Valentina Sassi
# Valentina Sassi

Valentina Sassi (born 12 July 1980) is an Italian tennis coach and an instructor of the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA). She is a former professional tennis player and a doubles bronze medalist for Italy at the 2001 Mediterranean Games.

Born in Seravezza, Sassi made her WTA Tour main-draw debut at the Madrid Open in 2001, as a qualifier. In 2002, she reached her best singles ranking of 144, making main-draw appearances at Oporto and Casablanca that year. Sassi, a right-handed player, won six singles and seven doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit, before retiring in 2008.

## Career

Sassi started playing tennis when she was six years old before developing into a professional tennis player. She made her WTA Tour debut at the Madrid Open in 2000, and competed in the majors of Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Australian Open, and the Internazionali di tennis in Rome. In 2004, she won the Italian Absolute Championships. At the peak of her career, Sassi played in doubles with players such as Jelena Janković, Kim Clijsters, Miroslava Vavrinec, Jelena Dokic and Daniela Hantuchová. She played 488 games with 60 per cent winning rate before quitting in 2006.

### Coaching

Sassi moved to the United States in 2008 and started coaching tennis. Later, she joined Rick Macci tennis academy where she was involved in coaching players such as Maria Sharapova, Jennifer Capriati and Andy Roddick. In May 2020, Sassi earned the title of International Professional Tennis Coach as Instructor of the Italian Tennis Federation USPTA, the highest level instructor of young tennis players.

## ITF Circuit finals

* $50,000 tournaments
* $25,000 tournaments
* $10,000 tournaments

### Singles: 10 (6–4)

| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Winner | 1. | 29 November 1998 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Hard | Joana Cortez | 7–6, 3–6, 6–3 |
| Winner | 2. | 8 November 1999 | Le Havre, France | Clay | Virginie Razzano | 6–1, 2–6, 7–5 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 1 May 2000 | Bari, Italy | Clay | Natalia Gussoni | 6–0, 4–6, 2–6 |
| Winner | 3. | 11 June 2001 | Grado, Italy | Clay | Antonella Serra Zanetti | 6–3, 7–5 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 31 May 2004 | Galatina, Italy | Clay | Paula García | 1–6, 6–3, 2–6 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 17 January 2006 | Fort Walton Beach, United States | Hard | Gréta Arn | 5–7, 2–6 |
| Winner | 4. | 14 July 2007 | Imola, Italy | Hard | Giulia Gatto-Monticone | $7–6^{(1)},$ 6–2 |
| Winner | 5. | 12 September 2007 | Casale Monferrato, Italy | Clay | Aurélie Védy | 3–6, $7–6^{(7)},$ 6–2 |
| Winner | 6. | 29 September 2007 | Ciampino, Italy | Clay | Verdiana Verardi | 6–1, 1–6, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 4. | 19 October 2007 | Settimo San Pietro, Italy | Clay | Anna Floris | $6–7^{(2)},$ 3–6 |

### Doubles: 17 (7–10)

| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Runner-up | 1. | 22 August 1999 | Alghero, Italy | Carpet | Sabina Da Ponte | Roberta Vinci Flavia Pennetta | 2–6, 1–6 |
| Winner | 1. | 7 November 1999 | Saint-Raphaël, France | Hard | Maja Matevžič | Victoria Courmes-Benedetti Laëtitia Sanchez | 6–3, 6–1 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 6 August 2000 | Alghero, Italy | Clay | Alice Canepa | Ayami Takase Tong Ka-po | 6–3, 3–6, 1–6 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 19 November 2000 | Naples, United States | Clay | Maret Ani | Nana Miyagi Elena Tatarkova | 3–5, 4–2, 4–2, 3–5, 1–4 |
| Runner-up | 4. | 2 February 2003 | Rockford, United States | Hard | Michaela Paštiková | Debby Haak Seda Noorlander | 5–7, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 5. | 11 October 2005 | Victoria, Mexico | Hard | Soledad Esperón | María José Argeri Letícia Sobral | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 6. | 13 November 2005 | Mexico City | Clay | Francesca Lubiani | Jenifer Widjaja Carla Tiene | $6–7^{(5)},$ 3–6 |
| Winner | 2. | 22 November 2005 | San Luis Potosí, Mexico | Hard | Francesca Lubiani | Jenifer Widjaja Olga Brózda | 6–3, 4–6, 7–5 |
| Runner-up | 7. | 18 December 2005 | Bergamo, Italy | Carpet (i) | Francesca Lubiani | Marina Shamayko Ekaterina Bychkova | 1–6, 3–6 |
| Winner | 3. | 1 May 2006 | Catania, Italy | Clay | Francesca Lubiani | Diana Brunel Virginie Pichet | w/o |
| Runner-up | 8. | 30 May 2006 | Galatina, Italy | Clay | Kira Nagy | Danica Krstajić Renata Voráčová | 4–6, 0–6 |
| Winner | 4. | 29 July 2006 | Monteroni d'Arbia, Italy | Clay | Aurélie Védy | Matea Mezak Nika Ožegović | 5–7, 6–4, 6–0 |
| Winner | 5. | 28 July 2007 | Monteroni d'Arbia, Italy | Clay | Alisa Kleybanova | Elena Pioppo Verdiana Verardi | 7–5, 6–2 |
| Winner | 6. | 25 August 2007 | Trecastagni, Italy | Hard | Valentina Sulpizio | Lisa Sabino Nicole Clerico | 4–6, 6–4, 7–5 |
| Runner-up | 9. | 17 September 2007 | Lecce, Italy | Clay | Kira Nagy | Claire de Gubernatis Tatjana Priachin | 3–6, 2–6 |
| Runner-up | 10. | 19 October 2007 | Settimo San Pietro, Italy | Clay | Stefania Chieppa | Anna Floris Valentina Sulpizio | 1–6, 4–6 |
| Winner | 7. | 5 May 2008 | Florence, Italy | Clay | Kira Nagy | Ksenia Palkina Martina Caciotti | 6–2, 6–3 |
