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Elena Sergeevna Vesnina (Russian: Елена Сергеевна Веснина) (born Lviv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union, on 1 August 1986) is a professional female tennis player from Russia. Her career high rank was #22, achieved on 12 October 2009. She is coached by former ATP tour player Andrei Chesnokov.
In October 2002, aged sixteen years and two months, she gained direct entry into the qualifying draw for her first $10,000 tournament at Giza, Egypt, and succeeded in qualifying for the main draw before losing a close three-set match.
The very next week, once again qualifying at Al-Mansoura to enter the main draw, where she won two further matches in straight sets, beating Hana Šromová of the Czech Republic in Round Two, to reach her first ever $10,000 quarter-final in just her second event played. However, she defaulted her quarter-final tie to her opponent.
In 2003 she began the year entering two successive ITF events India. at Chennai and Bangalore, and not only succeeded in qualifying both times, but also reached her first semi-final and another quarter-final in the main draws, notably losing to future star Akgul Amanmuradova at the quarter-final stage at Bangalore.
These results gave Vesnina her first ranking at World No. 750, enough to gain direct entry to her next $10,000 draw at Istanbul in the last week of March, where she beat her personal best result in reaching the final.
The following week, at Antalya, still in Turkey, she was knocked out in the first round by her then-compatriot Evgenia Linetskaya; and in May she met with mixed results in Lviv, Ukraine and Warsaw, Poland; but in June she claimed her career-first $10,000 title at Balashikha, Russia, without dropping a set.
After taking her first ITF title she competed in Bucharest1 losing to Raluca Sandu in the second round. She stayed in Bucharest to compete in Bucharest2, where she made it through the finals losing to German Antonela Voina in a tight 2 sets 6–4, 7–6. She then competed in Zhukovsky, Russia, as a qualifier and succeeded, then won through all the way to the semi-final of the main draw with a tight three-set quarter-final victory over compatriot Ekaterina Bychkova en route, 6–7 6–4 6–4, but was stopped in straight sets in the semifinals by Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine.
In the middle of September, she qualified for her second straight $25,000 tournament at Tbilisi, Georgia, and this time won the title, recording victories over Evgenia Linetskaya, Olga Barabanschikova of Belarus, and Mariya Koryttseva of the Ukraine, in the quarter-final, semi-final and final rounds respectively. She then failed to qualify, trying to get to for first main draw appearance at the WTA Tour in her next two events in Moscow and Tashkent. She finished the year ranked No. 279.
Vesnina began the year with a second round exit at the ITF event in Bergamo 1. She then failed to qualify in Ortisei, an ITF event, exiting at the first round of the qualifying draw. She also lost in first round of the qualifying round of 2004 Hyderabad Open to an unranked Barbara Schwartz, 3–6 6–7. At the ITF event in St. Petersburg, it was however a different scenario as she got past the qualifying round and then defeated compatriot Anastasia Rodionova in the first round proper on her way to a quarter-final finish, where she was defeated by Ivana Lisjak of Croatia 5–7 3–6.
She next played in June at Marseille, falling at the last round of the qualifying draw she was granted a lucky loser before bowing out to No. 1 seed and then World No. 70 Ľubomíra Kurhajcová in straight sets despite taking the second to a close tie-break. She then made early exits in Gorizia and Vittel. Following this disappointing performance she reached two ITF quarterfinals in a row in Moscow losing to Maria Kondratieva 6–1 7–5 and in Balashikha losing to Anastasiya Yakimova 6–2 6–4. In late September, as a direct main-draw entrant into the $50,000 tournament at Batumi, Georgia, she also reached the quarter-finals, where she lost to No. 1 seed Anna Chakvetadze, 4–6 5–7.
In her next events she tried to qualify for a WTA event in the 2004 Kremlin Cup but was knocked out at the second hurdle by World No. 61 Claudine Schaul of Luxembourg in a topsy-turvy match, 7–5, 1–6, 0–6 and in the 2005 Bell Challenge were she succeeded for the first time in winning through qualifying into a WTA Tour main draw but lost in the first round of the main draw to Mariana Díaz-Oliva 3–6, 2–6.
She then qualified in Opole, Poland, but lost to Hana Šromová in the second-round in three sets. She ended the year by reaching the quarter-final at Bergamo, Italy, losing to Estonian star Maret Ani in a very close three-setter, 6–4, 6–7, 3–6. Vesnina ended the year world ranked No. 286.
She started 2005 attempting to make headway in WTA Tour main draws, she next entered the qualifying round of the 2005 Cellular South Cup but lost in straight sets to Varvara Lepchenko of United States 6–2, 6–4. The following week, she entered an ITF tournament at St. Paul, Minnesota, where she lost in the second qualifying round to Tatsiana Uvarova. Extending her bad start she made a first round exit at St. Petersburg an ITF event; she then qualified at Civitavecchia, Italy reaching the semifinals before losing to Maret Ani in three sets, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6. In May, she entered qualifying for the Tier II event at Warsaw, and avenged her previous defeat by Adriana Barna, knocking her out 6–3, 7–6, but then fell again to Anna Chakvetadze, 6–7, 4–6, in the second round.
