TENNIS PLAYERS from Estonia

Top 4

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Estonian Tennis Players of all time. This list of famous Estonian Tennis Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Kaia Kanepi (b. 1985)

With an HPI of 39.94, Kaia Kanepi is the most famous Estonian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 38 different languages on wikipedia.

Kaia Kanepi (Estonian pronunciation: [ˈkɑi.ɑ ˈkɑnepi]; born 10 June 1985) is an Estonian professional tennis player. She achieved her career-high ranking of world No. 15 on 20 August 2012 and has won four singles titles on the WTA Tour. Described as a 'resident Grand Slam upset specialist' by The Guardian – with 19 wins over seeded players in the first week of Grand Slams; only two active players (Victoria Azarenka and Venus Williams) have more. She has also reached seven Grand Slam quarterfinals in all four championships (French Open in 2008 and 2012, Wimbledon in 2010 and 2013, the US Open in 2010 and 2017, and Australian Open 2022), becoming the first Estonian to achieve this and was the first Estonian to be ranked inside the world's top 15. Kanepi's numerous achievements have made her one of Estonia's most famous and successful professional tennis players in history. Kanepi reached her first final in 2006, becoming the first Estonian female player to do so, at the Gaz de France Stars where she lost to Kim Clijsters. She then won her first singles title at the Palermo Ladies Open in 2010, also becoming the first Estonian female player to win a title.

2. Maret Ani (b. 1982)

With an HPI of 37.40, Maret Ani is the 2nd most famous Estonian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Maret Ani (born 31 January 1982) is a retired tennis player from Estonia. At the start of 2006, she was the top-ranked player in Estonia, before losing that spot to Kaia Kanepi. Ani was a junior basketball champion, but devoted herself to tennis from the age of 14. She moved to Italy three years later, after finding sponsorship for coaching. She was coached initially by Aita Põldma and later by Pierfrancesco Restelli. Ani first played for the Estonia Fed Cup team in 1998.

3. Anett Kontaveit (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 35.40, Anett Kontaveit is the 3rd most famous Estonian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Anett Kontaveit (Estonian pronunciation: [aˈnetː ˈkon.taˈveit]; born 24 December 1995) is an Estonian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as high as world No. 2 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), which she first achieved on 6 June 2022 to become the highest-ranked Estonian tennis player in history. She also attained a career-high ranking of No. 95 in doubles on 2 March 2020. Kontaveit won six singles titles on the WTA Tour as well as eleven singles and five doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. She produced her best performance at a major by reaching the quarterfinals at the 2020 Australian Open, and she also contested two WTA 1000 finals at the 2018 Wuhan Open and 2022 Qatar Open. In 2021, after winning four titles in the span of seven tournaments between August and October, Kontaveit became the first Estonian to qualify for and participate in the WTA Finals, where she reached the final. In June 2023, Kontaveit announced her retirement following her diagnosis of lumbar disc degeneration and she made her final professional appearance at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, where she played her final match on 7 July 2023. She played her farewell match at Tondiraba Ice Hall in Tallinn, Estonia against her close friend Ons Jabeur on 11 November 2023.

4. Jürgen Zopp (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 24.93, Jürgen Zopp is the 4th most famous Estonian Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Jürgen Zopp (born 29 March 1988) is an Estonian retired tennis player. He is Estonia's all-time highest ranked male tennis player with a career-high singles ranking of World No. 71 in 2012.