Julie Pullin (born 5 November 1975), now Julie Hobbs, is a retired British tennis player who turned professional in 1993. She won eight singles titles and 25 doubles titles on the ITF circuit, many with compatriot Lorna Woodroffe. She is most well known for receiving nine wild cards over her career for the ladies' singles at Wimbledon, but failing to win a match.

Julie Pullin
Country (sports) United Kingdom
 England
ResidenceBrighton & Hove, Sussex
Born (1975-11-05) 5 November 1975 (age 48)
Cuckfield, Sussex
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Turned pro1993
Retired2003
PlaysLeft-handed
Prize money$421,976
Singles
Career record302–283
Career titles0 WTA, 8 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 125 (10 April 2000)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open2R (2000)
Wimbledon1R (1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003)
Doubles
Career record255–183
Career titles27 ITF
Highest ranking67 (2 February 1998)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open2R (1998)
French Open2R (2001)
Wimbledon2R (2000)
US Open1R (1997, 1998, 2000, 2001)

She reached her career-high WTA singles ranking of 125 in April 2000, after she achieved her best performance in a Grand Slam championship, qualifying and reaching the second round of the Australian Open for the first time.[1] Pullin had defeated Slovak 15th seed Martina Suchá in the first round of qualifying 6–4, 7–5, Gloria Pizzichini 6–4, 6–0 in the second and American Samantha Reeves in the final round 6–2, 7–6. She defeated another American, Jane Chi, 6–1, 6–3 in the first round proper, before narrowly losing to Chinese wild card Yi Jing-Qian, 3–6, 6–2, 7–9. It was the only tournament where Pullin won a main-draw Grand Slam match in singles.

She reached the second round of the Wimbledon ladies' doubles tournament once in 2000, with Woodroffe, beating Dawn Buth and Julie Scott 6–4, 6–1, before losing to the 14th seeded Anke Huber and Barbara Schett in the second round.

Julie Pullin announced her retirement in 2003, after playing her last professional singles match in the first round at Wimbledon, losing 1–6, 3–6 to Lina Krasnoroutskaya.

Personal life edit

Pullin was born in Cuckfield in Sussex to her father Alan and her tennis coach mother Andrea. She has two brothers, Roger and Keith, and a sister, Vicki. She was coached during her career by Leighton Alfred.

Her married name is now Hobbs, and under that name she is now the head coach at the Pavilion and Avenue Tennis Club in Brighton.[2]

WTA career finals edit

Doubles: 1 (0–1) edit

Legend
Grand Slam
Tier I
Tier II
Tier III
Tier IV & V
Result W-L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 May 1997 Cardiff, Great Britain Clay   Lorna Woodroffe   Kerry-Anne Guse
  Debbie Graham
3–6, 4–6

ITF finals edit

Singles: 18 (8–10) edit

$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Outcome No. Date Location Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. 23 March 1992 Harare, Zimbabwe Hard   Julia Muir 6–1, 6–1
Winner 2. 6 April 1992 Gaborone, Botswana Hard   Estelle Gevers 6–2, 2–6, 6–4
Runner-up 3. 5 July 1993 Frinton, Great Britain Grass   Lucie Ahl 1–6, 6–3, 1–6
Winner 4. 9 August 1993 College Park, United States Hard   Vickie Paynter 6–4, 3–6, 6–2
Runner-up 5. 27 September 1993 Bracknell, Great Britain Hard   Svetlana Parkhomenko 5–7, 2–6
Runner-up 6. 4 March 1996 Haifa, Israel Hard   Hila Rosen 4–6, 3–6
Runner-up 7. 4 May 1996 Hatfield, Great Britainm Clay   Jessica Steck 6–7(5–7), 6–7(3–7)
Runner-up 8. 8 July 1996 Easton, United States Hard   Stephanie Mabry 3–6, 3–6
Runner-up 9. 29 September 1996 Telford, Great Britain Hard (i)   Lucie Ahl 3–6, 7–6, 3–6
Winner 10. 27 April 1997 Bournemouth, Great Britain Clay   Joanne Ward 6–0, 6–3
Winner 11. 14 February 1998 Birmingham, Great Britain Hard (i)   Joanne Ward 6–1, 1–6, 6–3
Winner 12. 9 August 1998 Lexington, United States Hard   Abigail Tordoff 6–4, 6–4
Runner-up 13. 7 November 1999 Hull, Great Britain Hard (i)   Yvonne Doyle 4–6, 5–7
Runner-up 14. 20 February 2000 Redbridge, Great Britain Hard (i)   Elena Bovina 6–2, 0–6, 1–6
Runner-up 15. 30 October 2000 Hull, Great Britain Hard   Louise Latimer 2–4, 2–4, 1–4
Runner-up 16. 19 February 2001 Algarve, Portugal Hard   Ekaterina Kozhokina 4–6, 6–4, 3–6
Winner 17. 9 October 2001 Cardiff, Great Britain Carpet (i)   Eva Dyrberg 6–1, 6–7(1–7), 6–2
Winner 18. 5 May 2002 Gifu, Japan Hard   Shinobu Asagoe 4–6, 6–4, 6–3