A couple of weeks later, she suffered a disappointing first-round loss to Olivia Sanchez of France in the first round of a $25,000 event at Antalya, Turkey, 3–6, 0–6. But the following week she bounced back to qualify for her second career WTA main draw at 2005 Istanbul Cup losing to American star Mashona Washington 5–7, 1–6 in the second round. This was her first WTA tour win. Returning in June she reached the final of an event at Galatina, Italy without dropping a set, defeating higher-ranked Tatiana Poutchek of Belarus on the way, before losing the title to Mariya Koryttseva, 6–3, 6–2. At her next two ITF tournaments in early July, she failed to qualify in Fano while losing in three-sets to similarly-ranked compatriot Lioudmila Skavronskaia in the first round in Cuneo, Italy. But later that month she succeeded in qualifying for her third career WTA main draw at the 2005 Internazionali di Modena, in first round of the main draw she cruised past a low-ranked special entrant from Slovenia Maja Matevzic before being ousted by Italian World No. 28 Flavia Pennetta in Second Round 6–7, 2–6.
The very next week, she won through qualifying into a WTA main draw for the fourth time at 2005 Internazionali Femminili di Palermo but lost Maret Ani in the first round of the main draw, 7–6, 6–3. In her next three events she failed to qualify for the main draw of the WTA events at the 2005 Nordea Nordic Light Open losing to Emma Laine 4–6, 0–6 in the third round of the qualifying draw, in the 2005 Rogers Cup were she first thrashed Swiss perennial and World No. 110 Emmanuelle Gagliardi 6–2 6–2, but then was ousted by Japanese world No. 93 Rika Fujiwara in three sets, 6–3, 3–6, 3–6 and in the 2005 US Open to New Zealander Marina Erakovic, 2–6 1–6 in the second round of the qualifying draw. She then reached the semifinals in Denain, France losing to Arantxa Parra Santonja, 4–6, 6–4, 3–6 and in Bordeaux, France losing to Stéphanie Foretz 6–1, 6–4. Vesnina attained direct entry to a WTA Tour main draw for the first time in her career at the 2005 Tashkent Open in October, where she reached her first quarterfinals losing to Akgul Amanmuradova 7–6, 3–6, 7–6. She then failed to qualify at the 2005 Kremlin Cup losing to Alona Bondarenko, 1–6, 6–7. In the 2005 Generali Ladies Linz she came through the qualifying round before losing to Tamira Paszek, 6–7, 6–1, 5–7 in the first round.
In November, at the 2005 Bell Challenge she reached her second quarterfinals losing to 75th-ranked Swede Sofia Arvidsson 6–2, 4–6, 1–6. In the next two weeks, she came unstuck in early rounds of ITF events, losing to Emma Laine 1–6, 4–6 in the first round at Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and to Estonian Kaia Kanepi 2–6, 4–6 in the second round at Deauville, France. She ended the year with a semifinal appearance at Poitiers, France in the final week of November and her last tournament, losing to Viktoriya Kutuzova 4–6, 6–3, 4–6 en route she Marion Bartoli and World No. 96 Stéphanie Foretz. She ended the year ranked no. 111.
Beginning the new season early in January at the 2006 MAW Hardcourts, she was narrowly defeated by Puerto Rican World No. 157 Vilmarie Castellvi in three sets, 4–6 6–2 6–7, in the first round of the qualifying draw for the Tier III event at Gold Coast, and then she was beaten by Nuria Llagostera Vives in the first round of 2006 Moorilla Hobart International 6–0 6–3 the following week.
Being ranked number 100, she was awarded direct entry into her first ever Grand Slam tournament at the 2006 Australian Open, and reached the fourth round with defeats of qualifiers Li Ting 6–2 6–3, Julia Schruff 6–0, 7–5 and Olga Savchuk5–7 6–2 6–4 before losing to World No. 7 Nadia Petrova 6–3 6–1. She next competed at the 2006 Bangalore Open and 2006 Pacific Life Open but lost in the first rounds of both contests, losing to Australian World No. 127 Nicole Pratt at Bangalore and to World No. 86 Viktoriya Kutuzova of the Ukraine at Indian Wells. However she reached the third round of the 2006 NASDAQ-100 Open and 2006 Bausch & Lomb Championships losing to Tatiana Golovin 6–2, 6–3 and Virginia Ruano Pascual 6–4 3–6 6–4, respectively.
The week after, playing at 2006 Family Circle Cup she again came out the loser in a three-setter, this time against experienced fellow-Russian star Vera Zvonareva, who took the match 6–4 5–7 6–2. In May, retreating to a lower-level Tier IV event at Estoril, Portugal, she was surprised[citation needed] again to encounter Flavia Pennetta, the first seed in the draw, in the first round; and this time the Italian wrought her revenge in the third set tie-break of a very evenly-tied match that ran 2–6 6–2, 6–7. At the 2005 Berlin Open, she lost to Czech Květa Peschke in the first round 6–4 6–3.
