The 21st century
Russia · born Leningrad, 1985 · two-time Grand Slam singles champion · Eastbourne champion 2004
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2
Career-high WTA singles ranking, September 2007
18
WTA singles titles, including the 2004 US Open and 2009 Roland Garros
16
WTA doubles titles, including two Australian Opens
4
Wimbledon singles quarter-finals, from 2003 to 2017
2005
Wimbledon ladies' doubles final, unseeded with Amélie Mauresmo
Svetlana Kuznetsova was born in Leningrad in 1985 into a cycling family. She took up tennis at seven and at 13 moved to Spain to train. She played her first WTA events in 2001, won her first two titles in 2002, at Helsinki as a qualifier and in Bali, and was voted the WTA's Most Impressive Newcomer that year.
In 2004 she broke into the top 10, won Eastbourne and then the US Open, beating Elena Dementieva in the final; she was the third Russian woman to win a Grand Slam singles title, all three that year. She lost the 2006 Roland Garros and 2007 US Open finals to Justine Henin, reached No. 2 in September 2007, and won Roland Garros in 2009, beating Dinara Safina. In doubles she rose to No. 3, won the Australian Open in 2005 with Alicia Molik and in 2012 with Vera Zvonareva, and she was part of three Billie Jean King Cup winning teams for Russia.
She returned to the top 10 in 2016 and reached the semi-finals of the WTA Finals. Her last match was at Wimbledon in June 2021. She finished with 18 singles and 16 doubles titles, has never formally announced her retirement, and was on the International Tennis Hall of Fame ballot for the classes of 2026 and 2027.
| Eastbourne 2004 | Beat Daniela Hantuchová 2-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the final, the week before Wimbledon; at Wimbledon she lost in the first round to Virginie Razzano |
|---|---|
| Eastbourne doubles | 2004: lost the final with Elena Likhovtseva to Alicia Molik and Magüi Serna 6-4, 6-4. 2006: won with Amélie Mauresmo, beating Liezel Huber and Martina Navratilova 6-2, 6-4 |
| Wimbledon doubles final 2005 | Unseeded with Amélie Mauresmo, lost to Cara Black and Liezel Huber 6-2, 6-1 |
| Wimbledon quarter-finals | 2003, aged 18: beat the wild card Maria Sharapova, lost to Justine Henin 6-2, 6-2. 2005: lost to Lindsay Davenport 7-6, 6-3. 2007: lost to Venus Williams 6-3, 6-4. 2017: beat Agnieszka Radwańska, lost to Garbiñe Muguruza 6-3, 6-4 |
| Eastbourne semi-finals | 2005, lost to Kim Clijsters; 2006, lost to Anastasia Myskina |
| Eastbourne | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Women's singles | |
| 2006 | Women's doubles | with Amélie Mauresmo |
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 am incredibly pleased that my achievements are still remembered and appreciated."
The person behind the player.
Leningrad
Her father coached Olympic and world cycling champions, her mother won six world titles in sprint cycling and set 20 world records, and her brother won an Olympic silver medal in 1996. She showed no interest in the bike and began playing tennis at seven.
Source: WTA; OlympediaChildhood
She preferred watching men's tennis as a girl: "I had posters in my room of MaliVai Washington, Marcelo Ríos, and (Yevgeny) Kafelnikov. It's very weird but this is who I liked." Later she was a big fan of Marat Safin.
Source: WikipediaMelbourne, 2011
Her third-round match against Francesca Schiavone at the 2011 Australian Open lasted 4 hours 44 minutes, a record for a women's match at a Grand Slam. Kuznetsova lost it.
Source: WTAWimbledon, 2021
She lost in the first round at Wimbledon in 2021, worn out after seasons of injuries and the travel of the Covid years, and never played again. She chose not to announce her retirement because she did not know whether she would come back, and in 2026 still put the chance of a return at very small.
Source: Punto de BreakMoscow, 2020s
Off the tour she designed a tennis clothing line with the Russian sportswear firm BOSCO, took acting lessons for a television series inspired by her career, and worked with the Moscow transport department on new sports centres. She had expected to spend her retirement travelling.
Source: Punto de BreakFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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