Ana Ivanović was born in Belgrade on 6 November 1987 and started playing at five after watching Monica Seles on television. During the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 she trained in the mornings to avoid the air raids and, in winter, in an abandoned swimming pool. At 13 she moved to Basel, Switzerland, where her manager Dan Holzmann lived, for better facilities and coaching.
An aggressive baseliner, she built her game around a flat, powerful forehand; her backhand was considered the weaker side, and clay was her best surface. Her rise was quick. In 2007 she reached the French Open final, losing to Justine Henin in straight sets, and in January 2008 she reached the Australian Open final, losing a close match to Maria Sharapova.
Her moment came in Paris a few months later. She beat Dinara Safina in straight sets in the 2008 French Open final for her only major title, and on 9 June 2008 she became world No. 1. She held the ranking for 12 weeks in all. Over the years she worked with a series of coaches, among them Sven Groeneveld, Craig Kardon, Heinz Günthardt and Nigel Sears, with whom she worked in two spells.
In 2012 she helped Serbia reach its first Fed Cup final, against the Czech Republic. She lost her first rubber to Lucie Šafářová and beat Petra Kvitová in her second, but the Czechs won the tie.
Ivanović won 15 singles titles. Injury kept her out after a first-round loss at the 2016 US Open, and on 28 December 2016 she announced her retirement at 29. At the 2017 French Open she was honoured in a ceremony on Court Philippe Chatrier, and she has remained a lifetime ambassador for Adidas.