BIOGRAPHY AND OTHER FACTS
 

First name: Mª Luisa "Magüi" Last names: Serna Barrera Birthdate: 1st of March 1979 Birthplace: Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain) Residence: Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain) Height: 1'67 m (5'5 3/4") Weight: 65 kg (143 lb.) Left-handed Status: Professional since 1996 Trainer: Fernando García Lleó Phisycal Trainer: Joaquín Sánchez Trains: El Cortijo Club de Campo Club: Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899 Began playing tennis at five years of age Racket: Wilson Hyper Carbon Familia: Her mother, Concepción Barrera Godoy, is a housewife. Her father, Ulpiano Serna Ramírez, is a businessman. She has two older brothers, Ulpi and Raúl, and an older sister, Palmira.

Signature:

    This article, which appeared on the WTA Tour website during 1999 in the section Player Profile, speaks about the beginning of Magüi in tennis. Later Magüi came back to Las Palmas, where she lives currently.

    Don't be deceived by the shy grin and unassuming attitude of Magüi Serna, for inside lies the heart of a fighter. A scrappy player much in the style of countrywoman, Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario, Serna has had impressive results on all surfaces, with the red clay of Europe among her favorite. The list of victims on her tennis resume continues to grow with names like Steffi Graf, Jana Novotna, Mary Pierce and Patty Schnyder.

    Born in the Islas Canarias (Canary Islands), a territory of Spain which lies off the coast of Morocco, Serna has seen her family make numerous sacrifices to allow her to follow her dream of becoming a professional athlete.

    These concessions have resulted in an extremely tight knit family structure.

    At the age of 12, Magüi was offered coaching from Eric Van Harpen but at the time she did not want to leave her family. However, a year later, she made the decision to leave the comfort of home to train with Van Harpen in Switzerland. Her mother and sister went with her while her two older brothers moved to Madrid to study and her father remained in Gran Canaria. Within a year Van Harpen moved to Barcelona, Spain to work with Conchita Martínez. Magüi followed Van Harpen with her mother and sister in tow. Magüi has established herself in the seven years since leaving home.

    She is no longer coached by Van Harpen, and while her mother still travels with her to some events, Magüi is more independent now. She is currently enrolled in a university program in Barcelona. She is majoring in Sport Management. She is able to do the majority of her school work via correspondence and is on track to complete the four year program in two more years.

    She plans to take the final year of classes in English so as to obtain the equivalent degree from a university in England. Magüi has taken advantage of her sibling's business and law degrees to assist her in Sport Law, Marketing and Public Relations classes.

    Serna cherishes her now rare visits to the Islas Canarias. She finds her "celebrity" status at home to be a treat as those following the international tennis circuit still struggle to pronounce her name.

    For a time she was perhaps best known as the player who kept changing her name, eventually exchanging her given name of María Luisa for her nickname of Magüi, pronounced like the island in Hawaii.

    After last year's successful KB FED CUP campaign she is gaining more recognition in Spain, and the confidence which has seen her improve her ranking to a career high of No. 22 earlier this year.
Look for Magüi Serna to add to her already impressive results on the clay this Spring.
 

OTHER PERSONAL FACTS

Self-described as a little bit shy and happy.

Admires Pete Sampras' game.

Favourite color is blue.

Favourite movie is Jerry Maguire.

Favourite actors are Tom Cruise, Chris O'Donnell, Meg Ryan and Julia Roberts.

Favourite singers are Madonna and Jennifer López.

Other sports interests include basketball and football, and relaxes by swimming and playing golf.

Enjoys visiting Rome for its culture.

In 1998 she was chosen the best sportswoman of Las Palmas. She was the most voted with eight votes, followed by the basket player Rosi Sánchez (6), the tennis player Marta Marrero (2), the fencer Azahara Reguero (1) and the karateist Nelly Cubas (0)

The first time her father went to see a WTA tournament where Magüi was playing was in Hope Island 1999 ( he had been only a few days in Wimbledon 1998 )

She studies at the Superior School of Management and Administration of Sport Enterprises Johan Cruyff in Barcelona since 1998. The specialisation programme lasts four courses and includes subjects  such as Research in Sport Market, International Sport Marketing,  Fiscality in Sport Enterprises or Management Law, Audio-visual and Law applied to Mass Media.

