking of 14. In
Wimbledon, Pe'er advanced to the fourth round, before losing to No. 5 seed Elena Dementieva. Earlier, in the third round, Pe'er defeated the 9th seed
Dinara Safina after a three-hours and 25 minutes match, the third-longest ladies' singles match in Wimbledon history. At the
doubles tournament, Pe'er equaled her best result from
2005, after she and Victoria Azarenka reached the quarterfinals. At the quarterfinals, Pe'er and Azarenka, the sixth seed, lost to the top-seeded team of
Cara Black and
Liezel Huber. Pe'er then represented
Israel at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where she lost in the second round to 9 seed
Vera Zvonareva of Russia. Pe'er fell ten places in the World Rankings from the start of the hardcourt season. She was dispatched in the first round of the US Open by China's
Li Na. She finished the year 2008 ranked World No. 38 with a singles record of 26–24 and a doubles record of 19–17.
2009 Pe'er started the
year by playing in the
ASB Classic in Auckland. Entering as the No. 5 seed, she defeated
Petra Cetkovská in the first round and
Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová in the second round before losing to top seed and eventual champion Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals. At the
Australian Open, she lost in the first round to No. 11 seed
Caroline Wozniacki. After this event, Pe'er played in
Israel's first tie of the
2009 Fed Cup. She won both her singles rubbers, against
Kateryna Bondarenko and
Alona Bondarenko. In the deciding doubles match (
Ukraine won the other two singles rubbers), Pe'er teamed up with
Tzipora Obziler, but they lost to the Bondarenkos. At the
Pattaya Women's Open, Pe'er was seeded seventh. She made it to the semifinals, before losing to top seeded Vera Zvonareva. Pe'er lost in the first round of her next tournament, the
Monterrey Open, to
Iveta Benešová, the tournament's sixth-seed. She redeemed herself at the
BNP Paribas Open, a WTA Premier event. She started the fortnight off defeating Kateryna Bondarenko, then upset 10th seeded Marion Bartoli 19th seeded Anna Chakvetadze before losing to the 8th seed and former doubles partner
Victoria Azarenka. In doubles, paired with
Gisela Dulko, she lost again lost to Azarenka and her partner Vera Zvonareva in the finals. Pe'er's next tournament was the
Sony Ericsson Open, the WTA Tour's second Premier Mandatory event of the year. She advanced to the second round before losing to fifth–seeded
Venus Williams. Pe'er reached the
Estoril Open semifinals, but retired during her match against
Yanina Wickmayer due to a leg injury. A week later she played in the
Madrid Open, but had to retire again in her first round match, this time against Caroline Wozniacki. Pe'er's injury resulted in her missing the
French Open. In the first round at
Wimbledon, Pe'er advanced to the second round before losing to No. 10 seed
Nadia Petrova. At the
GDF Suez Grand Prix she reached the quarterfinals losing to Alona Bondarenko. She then reached the second rounds of Bad Gastein and Los Angeles. In Toronto, Pe'er advanced to the third round before losing to eventual champion Elena Dementieva. Pe'er reached the third round of the
US Open before losing to the No. 6 seed,
Svetlana Kuznetsova. In September, Pe'er ended a three-year drought without a tournament win at the
Guangzhou International Women's Open in China without dropping a set. In the final, Pe'er beat Italy's
Alberta Brianti. She went on to win the
Tashkent Open the following week, also without dropping a set, completing 10 successive straight-sets wins in a couple of weeks. In the final she beat local hero
Akgul Amanmuradova. After these wins, Pe'er's world ranking increased to No. 34. Pe'er was the fifth seed in the new
HP Open in Osaka. She was defeated in the first round by world No. 61
Sania Mirza. Pe'er then made the semi-finals of the
BGL Luxembourg Open where she lost to
Sabine Lisicki. At the
Tournament of Champions, Pe'er's final tournament of the year, she defeated
Magdaléna Rybáriková in the first round robin match but then lost to top seed Marion Bartoli, thus failing to make the semifinal. Pe'er ended the year with a win–loss record of 41–23. She finished the year ranked No. 30 in the world.
