Paulus, Barbara

Barbara is one of two children of Gerhard and Brigitte Paulusov. Her brother - Werner - tried himself in professional basketball.

The Austrian is subject to certain superstitions: having won several matches in a row in one tournament, she then preferred to use the same shower room as during this winning series.

In her junior years, Barbara proved to be an outstanding player: at the age of 16, she twice visited the semifinals of the Grand Slam singles tournaments among her peers: at Roland Garros - 1987 losing to Natalya Zvereva , and a month later - at Wimbledon - Julie Alar .

Paulus began her first experiences in professional tour competitions in 1985, having tried herself at the ITF home tournament in Bregenz . After a year, participation in such competitions becomes more active, so the Austrian gradually learns to play on equal terms and defeat more and more qualified rivals. In the course of the year, she first gets a place in the ranking of the association , by the end of the year making her way to Top200. Barbara progresses very quickly and already in 1987 makes her way into the first hundred of the rating after having a good European soil series: in May, having a chance to play in the qualifying competitions in Rome and Strasbourg , she first overcomes them confidently and then wins a few more matches at the base (in Italy, the victory over the eighth seeded - German Sylvia Hanika has an additional positive effect on the growth of self-confidence). Having proved himself well, Paulus gets the opportunity to play in the main draw of the adult Roland Garros tournament without selection. The debut at such competitions is very successful: the Austrian goes through several rivals before losing to Aranche Sanchez-Vicario in the third round. Summer and autumn do not bring any special results, and by winter, Barbara again reaches its peak form, having obtained the semi-final and quarter-finals in the Latin American 50-thousanders.

Gradually, Paulus stabilizes his results, becoming an increasingly serious force in competitions of any status. In May 1988, she won her first singles title by defeating the then tenth racket of the world, Laurie McNeill , in the final match of the clay tournament in Geneva . In less than three months, the debut doubles title is also won: together with Arancha Sanchez-Vicario, the main prize of the competition in Sofia was won, along with the two strongest sowing pairs. In the future, a single specialization will become the main one for the Austrian, and soon it will be decided to completely abandon games in pairs as well.

At the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, Barbara gradually rises in the Top20 singles ranking, repeatedly in the finals of small association tournaments. From time to time, they manage to beat the current Top10 players: in 1989, they won over Chris Evert and Helena Sukova , a year later Zina Garrison and Gabriela Sabatini replenish this list. In 1990, the stability of Paulus reaches a new milestone: for the first time it reaches the final of the competition of the second category (in Filderstadt ), and at the end of the season it turns out to make its debut at the Final competition of the association . However, it is not possible to stay at such a level for a long time - in 1991 the stability of the results goes away a little, and health problems become more frequent a year later: Paulus takes a six-month pause in his speeches first, and then does not speak for another year due to various problems.

It is only possible to fully return to the previous form at the beginning of the 1995 season: at the Australian Open , for the first time in nine Grand Slam tournaments, she takes part in the main draw of their single competition and immediately reaches the fourth round. During that season, the Austrian woman interrupts her five-year series without titles at the WTA tournaments , winning first the competitions in Warsaw and then in Pattaya (the Thai title becomes her first such victory in hard competitions). After a year, this success can be developed - Barbara several times reaches the finals of the WTA competitions (including the first time in a tournament of the first category), climbs to the tenth line of the rating, and also the second time (after a five-year pause), qualifying for the Final competition.

Having again reached the peak, Paulus crossed the line of loads that her body was able to withstand. Injuries are becoming more frequent, because of which it is necessary not only to finish individual tournaments ahead of schedule, but also to recover quite a long time: at first all problems can be resolved in a few days, but gradually the recovery time is delayed, which leads to lower results. Another minor injury, exacerbated in the fall of 1998, leads to the actual completion of a gaming career.

Barbara represented Austria at two Olympic tennis tournaments: in 1988 and 1992, she was given the right to play in singles. It was not possible to achieve special results, but both times Paulus won at least one match in the framework of this tournament.

From 1989 to 1997, Barbara participated in thirteen match matches for the national team in the Federation Cup . During this time, 22 games were played, in which Paulus won nine victories. In 1990, she helped the Austrians for the first time in their history to reach the semifinals of the tournament: Barbara and Judit Wiesner consecutively defeated the teams of Bulgaria , Japan and the UK , losing only to the star team of the United States .

Singles Tournament

WTA Singles Tournament Finals (17)

Victories (6)

Lost (11)

ITF Singles Tournament Finals (5)

Victories (2)

Lost (3)

Doubles performances

WTA Doubles Tournament Finals (1)

Victories (1)

ITF Doubles Tournament Finals (2)

Lost (2)

Singles Tournaments

K - loss in the qualifying tournament.

• WTA Website Profile
• Profile on ITF website
• Profile on the Federation Cup website