Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova (Cyrillic: Светлана Ð?лекÑ?андровна Кузнецова; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player. She is currently the fourth ranked women's player in the world.
Kuznetsova was born in Leningrad, Russia (now Saint Petersburg). Her father Alexandr Kuznetsov has coached five Olympic and world cycling champions. Her father's protégés include her mother, Galina Tsareva, a six-time world champion and holder of 20 world records, and Svetlana’s brother, Nikolai Kuznetsov, a silver medalist at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Kuznetsova also tried out cycling in her early years, but it bored her. She focused on tennis instead and was sent to Spain when she was 13 years old for better training and coaching.
Kuznetsova's fans have come to refer to her as "Sveta", the nickname for the Russian name, Svetlana, or "the Kuz", which is derived from her last name. In general, Kuznetsova is one of the more popular tennis players, as she is known to have a sunny disposition during interactions with fans and the media.
Kuznetsova is a very good mover on court and plays mainly from the baseline. Her strongest shot is her heavy forehand.
Kuznetsova won her only Grand Slam singles title at the 2004 U.S. Open, where she defeated countrywoman Elena Dementieva in straight sets in an all-Russian final (the second in history after the Anastasia Myskina-Dementieva final at the French Open of the same year).
Kuznetsova is a frequent doubles player and has been ranked as high as third in the world (March 2007). Kuznetsova teamed with Australia's Alicia Molik to win the 2005 Australian Open, defeating Americans Lindsay Davenport and Corina Morariu in the final. Kuznetsova has reached five other Grand Slam doubles finals, with Martina Navratilova, Elena Likhovtseva, and Amélie Mauresmo as her partners.
A year after winning the 2004 U.S. Open, Kuznetsova became the first female defending champion during the open era to lose in the first round. She lost to Ekaterina Bychkova.
After an 18-month title drought, Kuznetsova won the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Miami on April 1, 2006, beating Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-3. At the French Open, Kuznetsova defeated 17 year old Czech Nicole Vaidišová in a semifinal 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-2 but lost in the final to Justine Henin 6-4, 6-4.
Kuznetsova survived a first round match against Czech Kveta Peschke at Wimbledon in 2006 but lost in the third round to Na Li.
After a month lay off because of an abdominal injury, Kuznetsova returned to the tour at the Tier I Rogers Cup in Montreal. She lost a close two set match to Martina Hingis in a quarterfinal. At her next tournament, the Pilot Pen Tennis in New Haven, Connecticut, Kuznetsova lost in a semifinal to eventual champion Henin.
At the 2006 U.S. Open, Kuznetsova reached the fourth round where she lost to Jelena Janković. Since then, Kuznetsova has won titles at the Tier III Wismilak International in Bali, beating Marion Bartoli in the final, and the Tier II China Open in Beijing, defeating Mauresmo in the final.
In 2007, Kuznetsova lost in the final of the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California to Slovakian Daniela Hantuchová 6-3, 6-4. Reaching the final improved her ranking to a career high of No. 3 in the world. In May, she reached the final of another Tier I tournament, the Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin, losing to Ana Ivanović of Serbia 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) after defeating World No. 1 Henin in a semifinal. Svetlana reached the quarterfinals, of the Wimbledon Championships but was taken out by no. 26 seed and 3 time champion, Venus Williams in straight sets, 6-3 6-4.
Year
Championship
Opponent in Final
Score in Final
U.S. Open
Elena Dementieva
6-3, 7-5
Year
Championship
Opponent in Final
Score in Final
French Open
Justine Henin
6-4, 6-4
Legend (Singles)
Tier I (1)
Tier II (2)
Tier III (3)
Tier IV (1)
Grand Slam Title (1)
WTA Championships (0)
ITF Circuit (1)
No.
Date
Tournament
Surface
Opponent in the final
Score
1.
22 April 2001
Cagliari, Italy
Clay
Andreea Vanc
6-3, 6-4
2.
8 May 2002
Helsinki, Finland
Clay
Denisa Chladkova
0-6, 6-3, 7-6(2)
3.
29 September 2002
Wismilak International, Bali, Indonesia
Hard
Conchita Martinez
3-6, 7-6, 7-5
4.
14 June 2004
The Hastings Direct International Championships
Eastbourne, United Kingdom
Grass
Daniela Hantuchová
2-6, 7-6, 6-4
5.
11 September 2004
U.S. Open, New York City, USA
Hard
Elena Dementieva
6-3, 7-5
6.
19 September 2004
Bali, Indonesia
Hard
Marlene Weingartner
6-1, 6-4
7.
1 April 2006
NASDAQ-100 Open, Miami, United States
Hard
Maria Sharapova
6-4, 6-3
8.
11 September 2006
Bali, Indonesia
Hard
Marion Bartoli
7-5, 6-2
9.
