The Open Era
Belarus · born Minsk, 1971 · five times Wimbledon doubles champion · Wimbledon singles semi-finalist 1998
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5
Wimbledon doubles titles, 1991 to 1997
9
Wimbledon doubles finals, 1988 to 1998
18
Major women's doubles titles
2
Wimbledon girls' singles titles, 1986 and 1987
1998
Wimbledon singles semi-final, past Graf and Seles
Born in Minsk on 16 April 1971, Zvereva won the Wimbledon girls' singles in 1986 and 1987 and turned professional in May 1988. A month later, at 17, she reached the French Open final and lost to Steffi Graf 6-0, 6-0. She rose to No. 5 in singles in 1989 and won four WTA singles titles, but her career was built in doubles: 80 titles, 18 major women's doubles titles and two in mixed, and the world No. 1 doubles ranking in October 1991. She played for the Soviet Union, the Unified Team, with whom she won Olympic doubles bronze in 1992, and Belarus from 1993. Her last major was Wimbledon in 2002, and she entered the Hall of Fame in 2010.
| Major singles titles | 2: Wimbledon (1986, 1987) |
|---|---|
| Major doubles titles | 1: Wimbledon (1987) |
| Wimbledon doubles titles | 1991 with Larisa Savchenko Neiland; 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1997 with Gigi Fernández |
| Wimbledon doubles finals lost | 1988 and 1989 with Savchenko; 1995 with Fernández; 1998 with Lindsay Davenport |
| Wimbledon mixed | Finalist 1991 with Jim Pugh |
| Wimbledon singles | Semi-final 1998: beat Steffi Graf 6-4, 7-5 and Monica Seles 7-6, 6-2, then lost in three sets to Nathalie Tauziat |
| Eastbourne | Singles 1999, beating Tauziat 0-6, 7-5, 6-3, her only grass singles title. Doubles 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1994 |
| Birmingham | Doubles 1988, 1989 and 1990 |
| Junior Wimbledon | Girls' singles champion 1986 and 1987 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Women's doubles | with Larisa Neiland |
| 1992 | Women's doubles | with Gigi Fernández |
| 1993 | Women's doubles | with Gigi Fernández |
| 1994 | Women's doubles | with Gigi Fernández |
| 1997 | Women's doubles | with Gigi Fernández |
| Eastbourne | ||
| 1990 | Women's doubles | with Larisa Neiland |
| 1991 | Women's doubles | with Larisa Neiland |
| 1993 | Women's doubles | with Gigi Fernández |
| 1994 | Women's doubles | with Gigi Fernández |
| 1999 | Women's singles | |
| Birmingham | ||
| 1988 | Women's doubles | with Larisa Neiland |
| 1989 | Women's doubles | with Larisa Neiland |
| 1990 | Women's doubles | with Larisa Neiland |
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
"Natasha has the best hands in the game."
The person behind the player.
Soviet Union, late 1980s
She publicly challenged the Soviet rule on tour earnings, the first major athlete in the Soviet Union to demand that she keep her own prize money, and she won. Asked at 18 what her symbol of success was, she answered: "A red Mercedes-Benz, a big one."
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameParis 1988
At 17, playing under the Soviet flag, she beat Martina Navratilova and Helena Suková to reach the French Open final, then lost to Steffi Graf 6-0, 6-0. With a rain break, only 32 minutes were played, the shortest major final of the Open Era. It did not scar her: she went on to reach the quarter-finals of all four majors.
Source: Tennis MajorsWimbledon 1992 to 1993
With Gigi Fernández she won six consecutive major doubles titles, from the 1992 French Open to the 1993 Wimbledon, including a Grand Slam across two seasons. Their partnership rested on friendship as much as on tactics. Martina Navratilova, comparing them with her own team with Pam Shriver, said: "We were power. They are finesse. It would have been close."
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameWimbledon 1998
She had lost to Steffi Graf 17 times, on clay, carpet, grass and hard courts over ten years. At Wimbledon in 1998 she beat her 6-4, 7-5, then beat Monica Seles in the quarter-finals to reach her first Wimbledon singles semi-final. Nathalie Tauziat stopped her there in three sets.
Source: Tampa Bay TimesMadrid 2002
Her final WTA title, the 80th of her doubles career, came at Madrid in 2002 with Martina Navratilova as her partner, 14 years after she had beaten Navratilova on her way to the Paris final. Her last major was Wimbledon that summer.
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