Vera Zvonareva vs. a 16-year-old: tennis’s new normal with 25-year age gaps | Tennis blog for women

More and more WTA players are reaching their peak in their late 20s and 30s, and the presence of professionals competing into their 40s feels like just the beginning of a trend that will gain momentum in the coming years. The landscape of women’s tennis is changing! Tomorrow in Dubai we will witness one of the most striking examples of this generational change: the 41-year-old Vera Zvonareva will be confronted by a 16 year old Mika Stojsavljevic in the semi-finals of a W100 ITF event.

Former world number 2 Zvonareva surprisingly returned to action this week in the United Arab Emirates and took part in the tournament as a wildcard. At a time when Russian women dominated the WTA Tour, Zvonareva was among the very best. Her singles peak came in the late 2000s and early 2010s. She reached her first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon 2010, beating Jelena Jankovic and Kim Clijsters before falling to Serena Williams, and followed that with a run to the US Open final that same summer, beating world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals before losing to defending champion Clijsters.

In total, the Russian has won twelve WTA singles titles and contested a further eighteen finals. Her last singles final came 14 years ago in 2011. She has also built an excellent doubles resume, winning the 2006 and 2020 US Open titles and the 2012 Australian Open, plus mixed doubles titles at the US Open (2004) and Wimbledon (2006).

In addition to being a world-class athlete, she managed to obtain two degrees: one from the Russian State Academy of Physical Education and one in international economic relations from the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in Moscow.

After giving birth in 2016, Zvonareva made a strong comeback, from No. 204 in 2017 to back in the Top 100 in 2021. Her singles ranking later fell, but she thrived in doubles: she won the 2020 US Open with Laura Siegemund, reached the final again in 2023 and captured the WTA Finals that year, finishing at No. 9 in doubles.

Since she had not played a singles match since May 2024, many assumed that the Russian had quietly retired from the sport. But this week it turned out to be the opposite. Not only is she back on the court, she’s winning! Zvonareva reached her first singles semi-final at any level since 2021, beating No. 455 Sofya Lansere 7-5 2-6 6-3 in a grueling two-hour, 45-minute battle.

Moreover, she is in the doubles semi-finals together with Rada Zolotareva. The pair will next take on Ankita Raina and Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty.

More than twenty years after her professional career, Zvonareva once again shows that age is becoming just a number in tennis. (sources: Tennis365, Tennis World USA; photo: Jimmy48)