At the 2006 Internationaux de Strasbourg she encountered fierce resistance in the first round from upcoming Italian World No. 249 Karin Knapp, but finally defeated her 1–6 6–3 7–6 to book her place in the second round, where she made light work of French World No. 27 Marion Bartoli for the second time in her career, this time dismissing her 6–1 6–1. In the quarter-finals, clay-court expert and World No. 28 Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain had the better of their joust, taking it 6–2 6–4. At the 2006 French Open she lost Peng Shuai, 2–6 2–6 in the first round.
Vesnina entered the grass-court circuit, at Birmingham, England and 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, and both reaching the second round losing to Italian World No. 39 Mara Santangelo 3–6 3–6 and World No. 8 Elena Dementieva, 1–6 6–4 4–6, respectively. In July, entering 2006 Wimbledon Championships world-ranked No. 63, she recovered from a set down to fend off Spanish World No. 75 Maria Sánchez Lorenzo in the first round, and then second round she lost compatriot Anna Chakvetadze in a close three setter 4–6 6–3 3–6.
At the events of 2006 Acura Classic and 2006 JPMorgan Chase Open she reached the second round of both events, losing to Finnish Emma Laine 7–6 6–7 4–6 and American Meghann Shaughnessy 6–7 3–6, respectively. At the qualifying round of the 2006 Rogers Cup she was upset by Neha Uberoi of the United States in the first round. The following week at 2006 Forest Hills Tennis Classic she lost to Meghann Shaughnessy, 2–6 5–7, at the quarter-final stage. In September, in her first appearance at the 2006 US Open, she lost to World No. 14 Mary Pierce in the first round, 5–7 1–6.
Later that month, at the 2005 China Open, In the first round, she at last wreaked revenge upon Emma Laine after a lengthy struggle, 7–6 5–7 6–3, but then in the second she fell in three sets to Chinese World No. 23 Li Na, 6–3 1–6 1–6. A string of three further moderate second-round finishes in successive weeks followed in the earlier part of October in 2006 Guangzhou International Women's Open losing to veteran Israeli Tzipora Obziler 6–4 3–6 3–6, in 2006 Tashkent Open losing to Ukrainian talent Kateryna Bondarenko 6–3 4–6 4–6, in 2006 Kremlin Cup losing to Amélie Mauresmo 5–7, 6–3, 7–6.
At the 2006 Generali Ladies Linz after qualifying she got past the first round of the main draw against World No. 16 Daniela Hantuchová after the Slovak retired 4–3 RET. World No. 12 Jelena Janković of Serbia awaited her in Round Two, and although Vesnina won the first set on a tie-break, it was Janković who emerged victorious in three sets 6–7, 6–4, 6–2. In her last tournament at 2006 Gaz de France Stars she retired against native Kirsten Flipkens 4–0 RET. The Russian finished the year still ranked 44th in the world, up 67 places year-on-year.
In her first tournament of the year at the 2007 MAW Hardcourts she reached the quarterfinals losing to Italian Tathiana Garbin, 5–7 2–6. the following week, at the 2007 Moorilla Hobart International she lost Anabel Medina Garrigues in the first round,1–6, 3–6. At the 2007 Australian Open she avenge her lost to Anabel Medina Garrigues in the first round, defeating her with a 6–7, 6–1, 6–1. But lost in the Second Round to Maria Elena Camerin, in a very close three-set match, 4–6, 6–3, 8–6. Following the 2007 Australian Open then proceeded to suffer a string of disappointing first round exits over the remainder of the Winter season at the 2007 Toray Pan Pacific Open she lost to Japanese World No. 26 Ai Sugiyama 4–6, 2–6 at the 2007 Proximus Diamond Games she lost to compatriot Dinara Safina, at the 2007 Dubai Tennis Championships she was outplayed by Daniela Hantuchová 1–6, 3–6 at the 2007 Pacific Life Open she was crushed by China's Peng Shuai in a double bangle 6–0, 6–0, at the 2007 Bausch & Lomb Championships she lost Catalina Castaño 7–5, 3–6, 1–6 and finally at the 2007 Family Circle Cup to compatriot Vasilisa Bardina, 6–1 3–6 1–6. She has now lost 7 straight matches in a row. Her losing streak ended in the hands of Urszula Radwańska in the first round of the 2007 J&S Cup beating her 2–6, 7–6, 6–3 but lost in the next round to Jelena Janković 2–6, 5–7. At the 2007 Qatar Telecom German Open a week later, she suffered a heavy loss by 65th-ranked Spaniard Lourdes Domínguez Lino at the first round 2–6, 1–6.
in her next main draw appearance she reached the quarterfinals at the 2007 Internationaux de Strasbourg she lost to Marion Bartoli for the first time in three meetings 1–6, 6–4, 3–6. At the 2007 French Open, she was drawn against no. 1 seed and eventual champion Justine Henin of Belgium in the first round, and lost in two relatively close sets 4–6, 3–6.
The following week, at the 2007 Ordina Open, she got through as a qualifier but lost in the second round by Angelique Kerber of Germany, losing to her 3–6, 3–6. Entering 2007 Wimbledon Championships world-ranked 67th in July, she enjoyed a strong start with successive comfortable straight-sets wins over fellow-Russian World No. 32 Olga Poutchkova in the first round 6–1 6–3 and World No. 43 Émilie Loit 6–1, 6–2 of France in the second, before losing once again to no. seed and eventual semi-finalstJustine Henin, in the third round 1–6, 3–6. Following Wimbledon she competed at the 2007 W&S Financial Group Women's Open where she reached the quarterfinals losing to eventual champion and compatriot Anna Chakvetadze, trailing to her 0–6, 1–4 before retiring.