24 September 2006
China Open, Beijing, China
Hard
Amélie Mauresmo
6-4, 6-0
Legend (Doubles)
Tier I (2)
Tier II (5)
Tier III (3)
Tier IV (1)
Grand Slam Title (1)
WTA Championship (0)
ITF Circuit (0)
Date
Tournament
Surface
Partner
Opponents in final
Score
1.
22 July 2002
Orange Prokom Open, Sopot, Poland
Clay
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Ekaterina Sysoeva
Evgenia Kulikovskaya
6-2, 6-2
2.
5 August 2002
Helsinki, Finland
Clay
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Eva Bes
Maria Jose Martinez
6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3
3.
19 September 2002
AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships,
Tokyo, Japan
Hard
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Petra Mandula
Patricia Wartusch
6-2, 6-4
4.
30 December 2002
Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts,
Gold Coast, Australia
Hard
Martina Navrátilová
Nathalie Dechy
Emilie Loit
6-4, 6-4
5.
17 February 2003
Dubai Duty Free Women's Open, Dubai, UAE
Hard
Martina Navrátilová
Cara Black
Elena Likhovtseva
6-3, 7-6(7)
6.
12 May 2003
Telicon Italia Masters Roma, Rome, Italy
Clay
Martina Navrátilová
Jelena Dokić
Nadia Petrova
6-4, 5-7, 6-2
7.
11 August 2003
Rogers Cup, Toronto, Canada
Hard
Martina Navrátilová
Maria Vento-Kabchi
Angelique Widjaja
3-6, 6-1, 6-1
8.
22 September 2003
Leipzig, Germany
Carpet
Martina Navrátilová
Elena Likhovtseva
Nadia Petrova
3-6, 6-1, 6-3
9.
5 January 2004
Gold Coast, Australia
Hard
Elena Likhovtseva
Liezel Huber
Katerina Maleeva
6-3, 6-4
10.
1 March 2004
Qatar Total Open, Doha, Qatar
Hard
Elena Likhovtseva
Janette Husárová
Conchita Martinez
7-6(4), 6-2
11.
17 January 2005
Australian Open, Melbourne
Hard
Alicia Molik
Lindsay Davenport
Corina Morariu
6-3, 6-4
12.
21 March 2005
Sony Ericsson Open, Miami, USA
Hard
Alicia Molik
Lisa Raymond
Rennae Stubbs
7-5, 6-7(5), 6-2
13.
19 June 2006
The Hastings Direct International Championships,
Eastbourne, United Kingdom
Grass
Amélie Mauresmo
Martina Navrátilová
Liezel Huber
6-2, 6-4
To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the 2007 French Open in Paris, France, which ended on June 8, 2007.
Tournament
Career SR
Career Win-Loss
Australian Open
A
A
2R
1R
3R
QF
4R
4R
0 / 6
16-6
French Open
A
A
LQ
1R
4R
4R
F
QF
0 / 6
17-6
Wimbledon
A
A
LQ
QF
1R
QF
3R
QF
0 / 6
15-6
U.S. Open
A
A
3R
3R
W
1R
4R
1 / 5
17-4
Grand Slam SR
0 / 0
0 / 0
0 / 4
0 / 4
1 / 4
0 / 4
0 / 4
0 / 3
1 / 23
N/A
Grand Slam Win-Loss
0-0
0-0
11-4
6-4
12-3
11-4
14-4
11-3
N/A
65-22
Tokyo
A
A
A
A
A
SF
A
A
0 / 1
2-1
Indian Wells
A
A
A
3R
QF
QF
A
F
0 / 4
13-4
Miami
A
A
A
2R
4R
4R
W
4R
1 / 5
12-4
Charleston
A
A
A
A
A
A
QF
A
0 / 1
2-1
Berlin
A
A
A
2R
QF
QF
QF
F
0 / 5
12-5
Rome
A
A
A
3R
QF
2R
SF
F
0 / 5
12-5
San Diego
A
A
A
SF
3R
3R
A
0 / 3
6-3
Montreal/Toronto
A
A
A
1R
A
3R
QF
0 / 3
3-3
Moscow
A
LQ
A
2R
QF
QF
2R
0 / 4
4-5
Zurich
A
A
A
LQ
A
1R
SF
0 / 2
4-3
WTA Tour Championships
A
A
A
A
RR
A
RR
0 / 2
2-4
Finals reached
0
0
2
0
7
1
5
4
N/A
19
Tournaments Won
0
0
2
0
3
0
3
0
N/A
8
Overall Win-Loss
6-5
16-6
48-15
26-18
60-23
29-17
60-20
32-11
N/A
273-114
Year End Ranking
889
259
43
36
5
15
4
N/A
N/A
