The 39 year old retired from tennis during the US Open in September 2018, announcing plans to take up coaching afterwards, although they have had to take a backseat over the past months whilst she has received treatment against the undisclosed cancer, including chemotherapy.
Turning professional in 1998, Schiavone won 8 WTA singles titles in her career, and a further 7 on the doubles court, reaching the final of the French Open in 2008. Schiavone has the distinction of having played in the longest ever womens singles match at a Grand Slam event. Her fourth round victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia in the 2011 Australian Open lasted for 4 hours and 44 minutes, and earned the Italian her first, and only, quarter final in Melbourne.
The high-water mark of her career came at Paris in 2017, although she entered the tournament as an outsider, and was seeded only 17 in the main draw. Despite that she fought her way past Caroline Wozniacki to reach the semi-final, where she overcame the odds to beat Elena Dementieva, although she was aided when the Russian was forced to retire injured in the second set.
In the final, she started as the underdog again against the Australian Samantha Stosur, but managed to turn the form book on its head to win in straight sets, making history for Italian tennis in the process. She also became the last player on the Womens Tour with a one-handed backhand to win a Grand Slam title.
The following year she came close to successfully defending her title, reaching the final yet again, only to go down to the Chinese player Li Na in the end.
Schiavone also played for distinction for Italy, helping them to win the Federation Cup three times in 2006, 2009, and 2010. No woman has more victories for the Italian team than her.