Isabella Shinikova

Isabella Shinikova (Изабелла Шиникова) (born 25 October 1991) is a Bulgarian tennis player.

On 20 February 2017, she reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 133. On 20 May 2019, she peaked at No. 159 in the WTA doubles rankings. She also plays for the Bulgaria Fed Cup team, with a win–loss record of 19–24 as of May 2024.

Junior career
Shinikova started playing tennis at the age seven. She played on the ITF Junior Circuit in 2006 and won two singles titles and one doubles title.

2009–15: Professional debut, success on the ITF Circuit
In 2009, Shinikova made her pro debut at a $25k event. Since then, she has been playing on the ITF Women's Circuit, and in 2015, she topped the annual leaderboard winning eight titles through the year.

2016–17: WTA Tour, major & top 150 debuts
In April 2016, Shinikova made her main-draw debut at a WTA Tour tournament at the Katowice Open, losing to Alizé Cornet in the first round. Then, she failed to qualify for the main draws of Stuttgart Open, Rosmalen Open and Birmingham Classic. In July 2016, Shinikova qualified for the main draw of the Bucharest Open, losing to Simona Halep, in the second round.

She made her major debut in 2016 in the qualifying draws of the Wimbledon and at the US Open, where seeded 31st, she lost to Laura Robson in the second round. In 2017, she made also her debut in the qualifying draw at the other two Grand Slam events. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 133 on 20 February 2017, following the Australian Open.

2019–22: Progress at Grand Slam tournaments
She reached second round at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, the third round of qualifying at the 2019 US Open, her best showing at a major thus far, and the second round of qualifying at the 2020 Australian Open.

2023: United Cup debut
On 23 November 2022, she was confirmed as a participant at the 2023 United Cup as part of the Bulgarian team.

She won her doubles match, partnering Alexander Lazarov, and the tie against Belgium represented by former doubles No. 1, Elise Mertens, and her partner David Goffin.

Fed Cup/Billie Jean King Cup
Shinikova debuted for the Bulgaria Fed Cup team in 2012. Since then, she has a 10–13 singles record and a 9–11 doubles record (19–24 overall).