Petr Pála
Petr Pála (born 2 October 1975) is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. Together with Pavel Vízner he reached the men's doubles final of the 2001 French Open but lost to Indians Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes (6–7, 3–6).
|  Petr Pála after the 2016 Fed Cup final | |
| Country (sports) |  Czech Republic | 
|---|---|
| Residence | Prague, Czech Republic | 
| Born | 2 October 1975 Prague, Czechoslovakia | 
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | 
| Turned pro | 1993 | 
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) | 
| Prize money | $1,106,011 | 
| Singles | |
| Career record | 0–1 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup) | 
| Career titles | 0 0 Challenger, 0 Futures | 
| Highest ranking | 286 (24 June 1996) | 
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| US Open | Q1 (1996) | 
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 206–235 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup) | 
| Career titles | 7 9 Challenger, 1 Futures | 
| Highest ranking | 10 (6 August 2001) | 
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 3R (2002, 2004) | 
| French Open | F (2001) | 
| Wimbledon | QF (2001) | 
| US Open | 3R (2001) | 
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| Australian Open | QF (2002) | 
| French Open | SF (2001) | 
| Wimbledon | 2R (2000, 2002, 2003) | 
| US Open | 1R (2001) | 
| Coaching career (2008–present) | |
| Last updated on: 10 December 2021. | |
Pála was coached by his father František, who was a professional tennis player on the ATP tour.
Pála never had the opportunity to do his singles ability justice on the ATP Tour due to injury. When he recovered from these injuries he returned immediately to the doubles tour, but could not gain entry to official ATP matches.
Pála became the non-playing captain of the Czech Republic Fed Cup team in December 2007.[1] Since then, he has led the Fed Cup team to world titles in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018, becoming the most successful Fed Cup team captain of all time.[2]
Grand Slam finals
    
    Doubles: 1 runner-up
    
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 2001 | French Open | Clay |  Pavel Vízner |  Mahesh Bhupathi  Leander Paes | 6–7, 3–6 | 
Performance timelines
    
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH | 
Doubles
    
| Tournament | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | SR | W–L | Win% | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | 3R | 1R | 3R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 0 / 9 | 6–9 | 40% | ||||||||
| French Open | A | A | A | A | 2R | F | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 0 / 9 | 9–9 | 50% | ||||||||
| Wimbledon | 3R | A | A | A | 2R | QF | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 3R | 3R | 0 / 10 | 11–10 | 52% | ||||||||
| US Open | 1R | A | A | 1R | 1R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | A | 0 / 10 | 5–10 | 33% | ||||||||
| Win–loss | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–4 | 11–4 | 3–4 | 1–4 | 3–4 | 0–4 | 2–4 | 5–4 | 2–3 | 0 / 38 | 31–38 | 45% | ||||||||
| ATP World Tour Masters 1000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | A | 1R | A | 0 / 6 | 2–6 | 25% | ||||||||
| Miami | A | A | A | A | Q1 | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | 1R | A | 0 / 6 | 1–6 | 14% | ||||||||
| Monte Carlo | A | A | A | A | A | QF | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 3–2 | 60% | ||||||||
| Rome | A | A | A | A | A | SF | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 4–2 | 67% | ||||||||
| Madrid | Not Held | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | |||||||||||||
| Canada | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | 2R | A | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 1–2 | 33% | ||||||||
| Cincinnati | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | 0 / 3 | 1–3 | 25% | ||||||||
| Hamburg | Q1 | A | A | A | Q1 | SF | 1R | A | 1R | 1R | A | A | A | 0 / 4 | 3–4 | 43% | ||||||||
| Paris | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 0–2 | 0% | ||||||||
| Stuttgart | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | Not Masters Series | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | ||||||||||||||
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 10–9 | 2–7 | 0–2 | 3–6 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0 / 29 | 15–29 | 34% | ||||||||
Mixed doubles
    
