Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova }} (born 27 June 1985) is a Russian former professional
tennis player. She is a two-time
major singles champion, winning the
2004 US Open and
2009 French Open, and finishing runner-up at two other majors. In doubles, Kuznetsova reached the finals of each major at least once, winning the
Australian Open twice. Kuznetsova moved to Spain at the age of seven to attend the Sanchez-Casal Academy. In 2001, she first took part in a
WTA Tour tournament, the
Madrid Open, and a year later won her first WTA Tour title at the
Nordea Nordic Light Open in Helsinki, Finland. Her first appearance at a major was at the
2002 Australian Open, and her first major title came at the 2004 US Open over countrywoman
Elena Dementieva, making her the third Russian woman to win a major title (after
Anastasia Myskina and
Maria Sharapova earlier that year). Kuznetsova's second major singles title was the 2009 French Open, defeating compatriot
Dinara Safina in the final. At the
2006 French Open and the
2007 US Open singles tournaments she was the runner-up, both times to
Justine Henin. As a result, Kuznetsova obtained a career-high WTA ranking of world No. 2, holding that position for 24 weeks in 2007 and 2008. After the
2010 season, Kuznetsova lost her top 10 position and dropped down to a year-end ranking of 72 in
2012, until recovering gradually through
2016, when she reentered the top ten and reached the semifinals of the
WTA Finals, her best result in that tournament. Apart from singles tournaments, Kuznetsova was also successful in doubles. She won her first five WTA doubles titles with
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario. After a series of disappointing results with her she paired with
Martina Navratilova,
Elena Likhovtseva,
Alicia Molik, and
Amélie Mauresmo. Pairing with Likhovtseva, she climbed to No. 3 in doubles in 2004, holding that position for eight weeks, her career-high. She won the Australian Open twice in doubles, in
2005 alongside Molik and in
2012 partnering
Vera Zvonareva. Kuznetsova also played various mixed doubles events, most prominently in 2003, but never went beyond the quarterfinals. Over her career, she won a total of 18 singles and 16 doubles titles.
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