Doubles: 46 (27–19) edit

Outcome No. Date Location Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 1. 10 February 1992 Swindon, Great Britain Carpet   Lorna Woodroffe   Jacqueline Geller
  Tina Samara
6–4, 6–4
Runner-up 2. 4 May 1992 Lee-on-the-Solent, Great Britain Clay   Lorna Woodroffe   Alison Smith
  Tamsin Wainwright
1–6, 4–6
Runner-up 3. 25 October 1993 Jakarta, Indonesia Hard   Robyn Mawdsley   Ei Iida
  Nana Smith
4–6, 5–7
Winner 4. 5 February 1996 Sunderland, Great Britain Hard   Lorna Woodroffe   Melissa Beadman
  Helen Laupa
6–4, 7–5
Runner-up 5. 18 February 1996 Sheffield, Great Britain Hard (i)   Lorna Woodroffe   Lucie Ahl
  Joanne Ward
6–7, 3–6
Winner 6. 4 March 1996 Haifa, Israel Hard   Kate Warne-Holland   Hila Rosen
  Shiri Burstein
6–2, 6–4
Runner-up 7. 22 April 1996 Edinburgh, Great Britain Clay   Lorna Woodroffe   Helen Crook
  Victoria Davies
2–6, 0–6
Winner 8. 29 September 1996 Telford, Great Britain Hard (i)   Lorna Woodroffe   Natalia Egorova
  Henriëtte van Aalderen
6–2, 7–6(7–4)
Winner 9. 6 October 1996 Nottingham, Great Britain Hard (i)   Lorna Woodroffe   Emily Bond
  Ekaterina Roubanova
6–2, 6–4
Winner 10. 28 October 1996 Edinburgh, Great Britain Hard   Lorna Woodroffe   Joelle Schad
  Syna Schmidle
6–3, 6–4
Winner 11. 16 February 1997 Birmingham, Great Britain Hard   Lorna Woodroffe   Shirli-Ann Siddall
  Amanda Wainwright
6–2, 6–4
Winner 12. 23 February 1997 Redbridge, Great Britain Hard (i)   Lorna Woodroffe   Kerry-Anne Guse
  Clare Wood
2–6, 6–4, 6–4
Runner-up 13. 7 April 1997 Hvar, Croatia Clay   Amanda Wainwright   Patrícia Marková
  Zuzana Váleková
6–7(3–7), 4–6
Runner-up 14. 27 April 1997 Bournemouth, Great Britain Clay   Lorna Woodroffe   Amanda Wainwright
  Shirli-Ann Siddall
3–6, 5–7
Winner 15. 14 July 1997 Clearwater, United States Hard (i)   Amanda Wainwright   Maureen Drake
  Lindsay Lee-Waters
6–4, 6–4
Runner-up 16. 27 July 1997 Peachtree City, United States Hard   Amanda Wainwright   Sonya Jeyaseelan
  Kaoru Shibata
4–6, 1–6
Winner 17. 19 October 1997 Southampton, Great Britain Carpet (i)   Lorna Woodroffe   Lenka Cenková
  Sandra Načuk
6–2, 6–1
Winner 18. 2 November 1997 Edinburgh, Great Britain Hard (i)   Lorna Woodroffe   Amanda Hopmans
  Seda Noorlander
6–3, 6–1
Winner 19. 26 July 1998 Peachtree City, United States Hard   Lorna Woodroffe   Vanessa Webb
  Keri Phebus
3–6, 6–2, 6–4
Runner-up 20. 2 August 1998 Winnipeg, Canada Hard   Renata Kolbovic   Vanessa Webb
  Keri Phebus
6–4, 4–6, 6–7
Winner 21. 23 August 1998 The Bronx, United States Hard   Lorna Woodroffe   Christína Papadáki
  Sarah Pitkowski-Malcor
6–3, 6–1
Winner 22. 5 June 1999 Surbiton, Great Britain Grass   Lorna Woodroffe   Rika Hiraki
  Linda Wild
w/o
Runner-up 23. 9 August 1999 Lexington, United States Hard   Kim Eun-ha   Alexandra Fusai
  Florencia Labat
4–6, 1–6
Winner 24. 18 October 1999 Southampton, Great Britain Carpet (i)   Lorna Woodroffe   Magda Mihalache
  Zuzana Váleková
6–3, 6–2