At the 2007 Nordea Nordic Light Open she defeated Swedish World No. 109 Sofia Arvidsson in straight sets in the first round, but then lost to fast-rising Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki, in the second 5–7, 1–6. She then competed in the last tournament before the US Open at the 2007 Forest Hills Tennis Classic, after receiving a first round bye, she began well with straight-sets victories over World No. 68 Séverine Brémond 6–4 6–4 and Japanese World No. 52 Aiko Nakamura 6–3 6–2 to reach her career-first WTA-level semi-final, but then lost heavily to Virginie Razzano, 2–6 0–6 even winning their first three meetings. Entering the 2007 US Open, Vesnina was drawn to play World No. 89 Croat Jelena Kostanić in the first round, but lost to her in straight sets 4–6 2–6.
The following week, representing Russia in the 2007 Fed Cup final against Italy, she avenged her straight sets defeat by Mara Santangelo in their only previous meeting, by outplaying the current World No. 34 to win in straight sets herself this time around, 6–2 6–4. Towards the end of the month, the Russian could reach only the second round of the 2007 Banka Koper Slovenia Open before she succumbed to Argentinian Gisela Dulko 6–7 1–6.
Returning to the Tashkent Open in October ranked 61st in the world, she exceeded her performance of the previous year by reaching the semifinals with successive victories over Italian Alberta Brianti 6–3 6–4, Belarussian Tatiana Poutchek 7–5 6–4, and Romanian youngster Ioana Raluca Olaru in three sets 2–6 7–6 6–4, but at this stage, she lost fast-rising Belarussian teenager Victoria Azarenka, 6–4 6–2.
At the 2007 Kremlin Cup she lost once again to Czech World No. 13 Nicole Vaidišová at the second round, 3–6, 4–6. At the her last two tournaments of the year at the 2007 Zürich Open and 2007 Generali Ladies Linz she failed to qualifyi losing to American Meilen Tu 5–7 3–6 and German Sandra Klösel 4–6, 4–6. She ended the year at No. 54 ten spots lower than the previous year.
Back in Australia for the beginning of the new season early in January, Vesnina suffered a poor start with a three-set loss in the first round at Gold Coast to an Australian wildcard then ranked just 158th in the world, Monique Adamczak, 6–7 6–3 5–7.
Having failed to defend the points accrued from her quarter-final finish at Gold Coast a year previously, she found her ranking slipping to 60th. But she mostly made up for it by reaching the quarter-finals at Hobart the following week with back-to-back straight-sets wins over Japanese World No. 48 Akiko Morigami and Nuria Llagostera Vives of Spain. But her quarter-final opponent, World No. 23 Vera Zvonareva, had the better of her 6–3 6–3.
Entering the Australian Open for the third year running, now ranked World No. 55, Vesnina enjoyed a marginally more successful run than she had done in 2007, in reaching the third round with successive wins over World No. 31 Julia Vakulenko of the Ukraine, 6–4 1–6 6–4, and World No. 98 Jill Craybas of the United States, 6–2, 6–4. However, there was no stopping eventual tournament champion Maria Sharapova in Round Three, as she raced away with their match 6–3 6–0.
Vesnina emerged from the tournament world-ranked No. 52. With only 16 ranking points for her to defend between February and April inclusive out of a total of 549 to her credit, she was presented with a strong theoretical opportunity to return to or exceed her pre-existing career-high WTA world ranking of 41st by the beginning of May.
However, her challenge began disappointingly for her at Doha in mid-February with a first-round main-draw loss in straight sets to Japanese World No. 134 Ayumi Morita, 3–6 4–6. Then at the Tier II tournament at Dubai at the end of the month, she was forced to go through the qualifying tournament, where she was defeated in the second round on the final-set tie-break of a very close three-set match by resurgent Chinese player Zheng Jie, whose then-current ranking of World No. 226 reflected her recent absence from the tour resulting from injury. The sum total of the ranking points earned by the Russian in February was just six.
Returning to action in mid-March at the Tier I fixture taking place at Indian Wells, Vesnina could manage only the second round of the main draw after defeating World No. 98 Hsieh Su-Wei of Taipei in a close three-set match in the first, as World No. 10 Marion Bartoli vanquished her 6–0 6–4, leveling up their career head-to-head at two matches all.
Arriving at Miami at the end of March world-ranked 53rd, down one place on the beginning of February, she finally achieved a measure of success for the first time in two months, reaching the fourth round with wins over Russian veteran Elena Likhovtseva (6–4 6–4), Hungarian World No. 18 Ágnes Szávay (6–2 4–6 6–1) and improved American World No. 60 Ashley Harkleroad (6–4 5–7 6–4) before succumbing to Belgian World No. 1 Justine Henin 2–6 2–6. The 70 ranking points she earned from this performance lifted her comfortably within the Top 50 again at No. 45, with a total of 638 ranking points, but still left her some 50 points adrift of the current standard required to match her previous best ranking of 41st.
