Jana Čepelová (; born 29 May 1993) is a Slovak former professional tennis player.

Čepelová won seven singles and three doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. On 12 May 2014, she reached her best singles ranking of world No. 50. On 18 May 2015, she peaked at No. 158 in the doubles rankings.

Her best result at a major event was the third round of the 2012 and 2016 Wimbledon Championships. As a junior, she won the girls' doubles at the 2010 Australian Open with Chantal Škamlová.

Following the birth of the daughter in 2020, Čepelová took a break from her tennis career. In 2023, she made a "quick comeback, just to say good bye and play the final Grand Slam tournaments".

Personal life Čepelová was born in Košice to Peter and Jarmila and was coached by Martin Zathurecký.

Career Junior career Jana Čepelová and Chantal Škamlová won the girls' doubles at 2010 Australian Open. They also won silver medals in doubles at 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. At the same event, Čepelová won the bronze medal in singles.

2012: Coming onto the WTA Tour Čepelová spent most of her 2012-year on the ITF Circuit. Her best achievement on the WTA Tour was at the Wimbledon Championships. She qualified for the main draw by defeating Alla Kudryavtseva, Chanel Simmonds and Ekaterina Bychkova. In round one, she beat fellow qualifier Kristina Mladenovic in three sets. In the second round, she upset 26th seed Anabel Medina Garrigues before she lost to world No. 2, Victoria Azarenka.

2014: First WTA Tour final At the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, Čepelová scored the biggest win of her career, defeating world No. 1 Serena Williams in the second round. Čepelová would go on to reach her first WTA tournament final with victories over Elena Vesnina, Daniela Hantuchová, and Belinda Bencic. Her run ended there as she lost to Andrea Petkovic.

2015

Čepelová started the year at the Auckland Open. She lost in the first round to third seed, last year finalist, and eventual champion Venus Williams. At the Hobart International, Čepelová was defeated in the first round by Annika Beck.

Playing at the Indian Wells Open, Čepelová lost in the first round to qualifier Lucie Hradecká. At Miami, she was defeated in the first round by Julia Görges. Seeded second at The Oaks Club Challenger in Florida, Čepelová fell in the first round to Laura Siegemund.

Last year finalist at the Family Circle Cup, Čepelová lost in the second round to fourth seed Sara Errani. At the Prague Open, she was defeated in the first round by Elena Vesnina. Competing at the Slovak Open, Čepelová lost in the first round to Tereza Smitková. Seeded eighth at the Open Saint-Gaudens, she reached the final where she was defeated by María Teresa Torró Flor. At the French Open, Čepelová lost in the second round of qualifying to Kateryna Bondarenko. At the Open Féminin de Marseille, she was defeated in the second round by sixth seed Denisa Allertová.

At the Nottingham Open, Čepelová's first grass-court tournament of the season, she lost in the first round of qualifying to Donna Vekić. At the Birmingham Classic, she was defeated in the first round of qualifying by Mariana Duque Mariño. Coming into Wimbledon ranked 106 in the world, Čepelová upset third seed Simona Halep in the first round. She lost in the second round to Monica Niculescu.

2016 At Wimbledon in 2016, Čepelová defeated Garbiñe Muguruza in the second round, her third top-three win, before losing to Lucie Šafářová in an epic three-set match.

2020 Beginning the season at the Australian Open, Čepelová withdrew from her first round of qualifying match against Kurumi Nara.

At the Qatar Ladies Open, she lost in the final round of qualifying to Jil Teichmann. Playing at the first edition of the Lyon Open, Čepelová was defeated in the first round of qualifying by Margot Yerolymos.

2023: Comeback and retirement In June 2023, Čepelová announced her retirement from professional tour, with her last tournament being the 2023 US Open.

Grand Slam performance timeline

Singles Tournament2012201320142015201620172018201920202021SRW–L!Win % Australian OpenQ12R1RAQ21R1RQ1Q1A0 / 41–4 French OpenQ12R1RQ2Q21RAAQ1A0 / 31–3 Wimbledon3R2R1R2R3R1RQ1Q3NHA0 / 66–6 US OpenQ31R2RQ2Q31RA1RAA0 / 41–4Win–loss2–13–41–41–12–10–40–10–10–00–00 / 179–17WTA 1000Dubai / Qatar OpenAA3RA1RAAAQ2A0 / 22–2Indian Wells OpenAQ11R1RQ2AQ2ANH0 / 20–2Miami OpenA1R2R1R1R3RQ2ANHA0 / 52–5Madrid OpenAAQ2AAAAANHA0 / 00–0Italian OpenAAQ1AAQ1AAAA0 / 00–0Canadian Open2R1RAAAQ1AQ1NH0 / 21–2Cincinnati OpenQ11RAQ2AAAAA0 / 10–1China OpenAAAAQ1AAANH0 / 00–0Win–loss1–10–32–30–20–22–10–00–00–00–00 / 125–12

