Career
2002–2003
In October 2002, aged sixteen years and two months, she gained direct entry into the qualifying draw for her first $10,000 tournament at Giza, Egypt, and succeeded in qualifying for the main draw before losing a close three-set match.
The very next week, once again qualify at Al-Mansoura to enter the main draw, where she won two further matches in straight sets, beating Hana Šromová of the Czech Republic in Round Two, to reach her first ever $10,000 quarter-final in just her second event played. However, she then defaulted her quarter-final tie to her opponent.
In 2003 she began the year entering two successive ITF events India. at Chennai and Bangalore, and not only succeeded in qualifying both times, but also reached her first semi-final and another quarter-final in the main draws, notably losing to future star Akgul Amanmuradova at the quarter-final stage at Bangalore.
These results gave her, her first ranking at World No. 750, enough for her to gain direct entry to her next $10,000 draw at Istanbul in the last week of March, where she beat her personal best result in reaching the final.
The following week, at Antalya, still in Turkey, she was knocked out in the first round by her then-compatriot Evgenia Linetskaya; and in May she met with mixed results in Lviv, Ukraine and Warsaw, Poland; but in June she claimed her career-first $10,000 title at Balashikha, Russia, without dropping a set.
After taking her first ITF title she the competed in Bucharest1 losing to Raluca Sandu in the second round she stayed in Bucharest to compete in Bucharest2, where she made it through the finals losing to German Antonela Voina in a tight 2 sets 6–4 7–6(7). She the competed in Zhukovsky, Russia, as a qualifier and succeeded, then won through all the way to the semi-final of the main draw with a tight three-set quarter-final victory over compatriot Ekaterina Bychkova en route, 6–7 6–4 6–4, but was stopped in straight sets in the semifinals by Alyona Bondarenko of Ukraine.
In the middle of September, she qualified for her second straight $25,000 tournament at Tbilisi, Georgia, and this time won the title, recording victories over Evgenia Linetskaya, Olga Barabanschikova of Belarus, and Mariya Koryttseva of the Ukraine, in the quarter-final, semi-final and final rounds respectively. She then failed to qualify, trying to gert to for first main draw appearance at the WTA Tour in her next two events in Moscow and Tashkent. She finished the year ranked No. 279.
2004–2005
She began the year with a second round exit at the ITF event in Bergamo 1. She then failed to qualify in Ortisei a ITf event exiting at the first round of the qualifying draw. she also lost in first round of the qualifying round of 2004 Hyderabad Open losing to an unranked Barbara Schwartz, 3–6 6–7. At an ITF event in St. Petersburg, it was however a different scenario as she got pass the qualifying round and then defeating compatriot Anastasia Rodionova in the first round proper on her way to a quarter-final finish, where she was defeated by Ivana Lisjak of Croatia 5–7 3–6.
She next played in June at Marseille, falling at the last round of the qualifying draw she was granted a lucky loser before bowing out to No. 1 seed and then World No. 70 Ľubomíra Kurhajcová in straight sets despite taking the second to a close tie-break.in the second round. She then made early exits in Gorizia and Vittel. following this disappointing performance she reached two ITF quarterfinals in a row in Moscow losing to Maria Kondriateva 6–1 7–5 and in Balashikha losing to Anastasiya Yakimova 6–2 6–4, this event were both held in Russia. in late September, as a direct main-draw entrant into the $50,000 tournament at Batumi, Georgia, she also reached the quarter-finals, where she lost to No. 1 seed Anna Chakvetadze, 4–6 5–7.
In her next events she tried to qualify to a WTA event in the 2004 Kremlin Cup but was knocked out at the second hurdle by World No. 61 Claudine Schaul of Luxembourg in a topsy-turvy match, 7–5 1–6 0–6 and in the 2005 Bell Challenge were she succeeded for the first time in winning through qualifying into a WTA Tour main draw but lost in the first round of the main draw to Mariana Díaz-Oliva 3–6, 2–6.
She then qualified in Opole, Poland, but lost to Hana Šromová in the second-round in three sets. She ended the year by reaching the quarter-final at Bergamo, Italy, losing to Estonian star Maret Ani in a very close three-setter, 6–4 6–7 3–6. She ended the year world ranked No. 286.