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | SR | W–L | Win% | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | A | QF | A | A | 1R | A | 0 / 2 | 2–2 | 50% | ||||||||||||||
| French Open | A | SF | 1R | A | 1R | A | A | 0 / 3 | 3–3 | 50% | ||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | 2R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 0 / 7 | 3–7 | 30% | ||||||||||||||
| US Open | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0–1 | 0% | ||||||||||||||
| Win–loss | 1–1 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0 / 13 | 8–13 | 38% | ||||||||||||||
ATP career finals
    
    Doubles: 16 (7 titles, 9 runner-ups)
    
| 
 | 
 | 
 | 
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Aug 1999 | San Marino, San Marino | World Series | Clay |  Pavel Vizner |  Lucas Arnold Ker  Mariano Hood | 3–6, 2–6 | 
| Loss | 0–2 | Oct 2000 | Shanghai, China | World Series | Hard |  Pavel Vizner |  Paul Haarhuis  Sjeng Schalken | 2–6, 6–3, 4–6 | 
| Loss | 0–3 | Nov 2000 | Stockholm, Sweden | World Series | Hard |  Pavel Vizner |  Mark Knowles .svg.png.webp) Daniel Nestor | 3–6, 2–6 | 
| Loss | 0–4 | Feb 2001 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Championship Series | Hard |  Pavel Vizner |  Jonas Bjorkman  Roger Federer | 3–6, 0–6 | 
| Win | 1–4 | May 2001 | St Pölten, Austria | World Series | Clay |  David Rikl |  Jaime Oncins  Daniel Orsanic | 6–3, 5–7, 7–5 | 
| Loss | 1–5 | Jun 2001 | Paris, France | Grand Slam | Clay |  Pavel Vizner |  Mahesh Bhupathi  Leander Paes | 6–7(5–7), 3–6 | 
| Loss | 1–6 | May 2002 | Munich, Germany | World Series | Clay |  Pavel Vizner |  Radek Stepanek  Petr Luxa | 0–6, 7–6(7–4), [9–11] | 
| Win | 2–6 | May 2002 | St Pölten, Austria | World Series | Clay |  David Rikl |  Mike Bryan .svg.png.webp) Michael Hill | 7–5, 6–4 | 
| Loss | 2–7 | Aug 2002 | Long Island, United States | World Series | Hard |  Pavel Vizner |  Mahesh Bhupathi  Mike Bryan | 3–6, 4–6 | 
| Win | 3–7 | May 2004 | St Pölten, Austria | International Series | Clay |  Mariano Hood |  Tomáš Cibulec  Leoš Friedl | 3–6, 7–5, 6–4 | 
| Loss | 3–8 | Jun 2004 | Halle, Germany | International Series | Grass |  Tomáš Cibulec |  Leander Paes  David Rikl | 2–6, 5–7 | 
| Loss | 3–9 | Oct 2004 | Tokyo, Japan | Championship Series | Hard |  Jiri Novak |  Jared Palmer  Pavel Vizner | 1–5 ret. | 
| Win | 4–9 | Jul 2005 | Umag, Croatia | International Series | Clay |  Jiri Novak |  David Skoch  Michal Mertinak | 6–3, 6–3 | 
| Win | 5–9 | Jan 2006 | Chennai, India | International Series | Hard |  Michal Mertinak |  Prakash Amritraj  Rohan Bopanna | 6–2, 7–5 | 
| Win | 6–9 | Oct 2006 | Vienna, Austria | Championship Series | Hard |  Pavel Vizner |  Julian Knowle  Jurgen Melzer | 6–4, 3–6, [12–10] | 
| Win | 7–9 | Jul 2008 | Umag, Croatia | International Series | Clay |  Michal Mertinak |  Carlos Berlocq  Fabio Fognini | 2–6, 6–3, [10–5] | 
ATP Challenger and ITF Futures Finals
    