At the Tier II Amelia Island in early April, Vesnina reached the third round after defeating Venezuelan star Milagros Sequera 7–6 6–0 and veteran Swiss World No. 12 Patty Schnyder 6–2 2–6 6–2. But then she lost to much-improved French World No. 49 Alizé Cornet 1–6 5–7. As a result, she achieved a net gain of just 25 ranking points to 663, and only one ranking place.
Vesnina participated in the 2009 ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand in January. It was here that she advanced to her first final on the WTA Tour, upsetting the tournament's sixth-seed Nicole Vaidišová in the second round and the second-seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in the quarterfinals along the way. She then prevailed in a marathon semifinal against British No.1 Anne Keothavong with a score of 6–7, 6–1, 7–5 to set up a meeting with fellow Russian and tournament first-seed Elena Dementieva. She started strongly in the match with a 3–1 lead but eventually lost to Dementieva 6–4 6–1.
Vesnina participated in the 2009 Australian Open but lost in the first round to French player Julie Coin. At the 2009 Dubai Tennis Championships, where she was a qualifier, Vesnina made it to the quarterfinals, defeating Chinese player Li Na 1–6, 6–4, 6–4 in the first round and achieving her first win over a top 10 player by defeating 7th-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–4, 3–6, 6–0. In the third round, she defeated 12th-seeded Dominika Cibulková, who retired after Vesnina was leading 4–6, 6–1, 4–0. In the quarterfinals her series of upsets ended when she lost to 16th-seeded Kaia Kanepi 3–6, 5–7.
At her next tournament, the 2009 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, Vesnina defeated Sabine Lisicki 7–6, 7–5 in the first round and 32nd-seed Sorana Cîrstea 5–7, 6–2, 6–3 in the second round. In the third round, she lost to 8th-seed Victoria Azarenka 3–6, 5–7. Vesnina started her 2009 clay court season at the 2009 MPS Group Championships in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. She upset 6th-seeded Shuai Peng in the first round 2–6, 6–1, 6–3, and the 3rd-seed Dominika Cibulková 7–5, 6–7, 6–3 in the quarterfinals. She lost to 2nd-seeded Caroline Wozniacki 2–6, 6–3, 7–6 in the semifinals after having 4 match points in the third set.
She then reached the quarterfinals of the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina before losing to Sabine Lisicki 6–4, 6–0 while battling a leg strain.
At Vesnina's next tournament, the 2009 Rome Masters, she reached the second round by defeating American Jill Craybas 1–6, 6–3, 6–2, but lost to Jie Zheng 2–6, 7–6, 2–6. She then reached the third round of the 2009 Madrid Masters and lost to Jelena Janković 2–6, 2–6. She lost to Ágnes Szávay in the second round of the French Open, the first time she'd reached the second round there. She did however reach her first grand slam final in the doubles at the French Open partnering Victoria Azarenka. The pair were seeded 12th but lost in the final to the 3rd seeds and defending champions Virginia Ruano Pascual and Anabel Medina Garrigues 6–1 6–1.
At the 2009 Wimbledon Championships Vesnina defeated Yanina Wickmayer in the first round and defeated Vera Dushevina in the second round. She then caused a big upset over No.14 Dominika Cibulková in the third round. Vesnina won the first set and had a trainer come at the end of the second. She fell behind in the third, but rallied back. Vesnina then fell to No.4 Elena Dementieva in the fourth round, 6–1, 6–3.
At the 2009 US Open Series in her first event of the series in 2009 LA Women's Tennis Championships she fell to Jie Zheng in the second round 4–6, 6–4, 0–6, it was followed by first round loses in the 2009 Rogers Cup to Anna Chakvetadze 7–5 6–3 and in the 2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open to Zheng Jie 6–3 6–2. At the 2009 Pilot Pen Tennis, she upset two top-20 players – a fast-rising Samantha Stosur in the second round 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, and Amélie Mauresmo 5–7, 6–1, 6–2 in the semifinals. She however lost to Caroline Wozniacki in her second WTA Tour Career finals 6–2, 6–4 and her first in a Premier Event.
Vesnina was seeded 31'st at the 2009 US Open and it was the first time that she had been seeded at a Grand Slam Event. She faced Lucie Hradecká in the first round where she came through 6–4 7–6. In the second round she defeated Jill Craybas 7–6 6–1 to advance to third round at the US Open for the first time. There she faced fellow Russian and her former doubles partner Vera Zvonareva where she fell 2–6 4–6.
Vesnina next played at the 2009 Toray Pan Pacific Open where she was unseeded in singles. She beat María José Martínez Sánchez in the first round 6–3, 6–2 and Roberta Vinci 6–1, 7–6 in the second round but she had to retire in her third round match against the seventh seed Jelena Janković due to a left thigh strain while trailing 6–1, 3–0. She then played at the 2009 China Open but she lost in the first round to Melinda Czink 7–6, 5–7, 6–4. Vesnina then played in her home country at the 2009 Kremlin Cup where she was seeded 6th. She sufferd a surprise first round defeat to compatriot Yevgeniya Rodina 6–1, 3–6, 6–2.