2010 Pe'er started her 2010 season by reaching the semifinals of the
ASB Classic before losing to
Yanina Wickmayer. At the
2010 Moorilla Hobart International, Pe'er made it to the finals, before losing to Alona Bondarenko in straight sets. At the
Australian Open, Pe'er was seeded 29th. She advanced to the third round before losing to fourth seeded Caroline Wozniacki. However, after the tournament, Pe'er's ranking moved up to world No. 22. Pe'er then competed at the
Open GDF Suez where she was seeded sixth. She made it to the quarterfinals before losing to
Lucie Šafářová. Pe'er continued her excellent start to the 2010 season at the Premier 5 event in
Dubai where she reached the semifinals before losing to Venus Williams. Along the way, she defeated 13th seeded
Yanina Wickmayer and world No. 3 and top seed Caroline Wozniacki. Despite her semifinal defeat, Pe'er's success in Dubai moved her ranking back into the top twenty. Pe'er was seeded 17th at the
BNP Paribas Open. She advanced to the fourth round before losing to eventual champion
Jelena Janković. At the
Sony Ericsson Open, Pe'er made it to the third round before being defeated by world No. 16 and eventual champion
Kim Clijsters. Beginning her clay court season, Pe'er made it to the semifinals of the
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix by defeating
Polona Hercog, world No. 8
Agnieszka Radwańska and world No. 3
Dinara Safina to continue her exceptional wins over top players this season. She again lost to the eventual champion
Justine Henin. This marked the sixth time in eight tournaments that Pe'er was defeated by eventual champions. Pe'er's next tournament was the
Italian Open in Rome where she was seeded 16th. She advanced to the third round before losing to fourth seeded Venus Williams. Unseeded at the
Madrid Open, a Premier Mandatory event, Pe'er caused an upset in the first round, defeating 2009 French Open Champion and fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova. She then advanced to the semifinals before losing again to Venus Williams for the third time in 2010. Pe'er was seeded 18th leading into the
French Open, the second Grand Slam of the year. She advanced to the fourth round before losing to world No. 1 Serena Williams in straight sets. Because of her showing, Pe'er achieved a new career-high ranking of world No. 14, which was also the highest ranking ever achieved by an Israeli tennis player. Beginning the grass-court season at the
Aegon International at Eastbourne, Pe'er lost in the first round to
Zheng Jie, which marked her first first-round loss of the season. Pe'er was seeded 13th at the
2010 Wimbledon Championships, and advanced to the second round before being upset by
Angelique Kerber in three sets. Pe'er next played at the
Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, the opening tournament of the
2010 US Open Series where she was seeded sixth. However, she only made it to the second round before being defeated by
Maria Kirilenko in straight sets. At the
Mercury Insurance Open in San Diego, Pe'er was seeded seventh. Here she advanced to the quarterfinals before losing to world No. 9
Agnieszka Radwańska. At the
2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open in Cincinnati, Pe'er was seeded 13th. She advanced to the third round before losing to 19-year-old
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three sets. Playing in her final US Open Series, Pe'er was seeded 14th at the
Rogers Cup in Montreal, but was upset in the first round, by
Kaia Kanepi. Pe'er was seeded 16th at the
US Open, the final Grand Slam of the season. She held her seeding by advancing to the round of 16, but once again lost to
Venus Williams for the fourth time this season. Following the US Open, Pe'er chose not to defend the back-to-back titles she won in 2009 at the
Guangzhou International Women's Open and the
Tashkent Open. This caused her ranking to fall to world No. 19. She returned to the tour at the
Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. As the 13th seed, Pe'er advanced to the second round before losing to world No. 25
Kaia Kanepi. Pe'er then headed to Beijing to compete in the
China Open, which is the final Premier Mandatory event of the season. She advanced to the semifinals before losing to the new world No. 1 and eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki. Based on her strong showing in this tournament, her ranking increased to world No. 13, a new career-high. Due to her great success, Pe'er qualified as the second alternate at the
