135 Facts About Vera Zvonareva

Vera Igorevna Zvonareva is a Russian tennis player.

Vera Zvonareva was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000.

Vera Zvonareva's career-high ranking by the Women's Tennis Association is world No 2.

Vera Zvonareva was a bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Vera Zvonareva was born in 1984 in Moscow to Igor Zvonarev and Natalia Bykova.

Vera Zvonareva was introduced to tennis at age six by her mother.

Vera Zvonareva started to compete on the ITF Women's Circuit in 1999, debuting at an ITF tournament in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Vera Zvonareva won three qualifying matches there to reach the main draw before losing in the first round.

In 2002, Vera Zvonareva won her second ITF title in Naples, Florida and in July reached her first singles final on the WTA Tour at Palermo, losing to Mariana Diaz Oliva, in three sets.

Vera Zvonareva achieved semifinal finishes in Warsaw and Sopot, plus a quarterfinal finish in Bol, Croatia.

Vera Zvonareva won three qualifying matches at the French Open to reach the main draw for the first time at a Grand Slam tournament.

Vera Zvonareva lost there in the fourth round to eventual champion, Serena Williams, in three sets.

Vera Zvonareva's ranking was high enough for a direct entry into the Wimbledon Championships, where she lost in the second round to the 23rd seed Iva Majoli.

At the US Open, Vera Zvonareva lost to world No 7, Kim Clijsters, in the third round.

Vera Zvonareva's ranking rose into the top 100 after the French Open and into the top 50 after the US Open.

In 2003, Vera Zvonareva won the title at the Tier-III event in Bol, beating Conchita Martinez Granados in the final, and reached three other semifinals.

Vera Zvonareva defeated a top-10 player for the first time when she beat world No 10 Anastasia Myskina in Berlin.

At the French Open, Vera Zvonareva defeated world No 3, Venus Williams, in the fourth round, before losing in the quarterfinals to world No 76, Nadia Petrova.

Vera Zvonareva reached the quarterfinals in six out of the seven Tier I events she contested.

In 2004, Vera Zvonareva won her first career Grand Slam title, winning the mixed doubles competition at the US Open with Bob Bryan.

Vera Zvonareva won one singles title, in Memphis and reached the final of the events in Cincinnati and Philadelphia, losing to top-10 players Lindsay Davenport and Amelie Mauresmo.

Vera Zvonareva was unable to win a match and exited at the round-robin stage.

Vera Zvonareva obtained an invitation from the Hong Kong Tennis Patrons' Association to play in the Watsons Water Champions Challenge.

Vera Zvonareva defended her Memphis title, defeating Meghann Shaughnessy, but she was injured in the second half of 2005.

In 2006, Vera Zvonareva won her first women's doubles major tournament at the US Open, partnering Nathalie Dechy of France.

Vera Zvonareva obtained a second mixed doubles title at Wimbledon, partnering Andy Ram of Israel.

Vera Zvonareva garnered some success in singles competition, winning two titles in a season for the first time in her career.

Vera Zvonareva began the year by losing to wildcard Marina Erakovic, then ranked world No 153, at Auckland, and then reached the final of the Hobart International.

Vera Zvonareva then reached the final of the Tier I Qatar Open in Doha, beating Dinara Safina, Sybille Bammer, and Li Na along the way.

On clay, Zvonareva then reached her third final overall and second Tier I final of the year at the Charleston Cup.

At the Tier IV ECM Prague Open, Vera Zvonareva defeated third seed Victoria Azarenka in the final.

Vera Zvonareva then lost to Venus Williams in the third round of the Tier I Italian Open, and to Dementieva in the fourth round of the French Open.

Vera Zvonareva won the opening match of the tie in Madrid, defeating Anabel Medina Garrigues, in straight sets.

Vera Zvonareva then reached the semifinals at the China Open in Beijing, losing a three-set match to top-seeded Jankovic.

Vera Zvonareva then beat Ivanovic, before completing a clean sweep of her group by defeating world No 1, Jankovic, again on three sets.

Vera Zvonareva reached the final by defeating Olympic gold medalist Dementieva, but lost a three-setter to Wimbledon champion Venus Williams.

Vera Zvonareva won the title, overcoming Santa Ana winds and defending champion Ana Ivanovic in the final.

At Key Biscayne, at the second Premier Mandatory event of the year, Vera Zvonareva beat Tathiana Garbin of Italy in the second round, before being upset in the third round by Li Na.

At the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, Vera Zvonareva was the third seed and received a first-round bye.

Vera Zvonareva tore two ligaments in her ankle, which later forced her to withdraw from Russia's Fed Cup tie with Italy.

Vera Zvonareva was seeded seventh at the Wimbledon and met Georgie Stoop in the first round.

Vera Zvonareva then competed in the Pan Pacific Open, where she lost to compatriot Alisa Kleybanova, in three sets in the second round, after receiving a bye in the first round.