Notes

WTA Tour finals Singles: 1 (runner–up) LegendGrand Slam tournamentsPremier M & Premier 5Premier (0–1)InternationalFinals by surfaceHard (0–0)Clay (0–1)Grass (0–0)Carpet (0–0) ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 0–1 Charleston Open, United StatesPremier Clay (green) Andrea Petkovic 5–7, 2–6

ITF Circuit finals Singles: 13 (7 titles, 6 runner–ups) Legend$100,000 tournaments (1–1)$75,000 tournaments (1–0)$50,000 tournaments (0–1)$25,000 tournaments (3–2)$10,000 tournaments (2–2)Finals by surfaceHard (3–4)Clay (4–2) ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 0–1 Feb 2010ITF Eilat, Israel10,000 Hard Janina Toljan 1–6, 2–6Loss 0–2 Oct 2010ITF Monastir, Tunisia10,000 Hard Martina Borecká 5–7, 1–6Win 1–2 Oct 2010ITF Monastir, Tunisia10,000 Hard Diāna Marcinkēviča 6–2, 6–2Win 2–2 Jan 2011ITF Stuttgart, Germany10,000 Hard (i) Nina Zander 6–4, 6–4Win 3–2 Jue 2011ITF Kristinehamn, Sweden25,000 Clay Alexandra Cadanțu 6–4, 3–6, 6–4Loss 3–3 Jun 2011ITF Ystad, Sweden25,000 Clay Dia Evtimova 3–6, 4–6Win 4–3 Aug 2011ITF Prague-Neride, Czech Republic25,000 Clay Bibiane Schoofs 7–6(6), 6–4Loss 4–4 Nov 2011ITF Helsinki, Finland25,000 Hard (i) Tímea Babos 3–6, 1–6Win 5–4 Nov 2013Dubai Tennis Challenge, UAE75,000 Hard Maria Elena Camerin 6–1, 6–2Loss 5–5 May 2015Open Saint-Gaudens, France50,000 Clay María Teresa Torró Flor 1–6, 0–6Win 6–5 Jul 2017Budapest Ladies Open, Hungary100,000 Clay Danka Kovinić 6–4, 6–3Loss 6–6 Oct 2018Suzhou Ladies Open, China100,000 Hard Zheng Saisai 5–7, 1–6Win 7–6 Sep 2020ITF Prague, Czech Republic25,000 Clay Renata Zarazúa 6–4, 7–6(4)

Doubles: 8 (3 titles, 5 runner–ups) Legend$100,000 tournaments (0–1)$75,000 tournaments (0–1)$50,000 tournaments (0–1)$25,000 tournaments (3–1)$10,000 tournaments (0–1)Finals by surfaceHard (1–1)Clay (2–4) ResultW–LDateTournamentTierSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 0–1 Jan 2011ITF Stuttgart, Germany10,000 Hard (i) Michaela Pochabová Daniëlle Harmsen Marina Melnikova 6–3, 4–6, [12–14]Loss 0–2 Aug 2011Empire Slovak Open, Slovakia50,000 Clay Lenka Wienerová Janette Husárová Renata Voráčová 6–7(2), 1–6Loss 0–3 Aug 2011ITF Prague-Neride, Czech Republic25,000 Clay Katarzyna Piter Iveta Gerlová Lucie Kriegsmannová 7–6(8), 1–6, [8–10]Win 1–3 Oct 2011ITF Sant Cugat del Vallès, Spain25,000 Clay Katarzyna Piter Leticia Costas Inés Ferrer Suárez 6–3, 2–6, [10–6]Win 2–3 Feb 2012ITF Rabat, Morocco25,000 Clay Réka Luca Jani Anastasia Grymalska Ilona Kremen 6–7(4), 6–1, [10–4]Win 3–3 Mar 2012ITF Poza Rica, Mexico25,000 Hard Lenka Wienerová Maria Elena Camerin Mariya Koryttseva 7–5, 2–6, [10–3]Loss 3–4 May 2013Empire Slovak Open, Slovakia75,000 Clay Anna Karolína Schmiedlová Mervana Jugić-Salkić Renata Voráčová 1–6, 1–6Loss 3–5 May 2016Open de Marseille, France100,000 Clay Lourdes Domínguez Lino Hsieh Su-wei Nicole Melichar 6–1, 3–6, [3–10]

Junior Grand Slam tournament finals Girls' doubles: 1 (title) ResultYearTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 2010 Australian Open Hard Chantal Škamlová Tímea Babos Gabriela Dabrowski 7–6(1), 6–2

Head-to-head record No. 1 wins # Player Event Surface Rd Score Result 1. Serena Williams 2014 Family Circle Cup, United States Clay 2R 6–4, 6–4 Final

Top 10 wins #PlayerRankEventSurfaceRdScore20141. Serena WilliamsNo. 1Family Circle Cup, United StatesClay2R6–4, 6–420152. Simona HalepNo. 3Wimbledon, United KingdomGrass1R5–7, 6–4, 6–320163. Garbiñe MuguruzaNo. 2Wimbledon, United KingdomGrass2R6–3, 6–2

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