Magüi owns a T-shirt that commemorates the centenary of the soccer team FC Barcelona. The Catalan team offered it on the occasion of its centenary to coaches and sportspeople. Magüi supports the team of her land, la Unión Deportiva Las Palmas, and also Real Madrid.
 

SOME FACTS OF HER CAREER

WTA TOUR singles titles:  3

WTA TOUR doubles titles:  2

ITF Women's Circuit singles titles:  6

WTA TOUR RANKING  (SEASON-ENDING, SINGLES)
 

High ranking for singles: 19 (January, 12 2004)

High ranking for doubles: 25 (July, 5-26 2004)

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS - SINGLES:

Winner (9):

2003 - Estoril (Portugal), Budapest (Hungary)
2002  - Estoril (Portugal)
1996 - ITF/Valladolid-ESP, ITF/Wahlscheid-GER,  ITF/Athens 3-GRE
1995 - ITF/Mallorca 4-ESP
1994 - ITF/Gaborone-BOT, ITF/Harare-ZIM

Finalist (3):

2002 - Porto (Portugal)
2001  - Porto (Portugal), Eastbourne

Semifinalist (2):

2000 - Knokke-Heist (Belgium)
1999 - Birmingham

Quarterfinalist (24):

2005- Pattaya City
2004- Gold Coast, Vienna
2003- Canberra, Paris, Warsaw, New Haven
2002- Madrid, Brussels, Sopot
2001- Scottsdale, Madrid, Palermo, Knokke-Heist
2000- Wimbledon
1999 - Gold Coast, Madrid, New Haven
1998 - Hilton Head, Madrid, Birmingham, Eastbourne, Du Maurier Open, Moscow

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS - DOUBLES

Winner (2):

2004 - Eastbourne, with Alicia Molik
2001 - Knokke-Heist, with Vivi Ruano

Finalist (4):

2003- Eastbourne, with Capriati; New Haven, with Alicia Molik
2002- Oporto, with Boogert
2000- Roma, with Arantxa Sánchez Vicario

Semifinalist (13):

2004- Paris, with Vento-Kabchi
2003- Paris, with Boogert; Estoril, with Boogert; Warsaw, with Boogert; Zürich, with Molik
2002- Australian Open, with Conchita Martínez; Brussels, with Vivi Ruano; Luxembourg, with Boogert
2001- Gold Coast, with Schnyder; Madrid, with Nicole Arendt; Basel, with Hantuchova; Moscow, with Montalvo
1999- Leipzig, with Nagyova

Won three challenger tournaments in four weeks in the summer of 1996; ranking shot up from No. 289 to 150.

In junior competition, reached the finals of the 1996 Wimbledon junior event; semifinalist at 1995 Roland Garros juniors and quarterfinalist in 1996.

Spanish Fed Cup team 1997-2000 and 2002-2003.

Member of the 2001 Sanex WTA TOUR Players' Committee.

Sanex WTA TOUR mentor is Mercedes Paz in the Partners for Success Alumni program.

A baseline player who prefers grass courts; has a strong serve

Has reached the fourth round of three Grand Slam tournaments on three different surfaces.

Reached first major-tour quarterfinal at first tournament of 1997, the Gold Coast; ousted fifth seed Ruxandra Dragomir in the first round and Annabel Ellwood in second round.

Outstanding results in her first year of playing Grand Slam tournaments, 1997: Upset 16th seed Kimberly Po to reach the fourth round of the 1997 U.S. Open, and reached the third round of the Australian, French and Wimbledon.

Ranked No. 52, earned her biggest win to date at 1998 Hilton Head, ousting world No. 3 Jana Novotna in the third round; also upset No. 13 Anke Huber in the first round.

Continued her surge on the clay surface in 1998 with a win over world No. 28 Brenda Schultz-McCarthy in the first round of the German Open, and later reached the quarterfinals of in Madrid.

Capped off a successful clay court season in 1998 by reaching the fourth round at Roland Garros, including a second-round upset of 11th seed Mary Pierce 7-5, 6-2 after trailing 1-5 in the first set. Enjoyed a strong 1998 grass court season, as well, reaching the quarterfinals at Eastbourne and the fourth round of Wimbledon; ranking jumped to a then-career high No. 25.

