Russian women used to dominate the rankings — not anymore
U.S. Open is chance to restore glory
No nation achieved superpower standing in women’s tennis quite like Russia did a decade ago.
Fueled by a well-oiled post-Soviet sports machine, the pioneering sports/celebrity status attained by Anna Kournikova and the buoyant support of former president Boris Yeltsin, Russia produced three first-time Grand Slam singles champions, all 22 or younger, in the breakout 2004 season.
Anastasia Myskina, then 22, kicked it off by winning the French Open against 22-year-old Elena Dementieva in the first allRussian Grand Slam final. A month later, Maria Sharapova, then 17, wowed Wimbledon by upending Serena Williams in straight sets.
Capping the season: Svetlana Kuznetsova, a 19-year-old slugger from a family of cyclists, beat Dementieva to win the U.S. Open.
Until then, the best female Russian result had been Olga Morozova’s runner-up finishes in the French Open and Wimbledon 30 years earlier, losing both times to Chris Evert.
“It was a great time for Russian tennis,” says Kuznetsova, who went on to win a second major, the 2009 French Open, defeating fellow Russian Dinara Safina.
But today’s WTA top 10 counts only one Russian, Florida-trained Sharapova. Six women are in the top 100, but their average age is 26-plus, and none is younger than 23. Many of the breakout stars are out of the sport.
“It’s disappointing because lots of Russians are gone,” says former No. 1 and three-time Grand Slam finalist Safina, 28, who retired with a back injury in 2011.
Myskina and Dementieva have children and retired years ago, and former top-five player Anna Chakvetadze saw her career cut short at 26 by injuries and the psychological after-effects of a home-invasion robbery.
A handful of other former top-10 players, such as Nadia Petrova, 32, Vera Zvonareva, 29, and Maria Kirilenko, 27, have been slowed by injuries.
Kuznetsova, 29, says she feels like a lonely remnant of a golden generation. “All the Russians are younger than me now,” she says.
It’s easy to forget how domi- nant Russia was.
Since 2004, 18 Russian women have captured 124 WTA titles, far more than second-place USA (81) and more than double the figures of the next two most prolific countries, Belgium (56) and France (45).
Twice during the last decade, six of the WTA’s top 10 carried Russian passports, and the country’s four Fed Cup titles (200405, 2007-08) are tied for the lead with Italy.
But perhaps no moment better crystalized the breadth of Russian talent than the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when Dementieva, Safina and Zvonareva swept the singles podium.
“I think that was really the peak of our sport at the time,” Sharapova says.
Past and present players toss the blame around for the current mediocre state of affairs.
Several think the lost patronage of Yeltsin, who entertained Myskina over lunch in Moscow after her 2004 French Open victory and died in 2007, has played a role.
“He did a lot for Russian tennis and to popularize the sport,” says Zvonareva, a two-time Grand Slam finalist now ranked outside the top 250.
Others point to the 2009 death of Larisa Preobrazhenskaya, the godmother of Russian coaching. Preobrazhenskaya worked with Kournikova and a handful of other future champions at Moscow’s renowned Spartak Tennis Club.
Some blame the Russian Tennis Federation for complacency and a lack of leadership.
A large measure of internal disarray came into view at last year’s Fed Cup final loss to Italy. Despite six women in the top 30, Russia’s top participant was No. 136 Alexandra Panova.
“They have to change something in the Russian mentality or have better facilities to grow more players,” Safina says.
This is not to say Russia is a non-factor.
Sharapova, 27, owns a career Grand Slam and won her second French Open title in June. She will be among a handful of favorites for the U.S. Open.
Kuznetsova, ranked 21st, ended a four-year title drought by winning last month’s Citi Open in Washington, D.C.
Younger players, such as Ekaterina Makarova, 26, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, 23, are in the top 30 and should be around for years.
Plus, Russians Andrey Rublev, 16, and Darya Kasatkina, 17, won the boys and girls titles at the French Open. If they develop, help could be on the way.
Safina, who left Russia as a teenager to train in Spain, isn’t convinced.
“At 16 we were already competing in the pros and were already top 50 in the WTA,” she says.
Says Sharapova: “Just like every country in every generation, things evolve, things change, and it’s not an overnight process. It takes time to develop talent.”
Sharapova thinks there are more coaching, facility and training resources in Russia than when she left Siberia for the USA at 7.
“It’s not just about money,” Sharapova says. “It’s not just about a best coach. It’s a little bit of everything coming together at the right time.”