Svetlana Kuznetsova

Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova (Russian: Светла́на Алекса́ндровна Кузнецо́ва (help·info); born June 27, 1985 in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad)

is a Russian professional tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 3. She won the 2004 US Open and 2009 French Open singles titles and was the runner-up in singles at the 2006 French Open and the 2007 US Open. Kuznetsova was born in Leningrad. Her father, Aleksandr Kuznetsov has coached five Olympic and world cycling champions. Her father's protégés include her mother, Galina Tsareva, a six-time world champion and holder of 20 world records, and Svetlana's brother, Nikolay Kuznetsov, a silver medalist at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Kuznetsova also tried out cycling in her early years, but it bored her. She focused on tennis instead and was sent to Spain when she was 13 years old for better training and coaching also leading her to speak fluent Spanish. Despite training in Barcelona, the Spanish Tennis Federation did not see Kuznetsova as a possible future champion. Kuznetsova is an all-around player as she has adapted her game to all surfaces. Her game is characterized by her strong serve and her heavy forehand.