2010 WTA Tour Championships.
2011 Pe'er started the year by playing in
Brisbane, where she defeated
Sophie Ferguson, 6–4, 6–2, but lost to
Lucie Šafářová in the second round. She played in
Sydney next, winning against
Sybille Bammer, but losing the second round to Victoria Azarenka. In the
2011 Australian Open, which she started as the No. 10 seed, Pe'er won her first round match against
Mathilde Johansson, 6–1, 6–1. In the second round she defeated
Sorana Cîrstea in straight sets. However, she lost in the third round to
Flavia Pennetta. After the tournament, Pe'er's ranking rose to No. 11, her highest in her career so far, due to
Elena Dementieva and Justine Henin leaving the
WTA rankings. Pe'er played herself into form at the
Dubai Tennis Championships, where she reached the semifinals in
2010, losing in the quarterfinals to top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki. She then lost in the second round of the
Qatar Ladies Open to
Marion Bartoli 6–1, 6–0. In March, she reached
BNP Paribas Open quarterfinal after beating
Bethanie Mattek-Sands,
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and 2010 French Open champion
Francesca Schiavone, all in marathon three-set matches. In the quarterfinals, she lost to
Yanina Wickmayer in straight sets, 6–3, 6–3. In April, she had a chance to become a top 10 player if she could defeat world No. 35
Julia Görges in the third round at the
Family Circle Cup in Charleston, but she lost to the German 6–2, 6–3. Pe'er's best result in the next several tournaments came at the
Italian Open where she reached the third round before losing 6–2, 6–2 to eventual champion
Maria Sharapova. Coming into the French Open, Pe'er possessed a 14–10 win–loss record on the season. However, her loss to Sharapova began a five-match losing streak, including in the first rounds of
Roland Garros and
Wimbledon, and a loss to world No. 429
Casey Dellacqua. Pe'er came into Wimbledon as the 22nd seed before her three-set loss to unseeded Russian
Ksenia Pervak in the first round. Pe'er entered into the
Citi Open as the top seed in College Park, Maryland, one of the two opening events for the
2011 US Open Series. She won two successive matches in straight and won her match against
Tamira Paszek 3–6, 7–6, 6–4 after around 3 hours marathon. In the final she lost to the second seed Nadia Petrova, 5–7, 2–6.
2012 Pe'er began her 2012 season at the
Brisbane International. She lost in the first round to second seed and last year finalist,
Andrea Petkovic. Seeded sixth at the
Moorilla Hobart International, she reached the semifinals where she was defeated by top seed Yanina Wickmayer. At the
Australian Open, she was eliminated in the second round by fourteenth seed Sabine Lisicki. In February, Pe'er competed at the
Open GDF Suez in France. She was beaten in the first round by sixth seed Julia Görges. At the
Qatar Open, she upset eighth seed Jelena Janković in the second round. She lost in the third round to
Christina McHale.
2014–2015 Pe'er competed at the
2015 Wimbledon Championships.
Tournaments in Dubai, 2009–2010 In February 2009, Pe'er (ranked No. 45 in the world at the time) was prevented from playing at the
Dubai Tennis Championships by the
United Arab Emirates (UAE), which denied her a
visa. The UAE did not have diplomatic relations with
Israel at that time. A number of players, among them Venus Williams, condemned the visa rejection. The 2008 winner of the men's singles,
Andy Roddick, withdrew from the tournament and chose not to defend his title (with prize money of over $2 million) to protest the UAE's refusal to grant Pe'er a visa. "I really didn't agree with what went on over there", Roddick said. In protest, the
Tennis Channel decided not to televise the event and
The Wall Street Journal dropped its sponsorship. WTA chief
Larry Scott said that he had considered cancelling the tournament, but chose not to after consulting Pe'er. Tournament director Salah Tahlak said that Pe'er was refused on the grounds that her appearance could incite anger in the Arab country after she had already faced protests at the ASB Classic over the
2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict. The WTA said that it would review future tournaments in Dubai. Following the protests over the
UAE's decision to refuse her visa in 2009, Pe'er was granted a visa in 2010 but was placed under very strict restrictions. She was not allowed to mix with other players off the court, was required to exercise in a separate gym, and was under strict guard on her way from the hotel to the court. To add to the pressure, the tournament took place at the time when Dubai authorities were investigating the
killing of
Hamas military commander
Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, which the UAE blamed on Israeli agents, some posing as European tennis fans. Pe'er was widely praised by her fellow competitors for her composure under pressure during the tournament. In particular, Venus Williams remarked: "I can't imagine playing so well with these kinds of circumstances. I just have to give her congratulations and props. She's courageous. I don't think anyone else on the WTA Tour could do what she's doing". ==Playing style==