Vesnina finished the year with a 34–21 singles record and she finished the year ranked World No. 24.
Vesnina's first tournament of the year is the 2010 ASB Classic where she is seeded #6. In the first round she beat Alberta Brianti 6–1 6–4. In the second round she was defeated by Alizé Cornet 6–1 6–1. She made the quarterfinals in doubles partnering Riza Zalameda, but lost to Vladimíra Uhlířová and Renata Voráčová.
Her next tournament was the Medibank International Sydney. In the first round she faced No.7 Vera Zvonareva but at 3–3 Zvonareva retired due to a right ankle injury. In the second round she was defeated by Vera Dushevina 6–3 6–4.
Vesnina was seeded No.28 at the Australian Open but was defeated in the first round by Tathiana Garbin 7–6 6–4. In the doubles she partnered with Zheng Jie of China where they were seeded #9. In the first round they beat Alizé Cornet and Sharon Fichman 7–5 6–3 and in the second round they won in a walkover. In the third round they lost to the No.8 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Yan Zi 6–4 6–4. Vesnina also entered mixed doubles with Andy Ram and were the No.8 seeds. In the first round they defeated Alicia Molik and Matthew Ebden 6–0 6–3. In the second round they beat Anna-Lena Grönefeld and Christopher Kas but then fell to the top seeded Cara Black and Leander Paes in the quarterfinals.
Her next tournament was the 2010 Open GDF Suez where she was seeded #8. She was knocked out in the second round by Tathiana Garbin.
At the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, Vesnina fell in three sets to World No. 14 Vera Zvonareva in the first round.
At the 2010 MPS Group Championships she made it to the semifinal losing 1–6, 7–6, 6–4 to world no.2 Caroline Wozniacki after leading 6–1, 5–3 serving for the match.
She then lost 7 back-to-back matches falling in the third round of 2010 Family Circle Cup and the first rounds of 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, 2010 Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open, 2010 Internationaux de Strasbourg, 2010 French Open, 2010 UNICEF Open, and 2010 Wimbledon Championships.
At the Wimbledon Championships Vesnina made it to her second grand slam final in doubles while partnering Vera Zvonareva. The pair scored some impressive wins over the top seeded Williams Sisters in the Quarter finals (which ended the Americans 27 match winning streak in grand slam doubles matches) and over 4th seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta in the Semifinals. In the final they fell to fellow unseeded pairing Yaroslava Shvedova and Vania King 7–6 6–2.
She was able to break her 7 losing streak at the 2010 İstanbul Cup defeating Bojana Jovanovski, Stefanie Vögele and Anastasia Rodionova in straight sets. She then upset 6th seed Andrea Petkovic 1–6, 6–0, 7–6 recovering from a break down to reach the finals. In the final where she faced fellow Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Vesnina went down 5–7 7–5 6–4 despite having led 4–0 in the second set and been a break up at 3–1 in the final set.
Vesnina then played in the 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open, where in the second round she defeated French Open champion Francesca Schiavone 6–4, 6–4. She lost to Ana Ivanović in the 3rd round 0–6, 3–6. She then needed to qualify in the 2010 Pilot Pen Tennis, which she did but lost to Maria Kirilenko 6–1, 3–6, 6–1 in the first round. She also fell to 5th seed Samantha Stosur in the first round of the US Open 3–6, 7–6, 6–1.
Following the US Open Vesnina next participated in the 2010 Tashkent Open. She beat Lesya Tsurenko and Olga Savchuk to reach the quarterfinals where she then demolished Darya Kustova 6–0, 6–1. In the semifinals she defeated Monica Niculescu 6–3, 3–6, 6–4 despite being down 3–0 in the third set, Elena won 6 of the last 7 games. She lost to Alla Kudryavtseva 6–4, 6–4 in the final.
Elena scored the biggest win of her career two weeks later in the China Open by defeating 12th seed Maria Sharapova 7–6, 6–2. She lost to Timea Bacsinszky in the next round.
Vesnina at the 2011 French Open mixed doubles competition against Max Mirnyi and Nadia Petrova
Elena began her year at the 2011 ASB Classic where she was seeded 7th. In her first match of the year she easily outclassed Marina Erakovic 6–2 6–2. However in the next round Vesnina faced Simona Halep, she started well leading 6–2, 4–1 however she then lost the second set and retired at 6–2 ,4–6, 0–4 due to dizziness.
Elena then went to 2011 Moorilla Hobart International where she defeated Arantxa Parra Santonja 6–2, 6–1 in the first round. She then lost to top seed Marion Bartoli 6–4, 6–1.
