Francesca Schiavone (; born 23 June 1980) is an Italian former professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1998 and won the 2010 French Open singles title, becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event in singles. She was also runner-up at the 2011 French Open. Her career-high ranking is world No. 4, achieved on 31 January 2011. To date, Schiavone is the last one-handed-backhand player to win a Grand Slam title on the women's tour. She won eight WTA singles titles in total, including Roland Garros. In doubles, her career-high ranking is world No. 8, peaking with an appearance in the final of the 2008 French Open. Furthermore, she helped Italy to win the Fed Cup in 2006, 2009 and 2010, and has the most wins for the Italian team. Schiavone played in the longest ever women's singles match at a Grand Slam tournament, when she defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–4, 1–6, 16–14 in the fourth round of the 2011 Australian Open women's singles draw, the match lasted 4 hours and 44 minutes and in the process secured her first and only quarterfinal at the Australian Open. On 5 September 2018, Schiavone announced her retirement from tennis at the US Open. During the announcement, she shared aspirations of winning a Grand Slam as a coach. In April 2021, Schiavone began coaching Petra Martić. Personal life Schiavone was born in Milan to Franco Schiavone, from Manocalzati in the Province of Avellino, Campania, Southern Italy, and to Luiscita Minelli, from Bornato in the Province of Brescia, Northern Italy. Playing style Schiavone employs an all-court game and has a very classic approach to her clay game. She uses an extreme eastern grip on her one-handed backhand. Chris Fowler and Brad Gilbert described her forehand as a "buggy whip." Endorsements Schiavone was endorsed by multiple companies throughout her professional career. From 2004, she was endorsed by Diadora for clothing and apparel, before switching to Lotto in 2007. She switched to Adidas in 2013; due to a series of poor results, she was dropped by the company, moving to Asics in 2014, remaining with Asics for the rest of her professional career. For racquets, Schiavone used Yonex racquets until 2006; in that year, she switched to Babolat, using the Pure Aero racquet until her retirement in 2018. Professional career Schiavone won eight singles titles on the WTA Tour and also achieved eleven