"My body is not the same anymore — I don't have time to recover for singles matches"

Vera Zvonareva is a representative of the golden generation of our women's tennis. Just look at her titles: champion of 12 WTA tournaments, winner of five Grand Slam tournaments — three in pairs (two in New York, one in Melbourne), two in mixed doubles, finalist of Wimbledon and the US Open in singles, two—time semi-finalist of the Australian Open, two—time winner of the Fed Cup as part of the national team Russia, the bronze medalist of the 2008 Olympic Games in singles, when the entire podium in Beijing was made up of Russians - Elena Dementieva, Dinara Safina and Zvonareva.

But if Vera's colleagues have long since finished their careers, Zvonareva, at 41, continues to show high results. In Madrid, the Russian reunited with 38-year-old German Laura Siegemund, with whom she won the US Open in 2020, and the Final One in 2023, which took place that year in Cancun, Mexico (at 38, Vera became the oldest winner in the history of this tournament). In the Spanish capital, the experienced pair has already reached the quarterfinals, knocking out the first seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini. In an interview with Izvestia and Sport-Express, Zvonareva spoke about the secret of her athletic longevity and shared her immediate plans.

"I try to enjoy every match"

— Vera, happy victory over the first seeded pair of the tournament! How does it feel to beat very strong Italian women, losing to them in the second set 2:4 after already losing the first?

— Thank you! Yes, it was a tough match. This is a couple where there is a faster development of events, here at any moment everything can change very quickly. We lost 1-4 in the first set, then we equalized, but still lost 4-4.:6. That is, we felt that the match was very close, but we just couldn't get any important points in the game. It seems to me that in the end we began to act a little more actively and more stable. And it certainly helped.

— It feels like you are very motivated, you invest in every shot, you make very few mistakes. What motivates you now? And how did you agree with Laura Siegemund, with whom you have been through a lot, that you will perform together again?

— I just enjoy every match. I am very grateful that I have a job that I like. Yes, we win some things, and some things we don't, but for an athlete after a long career at my age, it's probably a great privilege to still be able to compete. So I try to enjoy every moment, every match. And I'm not making any long-term plans.

How did you team up with Laura? Somehow, the situation turned out that she didn't have a permanent partner either. I came back from injury, we agreed on a couple of tournaments, performed well, so we decided to continue from tournament to tournament for now. Neither she nor I have any long-term plans, because she is also a middle-aged athlete (38 years old. — Ed.). It's turning out great — we're going to the next tournament.

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— One of Novak Djokovic's goals is to go to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Is yours too, or are you not looking that far?

— I don't look that far.

— This year you won the singles matches. Would you like to start with qualifying here? And in general, how do you view a single person now?

— Being a loner is not a priority for me at this stage of my career. Due to the fact that I just physically won't be able to perform at the level I want to. Again, I can play one match well, but after several surgeries, my body is no longer the same. I just don't have time to recover for the next one. And I understand that even if I play well in one match, problems will already start in the second one.

If you were healthy, maybe you would. I love this game anyway, and whenever possible, I show up for tournaments. I just have a low singles ranking right now, it doesn't allow me to get into many competitions. Here in Madrid, I was the first one out of qualifying. Somewhere, if I get caught, I try single matches. If I don't get it, I just perform in pairs.

"My daughter doesn't like playing tennis with me"

— We have heard that you are training now. How do you feel in this role? What does it give you?

— I've been really coaching for the last couple of years, I've had some juniors, kids from 9 to 15 years old. I gained some coaching experience for myself, I tried to pass something on to the younger generation. It seems to me that this is a little different from those coaches who have been working in this profession for a long time. Mine is the experience of actually still an active athlete. In general, I like to train. I don't know what happened or failed to pass on to the children, but I honestly tried.

— Your own daughter Evelina is nine years old. How is she doing on the court? And does she work with you?

— I must say right away: Evelina doesn't like to play with me. She does a little tennis, a little swimming. Just a little bit at a time. If he wants to, he will train more, if not, he will do something else.

— So he doesn't perceive you as a coach at all?

— Yes, if I start saying something in training, she categorically replies: "No, I will do it differently."

— And how does her coach feel when he is prompted by a tennis player with such achievements as yours?

— It's better to ask the coach. I try to share my experience, but I understand perfectly well that every coach, as well as every athlete, has his own personality, his own approach. I can tell you from the outside how I see something, give you some recommendations. But then everything is at the discretion of the coach — what to apply, what not. And it's not a fact that my recommendations are important for a nine-year-old child.

"I wish Mirra great luck"

— How do young tennis players who are old enough to be your daughter perceive you, like Mirra Andreeva and Victoria Mboko, whom you beat yesterday?

— Again, a question for them. When I was their age and played against opponents who were much older than me, I always admired them and learned a lot from them.

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— Why did your generation of Russian tennis players win and reach the finals of Grand Slam tournaments and other top-level competitions all the time, but the new generation has not won such tournaments for many years?

— There are times when a lot of tennis players from one country shoot at the same time, and less in others. Such fluctuations are normal for any country. But it seems to me that we also have quite a lot of young girls who are performing very well and who will be able to play in the last stages of the Grand Slam in the coming years.

— How do you see Andreeva's development and prospects?

— Mirra and I performed together when she was just starting out. It seems to me that despite her age, she is already quite an experienced athlete. And you can see that he is training, trying, improving. It's not very simple. When you're new to the tour, they don't know how to play against you — and sometimes it happens that the first year is a little easier than the next. Overall, I think she's coping well with the pressure, goes far in tournaments, and I wish her great luck.

"The nearest plans are Rome and Roland Garros

— Who are you worried about in the rivalry between Arina Sobolenko and Elena Rybakina? And can you compare the level of this confrontation between the two top rackets of the world with what used to be between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova?

— Oh, I wouldn't compare anyone with anyone. It's very difficult. Different generations, different tennis. Everyone plays very fast, powerful, aggressive. Honestly, I just enjoy watching these matches. I like their energy, I'm interested in watching this fight. They always have very interesting matches.

— Do you maintain relations with your generation of tennis players — Myskina, Dementieva, Sharapova, Kuznetsova, Safina? And what do they tell you about continuing your career?

— To be honest, it's been a long time since I've seen any girls. But even when we meet, we usually don't talk about tennis.

— What is your next tournament schedule? And how, after several long pauses in your career, do you now experience these trips again when you are away from your family for a long time?

— Of course, when you have a child, everything is a little different. Nevertheless, this is my job. And if it, like any other, involves business trips, departures, then I have to make some choice. And my answer is, yes, to play some tournaments, but the priority is still with the family.

If we come to a family consensus that at such and such moments I can afford to leave, I leave. If at some point I cannot travel due to family reasons, then I will not do it. It's worked so far, but it's clear that it's not easy. And my immediate plans are Rome and Roland Garros.