In the first round of the 2011 Australian Open Vesnina lost to Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano in three sets, 6–4, 3–6, 3–6. She then also fell in the first rounds of 2011 Open GDF Suez, 2011 Dubai Tennis Championships, and 2011 BNP Paribas Open and the qualifying round in 2011 Qatar Ladies Open. At the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open she defeated higher ranked players Gisela Dulko 6–1, 6–3 and 23rd seed Yanina Wickmayer 6–2, 5–7, 6–4 but oddly lost to a lower ranked Anabel Medina Garrigues 6–3, 6–4 in the third round. At the 2011 Family Circle Cup, Vesnina defeated Rebecca Marino in the first round and then knocked out 4 consecutive seeds no. 14 seed Bethanie Mattek-Sands, 2nd seed and defending champion Samantha Stosur, 12th seed Julia Görges and 11th seed Chinese Peng Shuai. Vesnina became runner-up at the 2011 Family Circle Cup by losing to the number one seed, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in straight sets.
In doubles, Vesnina along with Indian Sania Mirza won the finals of the BNP Paribas Open by defeating Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Meghann Shaughnessy 6–0, 7–5. Then the pair won their second doubles title of the year at the Family Circle Cup by defeating Mattek-Sands and Shaughnessy again, 6–4, 6–4. Their partnership continued to gain momentum after the team reached the final of the 2011 Roland Garros Women's Doubles tournament before falling to Czechs Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 6–4, 6–3 in the final. They also reached the semifinals of the 2011 Wimbledon Ladies' Doubles tournament before falling 6–3, 6–1 to eventual champions and second seeds Květa Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik.
Together with Leander Paes she reached the final of Australian Open in mixed doubles.
At the 2012 Family Circle Cup Vesnina won her first round match. In her second round match she lost to Serena Williams and was unable to defend her runner-up points from last year.
| Outcome |
Year |
Championship |
Surface |
Partner |
Opponents |
Score |
| Winner |
2008 |
 Indian Wells, United States |
Hard |
 Dinara Safina |
 Yan Zi
Zheng Jie |
6–1, 1–6, [10–8] |
| Winner |
2011 |
Indian Wells, United States (2) |
Hard |
 Sania Mirza |
Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Meghann Shaughnessy |
6–0, 7–5 |
| Runner-up |
2012 |
Indian Wells, United States |
Hard |
Sania Mirza |
Liezel Huber
Lisa Raymond |
6-2, 6-3 |
| Runner-up |
2012 |
 Madrid, Spain |
Clay (blue) |
Ekaterina Makarova |
 Sara Errani
Roberta Vinci |
1-6, 6-3, [4-10] |
| Runner-Up |
2012 |
Rome, Italy |
Clay |
Ekaterina Makarova |
Sara Errani
Roberta Vinci |
2-6, 5-7 |
| Legend |
| Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) |
| WTA Tour Championships (0–0) |
| Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (0–0) |
| Premier (0–2) |
| International (0–3) |
| Outcome |
No. |
Date |
Championship |
Surface |
Opponent |
Score |
| Runner-up |
1. |
10 January 2009 |
 Auckland, New Zealand |
Hard |
Elena Dementieva |
6–4, 6–1 |
| Runner-up |
2. |
29 August 2009 |
New Haven, United States |
Hard |
 Caroline Wozniacki |
6–2, 6–4 |
| Runner-up |
3. |
31 July 2010 |
 Istanbul, Turkey |
Hard |
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova |
5–7, 7–5, 6–4 |
| Runner-up |
4. |
25 September 2010 |
 Tashkent, Uzbekistan |
Hard |
Alla Kudryavtseva |
6–4, 6–4 |
| Runner-up |
5. |
10 April 2011 |
Charleston, United States |
Clay (green) |
Caroline Wozniacki |
6–2, 6–3 |
| Runner-up |
6. |
5 May 2012 |
 Budapest, Hungary |
Clay |
Sara Errani |
7–5, 6–4 |
| Legend |
| Grand Slam tournaments (0–3) |
| WTA Tour Championships (0–0) |
| Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (2–2) |
| Premier (1–6) |
| International (3–1) |
| Outcome |
No. |
Date |
Championship |
Surface |
Partner |
Opponents |
Score |
| Winner |
1. |
6 November 2005 |
 Quebec City, Canada |
Hard (i) |
Anastasia Rodionova |
 Līga Dekmeijere
Ashley Harkleroad |
6–7(4), 6–4, 6–2 |
| Runner-up |
1. |
19 February 2006 |
Bangalore, India |
Hard |
Anastasia Rodionova |
Sania Mirza
 Liezel Huber |
6–3, 6–3 |
| Runner-up |
2. |
24 September 2006 |
Beijing, China |
Hard |
