Svetlana Kuznetsova facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Svetlana Kuznetsova

Kuznetsova at the 2014 US Open
Country (sports)	Russia
Residence	Moscow, Russia
Born	(1985-06-27) 27 June 1985 (age 40) Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Turned pro	2000
Retired	2021
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Coach	Gustavo Marcaccio
Prize money	,816,890 12th in all-time rankings
Singles
Career record	670–348 (65.82%)
Career titles	18
Highest ranking	No. 2 (10 September 2007)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	QF (2005, 2009, 2013)
French Open	W (2009)
Wimbledon	QF (2003, 2005, 2007, 2017)
US Open	W (2004)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	SF (2016)
Olympic Games	QF (2004)
Doubles
Career record	259–135 (65.74%)
Career titles	16
Highest ranking	No. 3 (7 June 2004)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	W (2005, 2012)
French Open	F (2004)
Wimbledon	F (2005)
US Open	F (2003, 2004)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour Finals	SF (2003, 2004)
Olympic Games	QF (2008, 2016)
Mixed doubles
Career record	4–4 (50%)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	1R (2003, 2014)
French Open	2R (2003)
Wimbledon	QF (2003)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	W (2004, 2007, 2008) Record 27–13

Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova (born on June 27, 1985) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She is famous for winning two major singles titles, known as Grand Slams. She won the US Open in 2004 and the French Open in 2009. She also reached the finals of two other Grand Slam tournaments.

In doubles, Kuznetsova was very successful, reaching the finals of every Grand Slam at least once. She won the Australian Open doubles title twice. Svetlana moved to Spain when she was seven years old to train at a special tennis academy. She started playing in professional tournaments in 2001 and won her first big title in 2002. She became the third Russian woman to win a Grand Slam singles title. In 2007, she reached her highest ranking, becoming the world No. 2 player. She held this spot for 24 weeks.

Besides her singles success, Svetlana also won 16 doubles titles. She reached world No. 3 in doubles in 2004. Overall, she won 18 singles and 16 doubles titles in her career.

Early Life and Family

Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova was born in Leningrad, Russia. Her family is very athletic. Her father, Aleksandr Kuznetsov, coached many Olympic and world cycling champions. Her mother, Galina Tsareva, was a six-time world champion in cycling and set 20 world records. Svetlana's brother, Nikolay Kuznetsov, won a silver medal in cycling at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Even with a family of cyclists, Svetlana was always interested in tennis. She enjoyed watching men's tennis more than women's tennis when she was young. She started playing tennis at age seven. When she was 13, she moved to Spain to get better training and coaching. While living there, she learned to speak Spanish very well.

Career Highlights

Starting Her Professional Journey (2000-2002)

Svetlana began her professional tennis career in 2000. She played in her first International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament in Spain. By the end of 2000, she was ranked 889th in the world.

In 2001, she won her first ITF title. She also played in her first main tournaments on the WTA Tour. In 2002, Svetlana played in her first Grand Slam, the 2002 Australian Open. She won her first WTA singles title in Helsinki, Finland, defeating a top-40 player. This win helped her enter the top 100 rankings for the first time. Later that year, she won another title in Bali, Indonesia. She also won three doubles titles with Arantxa Sánchez Vicario. By the end of 2002, she was ranked world No. 43 in singles.

First Grand Slam Quarterfinal (2003)

In 2003, Svetlana started playing doubles with tennis legend Martina Navratilova. They reached the quarterfinals at the 2003 French Open and 2003 Wimbledon Championships. At Wimbledon, Svetlana also reached her first Grand Slam singles quarterfinal. She lost to Justine Henin, who was ranked third. Later that year, she and Navratilova reached their first Grand Slam doubles final at the US Open. They finished the year ranked world No. 36.

Winning the US Open (2004)

The year 2004 was a big one for Svetlana. She reached her second Grand Slam doubles final at the 2004 Australian Open. She also started beating top-ranked players, including Venus Williams and Justine Henin. She reached three singles finals before the French Open.

At the 2004 French Open, she reached the fourth round in singles and the doubles final. After the French Open, she entered the top 10 in singles and reached world No. 3 in doubles.

Svetlana won her first Grand Slam singles title at the US Open. She defeated Elena Dementieva in the final. This made her the first Russian woman to win the US Open. She also became the third Russian woman to win a Grand Slam singles title that year. She continued her winning streak by winning another tournament in Bali. She finished 2004 as world No. 5.

Ups and Downs (2005-2006)

In 2005, Svetlana won her first Grand Slam doubles title at the 2005 Australian Open with Alicia Molik. However, she had a tough year in singles. She lost in the first round of the US Open as the defending champion. This caused her to drop out of the top 10.

Svetlana bounced back in 2006. She won her first major title in 18 months at the Miami Open, defeating Maria Sharapova in the final. This win brought her back into the top 10. She also reached her second Grand Slam singles final at the 2006 French Open, but lost to Justine Henin. She ended 2006 as world No. 4.

Reaching World No. 2 (2007)

Svetlana continued her strong performance in 2007. She reached three Tier I finals, including in Doha, Indian Wells, and Berlin. She also reached the semifinals of the 2007 French Open and the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.

She won her first singles title of the year in New Haven. At the US Open, she reached her third Grand Slam final, but lost to Justine Henin. After this tournament, Svetlana reached her career-high ranking of world No. 2. She finished the year as the highest-ranked Russian player.

