Svetlana Kuznetsova
Encyclopedia
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA
singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam
finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles finals, winning once. She has qualified five times for the round-robin
stage of the WTA Tour Championships
but has never qualified for the semifinals.
Her first Grand Slam
title came at the 2004 US Open, making her the third Russian woman to win a Grand Slam title, after Anastasia Myskina
and Maria Sharapova
who won at the 2004 French Open and 2004 Wimbledon tournaments respectively. Kuznetzova's second Grand Slam title was the 2009 French Open
, defeating Serena Williams
in the quarterfinal, Samantha Stosur
in the semifinal, and compatriot Dinara Safina
in the final in straight sets. At the 2006 French Open
and the 2007 US Open
singles tournament she was the runner-up, both times to Belgian
player Justine Henin. As a result, Kuznetsova obtained her new WTA ranking of No. 2, her best to that date. Kuznetsova has won a total of 13 WTA and 1 ITF
singles titles and 14 WTA doubles titles to date and US$15,935,608 in prize money, making her the second top Russian earner on court and number 11 of all female tennis players to date and No. 5 of active players, after only Serena Williams
, Venus Williams
, Kim Clijsters
, and Maria Sharapova
respectively.
, was a silver medalist at the 1996 Summer Olympics
in Atlanta and coach of the Russian cycling team Lokomotiv. Svetlana Kuznetsova began to play tennis at the age of 7 and moved to Spain 6 years later for better training and coaching. While there she became fluent in Spanish.
on January 31. In the first round she defeated Katia Altilia from Italy in two straight sets, 6–0, 6–4. However, she lost in the quarter final to Oana–Elena Golimbioschi, 7–5, 6–1. Her next appearance was in Talence
in April. She defeated Aurore Desertin in the first round, but lost in the second round to Berengere Karpenschif, both from France. In Minsk
, Belarus, in a tournament using the short sets scoring system, she reached the quarter final, after defeating the unranked Vera Zvonareva
in the first round in four sets, 5–3, 4–2, 4–5(4), 4–2, and Daria Panova in three sets, 5–3, 4–2, 4–1 in the second round. In the quarter final she lost to 574th ranked Elena Voropaeva in four sets, 5–4(5), 5–4(4), 4–2, after losing two tie break
s in the two earlier sets. However, Kuznetsova was ranked in the top 900, receiving her first ranking below 889. She moved to Mallorca again and joined the Mallorca 3 tournament. Kuznetsova lost in the first round to Dinara Safina
after winning the first set, 4–5(0), 4–1, 4–1, 4–0. Subsequently, she moved down to 891. Her last tournament this year was again in Mallorca, but now played in a minimum of four sets. In the Round of 32 she defeated Silvia Disderi, 4–2, 4–1, 3–5, 3–5, 4–2. However, she fell to 8th seeded Mihaela Moldovan in the last round, 4–2, 0–4, 5–4(5), 4–2. She ended the season ranked 889.
in May of that year and at the Waikoloa Championships
in Waikoloa, Hawaii, losing in the second round on both occasions. She finished the year 2001 ranked 259.
Kuznetsova made her debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam at the 2002 Australian Open
, where, as a qualifier, she reached the second round before losing to 16th seed Iroda Tulyaganova
. However, she
lost in the qualifying rounds of both the French Open
and Wimbledon.
As a qualifier at the clay-court Nordea Nordic Light Open
in Helsinki, Finland in August, Kuznetsova won her first WTA singles title, defeating World No. 24 Patty Schnyder
in the quarterfinals for her first win over a top 40 player, before defeating Denisa Chládková
in the final. Kuznetsova entered the top 100 for the first time as a result of that victory. Kuznetsova qualified for the US Open, defeating 19th seed Anne Kremer
in the first round for her first win over a top 20 player, before losing in the third round to 13th seed Silvia Farina Elia
. In September, Kuznetsova won her second title at the hard court Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic in Bali
, Indonesia, defeating former Grand Slam champions Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
and Conchita Martínez
. Also during 2002, she teamed up with Sánchez Vicario to win the first WTA doubles titles of her career, in Sopot
, Poland, Helsinki and Kōtō
, Japan. Kuznetsova finished the season as World No. 43 in singles.
. She received a wild card
, but fell in the first round in the singles to Elena Bovina
, 7–5, 6–4. At the doubles competition she paired with Martina Navratilova, with whom she would later play throughout the year (except on the Pacific Life Open, partnered with Slovak Janette Husárová
), and won against Nathalie Dechy
and Emilie Loit
in straight sets, 6–4, 6–4. In the Australian Open
she lost to second seed Venus Williams
in the first round, 4–6, 2–6. With Navratilova, they lost against 9th seed Daniela Hantuchová
/Chanda Rubin
in the 3rd Round, 4–6, 6–3, 5–7. In the singles event of the Dubai Tennis Championships
in February, Kuznetsova managed the first round against 6th seeded Francesca Schiavone
, but was beaten by Dinara Safina
in the second round, 6–4, 6–3, and in the doubles event the first round before being beaten by runner-ups María Vento-Kabchi
and Angelique Widjaja
. She did not reach the quarterfinals of any tournaments during the first half of the year. Kuznetsova's win over World No. 11 Anastasia Myskina
in the second round of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California
was her first over a top-10 player this year.
In the first round of the French Open
, Kuznetsova lost to Meghann Shaughnessy
3–6, 7–5, 11–9. Kuznetsova's came at Wimbledon
, where in the fourth round, she defeated Maria Sharapova
to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, losing to third seed Justine Henin. At the doubles, they were defeated by Kim Clijsters
and partner Ai Sugiyama
. She then made her first semifinal of the year at the Acura Classic in San Diego before losing to Henin. At the US Open singles tournament, Kuznetsova lost in the third round to top seed Kim Clijsters
. However, at the doubles competition she again partnered with Navratilova, but was beaten by Paola Suárez
and Virginia Ruano Pascual
in the final, 6–2 6–3. She joined the Sparkassen Cup
, losing to 5th seeded Daniela Hantuchová in the first round. Kuznetsova won the doubles title against Elena Likhovtseva
and Nadia Petrova
, 3–6 6–1 6–3. In the doubles competition at the Ladies Kremlin Cup
they reached the semifinals before losing to Russian couple and runner-ups Anastasia Myskina and Vera Zvonareva
, 6–7(8) 6–2 6–4. Her last appearance this year was at the Tour Championships
. In the first round they lost to champions Virginia Ruano Pascual
and Paola Suárez
, 6–4 6–4. She finished the season as World No. 36.
before losing to top seed Justine Henin. She reached her second Grand Slam doubles final with new partner Elena Likhovtseva
before losing to Virginia Ruano Pascual
and Paola Suárez
. Several weeks later, playing singles at Dubai
, Kuznetsova defeated former World No. 1 Venus Williams 6–2, 6–3 in the quarterfinals before defeating World No. 8 Ai Sugiyama
in the semifinals for her first win over a top 10 player. Kuznetsova lost to World No. 1 Henin. The following week, Kuznetsova defeated Henin for the first time in the semifinals of the Qatar Total Open
in Doha
, Qatar, before losing in the final to Myskina in three sets, pushing her into the top 20 for the first time. In April, Kuznetsova reached her third singles final of the year at the start of the clay-court season at the J&S Cup
in Warsaw
, losing there to Venus Williams in the final. Kuznetsova had climbed to No. 11 by the time of the French Open
. There, she reached the fourth round before losing to champion Myskina 1–6, 6–4, 8–6, after holding a match point in the third. In doubles Kuznetsova and Likhovtseva reached the final, losing to Suarez and Ruano Pascual. Following the French Open, Kuznetsova climbed to career-highs of World No. 9 in the singles rankings, her first time in the top ten, and World No. 3 in the doubles rankings. Kuznetsova won her third title at the Hastings Direct International Championships
in Eastbourne
, defeating Hantuchová in the final. At Wimbledon itself, Kuznetsova suffered a first-round loss to 118–ranked Virginie Razzano
.
Representing Russia at the Olympics
in August, Kuznetsova reached the quarterfinals before losing to silver-medallist Amélie Mauresmo
. She went into the US Open
seeded ninth. There, she defeated 14th seed Petrova in the quarterfinals, and in her first Grand Slam semifinal, defeated fifth seed and former champion Davenport 1–6, 6–4, 6–2, ending the American's 22-match winning streak. In the final, Kuznetsova defeated sixth seed Dementieva 6–3, 7–5. Kuznetsova was the first female Russian to win the US Open and the third to win any Grand Slam singles title, following the successes of Myskina and Maria Sharapova
earlier in the year. Meanwhile, Kuznetsova teamed with Likhovtseva to reach the final of the doubles tournament before losing there to Suarez and Ruano Pascual, marking Kuznetsova's fourth consecutive defeat to the pair in Grand Slams.
Kuznetsova continued her success by winning the Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic in Bali
, Indonesia defeating Marlene Weingärtner
in the final. This increased her ranking to a new high of World No. 5. The following week, at the China Open
in Beijing, Kuznetsova defeated Wimbledon champion Sharapova in the semifinals 6–2, 6–2 to extend her winning streak to 14 matches. However, she lost in the final to Serena Williams. Making her debut at the season-ending WTA Championships in Los Angeles, Kuznetsova lost two of three matches in the preliminary round-robin stage and exited before the semifinals. Kuznetsova finished the season as World No. 5.
, losing to fourth seed Sharapova in three. Kuznetsova teamed with Molik to win her first Grand Slam doubles title, defeating Davenport and Corina Morariu
. In the first round she received a bye at the Toray Pan Pacific Open
, but she was defeated by runner-up Lindsay Davenport in the semfinal, 6–1 7–6(2). Kuznetsova did not reach any finals during the spring hard-court season, with defeats including one to World No. 97 Sania Mirza
in the first round at Dubai
. She received a bye at the Pacific Life Open
and reached the quarterfinal. There, she lost to Elena Dementieva, 3–6 6–3 7–5. She joined the next event, the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami, and succeeded to the 4th Round after receiving a bye in the 1st Round. However, there she was defeated by Ana Ivanović, 6–3, 3–6, 7–5.
She made her first final of the year at the J&S Cup
in Warsaw, defeating former World No. 1 Clijsters in the semis. In the final, Kuznetsova lost to Henin. At the French Open
, Kuznetsova lost again to champion Henin in the fourth round 7–6(6), 4–6, 7–5, having saved a match point in the third set. Kuznetsova reached the quarterfinals of for her second time before losing to top seed Davenport. However, she teamed up with Mauresmo to reach her sixth Grand Slam doubles final, losing there to Cara Black
and Liezel Huber
.
At the US Open, she lost to World No. 97 Ekaterina Bychkova
in the first round, becoming the first female defending US Open champion to lose in the first round. This defeat dropped her out of the top ten. She defeated Zvonareva in the quarterfinal of the Kremlin Cup
but was beaten by Francesca Schiavone
in the semifinal, 6–3, 6–1. At the $1,300,000 Zurich Open
Kuznetsova lost in the first round to the unseeded Nathalie Dechy
, 6–4 4–6 7–6(3). She finished the year ranked World No. 18.
and reached the fourth round before losing there to top seed Davenport. Several weeks later, Kuznetsova rebounded at Dubai
, defeating World No. 2 Mauresmo in the quarterfinals for her first win over a top ten player since 2004. She then lost to Henin in the semifinals. In March, Kuznetsova defeated former World No. 1 Martina Hingis
in the third round of the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami, before going on to defeat World No. 1 Mauresmo 6–1, 6–4 in the semifinals. In the final, she defeated Sharapova to win the first Tier I title of her career and her first singles title of any kind in 18 months. This win returned her to the top ten.
Kuznetsova reached her second final of the year at the clay-court J&S Cup
in Warsaw
, defeating Williams en route. In the final, she lost to World No. 2 Clijsters, marking third consecutive runner-up finish. At the French Open
, Kuznetsova reached the quarterfinals for the first time, where she defeated 14th seed Safina. In the semifinals, she defeated 17 year old Czech Nicole Vaidišová
5–7, 7–6 (5), 6–2 after saving a match point. In her second Grand Slam final, Kuznetsova lost to Henin 6–4, 6–4. Kuznetsova reached only the third round at Wimbledon
, losing to 27th seed Li Na
, 3–6 6–2 6–3.
At the US Open Kuznetsova lost in the fourth round to 19th seed Jelena Janković
, 6–7(5) 6–3 6–2. In September, Kuznetsova won her second title of the year at the $225,000 donated tournament Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic in Bali
, defeating Davenport in the semifinals and Marion Bartoli
in the final. The following week, she won the China Open
in Beijing, after defeating World No. 1 Mauresmo 6–4, 6–0 in the final. This marked the first time Kuznetsova had won back-to-back tournaments.
Competing at the season-ending WTA Championships
for the second time in Madrid
, Kuznetsova again failed to advance past the preliminary round-robin stage, winning just one of three matches. She finished the season as World No. 4.
to 16th seed Pe'er. She rebounded to reach her first final of the year in February at the Qatar Total Open
in Doha
Qatar
, losing there to Henin in two sets, 6–4, 7–5. She then made the final of the Tier I Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells, but then lost to Hantuchová. Reaching the final improved her ranking to third, a career high.
Kuznetsova continued on form during the clay-courts season. At the J&S Cup
in Warsaw, she defeated V. Williams for the first time in her career in the quarterfinals before losing to Alona Bondarenko in the semifinals. She made the final of another Tier I tournament, at the Qatar Telecom German Open
in Berlin, after defeating World No. 1 Henin for only the second time in the semifinals. In the final, Kuznetsova lost to Ana Ivanović
. The following week, Kuznetsova reached the final of the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, losing there to Janković. As the third seed at the French Open
, Kuznetsova advanced to the quarterfinals without dropping a set but lost there to runner-up Ivanović 6–0, 3–6, 6–1. Kuznetsova reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon
for the third time in July, but lost there to champion Venus Williams 6–3, 6–4.
In August, Kuznetsova won her first title of the year at the Pilot Pen Tennis
tournament in New Haven, after three of her opponents retired due to injury or illness, including her finals opponent Ágnes Szávay
. At the US Open, Kuznetsova defeated sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze
in the semifinals to advance to her third Grand Slam final. She lost to Henin 6–1, 6–3. As a result of this run, Kuznetsova reached World No. 2.
At the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
in Stuttgart
, Germany, Kuznetsova recorded her first career win over Serena Williams before losing in the semifinals to Tatiana Golovin
. The following week, she lost to Serena Williams in the semifinals of the Kremlin Cup
. Kuznetsova completed the year by competing at the year-ending Championships in Madrid, but once again failed to progress beyond the preliminary round-robin stage, losing all three matches. She finished the season as World No. 2 and as the highest-ranked Russian player for the first time.
in Sydney, losing there to World No. 1 Henin in the final set. At the Australian Open
, Kuznetsova was seeded second, but fell in the third round to 29th seed Agnieszka Radwańska
. Kuznetsova made her second final of the season in Dubai
, defeating former World No. 1 Mauresmo in the quarterfinals and World No. 4 Janković in the semifinals. However, in the final, Kuznetsova lost to Elena Dementieva
. At the Tier I Pacific Life Open in March, Kuznetsova defeated Radwańska in the quarterfinals before defeating Australian Open champion Sharapova in the semifinals. In the final, Kuznetsova lost to top-seeded Ivanović, 4–6, 3–6. This marked her eighth defeat in her nine most recent appearances in finals. At the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open the next fortnight, Kuznetsova defeated Venus Williams in the quarterfinals but then lost to Serena Williams 3–6, 7–5, 6–3 in the semifinals.