    Doubles: 20 (10–10)
    
| 
 | 
 | 
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Jul 1995 | Prague, Czech Republic | Challenger | Clay |  David Skoch | .svg.png.webp) Filip Dewulf  Vojtech Flegl | 7–6, 5–7, 2–6 | 
| Loss | 0–2 | Jun 1996 | Košice, Slovakia | Challenger | Clay |  Jan Kodes |  Olivier Delaitre  Jeff Tarango | 6–7, 3–6 | 
| Win | 1–2 | Jul 1996 | Bristol, United Kingdom | Challenger | Grass |  Andrew Richardson |  Lionel Barthez  Patrick Baur | 6–2, 6–4 | 
| Loss | 1–3 | Jul 1997 | Ulm, Germany | Challenger | Clay |  Petr Luxa | .svg.png.webp) Kris Goossens .svg.png.webp) Tom Vanhoudt | 3–6, 0–6 | 
| Win | 2–3 | Aug 1997 | Plzeň, Czech Republic | Challenger | Clay |  Borut Urh |  Radek Stepanek  Radomir Vasek | 2–4 ret. | 
| Win | 3–3 | Feb 1998 | Austria F3, Mondseeland | Futures | Carpet |  Borut Urh |  Ivaylo Traykov  Milen Velev | 6–4, 7–6 | 
| Loss | 3–4 | Jun 1998 | Příbram, Czech Republic | Challenger | Clay |  Radek Stepanek |  Ota Fukarek  Udo Plamberger | 6–2, 3–6, 4–6 | 
| Loss | 3–5 | Nov 1998 | Aachen, Germany | Challenger | Hard |  Tuomas Ketola |  Menno Oosting  Pavel Vizner | 6–7, 3–6 | 
| Loss | 3–6 | Jun 1999 | Prague, Czech Republic | Challenger | Clay |  Tomas Cibulec |  Michal Tabara  Radomir Vasek | 2–6, 0–6 | 
| Win | 4–6 | Oct 1999 | Eckental, Germany | Challenger | Carpet |  Pavel Vizner | .svg.png.webp) Steven Randjelovic  Lovro Zovko | 6–4, 6–3 | 
| Loss | 4–7 | Apr 2000 | Maia, Portugal | Challenger | Clay |  Pavel Vizner |  Tomas Cibulec  Leos Friedl | 3–6, 6–4, 4–6 | 
| Win | 5–7 | Aug 2000 | Poznan, Poland | Challenger | Clay |  Pavel Vizner |  Tomas Cibulec  Leos Friedl | 6–3, 6–0 | 
| Win | 6–7 | Nov 2000 | Charleroi, Belgium | Challenger | Carpet |  Pavel Vizner |  Aleksandar Kitinov  Lovro Zovko | 6–7, 7–5, 6–1 | 
| Loss | 6–8 | Jan 2003 | Heilbronn, Germany | Challenger | Carpet |  Pavel Vizner |  Johan Landsberg  Simon Aspelin | 4–6, 4–6 | 
| Loss | 6–9 | Feb 2003 | Wroclaw, Poland | Challenger | Hard |  Pavel Vizner |  Petr Luxa  David Skoch | 4–6, 4–6 | 
| Win | 7–9 | May 2004 | Ostrava, Czech Republic | Challenger | Clay |  Tuomas Ketola |  Lukasz Kubot  Tomas Zib | 6–4, 6–4 | 
| Loss | 7–10 | Nov 2004 | Aachen, Germany | Challenger | Carpet |  Petr Luxa |  Simon Aspelin .svg.png.webp) Todd Perry | 3–6, 3–6 | 
| Win | 8–10 | Mar 2006 | Sunrise, United States | Challenger | Hard |  Robin Vik |  Goran Dragicevic  Dmitry Tursunov | 6–4, 6–2 | 
| Win | 9–10 | May 2006 | Prague, Czech Republic | Challenger | Clay |  David Skoch |  Ramon Delgado  Sergio Roitman | 6–0, 6–0 | 
| Win | 10–10 | May 2008 | Prague, Czech Republic | Challenger | Clay |  Lukas Dlouhy |  Dusan Karol  Jaroslav Pospisil | 6–7(2–7), 6–4, [10–6] | 
References
    
- "Novým kapitánem fedcupového týmu bude Pála" (in Czech). idnes.cz. 27 December 2007. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
- Strength in Depth the Key for Five-Star Czech republic, WTA official website, 14 November 2016