Vera Zvonareva profile

Name: Vera Zvonareva
DOB: September 7, 1984
Place of Birth: Moscow, Soviet Union
Residence: Moscow, Russia
Turn pro: 2000
Height: 5' 7.5
Plays: Right-handed, two-handed backhand
Racquet: Prince O3 White

Vera Zvonareva began to play tennis when she was only six years old. She turned pro in the year 2000, and she is currently number seven in the world’s rankings as of June 8, 2009.

In her career so far, Vera has already won four WTA Tour doubles titles, eight WTA Tour singles titles, and two Women’s Circuit singles titles. Vera was often noted for her fragile behavior at the beginning of her professional career – she was caught crying in a number of her matches. The media accounted her poor results to her emotional instability, thus magnifying her personal problems. At the 2003 French Open, Vera successfully reached her first Grand Slam singles quarterfinal. In the previous round, she had beaten Venus Williams in order to qualify. Two of her nine singles titles were achieved at the Cellular South Cup that took place in Memphis, Tennessee.

Vera is also an avid doubles player; she won the 2006 U.S. Open partnered with Nathalie Dechy and therefore became a Grand Slam doubles champion. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Vera won a bronze medal in the singles category, while representing her country Russia. She also won the 2004 Fed Cup with partner Anastasia Myskina in the heated rubber match of the final. Vera continued her success as a part of a doubles team. In the 2008 Fed Cup, she aided Russia by winning the final match against Spain. The victory was Russia’s third win in four years.