Kuznetsova's form dipped following the conclusion of the spring hard-court season, as she won just three of five matches on clay leading up to the French Open
. She advanced to the semifinals without dropping a set, but then lost to Safina 6–3, 6–2. At Wimbledon
, Kuznetsova lost in the fourth round to Radwańska 6–4, 1–6, 7–5, after leading by a break in the third set.
In the summer, she competed at the Beijing Olympics
, losing to Li Na
in the first round. In the US Open she fell to Katarina Srebotnik
in the third round in three sets, 6–3, 6–7(1), 6–3. After the latter loss, she dropped out of the top five on the world rankings for the first time in two years. The following week, Kuznetsova made her first final since March at the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open
in Tokyo, defeating World No. 2 Janković in the quarterfinals before going on to lose to Safina 6–1, 6–3 in the final. The following week, Kuznetsova reached the final at the China Open
in Beijing, but lost there to Janković 6–3, 6–2. This marked Kuznetsova's 10 defeat in her last 11 finals.
She mirrored her earlier performance at the season-ending WTA Championships
in Doha
, Qatar, losing all three of her matches. Kuznetsova finished the year ranked World No. 8, the only woman in the top ten not to have won a title that year.
, Kuznetsova reached the quarterfinals for the second time in her career, but lost there to champion Serena Williams 5–7, 7–5, 6–1, after approaching with two points of winning in the second set. After that, Kuznetsova did not win another match for nearly two months. She broke the losing streak at the Sony Ericsson Open
in Miami, reaching the semifinals before losing there to Victoria Azarenka
.
At the Porsche Tennis Grand Pris
in Stuttgart, Kuznetsova defeated World No. 3 Dementieva 6–4, 6–2 in the semfinals to reach her first final that year. There, she defeated World No. 1 Safina 6–4, 6–3 to win her first singles title since August 2007. The following week, Kuznetsova also reached the final at the Premier 5 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
in Rome, having defeated World No. 4 Janković en route. She lost the championship to Safina 6–3, 6–2. In the semifinals of the French Open, Kuznetsova defeated Samantha Stosur
to reach her fourth Grand Slam final, where she defeated top seed Safina 6–4, 6–2 to win her second Grand Slam title. At Wimbledon, Kuznetsova fell in the third round to unseeded German Sabine Lisicki
.
She pulled out of the LA Women's Tennis Championships
, citing a foot injury. Her next event was the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open
, where she felled to Clijsters in the third round, 6–4, 4–6, 6–2. She then played in the Rogers Cup
and fell to Stosur in the second round. She received a wild card entrance to the Pilot Pen Tennis
tournament in New Haven, but lost in the quarterfinals to Mauresmo. At the US Open
she won in straight set wins over Gorges, Sevatsova, and Peer, but lost against Caroline Wozniacki
in the fourth round. At the Toray Pan Pacific Open
in Tokyo, seeded fifth, she lost to Andrea Petkovic
.
The week later, she played at China Open
as the sixth seed. She advanced to the final beating Petrova in the semifinal and then faced Agnieszka Radwańska
in the final, winning 6–2, 6–4. Soon after, she played at the WTA Tour Championships
in Doha, Qatar. She entered the Maroon group along with Dementieva, Serena Williams
and Venus Williams
. She lost both her matches against the Williams Sisters, 6(6)-7, 5–7 against Serena despite having 2 set points in the first set, and 2–6, 7–6(3), 4–6 against Venus. She, however, defeated Dementieva, breaking her 8–match losing streak at the Championships. Kuznetsova ended the year ranked No. 3.
. She defeated Alisa Kleybanova
in the first round before falling to Dominika Cibulková
in the second round. Kuznetsova was seeded 3rd for the Australian Open
. She advanced to the 4th round, losing 3–6, 6–3, 1–6, to No. 19 Petrova. Following the tournament, Kuznetsova fell to World No. 4. Kuznetsova was seeded 2nd for the Dubai Tennis Championships
but fell in a 3rd round upset to qualifier and World No. 99 Regina Kulikova
7–5, 6–7(2), 4–6. At the Billie Jean King Cup
, Kuznetsova lost her match 6–4 to Williams. As the top seed due to Serena Williams and Safina's withdrawal at the BNP Paribas Open
she was upset by Carla Suárez Navarro
, 4–6 6–4 1–6 in the second round after receiving a first round bye. Kuznetsova was seeded No. 1 once again at the Sony Ericsson Open
and after receiving a bye in the first round, managed to prevent another upset by defeating Peng Shuai
in the second round 6–2, 3–6, 6–4. She then defeated 27th seed Ágnes Szávay
6–2, 6–3 to book a fourth round encounter with 13th seed Bartoli, losing to the French No. 1 6–3, 6–0 in the quarterfinal.
Kuznetsova was the defending champion at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
in Stuttgart, but fell to Li Na in the second round, 6–3 7–5, after defeating Srebotnik. At the Internazionali BNL d'Italia
, where she had reached the final the year before, she lost in the second round to Maria Kirilenko
6–2, 3–6, 6–4, after receiving a first round bye. As the defending champion at the French Open
, Kuznetsova was the 6th seed. She defeated Sorana Cîrstea
6–3, 6–1 in the first round and faced Petkovic in the second round, whom she defeated 4–6, 7–5, 6–4. In the third round she lost to 30th seeded Kirilenko, 3–6, 6–2, 4–6. Kuznetsova advanced to the quarterfinals of the AEGON International
, losing to Ekaterina Makarova
. Kuznetsova was seeded 19th at the Wimbledon
. She defeated Akgul Amanmuradova
in the first round, 6–2 6–7(5) 6–4, before falling to Anastasia Rodionova in the second round, 6–4 2–6 6–4.
Kuznetsova rallied by winning the Mercury Insurance Open in San Diego. She defeated Yanina Wickmayer
, Sara Errani
, Coco Vandeweghe
, and Flavia Pennetta
in route to the final where she won in three sets against Agnieszka Radwańska
. She then played at the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open in Cincinnati in a losing effort to Sharapova 6–4, 1–6, 6–2 in the first round. At the Rogers Cup
, Kuznetsova defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
7–5, 4–6, 6–1, Timea Bacsinszky
7–6(6), 6–4, 7th seed Radwańska 6–4, 1–6, 6–3 and Zheng Jie
6–1, 6–3 before falling to Wozniacki in the semifinals. Kuznetsova was seeded 11th at the US Open
. She defeated Kimiko Date Krumm, Anastasija Sevastova
, and 23rd seed Kirilenko before falling in the 4th round to unseeded Cibulková. Kuznetsova was the 10th seed at the Toray Pan Pacific Open
, but fell to Petkovic in the second round.
As the defending champion, Kuznetsova fell in the first round of the Premier tournament China Open
to Roberta Vinci
. She finished the year ranked World No. 27, her lowest since 2003.
in Auckland
, New Zealand where she was the third seed. She fell to Peng Shuai
in the second, although initially up a set. She then headed to Sydney for the Medibank International Sydney
where she lost in the quarterfinals to eight-seeded Li. Kuznetsova was seeded 23rd at the Australian Open
where she lost in the fourth round to No. 6 seed Schiavone, squandering six match points. The match was the longest recorded women's Grand Slam match in the Open Era, with a final scoreline of 6–4, 1–6, 16–14. It was the second-longest women's match in the Open Era at any tournament. Her next tournament was the Dubai Tennis Championships
. The 16th seed set up a date in the final with Caroline Wozniacki
by beating Flavia Pennetta
in the semifinal, 6–4, 6–4. However, Kuznetsova was defeated by the top-seed, 1–6, 3–6. In doubles, she teamed up with Vera Zvonareva, and in the semifinal the pair disrupted the match between 2nd seed Liezel Huber and María José Martínez Sánchez due to a right elbow injury Zvonareva had received before. Subsequently Huber/Sanchez received a walkover
. She lost in the Qatar Ladies Open
tournament against 8th seed Shahar Pe'er in the first round, 2–6, 4–6. As an 11th seed, Kuznetsova received a bye in the 2nd Round at the BNP Paribas Open
, but were defeated by wildcard Christina McHale
, 6–7(4), 6–7(7). At the doubles event
, Kuznetsova teamed up with Vera Zvonareva. They received a wildcard in the first round, but were defeated by 4th seed King
/Shvedova
, 2–6, 3–6. In the singles tournament of the Sony Ericsson Open
in Miami, Svetlana Kuznetsova was 11th-seeded. Alike in the prior tournament, seeded players starts in the second round. There, Simona Halep
was her opponent, who she beat in two sets, 6–0, 6–4. Her next opponent was Peng Shuai, whom she has lost, 3–6, 1–6. At the doubles tournament, again with Zvonareva and a wildcard entry, they defeated Alexandra Dulgheru
and Magdaléna Rybáriková
in the first round, 6–4, 6–2. In the second round they lost against María José Martínez Sánchez and Anabel Medina Garrigues, 1–6, 4–6.
She was seeded second at the 2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience
after receiving a wildcard. She succeeded to move to the semifinal where she lost against qualifier Irina-Camelia Begu, 6–3, 6–7(3), 4–6. She failed to succeed into the second round in both the Madrid Open
and Internationali BNL d'Italia
, against Dominika Cibulková in the former and against Gréta Arn in the latter tournament. In Madrid she partnered with Zvonareva and received a wildcard. They moved into the second round, but lost against King/Shvedova. Kuznetsova was seeded 13th at the French Open singles event
where she lost against Marion Bartoli in the quarterfinal, her first in a Grand Slam tournament since 2009, 6–7(7), 4–6. At the doubles
event she paired with Zvonareva and defeated unseeded Klaudia Jans
and Alicja Rosolska
from Poland. They lost against third seeds King/Shvedova, 6–3, 1–6, 6–3. She lost against Dominika Cibulková in the quarterfinal of the UNICEF Open
. At the Wimbledon singles
tournament she defeated Zhang Shuai
and Alexandra Dulgheru
, but lost against Yanina Wickmayer.
Kuznetsova was the defending champion on the Mercury Insurance Open
, but withdrew due to a groin strain
. She recovered fast from the injury and entered the Rogers Cup
, but lost to Simona Halep in the first round. As an 14th-seed, she succeeded into the 3rd of the Western & Southern Open
, but was beaten by eventual champion Maria Sharapova. Kuznetsova reached the fourth round of the US Open
, until losing to top-seeded Wozniacki.
in 2004
in the doubles and singles competition. Her teammates were Myskina and Zvonareva in singles and Likhovtseva (with Kuznetsova) in doubles. They competed against Australia
in the first round in the Luzhniki Stadium
in an indoor carpet court. Kuznetsova defeated Molik, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4 and Molik/Rennae Stubbs
6–7(0), 6–3, 6–2. The end result was 4–1 for Russia; Myskina lost to Molik, 3–6, 3–6.
In the quarterfinal they faced Argentina
in Buenos Aires. Kuznetsova lost to Gisela Dulko
, 4–6, 6–3, 4–6. In the doubles she defeated Dulko and partner Patricia Tarabini
, 6–2, 5–7, 6–4. The final score was the same as in the first round, 4–1.
In the semifinal they faced Austria
. Again in Moscow, Kuznetsova defeated Yvonne Meusburger
, Daniela Kix and Meusburger and Patricia Wartusch
all in straight sets, 6–1, 6–1; 6–1, 6–1; 6–2, 6–2. The final stand was a straight 5–0. In the final they faced France
only 3 days after the semifinal. Kuznetsova beat Dechy, but lost to Tatiana Golovin
, 4–6, 1–6. Russia won the final 3–2 for its first Fed Cup victory.
Kuznetsova did not participate in the next two years. She rejoined in 2007
and defeated Spain's
Lourdes Domínguez Lino
and Anabel Medina Garrigues
in the quarterfinal. She was elected in the final that year. There, she won against Mara Santangelo
and Schiavone from Italy
. Russia again won that year's Cup.
The next year
she again participated. She played against the United States
, defeating then-282nd-ranked Ahsha Rolle
in the semifinal, 6–2, 6–1. By contrast, Kuznetsova lost the doubles competition with partner Elena Vesnina
, beaten by Liezel Huber
and Vania King
. In the end, Russia defeated the US 3–2. In the final, Russia defeated Spain as it had the prior year. Kuznetsova won against Carla Suárez Navarro
and Garrigues, 6–3, 6–1 and 5–7, 6–3, 6–4. Team Russia won the 2008 Fed Cup with a straight defeat, 4–0.
In 2009
Kuznetsova joined the group again. She played against China
in the quarterfinal and won in the singles over opponent Zi Yan, and in the doubles, together with Dementieva, over Tian-Tian Sun and Zi Yan, after losing the first set. Russia won against China in a straight 5–0 final scoreline. Russia lost to Italy in the semifinal. Kuznetsova was the only winner, defeating Pennetta, 6–0, 6–3.
At the 57th Fed Cup
, Russia lost against Serbia
in the quarterfinal 3–2. There, Kuznetsova won two of three matches, beating Ivanović, 6–1, 6–4, and Ivanović and Janković in doubles, with partner Kleybanova, with the same scoreline. She lost to Janković, 3–6 6–4 3–6.
Kuznetsova joined the Russian team in 2011
. In the first round they faced France, February 5 through February 6. In the first round, Kuznetsova was defeated by Alizé Cornet
, 6–3, 3–6, 4–6, but defeated Virginie Razzano
a day later, 6–4, 6–4. She teamed up with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and defeated Cornet/Julie Coin
, 7–6(4), 6–0 in the doubles. Russia became just the fourth nation to come back from 0–2 down in a Fed Cup tie since the best-of-five-match format was introduced to the World Group in 1995. Russia defeated Italy in the semifinal in 5–0. There, Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Roberta Vinci, 6–2, 6–7(4), 6–1. Russia succeeded, the first time since 2008, in a final in the Fed Cup. They will play against Czech Republic
, who defeated Belgium in 3–2.
After a series of dismal finals' results Kuznetsova's ended her relationship with the Sanchez-Casal academy and moved to Moscow on the advice of Roger Federer
and started training with experienced Russian coach Olga Morozova
. They ended that relationship after the BNP Paribas Open in March 2009, after which Kuznetsova was without a coach. As of May 2009 her coach was former Russian tennis player and Fed Cup coach Larisa Savchenko. She was coached for a short period by Loic Courteau after trying unsuccessfully to convince Mauresmo to coach her. Her next coach was for a short time the former Spanish tennis player Carlos Cuadrado
, until being replaced with her former coach Savchenko.
and Virtua Tennis 2009
and has been announced as part of the roster of Virtua Tennis 4
as a playable character.
with lot of topspin
. She is capable of producing effective volley winners providing an agile touch. However, she is known for her unpredictability and inconsistency.
