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Sylvia Hanika (born 30 November 1959) is a former professional tennis player from Germany. She is remembered for finishing as the runner-up at the French Open in 1981 and for winning the Year End Championships in 1982. She was ranked as high as No. 5 in the world.
In 1982, Hanika posted the biggest win of her career when she defeated world No. 2 Martina Navratilova in three sets in the final of the Avon Series Championships at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Garden was also the site of Hanika's last big singles win: a straight sets victory against No. 3 Chris Evert in the first round of the Virginia Slims Championships in 1987.
Hanika won her final top-level singles title in Athens, Greece in 1986. She retired from the tour in 1990, having won six professional singles titles and one doubles title.
Between serves, she was known to bounce the ball more than anyone tennis commentator and historian Bud Collins remembers: "as many as into the 30s. If she faulted on the first, it was awful, another 30 or so bounces.""Strange Habits of Highly Successful Tennis Players" by Christopher Clarey, 21 June 2008 in The New York Times.
| 2–6, 4–6 |
| 1–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| { class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" !Legend |
| Grand Slam tournaments (0–1) |
| WTA Tour Championships (1–0) |
| Tier I (0–0) |
| Tier II (0–0) |
| Tier III (0–0) |
| Tier IV (0–0) |
| Tier V (0–2) |
| Virginia Slims, Avon, Other (6–15) |
| Hard (0–2) |
| Grass (0–1) |
| Clay (2–7) |
| Carpet (4–8) |
| Loss | 1. | Jul 1978 | Swedish Open | Clay | Elly Appel-Vessies | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 2. | Jul 1978 | Kitzbühel | Clay | Virginia Ruzici | 4–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 3. | Nov 1978 | WTA Christchurch | Grass | Regina Maršíková | 2–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 1. | Jan 1979 | Boise | Carpet (i) | Sherry Acker | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 4. | May 1979 | Rome | Clay | Tracy Austin | 4–6, 6–1, 3–6 |
| Loss | 5. | Jul 1979 | Kitzbühel | Clay | Hana Mandlíková | 6–2, 5–7, 3–6 |
| Loss | 6. | Jan 1981 | Cincinnati | Carpet (i) | Martina Navratilova | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 2. | Feb 1981 | WTA Seattle | Carpet (I) | Barbara Potter | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Loss | 7. | May 1981 | French Open | Clay | Hana Mandlíková | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 8. | Jul 1981 | Kitzbühel | Clay | Claudia Kohde-Kilsch | 5–7, 6–7 |
| Win | 3. | Jul 1981 | Monte Carlo | Clay | Hana Mandlíková | 2–6, 6–3, 5–6 ab. |
| Loss | 9. | Mar 1982 | Los Angeles | Carpet (i) | Mima Jaušovec | 2–6, 6–7(4–7) |
| Win | 4. | Mar 1982 | Avon Championships | Carpet (i) | Martina Navratilova | 1–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 10. | Jan 1983 | Washington | Carpet (i) | Martina Navratilova | 1–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 11. | Jan 1983 | Houston | Carpet (i) | Martina Navratilova | 3–6, 6–7(5–7) |
| Loss | 12. | Feb 1983 | Oakland | Carpet (i) | Bettina Bunge | 3–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 13. | Mar 1983 | Boston | Carpet (I) | Wendy Turnbull | 4–6, 6–3, 4–6 |
| Loss | 14. | Sep 1983 | Hartford | Carpet (i) | Kim Shaefer | 4–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 5. | Oct 1984 | Brighton | Carpet (I) | JoAnne Russell | 6–3, 1–6, 6–2 |
| Win | 6. | Sep 1986 | Athens Trophy | Clay | Angelikí Kanellopoúlou | 7–5, 6–1 |
| Loss | 15. | Feb 1987 | San Francisco | Carpet (i) | Zina Garrison | 5–7, 6–4, 3–6 |
| Loss | 16. | Aug 1987 | Mahwah | Hard | Manuela Maleeva | 6–1, 4–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 17. | Feb 1988 | Wichita | Hard (i) | Manuela Maleeva | 6–7(5–7), 5–7 |
| Loss | 18. | Jul 1988 | Aix-en-Provence | Clay | Judith Wiesner | 1–6, 2–6 |
| { class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" !Legend |
| Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) |
| WTA Tour Championships (0–0) |
| Tier I (0–0) |
| Tier II (0–0) |
| Tier III (0–0) |
| Tier IV (0–0) |
| Tier V (1–0) |
| Virginia Slims, Avon, Other (0–2) |
| Hard (1–0) |
| Grass (0–1) |
| Clay (0–0) |
| Carpet (0–1) |
| Loss | 0–1 | Nov 1978 | WTA Christchurch | Grass | Katja Ebbinghaus | Lesley Hunt Sharon Walsh | 1–6, 5–7 |
| Loss | 0–2 | Jan 1980 | Ameritech Cup | Carpet (i) | Kathy Jordan | Billie Jean King Martina Navratilova | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 1–2 | Nov 1988 | Adelaide | Hard | Claudia Kohde-Kilsch | Lori McNeil Jana Novotná | 7–5, 6–7(4–7), 6–4 |
| Australian Open | A | A | A | A | 3R | A | A | QF | 2R | A | NH | 4R | 4R | 1R | A | 0 / 6 |
| French Open | A | 1R | 1R | 3R | F | 2R | 3R | 3R | 4R | 1R | 4R | 4R | 4R | 2R | 0 / 13 | |
| Wimbledon | A | 2R | 3R | 2R | 1R | 4R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 4R | 3R | 1R | A | 0 / 12 | |
| US Open | A | 1R | QF | 3R | QF | A | QF | QF | 3R | 2R | 4R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 0 / 12 | |
| SR | 0 / 0 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 43 | |
| Year-end Ranking | 118 | 35 | 16 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 17 | 21 | 50 | 14 | 17 | 41 | 125 | ||
Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.
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