Vera Zvonareva followed it up by competing in the China Open, where she reached the quarterfinals, losing to Marion Bartoli in another three-setter.

Vera Zvonareva competed in the Kremlin Cup in Moscow as the first seed.

Vera Zvonareva then withdrew from the tournament, citing ankle injury, and the last match was played by her co-alternate Agnieszka Radwanska.

Vera Zvonareva obtained an invitation from the Hong Kong Tennis Patrons' Association to play in the Hong Kong Tennis Classic and won the championships with her compatriots Maria Sharapova and Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

At Dubai, Vera Zvonareva defeated compatriot Elena Vesnina in three sets in the first round, and then following it up with a double bagel against qualifier Kirsten Flipkens.

Vera Zvonareva defeated Alberta Brianti in the first round, but was then upset by Anastasia Rodionova in the second round, in straight sets.

Vera Zvonareva reached her first Grand Slam singles final at Wimbledon, where she was 21st seed.

Vera Zvonareva rose to world No 9 in singles following the tournament.

Vera Zvonareva defeated Dominika Cibulkova in three sets in the first round, before falling to CoCo Vandeweghe.

Vera Zvonareva lost to 11th seed Flavia Pennetta in the third round.

At the Rogers Cup, Vera Zvonareva had a bye in the first round and beat Yaroslava Shvedova in the second round, Agnes Szavay in the third round, and Kim Clijsters in the quarterfinals.

Vera Zvonareva was then beaten by Caroline Wozniacki in the final.

Vera Zvonareva had defeated Zuzana Kucova, Sabine Lisicki, 25th seed Alexandra Dulgheru, Andrea Petkovic, 31st seed Kaia Kanepi, and top seed Caroline Wozniacki.

Vera Zvonareva attained her then career-high ranking of world No 2 following the US Open.

Vera Zvonareva then defeated Li Na in the semifinals, before falling to top-seeded Wozniacki in the final, in three sets.

Vera Zvonareva was in the White Group with Kim Clijsters, Jelena Jankovic, and Victoria Azarenka.

Vera Zvonareva finished the season with a career-high rank of world No 2.

Vera Zvonareva was seeded second at the Australian Open in singles.

Vera Zvonareva defeated Sybille Bammer in the first round, breaking Bammer four times in a row, and defeated unseeded Bojana Jovanovski in the second.

Vera Zvonareva beat unseeded Iveta Benesova in the round of 16, and then 25th seed Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinal.

At the Pattaya Open, Vera Zvonareva was the top seed and was seeking her third consecutive title and second title defence.

Vera Zvonareva defeated Tamira Paszek in the first round, qualifier Nungnadda Wannasuk in the second, and Peng Shuai in the quarterfinals.

Vera Zvonareva picked up her first title of 2011 in late February at the Qatar Ladies Open.

Vera Zvonareva was the third seed at the Indian Wells Open and had a bye into the second round.

Vera Zvonareva was the third seed at the Miami Open with a bye into the second round, where she defeated Dinara Safina, in three sets.

Vera Zvonareva led the Russian Fed Cup team in their semifinal tie against Italy.

Vera Zvonareva defeated both Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci in straight sets to ensure a spot for Russia in the final.

Vera Zvonareva kicked off her clay-court season at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.

Vera Zvonareva was the second seed at the Madrid Open, where she beat Patty Schnyder and Elena Vesnina, before being upset by 16th seed and eventual champion Petra Kvitova in the third round.

Vera Zvonareva suffered an ankle injury during her singles match and subsequently withdrew from the doubles competition.

Vera Zvonareva defeated Nigina Abduraimova, Kristina Kucova, Anna Tatishvili, and Mariya Koryttseva to reach the final, where she defeated Ksenia Pervak for her 12th WTA Tour title.

Vera Zvonareva then went on to play in the Canadian Open in Toronto, where she was third seed.

Vera Zvonareva defeated Ekaterina Makarova, Petra Martic, and Daniela Hantuchova en route to the semifinals, where she fell to the fourth seed and eventual champion Maria Sharapova, in three sets.

Vera Zvonareva next played at the China Open in Beijing, where she was third seed and received a bye into the second round as a result of making the final in Tokyo.

Vera Zvonareva lost in the third round to Ana Ivanovic.

At the Tour Championships, Vera Zvonareva was placed in the Red Group alongside world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki, 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, and Agnieszka Radwanska.

Vera Zvonareva experienced more success in the doubles tournament with partner Kuznetsova.

Vera Zvonareva missed the French Open due to a right shoulder injury.

Vera Zvonareva ended the year ranked 98, her lowest ranking since 2002.

Vera Zvonareva announced her withdrawal from the Australian Open, citing a shoulder injury, which wound up being serious enough to necessitate surgery.

Vera Zvonareva drew top seed and defending champion Li Na in the first round and lost in straight sets.

Vera Zvonareva lost in the second round to fourth seed and eventual champion Ekaterina Makarova.

At the Wimbledon Championships, Vera Zvonareva reached the third round where she lost to Zarina Diyas.