Anna Chakvetadze |
Virginia Ruano Pascual
 Paola Suárez |
6–2, 6–4 |
| Winner |
2. |
13 January 2007 |
 Hobart, Australia |
Hard |
Elena Likhovtseva |
Anabel Medina Garrigues
Virginia Ruano Pascual |
2–6, 6–1, 6–2 |
| Runner-up |
3. |
18 February 2007 |
 Antwerp, Belgium |
Carpet |
Elena Likhovtseva |
 Cara Black
Liezel Huber |
7–5, 4–6, 6–1 |
| Runner-up |
4. |
6 May 2007 |
 Warsaw, Poland |
Clay |
Elena Likhovtseva |
Vera Dushevina
 Tatiana Perebiynis |
7–5, 3–6, [10–2] |
| Winner |
3. |
22 March 2008 |
Indian Wells, United States |
Hard |
Dinara Safina |
Yan Zi
Zheng Jie |
6–1, 1–6, [10–8] |
| Runner-up |
5. |
13 April 2008 |
Amelia Island, United States |
Clay |
 Victoria Azarenka |
Bethanie Mattek
 Vladimíra Uhlířová |
6–3, 6–1 |
| Runner-up |
6. |
20 July 2008 |
Stanford, United States |
Hard |
Vera Zvonareva |
Cara Black
Liezel Huber |
6–4, 6–3 |
| Runner-up |
7. |
24 May 2009 |
 Paris, France |
Clay |
Victoria Azarenka |
Anabel Medina Garrigues
Virginia Ruano Pascual |
6–1, 6–1 |
| Runner-up |
8. |
5 July 2010 |
 London, United Kingdom |
Grass |
Vera Zvonareva |
Vania King
 Yaroslava Shvedova |
7–6(6), 6–2 |
| Winner |
4. |
19 March 2011 |
Indian Wells, United States (2) |
Hard |
Sania Mirza |
Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Meghann Shaughnessy |
6–0, 7–5 |
| Winner |
5. |
10 April 2011 |
Charleston, United States |
Clay |
Sania Mirza |
Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Meghann Shaughnessy |
6–4, 6–4 |
| Runner-up |
9. |
4 June 2011 |
Paris, France |
Clay |
Sania Mirza |
Andrea Hlaváčková
Lucie Hradecká |
6–3, 6–4 |
| Winner |
6. |
16 October 2011 |
 Linz, Austria |
Hard (i) |
Marina Erakovic |
 Julia Görges
Anna-Lena Grönefeld |
7–5, 6–1 |
| Runner-up |
10. |
25 February 2012 |
 Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
Hard |
Sania Mirza |
Liezel Huber
Lisa Raymond |
6–2, 6–1 |
| Runner-up |
11. |
17 March 2012 |
Indian Wells, United States |
Hard |
Sania Mirza |
Liezel Huber
Lisa Raymond |
6-2, 6-3 |
| Runner-up |
12. |
13 May 2012 |
Madrid, Spain |
Clay (blue) |
Ekaterina Makarova |
Sara Errani
Roberta Vinci |
1-6, 6-3, [4-10] |
| Runner-Up |
13. |
20 May 2012 |
Rome, Italy |
Clay |
Ekaterina Makarova |
Sara Errani
Roberta Vinci |
2-6, 5-7 |
Current through to 7 May 2012.
| Tournament |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
W–L |
| Australian Open |
A |
A |
A |
A |
4R |
2R |
3R |
1R |
1R |
1R |
1R |
6–5 |
| French Open |
A |
A |
A |
A |
1R |
1R |
1R |
2R |
1R |
1R |
1R |
1–6 |
| Wimbledon |
A |
A |
A |
A |
2R |
3R |
2R |
4R |
1R |
2R |
|
9–1 |
| US Open |
A |
A |
A |
LQ |
1R |
1R |
2R |
3R |
1R |
1R |
|
3–6 |
| Olympic Games |
| Summer Olympics |
Not Held |
A |
Not Held |
A |
Not Held |
|
0–0 |
| WTA Premier Mandatory Tournaments |
| Indian Wells |
A |
A |
A |
A |
1R |
A |
2R |
3R |
A |
1R |
2R |
4–5 |
| Miami |
A |
A |
A |
A |
3R |
1R |
4R |
LQ |
3R |
3R |
1R |
8–6 |
| Madrid |
Not Held |
3R |
1R |
2R |
1R |
3–4 |
| Beijing |
Not Held |
Not Tier I |
3R |
A |
|
2–1 |
| WTA Premier 5 Tournaments |
| Doha |
Not Tier I |
1R |
NP5 |
1R |
0–2 |
| Dubai |
Not Tier I |
QF |
1R |
1R |
NP5 |
3–2 |
| Rome |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
LQ |
1R |
2R |
1R |
3R |
|
1–3 |
| Cincinnati |
Not Held |
Not Tier I |
1R |
3R |
1R |
|
2–3 |
| Montréal / Toronto |
A |
A |
A |
LQ |
LQ |
A |
1R |
1R |
A |
1R |
|
1–5 |
| Tokyo |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
1R |
A |
A |
A |
A |
|
0–1 |
| Career Statistics |
| Tournaments Played |
1 |
12 |
17 |
25 |
26 |
26 |
23 |
21 |
18 |
23 |
11 |
162 |
| Finals |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
| Titles |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Overall Win–Loss |
2–1 |
34–10 |
27–17 |
44–25 |
25–26 |
24–26 |
19–24 |
34–21 |
18–18 |
21–23 |
8–11 |
263–206 |
| Year End Ranking |
N/A |
278 |
286 |
111 |
44 |
55 |
78 |
23 |
52 |
57 |
|
|
Top ten tennis players
|
World rankings · Top ten tennis players as of 28 May 2012
|
|
|
|
|
| Persondata |
| Name |
Vesnina, Elena |
| Alternative names |
|
| Short description |
Tennis player |
| Date of birth |
1986-08-01 |
| Place of birth |
|
| Date of death |
|
| Place of death |
|
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