Name: Elena Dementieva
DOB: October 15, 1981
Country: Russia
Place of Birth: Moscow, Soviet Union
Height: 5' 11
Turn pro: 1998
Plays: Right-handed, two-handed backhand
Racquet: Yonex RDiS 100 Midplus
Elena Dementieva was born on October 15, 1981 to her father Viacheslav and mother Vera, who were an electrical engineer and a teacher, respectively. Elena no doubt was born in the right family, for both her parents played tennis as a pastime. Elena’s parents loved tennis so much that they attempted to put Elena and her brother in Russia’s most notable sports schools. However, the competition to get in was just too difficult. Dynamo and the Central Red Army marked Elena down on slight mistakes in her movement, and thus did not accept her into their clubs. Thereafter, Elena was enrolled in the Spartak Club, where she developed as a player under Coach Rauza Islanova. Islanova was known as Marat Safin’s mother and coach, a great Russian men’s tennis star. Although Islanova was a tough trainer, Elena admits that it was her toughness that allowed Elena to mature and evolve into a player with hardy sportsmanship. Elena describes her time at the Spartan Club, “This desire to fight till the end was inherited from her because she was tough and preserved strict sports-like discipline,”, in regards to her three years under Coach Islanova.
At age 13, Elena won the Les Petits Aces in France, her very first international competition. Elena was always either a winner or runner-up at the domestic tournaments back at her home in Russia. She has also always been a part of the top four women’s tennis players of her country. The other three are Anna Kournikova, Ekaterina Sysoeva, and Anastasia Myskina. Soon after, Elena finally joined the Central Red Army Club, which had rejected her once before. Under Coach Sergei Pashkov, Elena developed into a substantially better player – her technique had completely changed. Elena finally learned how to dominate at the courts, especially with her new two-handed backhand. She turned pro in 1998 and since then, her career has skyrocketed. Elena first started off her professional career at ranking number 182, but rose to number 62 only a year later. In the year 2000, Elena became the 12th best women’s player in the world. In the 2000 Sydney Olympics, she led her fellow countrymen in the opening ceremony, representing Russia. She started out strong, defeating player Jelena Dokic in the semifinals (2-6, 6-4, 6-4), despite an initial setback. However, Elena was not able to beat Venus Williams in the final and thus ended up with a silver medal. Despite her loss, at the Sanex WTA Awards, Elena was awarded as the Most Improved Player. This was only fitting since Elena had reached the semifinals at the Chase Championships (also defeated Lindsay Davenport, the number one player at the time), Indian Wells, and the U.S. Open at only age 19.
The year 2001 was not a good one for Elena – she continued to fall from her career high ranking at number eight because of foot injuries and a general absence of her usual aggressiveness on court. However, Elena got over her hardships and continued to play her best at the Grand Slam tournaments. Elena eventually gained the title of Russia’s top player, proving her still existent skills. In the following year, she competed at the Wimbledon and the French Open, where she was able to reach the fourth round in both. Her record of 39-27 continued to stand as she performed well in a number of events. Her success kept building up till 2003, which proved to Elena’s biggest year yet. In the beginning, she lost at both the Australian Open and Indian Wells within three matches. However, at the Bausch and Lomb Championships in April, Elena defeated her rival Lindsay Davenport in the final. Davenport had actually been leading in both the first and second set, but Elena regained her aggressive power and won the match with five deuces. Davenport failed to keep up. Her victory against Davenport earned Elena her first WTA title. At the Roland Garros and Wimbledon, she was defeated by Serena Williams and Lindsay Davenport, whom she had beaten at the Bausch and Lomb Championships. In 2003, Elena got back up on her feet and won her second WTA title in Bali, defeating Chandra Rubin 6-2, 6-1 in the final. Elena reclaimed her number eight ranking once again.