Consistent Performance (2008)

In 2008, Svetlana reached several finals but did not win a title. She reached the finals in Sydney, Dubai, and Indian Wells. She also made it to the semifinals of the 2008 French Open. She finished the year ranked No. 8 in the world.

Winning the French Open (2009)

Svetlana started 2009 by reaching the quarterfinals of the 2009 Australian Open. She then won her first singles title since 2007 at the Stuttgart Open, defeating world No. 1 Dinara Safina.

At the 2009 French Open, she defeated Serena Williams in the quarterfinals. She then beat Dinara Safina in the final to win her second Grand Slam title. This was a huge achievement for her. Later in the year, she won the China Open in Beijing. She finished 2009 ranked No. 3.

Later Career and Comebacks (2010-2021)

From 2010 to 2012, Svetlana faced some challenges with her form and injuries. She won the San Diego Open in 2010. In 2011, she played in the longest recorded women's Grand Slam match at the Australian Open, lasting 4 hours and 44 minutes.

In 2012, she won her second Grand Slam doubles title at the 2012 Australian Open with Vera Zvonareva. She then had to take a break due to injuries, missing the US Open.

Svetlana made a strong comeback in 2013, reaching the quarterfinals of the 2013 Australian Open and the 2013 French Open. In 2014, she won her first singles title in almost four years at the Washington Open.

In 2015, she reached the final of the Madrid Open and won the Kremlin Cup. In 2016, she reached the final of the Miami Open and returned to the top 10 rankings. She also qualified for the 2016 WTA Finals for the first time since 2009.

Her career continued with ups and downs, including another final at Indian Wells in 2017. She won the Citi Open again in 2018. After more injury breaks, she made another comeback in 2019, reaching the final of the Cincinnati Open. She continued to play until 2021, when she ended her season early due to ongoing injuries.

Rivalries

Kuznetsova vs. Henin

Justine Henin from Belgium was one of Svetlana's main rivals. They played 19 matches, with Svetlana winning three of them. Their first match was at Wimbledon in 2003, where Henin won. Svetlana's first win against Henin was in 2004 at the Qatar Total Open semifinals.

They played in two Grand Slam finals: the 2006 French Open and the 2007 US Open, with Henin winning both. Svetlana's last match against Henin was at the 2011 Australian Open. Svetlana won this dramatic match, and Henin retired from tennis shortly after due to an elbow injury.

Kuznetsova vs. Radwańska

Svetlana and Agnieszka Radwańska from Poland played 18 times. Svetlana won 14 of these matches. Their first meeting was at Wimbledon in 2007. While Radwańska won some matches in 2008, Svetlana generally dominated their later meetings.

Svetlana won two of her titles by defeating Radwańska in the finals: at Beijing in 2009 and San Diego in 2010. They had some very close matches, including at the 2016 Wuhan Open and the 2016 WTA Finals, where Svetlana saved match points to win. Their last match was at Wimbledon in 2017, which Svetlana won.

Kuznetsova vs. Ivanovic

Svetlana played against Ana Ivanovic from Serbia 14 times. Svetlana found this rivalry challenging, winning only three matches. Two of her wins were in the Fed Cup team competition. They met in two finals, where Svetlana lost both: in Berlin in 2007 and at Indian Wells in 2008. Their last match was in 2015.

Playing Style

Svetlana Kuznetsova plays right-handed and uses a two-handed backhand. She is known as an all-around player, meaning she is good at many different parts of the game. Experts have described her as one of the most technically complete players on the tour.

She is very fast on the court and has a powerful forehand shot with a lot of topspin. She is also good at hitting effective volley winners, showing her agile touch near the net. Her playing style is often called "power baseliner" because she hits strong shots from the back of the court. While she has many strengths, she is also known for being a bit unpredictable sometimes.

Career Statistics

Grand Slam Singles Performance Timeline

Current after the 2021 Wimbledon.

Grand Slam Finals

Singles: 4 (2 Titles, 2 Runner-ups)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	2004	US Open	Hard	Elena Dementieva	6–3, 7–5
Loss	2006	French Open	Clay	Justine Henin	4–6, 4–6
Loss	2007	US Open	Hard	Justine Henin	1–6, 3–6
Win	2009	French Open	Clay	Dinara Safina	6–4, 6–2

Doubles: 7 (2 Titles, 5 Runner-ups)

Result	Year	sTournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	2003	US Open	Hard	Martina Navratilova	Virginia Ruano Pascual  Paola Suárez	2–6, 3–6
Loss	2004	Australian Open	Hard	Elena Likhovtseva	Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez	4–6, 3–6
Loss	2004	French Open	Clay	Elena Likhovtseva	Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez	0–6, 3–6
Loss	2004	US Open	Hard	Elena Likhovtseva	Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez	4–6, 5–7
Win	2005	Australian Open	Hard	Alicia Molik	Lindsay Davenport  Corina Morariu	6–3, 6–4
Loss	2005	Wimbledon	Grass	Amélie Mauresmo	Cara Black  Liezel Huber	2–6, 1–6
Win	2012	Australian Open	Hard	Vera Zvonareva	Sara Errani  Roberta Vinci	5–7, 6–4, 6–3

Awards and Nominations

Records

• These records were achieved during the Open Era of tennis.

Images for kids

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  Kuznetsova at the Zurich Open, 2006

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  Kuznetsova at Suzuki Warsaw Masters 2008

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  Kuznetsova at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships

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  Svetlana Kuznetsova at Roland Garros

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  Playing doubles with Sam Stosur at the 2014 Australian Open

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  Svetlana Kuznetsova, 2014