Vera Zvonareva tennis. The restless Zvonareva returns. Career of Vera Zvonareva

Vera Igorevna Zvonareva was born on September 7, 1984 in Moscow. She grew up in a sports family: her mother Natalya Bykova played field hockey and, together with the USSR team, was a bronze medalist at the 1980 Olympics; Dad, Igor Zvonarev, played bandy and competed in the USSR Championship. At the age of 6, her mother brought Vera to the tennis section of the capital's sports club "Chaika" (now the Children's and Youth Sports School "Chaika"), her first coach was Honor. Russian coach Ekaterina Ivanovna Kryuchkova (until 2001). Since childhood, Vera has been very successful in training and already in her teens she achieved her first victories - in 1999 she qualified for the WTA tour in Georgia, and the following year she won the so-called. ITF 10,000th tournament in Moscow and won the title of Russian tennis champion (Surgut, against E. Bovina). The talented 16-year-old athlete was noticed by the organizers of the international Kremlin Cup tournament; they provided Vera with a “wild card” (the right to compete without qualification) and the young tennis player reached the 2nd round, losing to the future finalist 19-year-old Anna Kournikova. In the same year, she became the winner of the most prestigious children's and youth tournament "Orange Bowl" (Miami, Florida, USA), and in September 2000 she turned professional. From 2002 to the summer of 2004 year, Vera’s coach was Master of Sports of the USSR and absolute champion of the USSR-1981 Yulia Olegovna Kashevarova. In 2001-2002 Vera performed mainly in ITF (International Tennis Federation) tournaments, winning them twice (2000, Moscow, against M. Goloviznina; 2002, Naples, USA, against M. Drake).

Vera Zvonareva is one of the most open to communication in Russian tennis. It is not known who gave her the idea to open her own page on the Internet, but it was a very wise decision. Before this, emotions overwhelmed Vera so much that it was simply a pity to look at the girl on the court - after each lost game, tears clouded her eyes so that the television picture simply blurred in this fog. And now all emotions are thrown into the world wide web, and Vera has become less emotional on the court. Unless, out of long-standing habit, he throws a towel over his head during a break between games...

As a child, nothing foreshadowed Vera’s great tennis career. Although the girl was born into an absolutely athletic family, both parents were terribly far from such an elite sport at that time. Mom played field hockey, and dad also played hockey, but winter hockey, with a ball. And yet, it was the hockey player’s mother, Natalya Bykova, who brought Vera, when she was six years old, to a tennis section called “Chaika” and said: “Try it.” My daughter tried it and it worked for her.

At the age of fifteen, Zvonareva played her first tournament on the WTA tour. Relatively successful, since I qualified, but stumbled in the first round. After this, over the course of two years, a series of matches followed in minor tournaments - Vera simply gained rating points for the subsequent shot into the world hundred. Already at the end of 2002, at only eighteen years old, Zvonareva essentially became a top player, ending the season at 45th position in the ranking. This was a serious bid for further advancement.

A year later, the long-awaited event took place - the first WTA tournament won by Vera, albeit in not the most prestigious Croatia. But she created a sensation at the Grand Slam tournament - Rolland Garros, where she not only reached the quarterfinals, but on the way to it she accomplished a feat, stopping the powerful Venus Williams. This incredibly upset those who expected that two American sisters would meet in the final of the tournament. By the way, Zvonareva ended 2003 with what may be an unlucky position for some, but for her, a remarkable position in the ranking at number 13. The coveted top ten was just a stone's throw away.

The next year was busy with successful progress towards the cherished goal. Again there was a win in one of the tournaments - this time in Memphis, more significant than the Croatian one. There were finals in tournaments of the first category - the women's analogue of the men's from the Masters series. And the final eleventh place in the ranking. Another significant event took place - Zvonareva became a Grand Slam title holder for the first time - she won the US Open Championship... though in mixed doubles, paired with Andy Rahm.

It would seem that up to ten is just a stone's throw away. But Vera’s game began to decline. Not everything was in order with her health, and purely psychologically, Zvonareva often lost to her opponent before even entering the court. Then the tennis world remembered Zvonareva as a girl whose eyes were always wet. There was something to cry about: during the season, Vera periodically fell back even beyond the top 50, and finished the year in 42nd position. Coaches, rackets, everything changed, except the tournament results - very sad for the most part. Sunset? No matter how it is!

The next two years were spent getting closer to the elite twenty again. And the year 2008 finally became a breakthrough. And it’s not just that at the Beijing Olympics, Zvonareva, included in the team at the very last moment, reached the semifinals and became the bronze medalist of the Games. Overall, she played great and convincingly this year. Two tournaments were won, and on different surfaces - clay and hard. She was a finalist in six more – and half of them were in the first category. I finished the seventh year: my dream came true. But... the injuries came again.

During the past 2009 season, Vera alternated between playing and receiving treatment. When she played, she was convincing and even finally won an extremely important tournament from the first category in Indian Welsh, where in the final she brought the Serbian beauty, former world number one Ana Ivanovic, to her knees. When she was undergoing treatment, the process was delayed, which is why Zvonareva missed almost a quarter of the season. That didn't stop her from finishing ninth.

Returning to Vera’s online diary, it is worth noting that the last entry in it is again of a hospital nature, immediately after ankle surgery. The pictures show us Vera on crutches, but in a cheerful mood. Maybe because her handsome fitness trainer is standing next to her?

One way or another, in recent years Zvonareva has pleased us not only with her confident play, she has become considerably slimmer and prettier. There was clearly some outside influence here.

