The Open Era
Soviet Union, then Latvia · born Lviv, 1966 · right-handed · Wimbledon doubles champion 1991, mixed champion 1992, world No. 1 in doubles
All playersBack to the rankings
9
Wimbledon finals, 1988 to 1997: six in women's doubles, three in mixed
2
Wimbledon titles: women's doubles 1991, mixed doubles 1992
94
Wimbledon doubles and mixed matches won: 61 doubles, 33 mixed
6
Birmingham doubles titles, 1988 to 1999
65
WTA doubles titles, 1985 to 1999
Larisa Savchenko was born in Lviv, then in the Soviet Union, in 1966 and turned professional in 1983. With Svetlana Parkhomenko she reached the Wimbledon doubles quarter-finals as an unseeded pair in 1983 and 1984, and the two won her first tour titles in 1985. She married Alex Neiland in December 1989. She played for the Soviet Union at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, reaching the quarter-finals in singles and doubles, and for Latvia at Barcelona in 1992.
Her best partnership was with Natasha Zvereva. They lost the Wimbledon finals of 1988 and 1989, won Roland Garros in 1989 and took the Wimbledon title in 1991. She reached No. 1 in the doubles rankings on 27 January 1992, then played a run of major finals with Jana Novotná. In mixed doubles she won four majors: Wimbledon in 1992 with Cyril Suk, the Australian Open in 1994 with Andrei Olhovskiy and in 1996 with Mark Woodforde, and Roland Garros in 1995 with Woodforde.
In singles she reached No. 13 in 1988 and the quarter-finals of the 1988 US Open and of Wimbledon in 1994. She won 65 doubles titles and 766 doubles matches on the tour and retired in 2000. As a coach she has worked with the Ukrainian Daria Snigur since 2017.
| Wimbledon doubles finals | 1988 with Zvereva: lost to Steffi Graf and Gabriela Sabatini 6-3, 1-6, 12-10 in 169 minutes. 1989 with Zvereva: lost to Novotná and Helena Suková 6-1, 6-2. 1991 with Zvereva: beat Gigi Fernández and Novotná 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 on Centre Court. 1992 and 1993 with Novotná: lost to Fernández and Zvereva 6-4, 6-1 and 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4. 1996 with Meredith McGrath: lost to Martina Hingis and Suková 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon mixed finals | 1992 with Cyril Suk: beat Jacco Eltingh and Miriam Oremans 7-6 (7-2), 6-2. 1996 with Mark Woodforde: lost to Suk and Suková 1-6, 6-3, 6-2. 1997 with Andrei Olhovskiy: lost to Suk and Suková 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 |
| Four matches in a day | On Monday 8 July 1996 she played four consecutive matches on Centre Court, lasting 6 hours 25 minutes in all |
| Other grass finals | Runner-up at Eastbourne in 1993 with Novotná |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Women's doubles | with Natasha Zvereva |
| 1992 | Mixed doubles | with Cyril Suk |
| Birmingham | ||
| 1988 | Women's doubles | with Natasha Zvereva |
| 1989 | Women's doubles | with Natasha Zvereva |
| 1990 | Women's doubles | with Natasha Zvereva |
| 1994 | Women's doubles | with Zina Garrison |
| 1997 | Women's doubles | with Katrina Adams |
| 1999 | Women's doubles | with Corina Morariu |
| Eastbourne | ||
| 1987 | Women's doubles | with Svetlana Parkhomenko |
| 1990 | Women's doubles | with Natasha Zvereva |
| 1991 | Women's doubles | with Natasha Zvereva |
| 1992 | Women's doubles | with Jana Novotná |
| 's-Hertogenbosch (Rosmalen) | ||
| 1996 | Women's doubles Rosmalen Grass Court Championships | with Brenda Schultz |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. † single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"I played flat but Larisa gave me this technique"
The person behind the player.
Wimbledon, 1988
Her first major final, with Zvereva, was lost 12-10 in the final set to Steffi Graf and Gabriela Sabatini after 169 minutes on No. 2 Court. That year Graf won all four Grand Slam singles titles and the Olympic gold.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025 (AELTC); WikipediaDecember 1989
She married Alex Neiland on 21 December 1989 and went on competing as Savchenko-Neiland. She speaks Russian, Ukrainian, Latvian and English.
Source: WTAWimbledon, 8 July 1996
On the Monday at the end of the 1996 Championships she played four matches in a row on Centre Court, 6 hours 25 minutes of tennis. That year she lost both the women's doubles final, with McGrath, and the mixed final, with Woodforde.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025 (AELTC)Moscow and Jūrmala
At the 1998 Moscow tournament she arranged for players to give part of their prize money to the city's needy. She gave her used racquets, clothes and shoes to a tennis club in Jūrmala to equip young players, and started a hall of fame at the club with items from her tournaments.
Source: WTAKyiv, 2017 onwards
She began coaching Daria Snigur in Kyiv. When Snigur beat Simona Halep at the 2022 US Open, she credited Neiland with her unorthodox forehand: "I played flat but Larisa gave me this technique."
Source: WTAFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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