Country (sports) |
Soviet Union (1988–1991) Belarus (from 1992) |
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Residence | Minsk, Belarus | ||||||||||||
Born |
Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union |
16 April 1971 ||||||||||||
Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||
Turned pro | May 1988 | ||||||||||||
Retired | 2002 | ||||||||||||
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) | ||||||||||||
Prize money | US$ 7,792,503 | ||||||||||||
Int. Tennis HoF | 2010 (member page) | ||||||||||||
Singles | |||||||||||||
Career record | 434–252 | ||||||||||||
Career titles | 4 WTA, 3 ITF | ||||||||||||
Highest ranking | No. 5 (22 May 1989) | ||||||||||||
Grand Slam Singles results | |||||||||||||
Australian Open | QF (1995) | ||||||||||||
French Open | F (1988) | ||||||||||||
Wimbledon | SF (1998) | ||||||||||||
US Open | QF (1993) | ||||||||||||
Doubles | |||||||||||||
Career record | 714–170 | ||||||||||||
Career titles | 80 WTA, 3 ITF | ||||||||||||
Highest ranking | No. 1 (7 October 1991) | ||||||||||||
Grand Slam Doubles results | |||||||||||||
Australian Open | W (1993, 1994, 1997) | ||||||||||||
French Open | W (1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997) | ||||||||||||
Wimbledon | W (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997) | ||||||||||||
US Open | W (1991, 1992, 1995, 1996) | ||||||||||||
Other doubles tournaments | |||||||||||||
Tour Finals | W (1993, 1994, 1998) | ||||||||||||
Olympic Games | Bronze medal (1992) | ||||||||||||
Mixed doubles | |||||||||||||
Career titles | 2 | ||||||||||||
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results | |||||||||||||
Australian Open | W (1990, 1995) | ||||||||||||
Wimbledon | F (1991) | ||||||||||||
US Open | F (1990) | ||||||||||||
Medal record
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Natasha Zvereva, or Zverava, (born Natallya Marataŭna Zvierava; Belarusian: Наталля Маратаўна Зверава; 16 April 1971) is a former tennis player from Belarus. Zvereva was the first major athlete in the Soviet Union to demand publicly that she should be able to keep her tournament earnings. The team of Zvereva and Gigi Fernández won more women's doubles titles and Grand Slam women's doubles championships than any other team since that of Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver.
On 12 July 2010, Zvereva was inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame alongside Fernández.
Zvereva used a baseline, counter-punching style centered around topspin and her double-handed backhand. She had great hands, used a variety of spins, and was willing to rush the net and volley. Though Zvereva's talent was never in doubt, she often suffered from lapses in concentration during matches and in her confidence as a singles player.
As a junior, Zvereva won the Wimbledon girls singles title in 1986, defeating Leila Meskhi in the final 2–6, 6–2, 9–7. Zvereva also won the US Open girls singles championship in 1987, beating Sandra Birch in the final 6–0, 6–3.
After turning pro, Zvereva won four WTA Tour singles titles and 80 WTA Tour doubles titles. Eighteen of them were in Grand Slam tournaments: five at Wimbledon, four at the US Open, five at the French Open, and four at the Australian Open. She won those Grand Slam doubles titles with four different partners: Gigi Fernández, Martina Hingis, Pam Shriver, and Larisa Savchenko Neiland. She achieved non-calendar year Grand Slams twice: in 1992–93 with Fernández and in 1996–97 with Fernández (three tournaments) and Hingis (Australia).