2005
2006
2009
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles finals, winning once. She has qualified five times for the round-robin
Round-robin
The term round-robin was originally used to describe a document signed by multiple parties in a circle to make it more difficult to determine the order in which it was signed, thus preventing a ringleader from being identified...
stage of the WTA Tour Championships
WTA Tour Championships
The WTA Tour Championships is a tennis tournament played annually at the end of the season for the top-ranked players on the Women's Tennis Association tour. The month, city and number of players has changed since the first edition in 1972...
but has never qualified for the semifinals.
Her first Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
title came at the 2004 US Open, making her the third Russian woman to win a Grand Slam title, after Anastasia Myskina
Anastasia Myskina
Anastasiya Andreyevna Myskina is a professional tennis player from Russia. She won the 2004 French Open singles title, becoming the first Russian female tennis player to win a Grand Slam main draw singles title. Subsequent to this victory she rose to number 3 on the WTA ranking, becoming the first...
and Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
who won at the 2004 French Open and 2004 Wimbledon tournaments respectively. Kuznetzova's second Grand Slam title was the 2009 French Open
2009 French Open
The 2009 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 108th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
, defeating Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
in the quarterfinal, Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
in the semifinal, and compatriot Dinara Safina
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
in the final in straight sets. At the 2006 French Open
2006 French Open
The 2006 French Open was held in Paris, France from May 28 to June 11, 2006. Both defending champions, Rafael Nadal and Justine Henin-Hardenne, retained their titles. It is one of the four tennis Grand Slams. This edition made history as it became the first Grand Slam tournament to start on a...
and the 2007 US Open
2007 U.S. Open (tennis)
The 2007 US Open was held from 27 August to 9 September 2007, at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, New York City....
singles tournament she was the runner-up, both times to Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
player Justine Henin. As a result, Kuznetsova obtained her new WTA ranking of No. 2, her best to that date. Kuznetsova has won a total of 13 WTA and 1 ITF
International Tennis Federation
The International Tennis Federation is the governing body of world tennis, made up of 205 national tennis associations.It was established as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by 12 national associations meeting at a conference in Paris, France on 1 March 1913...
singles titles and 14 WTA doubles titles to date and US$15,935,608 in prize money, making her the second top Russian earner on court and number 11 of all female tennis players to date and No. 5 of active players, after only Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
, Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
, Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
, and Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
respectively.
Early life
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova was born in Leningrad. Her father, Aleksandr Kuznetsov, has coached five Olympic and world cycling champions. Kuznetsova's mother, Galina Tsareva, is a six-time world champion and holder of 20 world records in cycling, and her brother, Nikolay KuznetsovNikolay Kuznetsov (cyclist)
Nikolay Aleksandrovich Kuznetsov is a retired Russian professional track bicycle racer. His sister is tennis player Svetlana Kuznetsova.- Palmares :1996- External links :* *...
, was a silver medalist at the 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
in Atlanta and coach of the Russian cycling team Lokomotiv. Svetlana Kuznetsova began to play tennis at the age of 7 and moved to Spain 6 years later for better training and coaching. While there she became fluent in Spanish.
2000: ITF Junior Career
Kuznetsova debuted in her first International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament in MallorcaMallorca
Majorca or Mallorca is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the Balearic Islands.The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera Archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca...
on January 31. In the first round she defeated Katia Altilia from Italy in two straight sets, 6–0, 6–4. However, she lost in the quarter final to Oana–Elena Golimbioschi, 7–5, 6–1. Her next appearance was in Talence
Talence
Talence is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.It is the third-largest suburb of the city of Bordeaux, and is adjacent to it on the south side...
in April. She defeated Aurore Desertin in the first round, but lost in the second round to Berengere Karpenschif, both from France. In Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, Belarus, in a tournament using the short sets scoring system, she reached the quarter final, after defeating the unranked Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
in the first round in four sets, 5–3, 4–2, 4–5(4), 4–2, and Daria Panova in three sets, 5–3, 4–2, 4–1 in the second round. In the quarter final she lost to 574th ranked Elena Voropaeva in four sets, 5–4(5), 5–4(4), 4–2, after losing two tie break
Tie Break
Tie Break may refer to:*A Tiebreaker at an end of a set or game such as tennis etc.*Tie Break -an Austrian boyband*Tie Break - a Polish jazz group...
s in the two earlier sets. However, Kuznetsova was ranked in the top 900, receiving her first ranking below 889. She moved to Mallorca again and joined the Mallorca 3 tournament. Kuznetsova lost in the first round to Dinara Safina
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
after winning the first set, 4–5(0), 4–1, 4–1, 4–0. Subsequently, she moved down to 891. Her last tournament this year was again in Mallorca, but now played in a minimum of four sets. In the Round of 32 she defeated Silvia Disderi, 4–2, 4–1, 3–5, 3–5, 4–2. However, she fell to 8th seeded Mihaela Moldovan in the last round, 4–2, 0–4, 5–4(5), 4–2. She ended the season ranked 889.
2001–2002
Kuznetsova began playing in tournaments on the ITF Circuit in 2000, winning her first title on the circuit in April 2001. Her first appearances in the main draws of tournaments on the main WTA Tour were at the Madrid OpenMadrid Open (tennis)
The Madrid Open is a tournament for male and female professional tennis players, currently held in Madrid, Spain, during the first week of May...
in May of that year and at the Waikoloa Championships
Waikoloa Championships
The Waikoloa Championships was a WTA Tour tournament held in 2001 and 2002 in Waikoloa Village, Hawaiʻi. It was a Tier IV event and was played on outdoor hardcourts. Winners of the tournament received a cheque of $140,000....
in Waikoloa, Hawaii, losing in the second round on both occasions. She finished the year 2001 ranked 259.
Kuznetsova made her debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam at the 2002 Australian Open
2002 Australian Open
List of the 2002 Australian Open champions:-Men's Singles: Thomas Johansson def. Marat Safin, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4, 7–6...
, where, as a qualifier, she reached the second round before losing to 16th seed Iroda Tulyaganova
Iroda Tulyaganova
Iroda Tulyaganova is a professional tennis player who comes from Uzbekistan.She has been ranked as high as No.16 on the WTA Tour and has won three WTA singles titles in her career...
. However, she
lost in the qualifying rounds of both the French Open
2001 French Open
The 2001 French Open was the second Grand Slam event of 2001 and the 100th edition of the French Open. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from late May through early June, 2001.-Men's Singles:...
and Wimbledon.
As a qualifier at the clay-court Nordea Nordic Light Open
Nordea Nordic Light Open
The Nordea Nordic Light Open was a tennis tournament held in Stockholm, Sweden . Held from 2002 to 2008, this WTA Tour event was a Tier IV-tournament and was played on outdoor hardcourts.-Singles:-Doubles:...
in Helsinki, Finland in August, Kuznetsova won her first WTA singles title, defeating World No. 24 Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder is a retired Swiss professional tennis player. She played on the WTA tour from 1993 to 2011 and is a former World No. 7. She defeated several World No...
in the quarterfinals for her first win over a top 40 player, before defeating Denisa Chládková
Denisa Chládková
Denisa Chládková was a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic.She did not win any WTA titles, but she is probably best remembered for reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 1997, playing in only her third Grand Slam main draw...
in the final. Kuznetsova entered the top 100 for the first time as a result of that victory. Kuznetsova qualified for the US Open, defeating 19th seed Anne Kremer
Anne Kremer
Anne Kremer is a professional female tennis player from Luxembourg. Her highest WTA Ranking has been World No...
in the first round for her first win over a top 20 player, before losing in the third round to 13th seed Silvia Farina Elia
Silvia Farina Elia
Silvia Farina Elia is a former female tennis player from Italy. She reached a career high of World No. 11 on 20 May 2002. She won her first ITF title at Caltagirone in 1991 and her first WTA tournament at Strasbourg in 2001...
. In September, Kuznetsova won her second title at the hard court Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic in Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
, Indonesia, defeating former Grand Slam champions Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Aránzazu 'Arantxa' Isabel Maria Sánchez Vicario is a Spanish former professional tennis player...
and Conchita Martínez
Conchita Martínez
Inmaculada Concepción Martínez Bernat is a former professional tennis player from Monzón, Aragón, Spain. She is the only Spanish woman to have won the singles title at Wimbledon, when she beat Martina Navrátilová in the 1994 Women's Singles. She also was the singles runner-up at the 1998...
. Also during 2002, she teamed up with Sánchez Vicario to win the first WTA doubles titles of her career, in Sopot
Sopot
Sopot is a seaside town in Eastern Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000....
, Poland, Helsinki and Kōtō
Koto
Koto may refer to:*Koto , a Japanese musical instrument*Koto , a traditional dress made by Creole women in Suriname*Koto , Italian/Dutch synth pop group*Kōtō, Tokyo, a ward in Tokyo, Japan...
, Japan. Kuznetsova finished the season as World No. 43 in singles.
2003
Kuznetsova began her season at the Brisbane InternationalBrisbane International
The Brisbane International is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour and of the WTA Premier tournaments of the Women's Tennis Association Tour...
. She received a wild card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
, but fell in the first round in the singles to Elena Bovina
Elena Bovina
Elena Olegovna Bovina is a Russian professional female tennis player. On April 4, 2005 Bovina reached her career-high singles ranking: World No. 14....
, 7–5, 6–4. At the doubles competition she paired with Martina Navratilova, with whom she would later play throughout the year (except on the Pacific Life Open, partnered with Slovak Janette Husárová
Janette Husárová
Janette Husárová is a professional female tennis player from Slovakia. She is probably best remembered for winning the WTA Tour Championships women's doubles title in 2002 partenering Russian Elena Dementieva...
), and won against Nathalie Dechy
Nathalie Dechy
Nathalie Dechy is a French former professional tour tennis player.Dechy is a three-time doubles Grand Slam champion, winning the 2006 US Open women's doubles title with Vera Zvonareva, the 2007 French Open mixed doubles title with Andy Ram, and the 2007 US Open women's doubles title with Dinara...
and Emilie Loit
Emilie Loit
Émilie Loit is a retired French professional female tennis player. She was born in Cherbourg, France.She rose to fame when she played against American superstar Serena Williams before losing 6–3, 6–7, 5–7 in a tough first round 2003 Australian Open match.In her career Loit has won three career...
in straight sets, 6–4, 6–4. In the Australian Open
2003 Australian Open
The 2003 Australian Open was a tennis tournament held in 2003. It was the first Grand Slam event of the 2003 ATP Tour and the 2003 WTA Tour. It was the 91st edition of the event.-Men's Singles: Andre Agassi def...
she lost to second seed Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
in the first round, 4–6, 2–6. With Navratilova, they lost against 9th seed Daniela Hantuchová
Daniela Hantuchová
Daniela Hantuchová is a Slovak professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first Tier I tournament and ended the year in the top 10.She is currently coached by Larri Passos...
/Chanda Rubin
Chanda Rubin
Chanda Rubin is an American tennis player. Winning seven WTA Tour singles titles, she reached her highest ranking World No. 6 on April 8, 1996, after reaching semifinals at the 1996 Australian Open. Rubin is also former World No...
in the 3rd Round, 4–6, 6–3, 5–7. In the singles event of the Dubai Tennis Championships
Dubai Tennis Championships
The Dubai Tennis Championships is a professional tennis tournament owned and organized by Dubai Duty Free and held annually in Dubai, United Arab...
in February, Kuznetsova managed the first round against 6th seeded Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone is an Italian tennis player who turned professional in 1998. She 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. As of 24 October 2011, Schiavone's ranking is World...
, but was beaten by Dinara Safina
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
in the second round, 6–4, 6–3, and in the doubles event the first round before being beaten by runner-ups María Vento-Kabchi
Maria Vento-Kabchi
María Alejandra Vento-Kabchi is a professional female tennis player from Venezuela. On July 19, 2004 she reached her career-high singles ranking: World No...
and Angelique Widjaja
Angelique Widjaja
Angelique Widjaja is a retired Chinese Indonesian professional tennis player. She won the Junior Championships at Wimbledon in 2001, defeating Dinara Safina. She reached a peak of No.55 in the Women's Tennis Association singles rankings in March 2003, and a peak of No.15 in the doubles rankings...
. She did not reach the quarterfinals of any tournaments during the first half of the year. Kuznetsova's win over World No. 11 Anastasia Myskina
Anastasia Myskina
Anastasiya Andreyevna Myskina is a professional tennis player from Russia. She won the 2004 French Open singles title, becoming the first Russian female tennis player to win a Grand Slam main draw singles title. Subsequent to this victory she rose to number 3 on the WTA ranking, becoming the first...
in the second round of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley , in between Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,958....
was her first over a top-10 player this year.
In the first round of the French Open
2003 French Open
The 2003 French Open was the second Grand Slam event of 2003 and the 102nd edition of the French Open. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 26 through June 8, 2003.-Men's singles:...
, Kuznetsova lost to Meghann Shaughnessy
Meghann Shaughnessy
Meghann Shaughnessy is an American professional tennis player. She achieved a career-high singles ranking of #11 in 2001, and has won six WTA Tour singles titles...
3–6, 7–5, 11–9. Kuznetsova's came at Wimbledon
2003 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles
Serena Williams defeated Venus Williams 4-6 6-4 6-2 in the final to win the Ladies' Singles title at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships.See also:-Seeds:...
, where in the fourth round, she defeated Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, losing to third seed Justine Henin. At the doubles, they were defeated by Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
and partner Ai Sugiyama
Ai Sugiyama
is a retired Japanese professional tennis player. She reached No. 1 in women's doubles on the WTA Tour. Her career-high singles ranking was No. 8, achieved on February 9, 2004. She turned professional in 1992...
. She then made her first semifinal of the year at the Acura Classic in San Diego before losing to Henin. At the US Open singles tournament, Kuznetsova lost in the third round to top seed Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
. However, at the doubles competition she again partnered with Navratilova, but was beaten by Paola Suárez
Paola Suárez
Paola Suárez was a top 10 tennis player in the early 2000s. She gained prominence in 2004 by reaching the finals of nine straight WTA doubles tournaments, and by reaching the singles semifinals of the French Open tournament, held in Paris."La Negra" Suárez began playing professional tennis at the...
and Virginia Ruano Pascual
Virginia Ruano Pascual
Virginia Ruano Pascual is a Spanish professional female tennis player. She was born in Madrid, Spain.She has won three career singles titles but she has been more successful in doubles where she has won 43 titles, including 10 Grand Slam titles Between 2002...
in the final, 6–2 6–3. She joined the Sparkassen Cup
WTA Leipzig
The Sparkassen Cup is a defunct WTA Tour affiliated tennis tournament played from 1990 to 2003. It was held in Leipzig in Germany and played on indoor carpet courts....
