Flavia Pennetta

She became Italy's first top-10 female singles player on August 17, 2009 and also the first Italian tennis player to be ranked No. 1 in doubles on February 28, 2011. She is a Grand Slam singles champion, having won the 2015 US Open. She announced her retirement from the sport after winning the only grand slam of her career.

Pennetta has won eleven career WTA singles titles, including the 2014 Indian Wells Premier Mandatory, during which she defeated the top two seeds, both of whom were ranked in the top 3. She has also been a mainstay in the Fed Cup team competition, helping to win all four of Italy's titles (2006, 2009–10, 2013).

Pennetta has defeated multiple Grand Slam singles champions, such as Justine Henin, Mary Pierce, Martina Hingis, Amélie Mauresmo, Venus Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Victoria Azarenka, Samantha Stosur, Li Na, Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova. Pennetta is also one of only seven women to beat Venus Williams in three consecutive meetings. In doubles, Pennetta won her first Grand Slam title at the 2011 Australian Open with partner Gisela Dulko, and also reached the 2005 and 2014 US Open finals, in which she was partnered respectively with Elena Dementieva and Martina Hingis. Pennetta won her first major singles title at the 2015 US Open, where she defeated fellow countrywoman Roberta Vinci in the first ever all-Italian final in the Open Era. After that match Pennetta announced her retirement at the end of the season.

Pennetta was pronounced a Knight of Order of Merit of the Republic on January 24, 2007 by Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, then President of Italy.