Winner 25. 7 November 1999 Hull, Great Britain Hard (i)   Lorna Woodroffe   Michaela Paštiková
  Jasmin Wöhr
6–4, 6–3
Runner-up 26. 20 February 2000 Redbridge, Great Britain Hard (i)   Lorna Woodroffe   Alexandra Fusai
  Tina Križan
6–7(4–7), 6–3, 6–7(1–7)
Runner-up 27. 21 February 2000 Bushey, Great Britain Carpet (i)   Lorna Woodroffe   Annabel Ellwood
  Nadejda Ostrovskaya
1–6, 1–6
Winner 28. 6 March 2000 Haikou, China Hard   Gréta Arn   Chae Kyung-yee
  Ryoko Takemura
7–5, 6–4
Winner 29. 22 October 2000 Cardiff, Great Britain Carpet (i)   Lorna Woodroffe   Giulia Casoni
  Laurence Courtois
0–6, 6–1, 6–3
Winner 30. 30 October 2000 Hull, Great Britain Hard (i)   Lorna Woodroffe   Mia Buric
  Syna Schmidle
4–1, 1–4, 4–1, 5–4(4)
Winner 31. 11 February 2001 Redbridge, Great Britain Hard (i)   Lorna Woodroffe   Irina Selyutina
  Tina Križan
6–1, 6–3
Runner-up 32. 19 February 2001 Algarve, Portugal Hard   Alice Barnes   Carine Bornu
  Aliénor Tricerri
3–6, 3–6
Winner 33. 25 March 2001 La Cañada, United States Hard   Lorna Woodroffe   Rika Hiraki
  Kim Eun-ha
6–2, 6–4
Runner-up 34. 6 May 2001 Gifu, Japan Hard   Lorna Woodroffe   Wynne Prakusya
  Kim Eun-ha
6–1, 4–6, 6–7(2–7)
Runner-up 35. 13 May 2001 Fukuoka, Japan Hard   Lorna Woodroffe   Rika Hiraki
  Nana Smith
0–6, 6–7(3–7)
Winner 36. 20 May 2001 Edinburgh, Great Britain Clay   Lorna Woodroffe   Helen Crook
  Victoria Davies
6–2, 6–1
Winner 37. 4 June 2001 Surbiton, Great Britain Grass   Lorna Woodroffe   Kim Grant
  Lilia Osterloh
7–6(7–3), 7–5
Winner 38. 15 July 2001 Felixstowe, Great Britain Grass   Trudi Musgrave   Natalie Grandin
  Kim Grant
7–5, 6–4
Runner-up 39. 29 July 2001 Pamplona, Spain Clay   Trudi Musgrave   Giulia Casoni
  Roberta Vinci
6–7(2–7), 4–6
Winner 40. 5 August 2001 Alghero, Italy Hard   Trudi Musgrave   Maret Ani
  Joana Cortez
6–4, 7–5
Runner-up 41. 16 September 2001 Peachtree City, United States Hard   Trudi Musgrave   Allison Bradshaw
  Jennifer Russell
6–7(1–7), 2–6
Runner-up 42. 19 March 2002 La Cañada, United States Hard   Lorna Woodroffe   Kim Grant
  Abigail Spears
6–4, 5–7, 1–6
Runner-up 43. 12 May 2002 Fukuoka, Japan Hard   Lorna Woodroffe   Shinobu Asagoe
  Cho Yoon-jeong
2–6, 4–6
Winner 44. 9 June 2002 Surbiton, Great Britain Grass   Lorna Woodroffe   Nannie de Villiers
  Irina Selyutina
6–2, 6–2
Runner-up 45. 8 October 2002 Cardiff, Great Britain Hard (i)   Mariana Díaz Oliva   Marion Bartoli
  Vanessa Webb
4–6, 2–6
Winner 46. 17 November 2002 Port Pirie, Australia Hard   Trudi Musgrave   Amanda Augustus
  Gabriela Lastra
7–6(7–1), 6–2

References edit

  1. ^ "Pullin flies British flag". London: BBC. 17 January 2000. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
  2. ^ "Tennis Coaching Team". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2015.

External links edit

Preceded by British Tennis number one
10 April 2000 – 16 April 2000
6 August 2001 – 17 March 2002
6 May 2002 – 22 September 2002
Succeeded by