, losing to 5th seeded Daniela Hantuchová in the first round. Kuznetsova won the doubles title against Elena Likhovtseva
Elena Likhovtseva
Elena Alexandrovna Likhovtseva is a Russian tennis player, currently inactive. She turned professional in January 1992 at the age of 16.Likhovtseva's career best appearance in a Grand Slam was when she reached the semi finals of the French Open 2005 before she was defeated by Mary Pierce, 6–1 6–1...
and Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
, 3–6 6–1 6–3. In the doubles competition at the Ladies Kremlin Cup
Kremlin Cup
The Kremlin Cup is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the ATP Tour and is a Premier Tournament on the WTA Tour...
they reached the semifinals before losing to Russian couple and runner-ups Anastasia Myskina and Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
, 6–7(8) 6–2 6–4. Her last appearance this year was at the Tour Championships
2003 WTA Tour Championships
The results of the 2003 WTA Tour Championships held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, United States. For the first time a round robin system was introduced, after the men's Tennis Masters Cup. Two groups of four players were formed and each contender had to play three matches...
. In the first round they lost to champions Virginia Ruano Pascual
Virginia Ruano Pascual
Virginia Ruano Pascual is a Spanish professional female tennis player. She was born in Madrid, Spain.She has won three career singles titles but she has been more successful in doubles where she has won 43 titles, including 10 Grand Slam titles Between 2002...
and Paola Suárez
Paola Suárez
Paola Suárez was a top 10 tennis player in the early 2000s. She gained prominence in 2004 by reaching the finals of nine straight WTA doubles tournaments, and by reaching the singles semifinals of the French Open tournament, held in Paris."La Negra" Suárez began playing professional tennis at the...
, 6–4 6–4. She finished the season as World No. 36.
2004
Kuznetsova reached the third round of the singles competition at the Australian Open2004 Australian Open - Women's Singles
Serena Williams was the defending champion, but she withdrew due to a left knee injury.Justine Henin-Hardenne won the title, defeating compatriot and rival Kim Clijsters in the final, 6–3, 4–6, 6–3.- Seeds :# Justine Henin-Hardenne ...
before losing to top seed Justine Henin. She reached her second Grand Slam doubles final with new partner Elena Likhovtseva
Elena Likhovtseva
Elena Alexandrovna Likhovtseva is a Russian tennis player, currently inactive. She turned professional in January 1992 at the age of 16.Likhovtseva's career best appearance in a Grand Slam was when she reached the semi finals of the French Open 2005 before she was defeated by Mary Pierce, 6–1 6–1...
before losing to Virginia Ruano Pascual
Virginia Ruano Pascual
Virginia Ruano Pascual is a Spanish professional female tennis player. She was born in Madrid, Spain.She has won three career singles titles but she has been more successful in doubles where she has won 43 titles, including 10 Grand Slam titles Between 2002...
and Paola Suárez
Paola Suárez
Paola Suárez was a top 10 tennis player in the early 2000s. She gained prominence in 2004 by reaching the finals of nine straight WTA doubles tournaments, and by reaching the singles semifinals of the French Open tournament, held in Paris."La Negra" Suárez began playing professional tennis at the...
. Several weeks later, playing singles at Dubai
2004 Dubai Tennis Championships
The 2004 Dubai Duty Free Men's and Women's Tennis Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates that was part of the International Series Gold of the 2004 ATP Tour and of Tier II of the 2004 WTA Tour...
, Kuznetsova defeated former World No. 1 Venus Williams 6–2, 6–3 in the quarterfinals before defeating World No. 8 Ai Sugiyama
Ai Sugiyama
is a retired Japanese professional tennis player. She reached No. 1 in women's doubles on the WTA Tour. Her career-high singles ranking was No. 8, achieved on February 9, 2004. She turned professional in 1992...
in the semifinals for her first win over a top 10 player. Kuznetsova lost to World No. 1 Henin. The following week, Kuznetsova defeated Henin for the first time in the semifinals of the Qatar Total Open
Qatar Total Open
The Qatar Ladies Open , known as the Qatar Total Open for sponsorship reasons, is tennis tournament held in Doha, Qatar. Held since 2001, this WTA Tour event was a Tier I-tournament in 2008, and was played on outdoor hardcourts. Total S.A. was the main tournament sponsor...
in Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
, Qatar, before losing in the final to Myskina in three sets, pushing her into the top 20 for the first time. In April, Kuznetsova reached her third singles final of the year at the start of the clay-court season at the J&S Cup
2004 J&S Cup
The 2004 J&S Cup was a Tier II event on the 2004 WTA Tour that run from April 26 - May 2, 2004. It was held in Warsaw, Poland, and was the 10th year that the event was staged.The 2003 J&S Cup finalist Venus Williams won her first Warsaw title and second overall of the year.-Seeds:* Seedings are...
in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, losing there to Venus Williams in the final. Kuznetsova had climbed to No. 11 by the time of the French Open
2004 French Open
The 2004 French Open was the 103rd edition of the tournament. Gastón Gaudio became the first men's Open Era Grand Slam title winner to save match points in the final; the last time that had happened was 70 years earlier. Gaudio also became the first Argentine man since Guillermo Vilas to win a...
. There, she reached the fourth round before losing to champion Myskina 1–6, 6–4, 8–6, after holding a match point in the third. In doubles Kuznetsova and Likhovtseva reached the final, losing to Suarez and Ruano Pascual. Following the French Open, Kuznetsova climbed to career-highs of World No. 9 in the singles rankings, her first time in the top ten, and World No. 3 in the doubles rankings. Kuznetsova won her third title at the Hastings Direct International Championships
2004 Hastings Direct International Championships
The 2004 Hastings Direct International Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the Eastbourne Tennis Centre in Eastbourne in the United Kingdom that was part of Tier II of the 2004 WTA Tour...
in Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
, defeating Hantuchová in the final. At Wimbledon itself, Kuznetsova suffered a first-round loss to 118–ranked Virginie Razzano
Virginie Razzano
Virginie Razzano , is a French professional tennis player and the current French No. 4. Razzano, who was born in Dijon, has won two WTA singles titles, both in 2007 in Guangzhou and Tokyo. Razzano reached her career high ranking of World No. 16 on September 14, 2009. As of May 2011, she is ranked...
.
Representing Russia at the Olympics
Tennis at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Tennis at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place on ten separate courts at the Olympic Tennis Centre. The surface was hardcourt, specifically DecoTurf....
in August, Kuznetsova reached the quarterfinals before losing to silver-medallist Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Simone Mauresmo ; is a French former professional tennis player, and a former World No. 1. Mauresmo won two Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon....
. She went into the US Open
2004 US Open - Women's Singles
Justine Henin-Hardenne was the defending champion, but she was eliminated in the fourth round by Nadia Petrova.Svetlana Kuznetsova was the title, defeating compatriot Elena Dementieva in the final. She became the third Russian woman, after Anastasia Myskina and Maria Sharapova , to win a Grand Slam...
seeded ninth. There, she defeated 14th seed Petrova in the quarterfinals, and in her first Grand Slam semifinal, defeated fifth seed and former champion Davenport 1–6, 6–4, 6–2, ending the American's 22-match winning streak. In the final, Kuznetsova defeated sixth seed Dementieva 6–3, 7–5. Kuznetsova was the first female Russian to win the US Open and the third to win any Grand Slam singles title, following the successes of Myskina and Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
earlier in the year. Meanwhile, Kuznetsova teamed with Likhovtseva to reach the final of the doubles tournament before losing there to Suarez and Ruano Pascual, marking Kuznetsova's fourth consecutive defeat to the pair in Grand Slams.
Kuznetsova continued her success by winning the Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic in Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
, Indonesia defeating Marlene Weingärtner
Marlene Weingärtner
Marlene Weingärtner is a former German professional tennis player. Weingärtner retired in late 2005 after suffering several first round losses due to ongoing physical problems....
in the final. This increased her ranking to a new high of World No. 5. The following week, at the China Open
2004 China Open (tennis)
The 2004 China Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is the 6th edition of the China Open, and is part of the International Series of the 2004 ATP Tour, and of the Tier II of the 2004 WTA Tour...
in Beijing, Kuznetsova defeated Wimbledon champion Sharapova in the semifinals 6–2, 6–2 to extend her winning streak to 14 matches. However, she lost in the final to Serena Williams. Making her debut at the season-ending WTA Championships in Los Angeles, Kuznetsova lost two of three matches in the preliminary round-robin stage and exited before the semifinals. Kuznetsova finished the season as World No. 5.
2005
Kuznetsova began the year by reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open2005 Australian Open
The 2005 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia from 17 until 30 January 2005.-Men's Singles: Marat Safin def. Lleyton Hewitt, 1–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4...
, losing to fourth seed Sharapova in three. Kuznetsova teamed with Molik to win her first Grand Slam doubles title, defeating Davenport and Corina Morariu
Corina Morariu
Corina Marie Morariu is a former American female professional tennis player of Romanian heritage.Morariu turned professional in 1994. Mainly known as a doubles specialist, she won the women's doubles title at Wimbledon in 1999 with Lindsay Davenport. She also won the mixed doubles title at the...
. In the first round she received a bye at the Toray Pan Pacific Open
2005 Toray Pan Pacific Open
The 2005 Toray Pan Pacific Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 22nd edition of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, and was part of the Tier I Series of the 2005 WTA Tour. It took place at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan, from January 28 through February 6,...
, but she was defeated by runner-up Lindsay Davenport in the semfinal, 6–1 7–6(2). Kuznetsova did not reach any finals during the spring hard-court season, with defeats including one to World No. 97 Sania Mirza
Sania Mirza
Sania Mirza is a professional Indian tennis player. She began her tennis career in 2003 and is well known for her powerful forehand ground strokes. She is the first ever Indian to break into the top 30 WTA rankings...
in the first round at Dubai
2005 Dubai Tennis Championships
The 2005 Dubai Duty Free Men's and Women's Tennis Championships was the 13th edition of this tennis tournament and was played on outdoor hard courts. The tournament was part of the International Series Gold of the 2005 ATP Tour and the Tier II series of the 2005 WTA Tour...
. She received a bye at the Pacific Life Open
2005 Pacific Life Open
The 2005 Indian Wells Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 29th edition of the Indian Wells Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2005 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2005 WTA Tour...
and reached the quarterfinal. There, she lost to Elena Dementieva, 3–6 6–3 7–5. She joined the next event, the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami, and succeeded to the 4th Round after receiving a bye in the 1st Round. However, there she was defeated by Ana Ivanović, 6–3, 3–6, 7–5.
She made her first final of the year at the J&S Cup
2005 J&S Cup
The 2005 J&S Cup was a Tier II event on the 2005 WTA Tour that run from April 25 - May 1, 2005. It was held in Warsaw, Poland, and was the 10th year that the event was staged.Justine Henin-Hardenne won her first Warsaw title and second overall of the year....
in Warsaw, defeating former World No. 1 Clijsters in the semis. In the final, Kuznetsova lost to Henin. At the French Open
2005 French Open - Women's Singles
Anastasia Myskina was the defending champion, but lost in the first round to Maria Sánchez Lorenzo. Justine Henin-Hardenne claimed the title, defeating home player Mary Pierce in the final, 6–1, 6–1...
, Kuznetsova lost again to champion Henin in the fourth round 7–6(6), 4–6, 7–5, having saved a match point in the third set. Kuznetsova reached the quarterfinals of for her second time before losing to top seed Davenport. However, she teamed up with Mauresmo to reach her sixth Grand Slam doubles final, losing there to Cara Black
Cara Black
Cara Black is a professional female tennis player from Zimbabwe. She has won 7 singles titles and 63 women's doubles titles. She has won all four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles and three of the four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles. She is currently ranked World No. 28 in women's doubles...
and Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,...
.
At the US Open, she lost to World No. 97 Ekaterina Bychkova
Ekaterina Bychkova
Ekaterina Andreevna Bychkova is a professional tennis player. She is most famous for defeating defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the first round of the 2005 US Open. She defeated her by a score of 6–3, 6–2. It was the first time a defending US Open Champion had lost in the first round...
in the first round, becoming the first female defending US Open champion to lose in the first round. This defeat dropped her out of the top ten. She defeated Zvonareva in the quarterfinal of the Kremlin Cup
2005 Kremlin Cup
The 2006 Kremlin Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 16th edition of the Kremlin Cup, and was part of the International Series of the 2005 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2005 WTA Tour. It took place at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia, from October...
but was beaten by Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone is an Italian tennis player who turned professional in 1998. She 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. As of 24 October 2011, Schiavone's ranking is World...
in the semifinal, 6–3, 6–1. At the $1,300,000 Zurich Open
2005 Zurich Open
2005 Zurich Open is a Tier I tennis event on the 2005 WTA Tour.-Women's Singles: Lindsay Davenport def. Patty Schnyder, 7–6, 6–3-----Women's Doubles:...
Kuznetsova lost in the first round to the unseeded Nathalie Dechy
Nathalie Dechy
Nathalie Dechy is a French former professional tour tennis player.Dechy is a three-time doubles Grand Slam champion, winning the 2006 US Open women's doubles title with Vera Zvonareva, the 2007 French Open mixed doubles title with Andy Ram, and the 2007 US Open women's doubles title with Dinara...
, 6–4 4–6 7–6(3). She finished the year ranked World No. 18.
2006
Kuznetsova started her season this year in the Australian Open2006 Australian Open - Women's Singles
Serena Williams was the defending champion, but lost in the third round to Daniela Hantuchová.Amélie Mauresmo, the third seed, ultimately won the tournament, her first major championship. Her finals opponent, eighth-seeded Justine Henin-Hardenne, retired down 2–0 in the second set, already down a...
and reached the fourth round before losing there to top seed Davenport. Several weeks later, Kuznetsova rebounded at Dubai
2006 Dubai Tennis Championships
The 2006 Dubai Duty Free Men’s Championships and Dubai Duty Free Women’s Championships was the 14th edition of this tennis tournament and was played on outdoor hard courts. The tournament was part of the International Series Gold of the 2007 ATP Tour and the Tier II series of the 2007 WTA Tour...
, defeating World No. 2 Mauresmo in the quarterfinals for her first win over a top ten player since 2004. She then lost to Henin in the semifinals. In March, Kuznetsova defeated former World No. 1 Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis is a retired Swiss professional tennis player who spent a total of 209 weeks as World No. 1. She won five Grand Slam singles titles...
in the third round of the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami, before going on to defeat World No. 1 Mauresmo 6–1, 6–4 in the semifinals. In the final, she defeated Sharapova to win the first Tier I title of her career and her first singles title of any kind in 18 months. This win returned her to the top ten.
Kuznetsova reached her second final of the year at the clay-court J&S Cup
2006 J&S Cup
The 2006 J&S Cup was a Tier II event on the 2006 WTA Tour that run from May 1–7, 2006. It was held in Warsaw, Poland, and was the 11th year that the event was staged. Kim Clijsters won her first Warsaw title and first overall of the year.-Seeds:...
in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, defeating Williams en route. In the final, she lost to World No. 2 Clijsters, marking third consecutive runner-up finish. At the French Open
2006 French Open - Women's Singles
Justine Henin-Hardenne was the defending champion, and she defended her title by beating Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final, 6–4, 6–4.-Schedule:-Seeds:# Amélie Mauresmo # Kim Clijsters # Nadia Petrova ...
