Elena Dementieva

Elena Dementieva is a Russian former professional tennis player who was ranked World No. 3 in women's singles and World No. 5 in women's doubles.

She won 16 WTA Tour-level singles titles, including an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and was the runner-up at the French Open and US Open in 2004.

Player Profile and Personal Life

Elena Viacheslavovna Dementieva was born on October 15, 1981, in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. She stands 180 cm tall and she plays right-handed with a two-handed backhand.

Her parents, Viatcheslav, an electrical engineer, and Vera, a teacher, were both recreational tennis players. She was initially rejected by two major sports clubs at age seven before training at the Spartak Tennis Club, where her coach for three years was Rauza Islanova, the mother of tennis players Marat Safin and Dinara Safina.

She was later coached by her mother and her older brother, Vsevolod.

On July 16, 2011, Dementieva married hockey player Maxim Afinogenov in Moscow. The couple has two children: a daughter, Veronika, born in April 2014, and a son, Sergey, born in May 2016.

Dementieva has been featured in popular culture, including a music video for the Russian singer Igor Nikolayev and in a song by rapper Lil' Wayne, which incorporated her distinctive grunt.

Professional Career

Elena Dementieva turned professional in 1998. Her career was a model of consistency at the highest level of the sport, as she only finished one year outside the top 10 between 2003 and 2010. She won 16 WTA Tour singles titles and was a finalist at two major tournaments in 2004, the French Open and the US Open. She is widely considered one of the most talented players never to have won a Grand Slam singles title.

Dementieva had great success at the Olympics, winning a silver medal in singles at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and an Olympic gold medal in singles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

In doubles, she won six titles, including the WTA Championships in 2002 with her partner Janette Husarova. She was also a runner-up in two US Open doubles finals. Dementieva was part of Russia's winning Billie Jean King Cup (formerly Fed Cup) team in 2005.

She announced her retirement from the sport in an on-court ceremony after a match at the WTA Tour Championships on October 29, 2010. She concluded her career ranked World No. 9.

Career Record

Singles

• Career record: 576–273
• Career titles: 16
• Highest ranking: No. 3 (April 6, 2009)

Best Grand Slam Singles Performances

• Australian Open – SF (2009)
• French Open – F (2004)
• Wimbledon – SF (2008, 2009)
• US Open – F (2004)

Other tournaments (Singles)

• WTA Tour Championships – SF (2000, 2008)
• Olympic Games – W (2008)

Doubles

• Career record: 152–86
• Career titles: 6
• Highest ranking: No. 5 (April 14, 2003)

Best Grand Slam Doubles Performances

• Australian Open – 3R (2005, 2006, 2007)
• French Open – 3R (2004)
• Wimbledon – SF (2003)
• US Open – F (2002, 2005)

Other tournaments (Doubles)

• WTA Championships – W (2002)
• Olympic Games – 1R (2004)

Team competitions

• Fed Cup – W (2005)