to Ysaline Bonaventure. Getting through qualifying at the Sydney International, Hantuchová was supposed to face second seed Agnieszka Radwańska in the first round, but Radwańska withdrew due to a left leg injury. She got a bye into the second round, but fell to Australian Samantha Stosur. At the Australian Open, Hantuchová was defeated in the first round by twenty-third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova. At the Qatar Open, she lost in the first round of qualifying to Anastasija Sevastova. Having fallen out of the top 100 for the first time since March 2002, Hantuchová successfully made her way through qualifying at the French Open, defeating seventh seed Anna Tatishvili, Barbora Štefková and Jennifer Brady. She lost in the first round of the main draw to Mirjana Lučić-Baroni. 2017: Out of Grand Slam tournaments and retirement For the first time since 2000, Hantuchová had to play the qualifying round to enter the main draw at the Australian Open. She lost in the first round of qualifying to Natalia Vikhlyantseva. During the Fed Cup tie versus Italy, Hantuchová played one rubber and defeated Sara Errani. In the end, Slovakia beat Italy 3–2. Playing a $25,000 ITF tournament in Rancho Santa Fe, Hantuchová was defeated in the second round by Kayla Day. In Acapulco at the Mexican Open, Hantuchová lost in the second round to fourth seed Monica Puig. At Indian Wells, Hantuchová was defeated in the first round of qualifying by Mandy Minella. Seeded eighth for the ITF tournament in Santa Margherita di Pula ($25k), Hantuchová lost in the second round to Fiona Ferro. On 6 May, during the qualifying rounds of the Madrid Open, she announced on her Instagram account that she had suffered a stress fracture of her ninth rib. On 6 July 2017, at Wimbledon, Hantuchová announced her retirement from professional tennis. Playing style Hantuchová is right-handed but uses both hands when playing backhand shots. She can hit the ball hard with both her forehand and backhand but is best known as a player with natural timing and excellent technique. A "superb ball-striker", she plays a flowing style, hitting deep, accurate groundstrokes. Her double-handed backhand is a particularly potent weapon. She is often described as an "all-rounder". She has a strong, accurate serve and can play well when close to the net. She is famous for her long legs which are 43" (110 cm) long. Thanks to her height (5' 11"),