, Kuznetsova reached the quarterfinals for the first time, where she defeated 14th seed Safina. In the semifinals, she defeated 17 year old Czech Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová is a retired Czech tennis player.Vaidišová was an Australian Open and French Open semifinalist and also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Vaidišová started playing tennis when she was six years old, enrolling to train at Nick Bollettieri's tennis academy in Bradenton,...
5–7, 7–6 (5), 6–2 after saving a match point. In her second Grand Slam final, Kuznetsova lost to Henin 6–4, 6–4. Kuznetsova reached only the third round at Wimbledon
2006 Wimbledon Championships
The 2006 Wimbledon Championships began on 26 June and finished on 9 July 2006.-Gentlemen's singles: Roger Federer defeated Rafael Nadal 6-0 7-6 6-7 6-3-Ladies' singles: Amélie Mauresmo defeated Justine Henin-Hardenne 2-6 6-3 6-4...
, losing to 27th seed Li Na
Li Na (tennis)
Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
, 3–6 6–2 6–3.
At the US Open Kuznetsova lost in the fourth round to 19th seed Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
, 6–7(5) 6–3 6–2. In September, Kuznetsova won her second title of the year at the $225,000 donated tournament Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic in Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
, defeating Davenport in the semifinals and Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles. She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships....
in the final. The following week, she won the China Open
2006 China Open (tennis)
The 2006 China Open was an ATP International Series and WTA Tour Tier II tennis tournament held in Beijing, China. The men's tournament was held September 11–18, and the women's was held September 18–25...
in Beijing, after defeating World No. 1 Mauresmo 6–4, 6–0 in the final. This marked the first time Kuznetsova had won back-to-back tournaments.
Competing at the season-ending WTA Championships
2006 WTA Tour Championships
The 2006 Sony Ericsson Championships were held at the Madrid Arena in Madrid, Spain.-Singles: Justine Henin def. Amélie Mauresmo, 6–4, 6–3-Doubles:...
for the second time in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Kuznetsova again failed to advance past the preliminary round-robin stage, winning just one of three matches. She finished the season as World No. 4.
2007
Kuznetsova began the year by losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open2007 Australian Open - Women's Singles
-Seeds:# Maria Sharapova # Amélie Mauresmo # Svetlana Kuznetsova # Kim Clijsters # Nadia Petrova # Martina Hingis # Elena Dementieva ...
to 16th seed Pe'er. She rebounded to reach her first final of the year in February at the Qatar Total Open
Qatar Total Open
The Qatar Ladies Open , known as the Qatar Total Open for sponsorship reasons, is tennis tournament held in Doha, Qatar. Held since 2001, this WTA Tour event was a Tier I-tournament in 2008, and was played on outdoor hardcourts. Total S.A. was the main tournament sponsor...
in Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
, losing there to Henin in two sets, 6–4, 7–5. She then made the final of the Tier I Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells, but then lost to Hantuchová. Reaching the final improved her ranking to third, a career high.
Kuznetsova continued on form during the clay-courts season. At the J&S Cup
2007 J&S Cup
The 2007 J&S Cup was a Tier II event on the 2007 WTA Tour that run from April 30 - May 6, 2007. It was held in Warsaw, Poland, and was the 12th year that the event was staged. Justine Henin won her second Warsaw title and third overall of the year after other victories in Dubai and Doha.The event...
in Warsaw, she defeated V. Williams for the first time in her career in the quarterfinals before losing to Alona Bondarenko in the semifinals. She made the final of another Tier I tournament, at the Qatar Telecom German Open
2007 Qatar Telecom German Open
The 2007 Qatar Telecom German Open was a women's tennis event that was played from May 5 to May 13, 2007. It was one of two Tier I events that took place on red clay in the build-up to the second Grand Slam of the year, the French Open. It was played at the Rot-Weiss Tennis Club in the German...
in Berlin, after defeating World No. 1 Henin for only the second time in the semifinals. In the final, Kuznetsova lost to Ana Ivanović
Ana Ivanovic
Ana Ivanović is a former world no. 1 Serbian tennis player. As of November 7, 2011, she is ranked 22th on the WTA rankings. She beat Dinara Safina to win the 2008 French Open and was the runner-up in singles at the 2007 French Open and the 2008 Australian Open...
. The following week, Kuznetsova reached the final of the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, losing there to Janković. As the third seed at the French Open
2007 French Open - Women's Singles
The two-time defending champion was Justine Henin. She captured her 4th and 3rd consecutive French Open title after defeating Ana Ivanović of Serbia 6-1, 6-2 in the championship match...
, Kuznetsova advanced to the quarterfinals without dropping a set but lost there to runner-up Ivanović 6–0, 3–6, 6–1. Kuznetsova reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon
2007 Wimbledon Championships
The 2007 Wimbledon Championships were held between 25 June and 8 July 2007. For the first time there was equal prize money for the men's and women's singles champions. Reconstruction work on Centre Court was in progress and thus it had no roof....
for the third time in July, but lost there to champion Venus Williams 6–3, 6–4.
In August, Kuznetsova won her first title of the year at the Pilot Pen Tennis
2007 Pilot Pen Tennis
The 2007 Pilot Pen Tennis is the 2007 edition of the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament, located in New Haven, Connecticut. It took place on August 17-25, the final week before the U.S. Open began....
tournament in New Haven, after three of her opponents retired due to injury or illness, including her finals opponent Ágnes Szávay
Ágnes Szávay
Ágnes Szávay is a professional tennis player from Hungary. She is the country's highest ranked tennis player. She was the WTA Newcomer of the Year in 2007. She achieved her career high ranking of World No. 13 on April 14, 2008.- Background :...
. At the US Open, Kuznetsova defeated sixth seed Anna Chakvetadze
Anna Chakvetadze
Anna Djambulilovna Chakvetadze is a Russian professional tennis player . On September 10, 2007, she reached her career-high professional singles ranking of World No. 5. She has won eight WTA Singles Titles and appeared in the 2007 US Open semifinals. As of July 4, 2011, Chakvetadze is ranked World...
in the semifinals to advance to her third Grand Slam final. She lost to Henin 6–1, 6–3. As a result of this run, Kuznetsova reached World No. 2.
At the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
2007 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
The 2007 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 30th on of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, and was part of the Tier II Series of the 2007 WTA Tour. It took place at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Germany, from October 1 through October 7,...
in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Germany, Kuznetsova recorded her first career win over Serena Williams before losing in the semifinals to Tatiana Golovin
Tatiana Golovin
Tatiana Golovin is an inactive French professional tennis player. She is best known for her explosive forehand, which was said to be one of the best at the time. She notably won the 2004 French Open mixed doubles event with Richard Gasquet, and reached the singles quarterfinal at the 2006 U.S....
. The following week, she lost to Serena Williams in the semifinals of the Kremlin Cup
2007 Kremlin Cup
The 2007 Kremlin Cup was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 18th edition of the Kremlin Cup, and was part of the International Series of the 2007 ATP Tour, and of the Tier I Series of the 2007 WTA Tour. It took place at the Olympic Stadium in Moscow, Russia, from October 8...
. Kuznetsova completed the year by competing at the year-ending Championships in Madrid, but once again failed to progress beyond the preliminary round-robin stage, losing all three matches. She finished the season as World No. 2 and as the highest-ranked Russian player for the first time.
2008
Kuznetsova began the season by reaching the final at the Medibank International2008 Medibank International
The 2008 Medibank International was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 41st edition of the event known that year as the Medibank International, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier II Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
in Sydney, losing there to World No. 1 Henin in the final set. At the Australian Open
2008 Australian Open - Women's Singles
Serena Williams was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Jelena Janković.Maria Sharapova won in the final 7–5, 6–3, against Ana Ivanović to win her third Grand Slam title and her first at the Australian Open. She was also the first Russian woman to win this tournament...
, Kuznetsova was seeded second, but fell in the third round to 29th seed Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
. Kuznetsova made her second final of the season in Dubai
2008 Dubai Tennis Championships
The 2008 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championship was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 16th edition of the Dubai Tennis Championships, and was part of the International Series Gold of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier II Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
, defeating former World No. 1 Mauresmo in the quarterfinals and World No. 4 Janković in the semifinals. However, in the final, Kuznetsova lost to Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
. At the Tier I Pacific Life Open in March, Kuznetsova defeated Radwańska in the quarterfinals before defeating Australian Open champion Sharapova in the semifinals. In the final, Kuznetsova lost to top-seeded Ivanović, 4–6, 3–6. This marked her eighth defeat in her nine most recent appearances in finals. At the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open the next fortnight, Kuznetsova defeated Venus Williams in the quarterfinals but then lost to Serena Williams 3–6, 7–5, 6–3 in the semifinals.
Kuznetsova's form dipped following the conclusion of the spring hard-court season, as she won just three of five matches on clay leading up to the French Open
2008 French Open - Women's Singles
Justine Henin was the defending champion, but retired from the sport on May 14, 2008.Ana Ivanović won in the final 6–4, 6–3, against Dinara Safina. This is Ivanovic's Third Grand Slam Final, Second French Open Final, and her First Grand Slam Singles Title...
. She advanced to the semifinals without dropping a set, but then lost to Safina 6–3, 6–2. At Wimbledon
2008 Wimbledon Championships - Women's Singles
Venus Williams was the defending champion, and won in the final 7–5, 6–4, against her sister Serena Williams.-Seeds:# Ana Ivanović # Jelena Janković # Maria Sharapova ...
, Kuznetsova lost in the fourth round to Radwańska 6–4, 1–6, 7–5, after leading by a break in the third set.
In the summer, she competed at the Beijing Olympics
Tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Tennis competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing were held from August 10 to August 17 at the Olympic Green Tennis Centre. The DecoTurf surface rendered the event a hardcourt tournament....
, losing to Li Na
Li Na (tennis)
Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
in the first round. In the US Open she fell to Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik is a Slovenian professional tennis player. Srebotnik is right-handed, 1.80 m, weighs 65 kg and lives in Dubai. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 20 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on August 7, 2006.Srebotnik won 4 singles titles on the WTA-tour and was a steady top 30...
in the third round in three sets, 6–3, 6–7(1), 6–3. After the latter loss, she dropped out of the top five on the world rankings for the first time in two years. The following week, Kuznetsova made her first final since March at the Tier I Toray Pan Pacific Open
2008 Toray Pan Pacific Open
The 2008 Toray Pan Pacific Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 25th edition of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, and was part of the Tier I Series of the 2008 WTA Tour. It took place at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo, Japan, from September 15 through September 21,...
in Tokyo, defeating World No. 2 Janković in the quarterfinals before going on to lose to Safina 6–1, 6–3 in the final. The following week, Kuznetsova reached the final at the China Open
2008 China Open (tennis)
The 2008 China Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 10th edition of the China Open, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour, and of the Tier II Series of the 2008 WTA Tour...
in Beijing, but lost there to Janković 6–3, 6–2. This marked Kuznetsova's 10 defeat in her last 11 finals.
She mirrored her earlier performance at the season-ending WTA Championships
2008 WTA Tour Championships
The 2008 WTA Tour Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 38th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 33rd edition of the year-end doubles championships, and is part of the 2008 WTA Tour...
in Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
, Qatar, losing all three of her matches. Kuznetsova finished the year ranked World No. 8, the only woman in the top ten not to have won a title that year.
2009
At the Australian Open2009 Australian Open - Women's Singles
Maria Sharapova was the defending champion, but chose not to participate this year, due to a shoulder injury.Serena Williams won in the final 6–0, 6–3, against Dinara Safina.-Seeds:# Jelena Janković ...
, Kuznetsova reached the quarterfinals for the second time in her career, but lost there to champion Serena Williams 5–7, 7–5, 6–1, after approaching with two points of winning in the second set. After that, Kuznetsova did not win another match for nearly two months. She broke the losing streak at the Sony Ericsson Open
2009 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2009 Sony Ericsson Open was a men's and women's tennis tournament held from March 23 to April 5, 2009. It was the 25th edition of the Miami Masters event and was played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Florida, located near Miami...
in Miami, reaching the semifinals before losing there to Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
.
2009 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
The 2009 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is a tennis tournament played on indoor clay courts. It is the 32nd edition of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, and is part of the Premier tournaments of the 2009 WTA Tour...
in Stuttgart, Kuznetsova defeated World No. 3 Dementieva 6–4, 6–2 in the semfinals to reach her first final that year. There, she defeated World No. 1 Safina 6–4, 6–3 to win her first singles title since August 2007. The following week, Kuznetsova also reached the final at the Premier 5 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
2009 Internazionali BNL d'Italia - Women's Singles
Jelena Janković was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Svetlana Kuznetsova.Dinara Safina won in the final, beating Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–3, 6–2.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round....
in Rome, having defeated World No. 4 Janković en route. She lost the championship to Safina 6–3, 6–2. In the semifinals of the French Open, Kuznetsova defeated Samantha Stosur
Samantha Stosur
Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
to reach her fourth Grand Slam final, where she defeated top seed Safina 6–4, 6–2 to win her second Grand Slam title. At Wimbledon, Kuznetsova fell in the third round to unseeded German Sabine Lisicki
Sabine Lisicki
Sabine Lisicki is a German professional tennis player of Polish background.Lisicki has won three WTA singles tournaments in her career and one doubles tournament . She reached the semifinals of the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and also reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 Wimbledon Championships...
.
She pulled out of the LA Women's Tennis Championships
2009 LA Women's Tennis Championships
The 2009 LA Women's Tennis Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 36th edition of the LA Women's Tennis Championships, and was part of the Premier Series of the 2009 WTA Tour...
, citing a foot injury. Her next event was the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open
2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open
The 2009 Cincinnati Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts...
, where she felled to Clijsters in the third round, 6–4, 4–6, 6–2. She then played in the Rogers Cup
2009 Rogers Cup
The 2009 Canada Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 120th edition of the Canada Masters, and was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the 2009 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier 5 of the 2009 WTA Tour...
and fell to Stosur in the second round. She received a wild card entrance to the Pilot Pen Tennis
2009 Pilot Pen Tennis
The 2009 Pilot Pen Tennis was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 41st edition of the Pilot Pen Tennis, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 Series of the 2009 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2009 WTA Tour. It took place at the Cullman-Heyman Tennis...
tournament in New Haven, but lost in the quarterfinals to Mauresmo. At the US Open
2009 US Open (tennis)
The 2009 US Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts, held from August 31 to September 14, 2009 in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, New York City, United States. Originally, it was scheduled to end with the mens' singles final match on Sunday,...
she won in straight set wins over Gorges, Sevatsova, and Peer, but lost against Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
in the fourth round. At the Toray Pan Pacific Open
2009 Toray Pan Pacific Open
The 2009 Toray Pan Pacific Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 26th edition of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, and was part of the Premier Series of the 2009 WTA Tour...
in Tokyo, seeded fifth, she lost to Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic is a professional German tennis player of Serbian origin. She is the highest ranked German tennis player. She lives in Griesheim near Darmstadt, Germany....
.