Vera Zvonareva began her 2015 season by playing a $10,000 prize money event in Hong Kong.

Vera Zvonareva played as the second seed; she advanced to the quarterfinals but withdrew from the tournament.

Vera Zvonareva used her protected ranking to play at the Shenzhen Open.

Vera Zvonareva reached the quarterfinals where she retired against eighth seed and eventual finalist Timea Bacsinszky due to a lower back injury.

At the Australian Open, Vera Zvonareva won her first-round match against qualifier Ons Jabeur.

Vera Zvonareva lost in the second round to world No 1 and eventual champion, Serena Williams.

Vera Zvonareva was defeated in her quarterfinal match by Marina Erakovic.

Vera Zvonareva was defeated in the second round by Kristina Mladenovic.

Vera Zvonareva lost in the first round at Indian Wells to Polona Hercog.

In Miami, Vera Zvonareva was defeated in the first round by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Vera Zvonareva lost in the second round to Klara Koukalova.

Vera Zvonareva lost in the main draw to Brit Katie Boulter after retiring in the second set.

Vera Zvonareva won her first ITF title in Sharm El Sheikh since 2002's $50k tournament in Naples, Florida.

Vera Zvonareva won her first match when she returned to the WTA Tour and played at the Connecticut Open.

Vera Zvonareva then got into the US Open qualifying rounds, reaching the second round where she lost to Jamie Loeb in three sets.

Vera Zvonareva then participated in the WTA 125K tournament in Dalian, reaching the final where she lost to Kateryna Kozlova.

Vera Zvonareva retired from her quarterfinals match against sixth seed Marie Bouzkova.

Vera Zvonareva won the first set of her first-round match against Kiki Bertens.

Vera Zvonareva lost in the second round to second seed Jelena Ostapenko.

Vera Zvonareva then won her second WTA title of the year at the Moscow River Cup alongside compatriot Anastasia Potapova.

Vera Zvonareva had a strong end to the year at the Kremlin Cup after reaching the quarterfinals as a qualifier, notching a Top 10 win over Karolina Pliskova with the loss of just three games.

Vera Zvonareva reached the semifinals where she was set to face two-time finalist Alison Riske.

Vera Zvonareva retired from the match due to a left hip injury.

Vera Zvonareva then beat third seed and compatriot, Daria Kasatkina, in the quarterfinals.

Vera Zvonareva lost in the semifinals to eighth seed Donna Vekic.

Vera Zvonareva lost in the first round to Victoria Azarenka.

Vera Zvonareva played doubles with Raquel Atawo at the Eastbourne International.

Vera Zvonareva missed the Australian Open due to problems with her left wrist.

Vera Zvonareva lost in the first round to qualifier and compatriot, Daria Kasatkina.

Vera Zvonareva ended the year ranked 163 in singles and 40 in doubles.

Vera Zvonareva began the year at the first edition of the Abu Dhabi Open.

Vera Zvonareva lost in the second round to second seed Elina Svitolina.

Vera Zvonareva reached the semifinals at the St Petersburg Ladies' Trophy where she lost to compatriot Margarita Gasparyan.

Vera Zvonareva lost in the second round to Fiona Ferro.

Vera Zvonareva lost in the third round to ninth seed and 2019 champion, Karolina Pliskova.

Vera Zvonareva withdrew from her second-round match against seventh seed Sara Sorribes Tormo due to a right ankle injury.

Vera Zvonareva competed in her final tournament of the season at the Open de Limoges.

Vera Zvonareva ended the year ranked 87 in singles and 53 in doubles.

Vera Zvonareva started her 2022 season at the first edition of the Melbourne Summer Set 1.

Vera Zvonareva lost in the second round to qualifier Zheng Qinwen.

Vera Zvonareva's losing streak ended in Miami where she started from qualifying, but won four matches in a row, including a straight-sets win over 19th seed Tamara Zidansek in the round of 64, before losing to Danielle Collins in the round of 32.

Vera Zvonareva finished the year ranked No 273 in singles and No 31 in doubles.

In 2010, they met in two important semifinals: Vera Zvonareva winning at the US Open and Wozniacki prevailing at the 2010 WTA Tour Championships in a match which decided which of the two would finish 2010 ranked world No 1.

Vera Zvonareva had a rivalry with the Polish player Agnieszka Radwanska, which began in 2007.

At the 2007 Kremlin Cup, Vera Zvonareva won their first meeting in straight sets.

When Clijsters returned in 2010, Vera Zvonareva won the next three matches, including one at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, then lost the US Open final.

Vera Zvonareva has never lost to any other player eight times in a row.

In 2007, Vera Zvonareva graduated from the Russian State University of Physical Education with a degree in Physical Education.

Vera Zvonareva studied for a second degree in international economic relations at the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow.

Vera Zvonareva's husband Alexander Kucher is a former officer who worked in the administration of the Moscow Oblast and currently works in the logistic division of the German hardware store OBI.