Kristina Brandi (born March 29, 1977) is a Puerto Rican former tennis player. She was the first tennis player representing Puerto Rico to win a singles match in an Olympic tennis tournament.
Some of Brandi's career highlights: She achieved her best ranking in singles of number 27 on 4 December 2000, and her highest rank for doubles of number 246 in June 1995. Brandi won one career singles title, in 1999 on grass at 's Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands.
Career
Early years
Brandi was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where she became interested in the sport of tennis at an early age. She made her professional debut in 1995 when she was 17 years old.[1] Her father is Joe Brandi, who coached Pete Sampras.
USTA Circuit
In 2003, Brandi won the most titles of any woman on the "USTA Circuit".[citation needed] She took home trophies from six events. Brandi was a member of the 2003 Puerto Rican Fed Cup team where she captured the singles championship at the $75k event in Albuquerque, New Mexico, plus the $50k event in Troy, Alabama and the $25k event in Peachtree City, Georgia.[2]
2004 Olympics
Brandi represented Puerto Rico in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. She became the first tennis player representing Puerto Rico to win a singles match in an Olympic tournament when she beat Jelena Kostanić from Croatia (7–5, 6–1). She lost in the second round to Russian Anastasia Myskina.[3]
Later years
Kristina Brandi resides in Tampa, Florida and continued to be active on the WTA Tour for many years after the 2004 Olympic Games.
Brandi defended her ITF-Surbiton title, defeating Laura Granville from the U.S. Brandi's grass-court season for 2006 at the WTA Tour level included the main draw of the Birmingham tournament, as well as the qualifying tournament at Eastbourne, before heading to compete in the Wimbledon Championships main draw.
