Tennis
The Russian tennis player is already in the US Open final. What is Vera doing at 39 years old?
Vera Zvonareva / Photo: © IMAGO / Juergen Hasenkopf / Global Look Press
Zvonareva has a great chance to add to her collection of trophies at Grand Slam tournaments.
Daniil Medvedev’s victory in the semifinals of the US Open men’s singles had no chance of going unnoticed. Almost the entire sports world watched how the Russian opposed the union of the first racket of the world and the stands. Against this background, Vera Zvonareva’s success in the women’s doubles semifinals turned out to be almost unnoticeable.
But our athlete is ready to compete for the prestigious trophy for the fifth time!
Vera won her first US Open 17 years ago, but at 39 she continues to show a phenomenal game.
Step to the final
Zvonareva began her professional career more than two decades ago, when Gustavo Kuerten and Marat Safin were shining in the men’s singles, Martin Hingis was spectacular in the women’s singles, and Anna Kournikova was considered the strongest Russian woman. At that time, four-year-old Daniil Medvedev had hardly decided that he would become a tennis player, and the future first racket of the world, Carlos Alcaraz, had not yet been born.
Over many years in tennis, our athlete has achieved a lot: she rose to second place in women’s singles, played in the finals of Grand Slam tournaments several times, and reached prestigious trophies three times in doubles. In 2006, Vera won the US Open paired with Frenchwoman Nathalie Dechy. In 2012, the Russian woman achieved victory in Australia together with Svetlana Kuznetsova, and in 2020, German Laura Siegemund became Zvonareva’s partner in the victorious final at the US Open. Three years later, the same Russian-German duo again went to America for victory and is already one step away from the goal.
39-year-old Zvonareva and 35-year-old Siegemund received the 12th seed in the women’s pairs competition at the US Open, which did not allow them to be considered among the main favorites. However, the pair did not meet rivals with higher ratings on their way, gradually falling away from the race. In every match, the representatives of Russia and Germany were able to win, so there was nothing sensational in the confident progress of the duo. Although in some cases it really took a lot of work.
Already in the first round, the athletes faced a difficult three-set confrontation with representatives of the United States, in which the rivals won 17 games. The quarterfinals were also difficult, where Zvonareva and Siegemund met with Belarusian Victoria Azarenka and Brazilian Beatrice Haddad-Maya. In the first set, the pair with the Russian in their lineup even lost 5:7, but won the second game with a mirror score of 7:5, and then snatched victory in the decisive period – 6:4. There was only one step left before the main match of the tournament – it was necessary to stop the American Jennifer Brady and the Brazilian representative Luisa Stefani.
The gift was not missed
Usually, in the later stages of big tournaments, rivals stand against each other and it is not very often possible to achieve an easy victory. But the semi-final match in women’s pairs at the US Open turned out to be relatively easy for the future finalists. Zvonareva and Siegemund made a break in the first game, and then broke their serve. The opponents were close to winning the third game, but even after 40:15 they managed to lose. Then the Russian and German brought the score to 4:0 – just a perfect start!
After a bright start, something went wrong in the actions of the winners of the US Open 2020. Three games in a row ended not in their favor – and with the score 4:3, the fans’ positive attitude towards a quick victory began to disappear. It took a lot of work for the ladies to get back into the game and finish the set with acceptable numbers on the scoreboard – 6:4. Moreover, the athletes won all the remaining games in a bitter struggle.
Before the start of the second set, there was some concern for the tennis players from Russia and Germany, but they started again vigorously – they made a break on the move and confidently took the game on Zvonareva’s serve. Siegemund’s mistake at the reception cheered up her opponents a little, but only they had to quickly repay the debt – in the fifth game, with the score 0:30, Stephanie, being at the net, managed to powerfully throw the ball into touch.
Vera and her German colleague did not miss the gift of a triple break point. After this, the American-Brazilian couple was unable to recover from the failure and return to the game. A 1:6 defeat in the set and 0-2 in the match meant one thing – Vera and Laura were going to the final again, who now had to play with Erin Routliffe from Australia and Gabriela Dabrowski from Canada.
Source: Sportbox
I am a sports journalist who has written for a number of Sportish. I have a background in journalism and have been writing since I was young. My main focus is sports news, but I also write about general news. I am currently working as an author at Sportish.
Tennis
Yulia Starodubtseva – Ayla Tomlyanovich. Prediction and announcement for the Australian Open match
On November 19, Yulia Starodubtseva (WTA 110) and Ayla Tomljanovic (WTA 76) will start competing at the Australian Open.
The meeting is planned to start at 08.00 Kyiv time.
Sport.ua together with a betting partner bet announcing the upcoming fight!