The week later, she played at China Open
2009 China Open (tennis)
The 2009 China Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 11th edition of the China Open, and was part of the ATP 500 Series of the 2009 ATP Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2009 WTA Tour...
as the sixth seed. She advanced to the final beating Petrova in the semifinal and then faced Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
in the final, winning 6–2, 6–4. Soon after, she played at the WTA Tour Championships
2009 WTA Tour Championships
The 2009 WTA Tour Championships was held in Doha, Qatar from October 27 to November 1. It was the second time the Khalifa International Tennis Complex hosted the WTA Tour Year-End Singles and Doubles Championships.Women's Tennis Association rank No...
in Doha, Qatar. She entered the Maroon group along with Dementieva, Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
and Venus Williams
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association on three separate...
. She lost both her matches against the Williams Sisters, 6(6)-7, 5–7 against Serena despite having 2 set points in the first set, and 2–6, 7–6(3), 4–6 against Venus. She, however, defeated Dementieva, breaking her 8–match losing streak at the Championships. Kuznetsova ended the year ranked No. 3.
2010
Kuznetsova began the year at the Medibank International Sydney2010 Medibank International Sydney
The 2010 Medibank International Sydney was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 43rd edition of the event known that year as the Medibank International Sydney, and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2010 ATP World Tour, and of the WTA Premier tournaments of...
. She defeated Alisa Kleybanova
Alisa Kleybanova
Alisa Mikhaelovna Kleybanova is a Russian professional tennis player. Her highest WTA world ranking to date is No. 20, achieved on February 21, 2010...
in the first round before falling to Dominika Cibulková
Dominika Cibulková
Dominika Cibulková is a Slovak professional tennis player. She is also a former World Junior No. 3, achieving that ranking in May 2005. Her career-high ranking of World No. 12 was achieved on 6 July 2009...
in the second round. Kuznetsova was seeded 3rd for the Australian Open
2010 Australian Open
The 2010 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 18 to 31 January. It was the 98th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year....
. She advanced to the 4th round, losing 3–6, 6–3, 1–6, to No. 19 Petrova. Following the tournament, Kuznetsova fell to World No. 4. Kuznetsova was seeded 2nd for the Dubai Tennis Championships
2010 Dubai Tennis Championships
The 2010 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships was a 500 Series event on the 2010 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2010 WTA Tour. Both of the events took place at The Aviation Club Tennis Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates...
but fell in a 3rd round upset to qualifier and World No. 99 Regina Kulikova
Regina Kulikova
Regina Kulikova is a professional Russian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 65th, which she reached on May 3, 2010. Her career high in doubles is 417th, which she reached on September 28, 2009...
7–5, 6–7(2), 4–6. At the Billie Jean King Cup
Billie Jean King Cup
The Billie Jean King Cup is a one-night tennis exhibition that features the four Grand Slam winners from the previous year to compete each March at Madison Square Garden in New York City....
, Kuznetsova lost her match 6–4 to Williams. As the top seed due to Serena Williams and Safina's withdrawal at the BNP Paribas Open
2010 BNP Paribas Open
The 2010 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2010. It was the 36th edition of the event, known this year as the BNP Paribas Open, and is classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2010 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on...
she was upset by Carla Suárez Navarro
Carla Suarez Navarro
Carla Suárez Navarro is a Spanish tennis player. She began playing for Spain in the 2008 Fed Cup. On May 18, 2009, she reached her career high ranking at World No. 22.-2008:...
, 4–6 6–4 1–6 in the second round after receiving a first round bye. Kuznetsova was seeded No. 1 once again at the Sony Ericsson Open
2010 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2010 Sony Ericsson Open , was a tennis tournament for men and women held from March 22 to April 4, 2010. It was the 26th edition of the Miami Masters event and is played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Florida, located near Miami...
and after receiving a bye in the first round, managed to prevent another upset by defeating Peng Shuai
Peng Shuai
Peng Shuai is a Chinese professional female tennis player. She won a gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games, defeating Akgul Amanmuradova in the final...
in the second round 6–2, 3–6, 6–4. She then defeated 27th seed Ágnes Szávay
Ágnes Szávay
Ágnes Szávay is a professional tennis player from Hungary. She is the country's highest ranked tennis player. She was the WTA Newcomer of the Year in 2007. She achieved her career high ranking of World No. 13 on April 14, 2008.- Background :...
6–2, 6–3 to book a fourth round encounter with 13th seed Bartoli, losing to the French No. 1 6–3, 6–0 in the quarterfinal.
Kuznetsova was the defending champion at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
2010 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
The 2010 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix was a tennis tournament played on indoor clay courts. It was the 33rd edition of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, and was part of the Premier tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour. It took place at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Germany, from April 24 through May 2, 2010...
in Stuttgart, but fell to Li Na in the second round, 6–3 7–5, after defeating Srebotnik. At the Internazionali BNL d'Italia
2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
The 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia was a tennis tournament, being played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. It was the 67th edition of the event and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2010 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2010 WTA Tour...
, where she had reached the final the year before, she lost in the second round to Maria Kirilenko
Maria Kirilenko
Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko is a Russian professional tennis player. Kirilenko won her first WTA Tour title in 2005, defeating Anna-Lena Grönefeld in the China Open. Kirilenko reached no. 18, her career-high singles ranking, on the WTA tour in July 2008. She won the junior event at the 2002 Canadian...
6–2, 3–6, 6–4, after receiving a first round bye. As the defending champion at the French Open
2010 French Open
The 2010 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 109th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
, Kuznetsova was the 6th seed. She defeated Sorana Cîrstea
Sorana Cîrstea
Sorana Mihaela Cîrstea, is a Romanian tennis player. Her career high rank was World No. 23, achieved on 17 August 2009, after she reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 French Open and the semifinals of the 2009 Los Angeles Open.- Playing style :...
6–3, 6–1 in the first round and faced Petkovic in the second round, whom she defeated 4–6, 7–5, 6–4. In the third round she lost to 30th seeded Kirilenko, 3–6, 6–2, 4–6. Kuznetsova advanced to the quarterfinals of the AEGON International
2010 AEGON International
The 2010 AEGON International was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 35th edition of the event for the women and the 2nd edition for the men. It was classified as a WTA Premier tournament on the 2010 WTA Tour and as an ATP World Tour 250 series...
, losing to Ekaterina Makarova
Ekaterina Makarova
Ekaterina Valeryevna Makarova is a professional Russian tennis player. She achieved her career high ranking of number 29 on June 6, 2011.-Career:...
. Kuznetsova was seeded 19th at the Wimbledon
2010 Wimbledon Championships
The 2010 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament ran from Monday 21 June until Sunday 4 July 2010. It was the 124th staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand...
. She defeated Akgul Amanmuradova
Akgul Amanmuradova
Akgul Amanmuradova is a professional female tennis player from Uzbekistan.In 2005, she reached her first ever WTA singles final in Tashkent, the capital of her home country. In the final she lost to 16-year old Michaëlla Krajicek of the Netherlands...
in the first round, 6–2 6–7(5) 6–4, before falling to Anastasia Rodionova in the second round, 6–4 2–6 6–4.
Kuznetsova rallied by winning the Mercury Insurance Open in San Diego. She defeated Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer
Yanina Wickmayer is a Belgian professional tennis player who is currently ranked world no. 22 and is the second-highest ranked female Belgian tennis player. She reached her career-high ranking of world no. 12 on 19 April 2010...
, Sara Errani
Sara Errani
Sara Errani , nicknamed "Poco Gigante", is a professional female tennis player from Italy. On February 23, 2009, she reached a new career high of No. 31 on the Tour rankings...
, Coco Vandeweghe
Coco Vandeweghe
Coco Vandeweghe is an American professional tennis player. She played on the junior circuit, where she reached a high ranking of junior world no. 15, but is gradually playing more senior tournaments. She won the 2008 US Open Girls' singles championship.She made her WTA debut in Los Angeles, and...
, and Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta is an Italian professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top 10 female singles player on 17 August 2009 and also the first ever Italian Tennis player to be ranked No.1 in Doubles on 28 February 2011. As of 10 October 2011, Pennetta is ranked World No. 18 in singles and...
in route to the final where she won in three sets against Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
. She then played at the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open in Cincinnati in a losing effort to Sharapova 6–4, 1–6, 6–2 in the first round. At the Rogers Cup
2010 Rogers Cup
The 2010 Canada Masters was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Canada. It was the 121st edition of the Canada Masters, and was part of the ATP Masters Series of the 2010 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2010 WTA Tour...
, Kuznetsova defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Anastasia Sergeyevna Pavlyuchenkova is a Russian professional tennis player and a multiple junior Grand Slam champion. Her career-high rank of World No. 13 was achieved on 4 July 2011. From July 2007 to September 2009 she was coached at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France...
7–5, 4–6, 6–1, Timea Bacsinszky
Timea Bacsinszky
Timea Bacsinszky is a professional female tennis player residing in Belmont-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland. She joined the WTA Tour in 2004 and was ranked World No. 37 on 7 June 2010....
7–6(6), 6–4, 7th seed Radwańska 6–4, 1–6, 6–3 and Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie
Zheng Jie is a Chinese professional tennis player. Her career high ranking is World No. 15 which she achieved on May 18, 2009. As of August 15, 2011, Zheng is ranked World No. 65 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles....
6–1, 6–3 before falling to Wozniacki in the semifinals. Kuznetsova was seeded 11th at the US Open
2010 US Open (tennis)
The 2010 US Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts, held from August 30 to September 13, 2010 in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York City, United States....
. She defeated Kimiko Date Krumm, Anastasija Sevastova
Anastasija Sevastova
Anastasija Sevastova is a Latvian tennis player. On January 31, 2011, she achieved her career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 36. On August 31, 2009, she claimed her highest Doubles rank of No. 195...
, and 23rd seed Kirilenko before falling in the 4th round to unseeded Cibulková. Kuznetsova was the 10th seed at the Toray Pan Pacific Open
2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open
The 2010 Toray Pan Pacific Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 27th edition of the Toray Pan Pacific Open, and was part of the Premier Series of the 2010 WTA Tour...
, but fell to Petkovic in the second round.
As the defending champion, Kuznetsova fell in the first round of the Premier tournament China Open
2010 China Open (tennis)
The 2010 China Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 12th edition of the China Open, and is part of the ATP 500 Series of the 2010 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2010 WTA Tour...
to Roberta Vinci
Roberta Vinci
Roberta Vinci is an Italian tennis player. As of 29 August 2011, Vinci is ranked World No. 20, on the WTA Tour Rankings. Vinci has won thirteen WTA Tour titles, six in singles and seven in doubles....
. She finished the year ranked World No. 27, her lowest since 2003.
2011
Kuznetsova's first tournament of 2011 was the ASB Classic Open2011 ASB Classic
The 2011 ASB Classic was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 26th edition of the ASB Classic, and was part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand where she was the third seed. She fell to Peng Shuai
Peng Shuai
Peng Shuai is a Chinese professional female tennis player. She won a gold medal at the 2010 Asian Games, defeating Akgul Amanmuradova in the final...
in the second, although initially up a set. She then headed to Sydney for the Medibank International Sydney
2011 Medibank International Sydney
The 2011 Medibank International Sydney was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 119th edition of the Medibank International Sydney, and part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the WTA Premier tournaments of the 2011 WTA Tour...
where she lost in the quarterfinals to eight-seeded Li. Kuznetsova was seeded 23rd at the Australian Open
2011 Australian Open – Women's Singles
Serena Williams was the defending champion, but could not defend her title due to a foot injury sustained in the middle of the 2010 season.Kim Clijsters won her first Australian Open title and fourth Grand Slam overall by beating Li Na 3–6, 6–3, 6–3 in the final match...
where she lost in the fourth round to No. 6 seed Schiavone, squandering six match points. The match was the longest recorded women's Grand Slam match in the Open Era, with a final scoreline of 6–4, 1–6, 16–14. It was the second-longest women's match in the Open Era at any tournament. Her next tournament was the Dubai Tennis Championships
2011 Dubai Tennis Championships
The 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships was a 500 Series event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2011 WTA Tour. The tournament was known as the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for sponsorship reasons...
. The 16th seed set up a date in the final with Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
by beating Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta is an Italian professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top 10 female singles player on 17 August 2009 and also the first ever Italian Tennis player to be ranked No.1 in Doubles on 28 February 2011. As of 10 October 2011, Pennetta is ranked World No. 18 in singles and...
in the semifinal, 6–4, 6–4. However, Kuznetsova was defeated by the top-seed, 1–6, 3–6. In doubles, she teamed up with Vera Zvonareva, and in the semifinal the pair disrupted the match between 2nd seed Liezel Huber and María José Martínez Sánchez due to a right elbow injury Zvonareva had received before. Subsequently Huber/Sanchez received a walkover
Walkover
In British English, a walkover or W.O. is the awarding of a victory to a contestant because there are no other contestants, or because the other contestants have been disqualified or have forfeited. The term can apply in sport, but can also apply to elections...
. She lost in the Qatar Ladies Open
2011 Qatar Ladies Open
The 2011 Qatar Ladies Open was a professional tennis tournament played on hard courts. It was the ninth edition of the tournament and the first since 2008 which was part of the 2011 WTA Tour...
tournament against 8th seed Shahar Pe'er in the first round, 2–6, 4–6. As an 11th seed, Kuznetsova received a bye in the 2nd Round at the BNP Paribas Open
2011 BNP Paribas Open – Women's Singles
The 2011 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2011. It was the 37th edition of the event, known as the BNP Paribas Open, and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the 2011...
, but were defeated by wildcard Christina McHale
Christina McHale
Christina McHale is a professional American tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is No. 45, and in doubles it is No. 171. McHale has beaten numerous top WTA tour players, including current world no...
, 6–7(4), 6–7(7). At the doubles event
2011 BNP Paribas Open – Women's Doubles
The 2011 BNP Paribas Open was a tennis tournament played at Indian Wells, California in March 2011. It was the 37th edition of the event, known as the BNP Paribas Open, and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the 2011...
, Kuznetsova teamed up with Vera Zvonareva. They received a wildcard in the first round, but were defeated by 4th seed King
Vania King
Vania King is a Taiwanese American female tennis player. King won both the 2010 Wimbledon Women's Doubles and 2010 US Open Women's Doubles titles with Kazakh partner Yaroslava Shvedova....
/Shvedova
Yaroslava Shvedova
Yaroslava Vyacheslavovna Shvedova is a Kazakhstani professional tennis player of Russian descent. She has achieved a career high ranking of No. 29 as of 21 June 2010. She has won 1 WTA singles title, 3 ITF Women's Circuit singles titles and 3 doubles titles, including the 2010 Wimbledon and US...