Recorded the 17th-fastest serve on the Tour in 1998 with a 108 mile per hour (173.8 Km/h) serve at  Wimbledon; in 1997, tied for the 12th-fastest recorded serve on the tour with a 108 mph serve at the U.S. Open. Through 1998 Wimbledon, reached the fourth round at three of the past four Grand Slam tournaments.

Defeated Steffi Graf in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals of the 1998 Canadian Open, then stretched world No. 3 Jana Novotna to three sets before losing  Recorded second win over a Top 10 player in 1998 in Moscow, ousting ninth-ranked Patty Schnyder to reach the quarterfinals.

Won both her singles matches and a doubles match to lead Spain to a 3-2 win over Germany in the first round of 1998 Fed Cup.

Reached the quarterfinals at 1999 New Haven as a qualifier; as a qualifier into 1999 Zurich, defeated world No. 22 Ruxandra Dragomir in the first round.

Reached her career first semifinal at 1999 Birmingham, a grass court event, before falling to top seed Nathalie Tauziat in three sets; continued the grass court success she enjoyed in 1998 and says she prefers grass, which is odd for a Spanish player who grew up playing on clay.

Reached career first doubles final at the Italian Open 2000, a Tier I event, with partner Arantxa Sánchez Vicario.

Reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career at Wimbledon 2000, upsetting third seed Mary Pierce for the second time in a Grand Slam (first at 1998 Roland Garros) and strong grass court veteran Miriam Oremans en route; win over third-ranked Mary Pierce in the second round marked the earliest exit at Wimbledon of a reigning Roland Garros champion and equaled her career-best win; ranking vaulted from number 49 to 30.

Reached her second semifinals in a WTA Tournament in Knokke-Heist 2000 (Belgium), losing to the seed number one, the Belgian Van Roost.

Continued strong Grand Slam play in 2000 at the US Open, upsetting 13th seed (and 12th-ranked) Amanda Coetzer to reach the fourth round and celebrated by running through the Unisphere fountain.

Took part in the Olympic Games for the first time in Sydney 2000. Four years later she took part in Athens 2004.

At Scottsdale 2001, upset sixth seed Henin in the first round and then staged a comeback to defeat Brandi to reach the quarterfinals on her 22nd birthday. Continued her strong hard-court play at Miami, upsetting 21st-ranked Frazier to reach the fourth round, her career-best showing at the tournament.

Reached her first singles final in a WTA tournament in Porto 2001, losing to the first-seeded Arantxa Sánchez Vicario.

Continued her strong play at Eastbourne 2001, a grass-court event, reaching her second final of the year and of her career with upsets of Frazier, 14th-ranked Maleeva and No. 19 Shaughnessy before falling to world No. 3 Davenport.

Won her first WTA title in doubles in Knokke-Heist 2001, together with the Spaniard Vivi Ruano.

Reached her first semifinal in a Grand Slam at the Australian Open 2002 in doubles, together with the Spaniard Conchita Martínez.

Singles runner-up for second straight year at Porto 2002, falling in the final to countryman Ángeles Montolio; also doubles runner-up. A week later in Estoril captured her first singles title on the WTA Tour.

Clinched Spain's Fed Cup victory over Hungary in 1r in 2002 with a win over Kuti Kis. In Spain's Fed Cup final loss to Slovakia, replaced injured Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in opening day singles rubber, losing to Hantuchova by 6-2 and 6-1.

Excellent month of April 2003 for Magüi, winning two titles in a row in Estoril (against Schruff) and Budapest (against Molik) (in both tournaments she was the seed number 2), getting her two points helping Spain Spanish Fed Cup team defeat Australia in the first-round Fed Cup tie, without losing any singles match during the whole month of April, getting a personal record of 14 wins in a row.

Magüi gets her best end of season ranking at the end of the season 2003, going from the place 50 with which she ended the previous year, to the place number 22.

Magüi becomes the third Spanish tennis player to reach the top 20 in then ranking after appearing as number 19 in the rankings on 12 January 2004.