Yulia Starodubtseva
The Ukrainian athlete has already played six matches this season and won five of them. Starodubtseva started with a tournament held in Auckland, where she successfully qualified by beating Frenchwoman Ponchet and Austrian Tagger. Katie Boulter suffered defeat in the first round of the main round.
The tennis player also started the Australian Open with the qualifiers, where she beat the Frenchwoman Tubello 6:2, 3:6, 6:0. Then there were victories against the Greek Papamikhail, 6:1, 6:2. In the qualifying final, Starodubtseva defeated Bulgarian Tomova with sets 7:6, 6:2. The Ukrainian player is in good form ahead of this season’s first Grand Slam.
Ayla Tomljanovic
The Australian athlete is a typical middle player in world tennis. Even though there are breaks, it has been in the top 100 for a long time. Tomlyanovich is 32 years old, he can already be considered a veteran. Although the Australian Open is a tennis player’s home tournament, he performs worst here because he has never been able to advance beyond the second round.
Tomljanovic started this season with a tournament in Brisbane, where she defeated France’s Jacquemo with scores of 6:1, 6:3 and then lost in a tough fight to the powerful Carolina Muchova with scores of 6:4, 1:6, 6:7. There was also a tournament in Adelaide where they managed to beat Clara Towson 7:6, and the opponent refused. Ayla, who was ahead 2:0 in the first set of the second round, withdrew from the match due to a knee injury at 40:40 in her serve. It is unclear at this time whether he is 100% physically ready.
personal meetings
Tennis players met only once, it was in September last year, then in Beijing Tomljanovic managed to win in two sets: 7:6 and 6:2.
To guess
This couple does not have a clear favorite, maybe it will be easier for the Australian, the public will support him, his body is more accustomed to such a time zone. For tennis players at this level, every victory in a major is extremely valuable.
I am waiting for a difficult and unpredictable match that can end with any outcome, I will bet on more than 20.5 matches for 1.66.
Yulia Starodubtseva19.01.2026 –
08:00
Ayla Tomljanovic 1.66 place a bet KRAIL License No. 559 dated 12/05/2024 Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
Turkish tennis player Zeynep Sönmez (WTA 112) has made a strong start to the 2026 Australian Open.
Turkish woman beat the world’s “neutral” 11th racket in three sets in the first round Ekaterina Aleksandrova In 2 hours 37 minutes.
Australian Open 2026. 1/64 finals
Ekaterina Aleksandrova [11] – Zeynep Sönmez (Türkiye) [Q] – 5:7, 6:4, 4:6
In the third match, Sönmez lost a single break and came back with a score of 0:3.
Zeynep will compete in the main draw of the Australian Open for the second time in her career and advanced to the second round for the first time. Her next opponent will be either Anna Bondar or Elisabette Mandlik.
Sönmez achieved the highest scoring victory of his career. Zeynep became the first Turkish representative to win the Aus Open main draws.
During the match, one of the ball players fell ill due to the heat and lost consciousness. Realizing that something was wrong, Sönmez immediately came to the rescue and put the girl on the chair.
VIDEO. Zeynep Sönmez helped the girl who lost consciousness
With respect to Zeynep Sönmez, who went to the aid of the ball boy who fainted on the field ❤️ pic.twitter.com/iHnX2TDaZ7
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) January 18, 2026
Video review of Ekaterina Aleksandrova – Zeynep Sönmez match
Photo gallery of the match (Zeynep Sönmez)
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
spanish tennis player Carlos AlcarazThe team, ranked No. 1 in the world, is off to a strong start at the 2026 Australian Open.
Spaniards in the first round Adam Walton (Australia, ATP 79) 2 hours 8 minutes.
Australian Open 2026. 1/64 finals
Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) [1] – Adam Walton (Australia) – 6:3, 7:6 (7:2), 6:2
Alcaraz played their second head-to-head match against Walton. In 2025, Carlos defeated Adam in the 1/16 final of the competition in London.
Alcaraz got his first win in 2026. Carlos managed to reach the second round of the Australian Open for the fifth time in his career.
Alcaraz became the fourth player in the Open Era to win the opening match in each of the first 20 Grand Slam singles matches. Previously this was done by Arthur Ashe, Bjorn Borg and Rafael Nadal.
Carlitos’ next opponent will be Jannik Sinner’s namesake, Hanfmann. Sinner, on the other hand, is on the opposite side of the group, taking second place, and it is possible for them to meet Alcaraz only in the final. The Italian player will start the big tournament in Melbourne on January 20 with a fight against Hugo Gaston.
Video review of Carlos Alcaraz – Adam Walton match
Photo gallery of the match
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
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