, 2–6, 3–6. In the singles tournament of the Sony Ericsson Open
2011 Sony Ericsson Open – Women's Singles
Kim Clijsters was the defending champion, but lost to Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals.Azarenka defeated Maria Sharapova 6–1, 6–4 in the final.-Seeds:All seeds received a bye into the second round.# Caroline Wozniacki ...
in Miami, Svetlana Kuznetsova was 11th-seeded. Alike in the prior tournament, seeded players starts in the second round. There, Simona Halep
Simona Halep
Simona Halep is a world top-50 tennis player playing on the ITF Women's Circuit and the WTA Tour, and is currently the number-two ranked women's tennis player in Romania.-Career:...
was her opponent, who she beat in two sets, 6–0, 6–4. Her next opponent was Peng Shuai, whom she has lost, 3–6, 1–6. At the doubles tournament, again with Zvonareva and a wildcard entry, they defeated Alexandra Dulgheru
Alexandra Dulgheru
Alexandra Dulgheru is a Romanian professional tennis player. She achieved a singles career high of World No. 26 on April 11, 2011. Her career high in doubles was World No. 47 on March 21, 2011.She is coached by Gabriel Urpi.-Biography:...
and Magdaléna Rybáriková
Magdaléna Rybáriková
Magdaléna Rybáriková is a Slovak professional tennis player. On June 22, 2009, she achieved her career-high WTA singles ranking of 40th.-Biography:...
in the first round, 6–4, 6–2. In the second round they lost against María José Martínez Sánchez and Anabel Medina Garrigues, 1–6, 4–6.
She was seeded second at the 2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience
2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience
The 2011 Andalucia Tennis Experience was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 3rd edition of the Andalucia Tennis Experience, and an International-level tournament of the 2011 WTA Tour. The event took place at the Club de Tenis Puente Romano in Marbella, Spain, from April 2...
after receiving a wildcard. She succeeded to move to the semifinal where she lost against qualifier Irina-Camelia Begu, 6–3, 6–7(3), 4–6. She failed to succeed into the second round in both the Madrid Open
2011 Mutua Madrid Open – Women's Singles
Aravane Rezaï was the defending champion, however she was eliminated by Sofia Arvidsson in the first round.No. 16 seed Petra Kvitová won the title beating No. 4 seed Victoria Azarenka 7–6, 6–4 in the final...
and Internationali BNL d'Italia
2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia – Women's Singles
María José Martínez Sánchez was the defending champion, but lost in the first round to Ekaterina Makarova.Maria Sharapova defeated No. 6 seed Samantha Stosur in the final 6–2, 6–4...
, against Dominika Cibulková in the former and against Gréta Arn in the latter tournament. In Madrid she partnered with Zvonareva and received a wildcard. They moved into the second round, but lost against King/Shvedova. Kuznetsova was seeded 13th at the French Open singles event
2011 French Open – Women's Singles
Francesca Schiavone was the defending champion, but lost in the final to Li Na, 6–4, 7–6, making Li the first Asian and Chinese Grand Slam singles champion.-Seeds:# Caroline Wozniacki # Kim Clijsters ...
where she lost against Marion Bartoli in the quarterfinal, her first in a Grand Slam tournament since 2009, 6–7(7), 4–6. At the doubles
2011 French Open – Women's Doubles
Serena Williams and Venus Williams were the defending champions, but both withdrew from the tournament with a pulmonary embolism and a hip injury, respectively.In the final, Andrea Hlaváčková and Lucie Hradecká defeated 7th seeded Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina in straight sets, 6–4, 6–3.-Seeds:# ...
event she paired with Zvonareva and defeated unseeded Klaudia Jans
Klaudia Jans
Klaudia Jans-Ignacik is a professional tennis player from Poland. While Jans hasn't won a WTA title, she has won one ITF singles title, eleven ITF doubles titles and one WTA doubles title....
and Alicja Rosolska
Alicja Rosolska
Alicja Rosolska is a Polish professional tennis player. Rosolska made her bow as a professional at the 2002 J&S Cup.She is primarily a doubles player, partnering countrywoman Klaudia Jans. She and Jans have reached five finals on the WTA...
from Poland. They lost against third seeds King/Shvedova, 6–3, 1–6, 6–3. She lost against Dominika Cibulková in the quarterfinal of the UNICEF Open
2011 UNICEF Open – Women's Singles
Justine Henin was the defending champion, however retired earlier in the year.Italian Roberta Vinci won the tournament beating unseeded Australian Jelena Dokić 6–7, 6–3, 7–5 in the final.-Seeds:# Kim Clijsters ...
. At the Wimbledon singles
2011 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles
Serena Williams was the two-time defending champion, but lost to 2007 finalist Marion Bartoli in the fourth round.For the first time since 1913, all eight quarter-finalists were European....
tournament she defeated Zhang Shuai
Zhang Shuai (tennis)
Zhang Shuai is a Chinese professional female tennis player. , she is the fourth-highest ranked women's singles player from China, at World number 90.-Career Summary:...
and Alexandra Dulgheru
Alexandra Dulgheru
Alexandra Dulgheru is a Romanian professional tennis player. She achieved a singles career high of World No. 26 on April 11, 2011. Her career high in doubles was World No. 47 on March 21, 2011.She is coached by Gabriel Urpi.-Biography:...
, but lost against Yanina Wickmayer.
Kuznetsova was the defending champion on the Mercury Insurance Open
2011 Mercury Insurance Open – Singles
Svetlana Kuznetsova was the defending champion, but withdrew due to a groin strain.Agnieszka Radwańska won the title, defeating Vera Zvonareva 6–3, 6–4 in the final.-Seeds:The top eight seeds received a bye into the second round....
, but withdrew due to a groin strain
Strain (injury)
A strain is an injury to a muscle or tendon in which the muscle fibres tear as a result of overstretching. A strain is also colloquially known as a pulled muscle...
. She recovered fast from the injury and entered the Rogers Cup
2011 Rogers Cup – Women's Singles
Caroline Wozniacki was the defending champion, but lost to Roberta Vinci in the second round. Serena Williams won the title by beating Samantha Stosur 6–4, 6–2 in the final.-Seeds:The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round....
, but lost to Simona Halep in the first round. As an 14th-seed, she succeeded into the 3rd of the Western & Southern Open
2011 Western & Southern Open – Women's Singles
Kim Clijsters was the defending champion, but withdrew due to an abdominal injury.Maria Sharapova won the tournament, defeating Jelena Janković 4–6, 7–6, 6–3 in the final.-Seeds:The top eight seeds received a bye into the second round....
, but was beaten by eventual champion Maria Sharapova. Kuznetsova reached the fourth round of the US Open
2011 US Open – Women's Singles
Kim Clijsters was the two-time defending champion, but withdrew due to an abdominal injury.Ninth seed Samantha Stosur won her first Grand Slam championship, defeating the favourite Serena Williams, a three-time US Open champion and the 28th seed, 6–2, 6–3 in the final...
, until losing to top-seeded Wozniacki.
Fed Cup participation
Kuznetsova joined team RussiaRussia Fed Cup team
The Russia Fed Cup team represents Russia in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Russian Tennis Federation. They currently compete in the World Group.- Current Team :* Maria Sharapova * Elena Vesnina...
in 2004
2004 Fed Cup World Group
The World Group was the highest level of Fed Cup competition in 2004.-Draw:First round losers compete in Play-off ties with Zonal Group I Qualifiers.-Ties:-Final:...
in the doubles and singles competition. Her teammates were Myskina and Zvonareva in singles and Likhovtseva (with Kuznetsova) in doubles. They competed against Australia
Australia Fed Cup team
The Australia Fed Cup team represents Australia in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by Tennis Australia. They currently compete in the World Group I.-History:...
in the first round in the Luzhniki Stadium
Luzhniki Stadium
The Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex in Moscow, or briefly Luzhniki Stadium , is the biggest sports stadium in Russia. Its total seating capacity is 78,360 seats, all covered. The stadium is a part of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, previously called the Central Lenin Stadium...
in an indoor carpet court. Kuznetsova defeated Molik, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4 and Molik/Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs is an Australian tennis player. She has won several Grand Slam doubles titles and represented Australia at four successive Olympic Games; Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008....
6–7(0), 6–3, 6–2. The end result was 4–1 for Russia; Myskina lost to Molik, 3–6, 3–6.
In the quarterfinal they faced Argentina
Argentina Fed Cup team
The Argentina Fed Cup team represents Argentina in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Asociación Argentina de Tenis.They currently compete in the Americas Zone Group I.-History:...
in Buenos Aires. Kuznetsova lost to Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko
Gisela Dulko is an Argentine female tennis player, who will, as of 4 July 2011, be ranked World No. 51 in singles and No. 4 in doubles. Although she enjoyed a modest success in singles, reaching No. 26 on November 21, 2005, and winning four WTA Tour titles, her speciality has been doubles, where...
, 4–6, 6–3, 4–6. In the doubles she defeated Dulko and partner Patricia Tarabini
Patricia Tarabini
Patricia Tarabini was an Argentine tennis player. Tarabini represented her country and won the Bronze Olympic medal at the 2004 Athens games, with Paola Suárez, where they lost 7–9 in the third set to eventual gold medalists from China, Sun Tiantian and Li Ting. On May 9, 1988, Tarabini reached...
, 6–2, 5–7, 6–4. The final score was the same as in the first round, 4–1.
In the semifinal they faced Austria
Austria Fed Cup team
The Austria Fed Cup team represents Austria in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Osterreichischer Tennisverband. They currently compete in the World Group II.-History:...
. Again in Moscow, Kuznetsova defeated Yvonne Meusburger
Yvonne Meusburger
Yvonne Meusburger is a tennis player from Austria. She is currently the country's third highest ranked female player. Her career high ranking is No. 60, a ranking she achieved on 19 November 2007.-Tennis career:...
, Daniela Kix and Meusburger and Patricia Wartusch
Patricia Wartusch
Patricia Wartusch is a professional female tennis player from Austria. She reached her career high singles ranking of No. 65 in the world in 2000...
all in straight sets, 6–1, 6–1; 6–1, 6–1; 6–2, 6–2. The final stand was a straight 5–0. In the final they faced France
France Fed Cup team
The France Fed Cup team represents France in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Fédération Française de Tennis. They currently compete in the World Group.-Current Team:* Alizé Cornet* Mathilde Johansson* Pauline Parmentier...
only 3 days after the semifinal. Kuznetsova beat Dechy, but lost to Tatiana Golovin
Tatiana Golovin
Tatiana Golovin is an inactive French professional tennis player. She is best known for her explosive forehand, which was said to be one of the best at the time. She notably won the 2004 French Open mixed doubles event with Richard Gasquet, and reached the singles quarterfinal at the 2006 U.S....
, 4–6, 1–6. Russia won the final 3–2 for its first Fed Cup victory.
Kuznetsova did not participate in the next two years. She rejoined in 2007
2007 Fed Cup World Group
The World Group is the highest level of Fed Cup competition in 2007.-Draw:-United States vs. Belgium:-Russia vs. Spain:-France vs. Japan:-Italy vs. China, P.R.:-United States vs. Russia:-Italy vs. France:-Final:...
and defeated Spain's
Spain Fed Cup team
The Spain Fed Cup team represents Spain in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Real Federación Española de Tenis. They currently compete in the World Group.-Current team:* María José Martínez Sánchez...
Lourdes Domínguez Lino
Lourdes Dominguez Lino
Lourdes Domínguez Lino is a Spanish professional female tennis player. On 11 September 2006 Domínguez Lino reached her career-high singles ranking: World No...
and Anabel Medina Garrigues
Anabel Medina Garrigues
Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues , better known as Anabel Medina, is a Spanish female tennis player. She reached a career high WTA Tour ranking of No. 16 on 4 May 2009, and has won 11 singles titles and 14 doubles titles, including the 2008 French Open and 2009 French Open with Virginia Ruano Pascual...
in the quarterfinal. She was elected in the final that year. There, she won against Mara Santangelo
Mara Santangelo
Mara Santangelo is a former professional female tennis player from Italy. She retired from the sport on 28 January 2011.-Tennis career:...
and Schiavone from Italy
Italy Fed Cup team
The Italy Fed Cup team represents Italy in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Federazione Italiana Tennis. They currently compete in the World Group.-Current Team:* Francesca Schiavone * Flavia Pennetta...
. Russia again won that year's Cup.
The next year
2008 Fed Cup World Group
The World Group is the highest level of Fed Cup competition in 2008.-Draw:-Israel vs. Russia:-United States vs. Germany:-China vs. France:-Italy vs. Spain:-Russia vs. United States:-China vs. Spain:-Spain vs. Russia:...
she again participated. She played against the United States
United States Fed Cup team
The United States Fed Cup team is the most successful national team in Fed Cup competition. The team has won 17 titles and finished second a further 9 times, out of 44 participations.-History:...
, defeating then-282nd-ranked Ahsha Rolle
Ahsha Rolle
Ahsha Rolle is a professional American tennis player. She was born on March 21, 1985 in Miami Shores, Florida. She began playing tennis when she was nine years old.-2007:...
in the semifinal, 6–2, 6–1. By contrast, Kuznetsova lost the doubles competition with partner Elena Vesnina
Elena Vesnina
Elena Sergeevna Vesnina is a professional female tennis player from Russia. Her career high rank was #22, achieved on 12 October 2009...
, beaten by Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,...
and Vania King
Vania King
Vania King is a Taiwanese American female tennis player. King won both the 2010 Wimbledon Women's Doubles and 2010 US Open Women's Doubles titles with Kazakh partner Yaroslava Shvedova....
. In the end, Russia defeated the US 3–2. In the final, Russia defeated Spain as it had the prior year. Kuznetsova won against Carla Suárez Navarro
Carla Suarez Navarro
Carla Suárez Navarro is a Spanish tennis player. She began playing for Spain in the 2008 Fed Cup. On May 18, 2009, she reached her career high ranking at World No. 22.-2008:...
and Garrigues, 6–3, 6–1 and 5–7, 6–3, 6–4. Team Russia won the 2008 Fed Cup with a straight defeat, 4–0.
In 2009
2009 Fed Cup World Group
The World Group is the highest level of Fed Cup competition in 2009.-Draw:-Russia vs. China:-France vs. Italy:-United States vs. Argentina:-Czech Republic vs. Spain:-Italy vs. Russia:-Czech Republic vs. United States:...
Kuznetsova joined the group again. She played against China
China Fed Cup team
The China Fed Cup team represents China in Fed Cup tennis competition is are governed by the Chinese Tennis Association.China currently competes in the World Group II.-Current Team, 2010:* Xinyun Han * Zhang Shuai...
in the quarterfinal and won in the singles over opponent Zi Yan, and in the doubles, together with Dementieva, over Tian-Tian Sun and Zi Yan, after losing the first set. Russia won against China in a straight 5–0 final scoreline. Russia lost to Italy in the semifinal. Kuznetsova was the only winner, defeating Pennetta, 6–0, 6–3.
At the 57th Fed Cup
2010 Fed Cup World Group
The World Group was the highest level of Fed Cup competition in 2010. Italy successfully defended their title in a rematch of the 2009 final against the USA.-Draw:-Ukraine vs. Italy:-Czech Republic vs. Germany:-Serbia vs. Russia:...
, Russia lost against Serbia
Serbia Fed Cup team
The Serbian Fed Cup team represents Serbia in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Serbia Tennis Federation. They currently compete in the World Group.-Current team:-Before 1992:...
in the quarterfinal 3–2. There, Kuznetsova won two of three matches, beating Ivanović, 6–1, 6–4, and Ivanović and Janković in doubles, with partner Kleybanova, with the same scoreline. She lost to Janković, 3–6 6–4 3–6.