Alexey Morgun

Vera Igorevna Zvonareva was born on September 7, 1984 in Moscow. She grew up in a sports family: her mother Natalya Bykova played field hockey and, together with the USSR team, was a bronze medalist at the 1980 Olympics; Dad, Igor Zvonarev, played bandy and competed in the USSR Championship. At the age of 6, her mother brought Vera to the tennis section of the capital's sports club "Chaika" (now the Children's and Youth Sports School "Chaika"), her first coach was Honor. Russian coach Ekaterina Ivanovna Kryuchkova (until 2001). Since childhood, Vera has been very successful in training and already in her teens she achieved her first victories - in 1999 she qualified for the WTA tour in Georgia, and the following year she won the so-called. ITF 10,000th tournament in Moscow and won the title of Russian tennis champion (Surgut, against E. Bovina). The talented 16-year-old athlete was noticed by the organizers of the international Kremlin Cup tournament; they provided Vera with a “wild card” (the right to compete without qualification) and the young tennis player reached the 2nd round, losing to the future finalist 19-year-old Anna Kournikova. In the same year, she became the winner of the most prestigious children's and youth tournament "Orange Bowl" (Miami, Florida, USA), and in September 2000 she turned professional. From 2002 to the summer of 2004 year, Vera’s coach was Master of Sports of the USSR and absolute champion of the USSR-1981 Yulia Olegovna Kashevarova. In 2001-2002 Vera performed mainly in ITF (International Tennis Federation) tournaments, winning them twice (2000, Moscow, against M. Goloviznina; 2002, Naples, USA, against M. Drake).

Vera Igorevna Zvonareva was born in Moscow in 1984. The famous Russian tennis player was born on September 7th. Few people then thought that the little talented girl would climb so high up the sports ladder in the future.

Vera lifted the Grand Slam trophy over her head four times during her career. This happened twice when performing in doubles, and two more times the mixed doubles bore fruit. Three more times the athlete made it to decisive confrontations, including twice in the individual category. However, she never conquered this peak.

The tennis player glorified her country at the Olympics and Federation Cups. Also, for a long time, Vera took third place in the rankings when she performed in the junior category.

The athlete is still faithful to her homeland, which is why she lives in Moscow, where she successfully continues to prepare for competitions under the strict guidance of Michel Van de Sanden. Together they have already achieved many heights.

Career of Vera Zvonareva

During her career, Zvonareva has already earned more than fourteen million dollars. At the same time, the tennis player’s anthropometric indicators are quite modest - only one hundred and seventy-two centimeters with fifty-nine kilograms.

The athlete’s career started back in 2000, at the turn of the century. Zvonarev prefers to attack with his working right hand, and on the other hand, like most representatives of the series, he delivers a two-handed blow.

During her long playing career, the tennis player tried herself not only in the WTA, but also showed her talent in the ITF. In the lowest-ranking category, we managed to take only three tournaments, but then in the main series there were twelve of them.

In addition, Zvonareva always looked very good in a couple. Nine trophies and ninth place in the world rankings as of 2005 are her best achievement. But the most pleasant award for a tennis player is most likely the bronze medal that she managed to win at the Olympic Games in Beijing.

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Vera was born in 1984 on September 7 in Moscow. The girl grew up in a sports family, her father played bandy, participated in the USSR championship, and her mother played field hockey and was a bronze medalist in the Soviet Union team at the Olympic Games in 1980.

Vera started playing tennis at the age of 6; her mother took her to the section of the Chaika sports club, to the honored coach of Russia Ekaterina Ivanovna Kryuchkova. From an early age, Zvonareva began to make great strides in her chosen craft, and already at the end of the second millennium, in 1999, she achieved success: she overcame the WTA qualifying round.

The following year she won her first ITF tournament in Moscow and became the owner of the honorary title of Russian champion. The successes of the young talent did not go unnoticed, and 16-year-old Vera was given the opportunity to participate in the tournament without the qualifying stage by the management of the international Kremlin Cup tournament. In the second round, Zvonareva lost to Anna Kournikova, the finalist of the tournament.

Career

Since 2002, the talented tennis player began a sharp rise; in the women's ranking she rose from 300 positions to 45th place. At the age of 19, the girl became a sensation at the prestigious Roland Garros tennis tournament; the still young Zvonareva defeated the great Venus Williams in the fourth round. With her resounding victory, she did not allow the “traditional” final of the Williams sisters to take place. Having reached 1⁄2 of the tournament, she lost to another Russian, Nadezhda Petrova. That same year, Zvonareva had the chance to compete under the colors of Russia at the Fed Cup; our team made it to the semifinals, but lost there.

At the end of the year, Vera Zvonareva rose to 11th place in the women's ranking, and from the next year until 2011, she remained consistently in the top 10. 2008 was the brightest and most successful year for the tennis player, bronze at the Olympic Games, another Federation Cup and multiple participation in the finals of various WTA competitions.

In 2010, Zvonareva twice met with WTA leader Caroline Wozniacki and won both times, coming very close to her in the rankings. An injury in 2012 seriously crippled Vera, she could not perform calmly, however, she found a way out of the situation and, playing in tandem with Svetlana Kuznetsova, won the Australian Open. In 2013, she intended to return to the game again, but shoulder surgery forced the athlete to postpone this idea.

Vera is just as active off the court as she is on it. She regularly participates in various events, holds consultations with aspiring tennis players, and represents the interests of UNESCO in the world. Since 2009, the girl has been acting as a promoter of gender equality. In 2011, Vera created her own foundation, the Rett Syndrome Association.

Personal life

Vera does not talk about her life, emphasizing that tennis players are always in the public eye. This gives unlimited scope for yellow newspapers that have no faith. Officially, the girl is not married. This continued exactly until 2016, this year the athlete literally stunned everyone by posting on social networks that she got married and that she would soon have a child. However, it is not known for certain who became the husband of the famous tennis player.