'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
A former World No. 2 has pulled off the most unexpected tennis story of the season, reaching the final of an ITF100 tourament in Dubai at the age of 41. In the final, she will be taking on a 20-year-old, setting up a difference of 21 years between the two finalists.
On Saturday, 6 December, the tennis world got the shock of their life when they saw Vera Zvonareva, a former finalist at Wimbledon and US Open, playing a 3-hour marathon in the semifinals in Dubai. She beat a player 25 years her junior, Mika Stojsavljevic, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4 in a three-set thriller.
With the win, she has now reached the final of the outdoor hardcourt tournament, where she will next face Petra Marcinko of Croatia. Zvonareva is a 12-time champ on the WTA Tour but is currently unranked on the WTA Tour. A win on Sunday, however, will bring her closer to the top 500.
Trending
This is the first final for Zvonareva in five years, and her first tournament since mid 2024, when a shoulder injury put her on the sidelines. Zvonareva's last full season on the pro tour came in 2023, when she ended the year ranked outside the top 250 in singles and inside the top 10 in doubles.
What is Vera Zvonareva's biggest achievement in tennis?
Vera Zvonareva's best ever season on the WTA Tour came in 2010, when she reached the final at Wimbledon and the US Open. She lost the former to Serena Williams and the latter to Kim Clijsters, and ended up finishing the year as the World No. 2.
She reached the semifinals of the Australian Open the following year, but could not replicate the same success and ended up as the year-end World No. 7 in 2011. From then on, injuries forced the Russian in and out of tennis, with a mini break in 2016 before making a comeback in 2017.
In doubles, however, Zvonareva continued to be a threat. She won the US Open in 2020 and reached the final of the women's doubles in 2023, partnering with Laura Siegemund. The pair even won the WTA Finals in 2023. In singles, she could manage a runner-up finish in 2008, where she lost to Venus Williams in the final.