Kuznetsova joined the Russian team in 2011
2011 Fed Cup World Group
The World Group is the highest level of Fed Cup competition in 2011. Italy was the defending champion, but lost to Russia in the semifinals. won the Fed Cup for the sixth time beating in Moscow 3–2.-Participating Teams:-Draw:-Australia vs. Italy:...
. In the first round they faced France, February 5 through February 6. In the first round, Kuznetsova was defeated by Alizé Cornet
Alizé Cornet
Alizé Cornet is a French professional tennis player and the current French number three . She was born in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, and has a career-high ranking of No. 11, achieved on 16 February 2009; as of 4 July 2011 she is ranked World No. 69...
, 6–3, 3–6, 4–6, but defeated Virginie Razzano
Virginie Razzano
Virginie Razzano , is a French professional tennis player and the current French No. 4. Razzano, who was born in Dijon, has won two WTA singles titles, both in 2007 in Guangzhou and Tokyo. Razzano reached her career high ranking of World No. 16 on September 14, 2009. As of May 2011, she is ranked...
a day later, 6–4, 6–4. She teamed up with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and defeated Cornet/Julie Coin
Julie Coin
Julie Coin is a professional French tennis player. Coin recorded the largest victory of her career by defeating the world's #1 ranked female singles player, and #1 seed, Ana Ivanović at the 2008 US Open. Her career high singles ranking is World No. 60, achieved on 27 July 2009. Her career high...
, 7–6(4), 6–0 in the doubles. Russia became just the fourth nation to come back from 0–2 down in a Fed Cup tie since the best-of-five-match format was introduced to the World Group in 1995. Russia defeated Italy in the semifinal in 5–0. There, Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Roberta Vinci, 6–2, 6–7(4), 6–1. Russia succeeded, the first time since 2008, in a final in the Fed Cup. They will play against Czech Republic
Czech Republic Fed Cup team
The Czech Republic Fed Cup team is the representative national team of Czech Republic in Fed Cup competition. The Czech Republic team in its current incarnation only began competing in 1993...
, who defeated Belgium in 3–2.
Coaches
Kuznetsova underwent coaching at the Sanchez-Casal Academy in Spain and was coached by club president Emilio Sánchez under the direction of Emilio Sánchez Vicario and Sergio Casal. But her major coaching relationship was with Stefan Ortega who was a regular face in her player's box and helped advance her game.After a series of dismal finals' results Kuznetsova's ended her relationship with the Sanchez-Casal academy and moved to Moscow on the advice of Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
and started training with experienced Russian coach Olga Morozova
Olga Morozova
Olga Vasilyevna Morozova is a retired female tennis player who competed for the Soviet Union. She was the runner up in singles at the 1974 French Open and 1974 Wimbledon Championships.-Career:...
. They ended that relationship after the BNP Paribas Open in March 2009, after which Kuznetsova was without a coach. As of May 2009 her coach was former Russian tennis player and Fed Cup coach Larisa Savchenko. She was coached for a short period by Loic Courteau after trying unsuccessfully to convince Mauresmo to coach her. Her next coach was for a short time the former Spanish tennis player Carlos Cuadrado
Carlos Cuadrado
Carlos Cuadrado is a former Spanish professional tennis player. He won the French Open juniors singles in 2001.-Career:...
, until being replaced with her former coach Savchenko.
Appearances in video games
Svetlana Kuznetsova appeared in video games Top Spin 3Top Spin 3
Top Spin 3 is the third title in the Top Spin series of video games. The game was developed by PAM Development and published by 2K Sports. New game elements include real-time weather effects, more options of professional tennis players, an in-depth character creation tool and new unparalleled...
and Virtua Tennis 2009
Virtua Tennis 2009
Virtua Tennis 2009 is a 2009 video game developed by Sumo Digital and published by Sega. It is part of the Virtua Tennis series, following Virtua Tennis 3.-Overview:...
and has been announced as part of the roster of Virtua Tennis 4
Virtua Tennis 4
Virtua Tennis 4 is the third sequel to Sega's tennis game franchise, Virtua Tennis. It was released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC and Wii. A Playstation Vita version is under development...
as a playable character.
Playing style
Svetlana Kuznetsova is an all-round player. She is noted for her great speed on court and her strong forehandForehand
The forehand in tennis and other racket sports such as table tennis, squash and badminton is a shot made by swinging the racquet across one's body in the direction of where the player wants to place the shot...
with lot of topspin
Topspin
In ball sports, topspin is a property of a ball that rotates as if rolling in the same direction as it is moving. Topspin on a shot imparts a downward force that causes the ball to drop, due to its interaction with the air . It can be generated by hitting the ball with an up-and-forward swing, with...
. She is capable of producing effective volley winners providing an agile touch. However, she is known for her unpredictability and inconsistency.
Career statistics
| Tournament | 2000 2000 WTA Tour The 2000 Sanex WTA Tour was the 28th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 3, 2000, and concluded on November 13, 2000, after 58 events. For this season, a new event was added: the State Farm Classic in Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S... | 2001 2001 WTA Tour The WTA Tour is the elite tour for professional women's tennis organised by the Women's Tennis Association . The WTA Tour includes the four Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA Tour Championships and the WTA Tier I, Tier II, Tier III, Tier IV and Tier V events... | 2002 2002 WTA Tour The 2002 Sanex WTA Tour was the 30th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on December 31, 2001, and concluded on November 11, 2002, after 64 events.... | 2003 2003 WTA Tour The WTA Tour is the elite tour for professional women's tennis organised by the Women's Tennis Association . The WTA Tour includes the four Grand Slam tournaments, the WTA Tour Championships and the WTA Tier I, Tier II, Tier III, Tier IV and Tier V events... | 2004 2004 WTA Tour The 2004 WTA Tour was the 32nd season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 5, 2004, and concluded on November 13, 2004, after 60 events.... | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 2007 WTA Tour The 2007 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 35th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 1, 2007, and concluded on November 11, 2007 after 61 events. Two new events were added to the schedule for the 2007 season: the Barcelona KIA and Gastein Ladies. It also... | 2008 2008 WTA Tour The 2008 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 36th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on December 31, 2007, and concluded on November 9, 2008 after 59 events.The season was characterised by its frequent changes in the No... | 2009 2009 WTA Tour The 2009 Sony Ericsson WTA Tour was the 37th season since the founding of the Women's Tennis Association. It commenced on January 5, 2009, and concluded on November 8, 2009 after 56 events.... | 2010 2010 WTA Tour The Women's Tennis Association Tour is the elite professional tennis circuit organized by the WTA. The 2010 WTA Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments , the WTA Premier tournaments , the WTA International tournaments, the Fed Cup , and the year-end... | 2011 2011 WTA Tour The WTA Tour is the elite tour for women's professional tennis organized by the Women's Tennis Association . The 2011 WTA Tour includes the Grand Slam tournaments , the WTA Premier tournaments, the WTA International tournaments, the Fed Cup , the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, and the WTA... | SR | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | 2R | 1R | 3R | QF | 4R | 4R | 3R | QF | 4R 2010 Australian Open – Women's Singles Serena Williams defended her title after winning 6–4, 3–6, 6–2 against Justine Henin in the final.-Seeds:# Serena Williams # Dinara Safina ... |
4R 2011 Australian Open – Women's Singles Serena Williams was the defending champion, but could not defend her title due to a foot injury sustained in the middle of the 2010 season.Kim Clijsters won her first Australian Open title and fourth Grand Slam overall by beating Li Na 3–6, 6–3, 6–3 in the final match... |
0 / 10 | 25–10 |
| French Open | A | A | LQ | 1R | 4R | 4R | F | QF | SF | W 2009 French Open – Women's Singles Ana Ivanović was the defending champion, but lost in the fourth round to Victoria Azarenka.Svetlana Kuznetsova won in the final 6–4, 6–2, against Dinara Safina in 74 minutes. It was the third all-Russian final in Grand Slam history, and the first since 2004... |
3R 2010 French Open – Women's Singles Svetlana Kuznetsova was the defending champion, but lost in the third round to Maria Kirilenko.Francesca Schiavone defeated Samantha Stosur 6–4, 7–6 in the final and became the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam tournament.-Seeds:... |
QF 2011 French Open – Women's Singles Francesca Schiavone was the defending champion, but lost in the final to Li Na, 6–4, 7–6, making Li the first Asian and Chinese Grand Slam singles champion.-Seeds:# Caroline Wozniacki # Kim Clijsters ... |
1 / 9 | 34–8 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | LQ | QF | 1R | QF | 3R | QF | 4R | 3R | 2R 2010 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles The Women's Singles event at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships saw defending champion and top seed Serena Williams successfully defend her title with a 6–3, 6–2 win over Vera Zvonareva in the final, whilst failing to lose a set throughout the entire tournament... |
3R 2011 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles Serena Williams was the two-time defending champion, but lost to 2007 finalist Marion Bartoli in the fourth round.For the first time since 1913, all eight quarter-finalists were European.... |
0 / 9 | 22–9 |
| US Open | A | A | 3R | 3R | W | 1R | 4R | F | 3R | 4R | 4R 2010 US Open – Women's Singles Kim Clijsters was the defending champion, and successfully defended her 2009 title, after she won 6–2, 6–1, against Vera Zvonareva in the final. This match lasted only one hour.-Seeds:# Caroline Wozniacki # Kim Clijsters ... |
4R 2011 US Open – Women's Singles Kim Clijsters was the two-time defending champion, but withdrew due to an abdominal injury.Ninth seed Samantha Stosur won her first Grand Slam championship, defeating the favourite Serena Williams, a three-time US Open champion and the 28th seed, 6–2, 6–3 in the final... |
1 / 10 | 31–9 |
| Win–Loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 6–4 | 12–3 | 11–4 | 14–4 | 17–4 | 12–4 | 16–3 | 9–4 | 12–4 | 2 / 39 | 112–36 |
| Overall Win–Loss | 6–5 | 16–6 | 48–15 | 26–18 | 60–23 | 29–17 | 60–20 | 55–20 | 44–21 | 43–16 | 26–17 | 30–18 | 443–190 | |
| Year End Ranking | 889 | 259 | 43 | 36 | 5 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 27 | 14 |
Singles
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 2004 | US Open | Hard |  Elena DementievaElena Dementieva Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a... |
6–3, 7–5 |
| Runner-up | 2006 | French Open | Clay |  Justine Henin |
6–4, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 2007 | US Open | Hard | Justine Henin |
6–1, 6–3 |
| Winner | 2009 2009 French Open – Women's Singles Ana Ivanović was the defending champion, but lost in the fourth round to Victoria Azarenka.Svetlana Kuznetsova won in the final 6–4, 6–2, against Dinara Safina in 74 minutes. It was the third all-Russian final in Grand Slam history, and the first since 2004... |
French Open | Clay | Dinara Safina Dinara Safina Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1.... |
6–4, 6–2 |
Doubles
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents in the final | Score in the final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 2003 | US Open | Hard |  Martina Navrátilová |
 Virginia Ruano PascualVirginia Ruano Pascual Virginia Ruano Pascual is a Spanish professional female tennis player. She was born in Madrid, Spain.She has won three career singles titles but she has been more successful in doubles where she has won 43 titles, including 10 Grand Slam titles Between 2002...  Paola SuárezPaola Suárez Paola Suárez was a top 10 tennis player in the early 2000s. She gained prominence in 2004 by reaching the finals of nine straight WTA doubles tournaments, and by reaching the singles semifinals of the French Open tournament, held in Paris."La Negra" Suárez began playing professional tennis at the... |
6–2, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 2004 | Australian Open | Hard | Elena Likhovtseva Elena Likhovtseva Elena Alexandrovna Likhovtseva is a Russian tennis player, currently inactive. She turned professional in January 1992 at the age of 16.Likhovtseva's career best appearance in a Grand Slam was when she reached the semi finals of the French Open 2005 before she was defeated by Mary Pierce, 6–1 6–1... |
Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez |
6–4, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 2004 | French Open | Clay | Elena Likhovtseva |
Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez |
6–0, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 2004 | US Open (2) | Hard | Elena Likhovtseva |
Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez |
6–4, 7–5 |
| Winner | 2005 | Australian Open | Hard |  Alicia MolikAlicia Molik Alicia Molik is a Australian professional female tennis player. She reached a career high singles rank of number 8 and also won a bronze medal for Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Molik also reached a career high doubles ranking of number 6, and won two grand slam doubles titles, at the... |
Lindsay Davenport Lindsay Davenport Lindsay Ann Davenport is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her as the 29th-best player of the preceding forty years... Corina MorariuCorina Morariu Corina Marie Morariu is a former American female professional tennis player of Romanian heritage.Morariu turned professional in 1994. Mainly known as a doubles specialist, she won the women's doubles title at Wimbledon in 1999 with Lindsay Davenport. She also won the mixed doubles title at the... |
6–3, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 2005 | Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors... |
Grass |  Amélie MauresmoAmélie Mauresmo Amélie Simone Mauresmo ; is a French former professional tennis player, and a former World No. 1. Mauresmo won two Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon.... |
 Cara BlackCara Black Cara Black is a professional female tennis player from Zimbabwe. She has won 7 singles titles and 63 women's doubles titles. She has won all four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles and three of the four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles. She is currently ranked World No. 28 in women's doubles...  Liezel HuberLiezel Huber Liezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,... |
6–2, 6–1 |
Awards and nominations
2002- WTA Awards – Most Impressive Newcomer (won)
2005
- Laureus World Newcomer of the Year (nominated)
- Best Female Tennis Player ESPY AwardBest Female Tennis Player ESPY AwardThe Best Female Tennis Player ESPY Award has been presented annually since 1993 to the professional female tennis player adjudged to be the best in a given calendar year...
(nominated)
2006
- WTA Awards – Diamond Aces (won)
2009
- Best Female Tennis Player ESPY AwardBest Female Tennis Player ESPY AwardThe Best Female Tennis Player ESPY Award has been presented annually since 1993 to the professional female tennis player adjudged to be the best in a given calendar year...
(nominated)
Records
| Label | Figure | Position | Notes | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WTA Prize money leaders (of all time) | US$15,935,608 | 11 | ||
| WTA Prize money leaders (active players) | 5 | |||
| Most singles matches won (official WTA tour events; active players) | 430 | 11 | shared with Daniela Hantuchová | |
| Most singles titles won (official WTA tour events; active players) | 13 | 6 | ||
| Longest match in a Grand Slam in the Open Era by time played | 4 hours and 44 minutes | 1 | against Francesca Schiavone | |
| Second-longest match in the Open Era by time played |
See also
- Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam finalTennis performance timeline comparison (women)This article presents in a tabular form the career tennis Grand Slam, World Hard Court Championships and Olympic singles results of every woman who has reached the singles final of at least one Grand Slam, World Hard Court Championships or Olympic tournament during her career...
- List of Grand Slam Women's Singles champions