She started the 2005 attempting to make headway in WTA Tour main draws, she next entered the qualifying round of the 2005 Cellular South Cup but lost in straight sets to Varvara Lepchenko of United States 6–2 6–4. The following week, she entered an ITF tournament at St. Paul, Minnesota, where she lost in the second round to Tatsiana Uvarova in the qualifying round. Extending her bad start she made a first round exit at St. Petersburg a ITF event; she then qualified at Civitavecchia, Italy reachign the semifinals before losing to Maret Ani in three sets, 3–6 6–3 3–6.In May, she entered qualifying for the Tier II event at Warsaw, and avenged her previous defeat by Adriana Barna, knocking her out 6–3 7–6, but then fell again to Anna Chakvetadze, 6–7 4–6, in the second round.
A couple of weeks later, she suffered a disappointing first-round loss to Olivia Sanchez of France in the first round of a $25,000 event at Antalya, Turkey, 3–6 0–6. But the following week she bounced back to qualify for her second career WTA main draw at 2005 Istanbul Cup losing to American star Mashona Washington 5–7 1–6 in the second round. This was her first WTA tour win. Returning in June she reached the final of an event at Galatina, Italy without dropping a set, defeating higher-ranked Tatiana Poutchek of Belarus on the way there, before losing the title to Mariya Koryttseva, 6–3 6–2. At her next two ITF tournaments in early July, she failed to qualify in Fano while losing in three-sets to similarly-ranked compatriot Lioudmila Skavronskaia in the first round in Cuneo, Italy. But later that month she succeeded in qualifying for her third career WTA main draw at the 2005 Internazionali di Modena, in first round of the main draw she cruised past a low-ranked special entrant from Slovenia Maja Matevzic before being ousted by Italian World No. 28 Flavia Pennetta in Second Round, 6–7 2–6.
The very next week, she won through qualifying into a WTA main draw for the fourth time at 2005 Internazionali Femminili di Palermo but lost Maret Ani in the first round of the main draw, she was dispatched 7–6 6–3. In her next three event she failed to qualify in the main draw of the WtA events at the 2005 Nordea Nordic Light Open losin to Emma Laine 4–6, 0–6 in the third round of the qualifying draw, in the 2005 Rogers Cup were she first thrashed Swiss perennial and World No. 110 Emmanuelle Gagliardi 6–2 6–2, but then was ousted by Japanese world No. 93 Rika Fujiwara in three sets, 6–3 3–6 3–6 and in the 2005 US Open to New Zealander Marina Erakovic, 2–6 1–6 in the second round of the qualifying draw. She then reached the semifinals in Denain, France losing to Arantxa Parra Santonja, 4–6 6–4 3–6 and in Bordeaux, France losing to Stéphanie Foretz 6–1 6–4. She then attained direct entry to a WTA Tour main draw for the first time in her career at the 2005 Tashkent Open in October, where she reached her first quarterfinals losing to Akgul Amanmuradova 7–6(4) 3–6 7–6(4). She then failed to qualify at the 2005 Kremlin Cup losing to Alyona Bondarenko, 1–6 6–7. In the 2005 Generali Ladies Linz she maid through the qualifying round before losing to Tamira Paszek, 6–7 6–1 5–7 in the first round.
In November, at the 2005 Bell Challenge she reached her second quarterfinals losing to 75th-ranked Swede Sofia Arvidsson 6–2 4–6 1–6. In the next two weeks, she came unstuck in early rounds of ITF events, losing to Emma Laine 1–6 4–6 in the first round at Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and then to Estonian Kaia Kanepi 2–6 4–6 in the second round at Deauville, France. She ended the year with a semifinal appearance at Poitiers, France in the final week of November and her last tournament, losing to Viktoriya Kutuzova 4–6 6–3 4–6 en route she Marion Bartoli and World No. 96 Stéphanie Foretz. She eneded the year ranked no. 111
2006
Beginning the new season early in January at the 2006 MAW Hardcourts , she was narrowly defeated by Puerto Rican World No. 157 Vilmarie Castellvi in three sets, 4–6 6–2 6–7, in the first round of the qualifying draw for the Tier III event at Gold Coast, and then she was squashed by Nuria Llagostera Vives in the first round of 2006 Moorilla Hobart International 6–0 6–3 the following week.
Being ranked number 100, she was awarded direct entry into her first ever Grand Slam tournament at the 2006 Australian Open, and reached the Fourth Round with defeats of qualifiers Li Ting 6–2 6–3, Julia Schruff 6–0, 7–5 and Olga Savchuk5–7 6–2 6–4 before losgin to World No. 7 Nadia Petrova 6–3 6–1. She next competed at the 2006 Bangalore Open and 2006 Pacific Life Open but lost in the first rounds of both contests, losing to Australian World No. 127 Nicole Pratt at Bangalore and to World No. 86 Viktoriya Kutuzova of the Ukraine at Indian Wells. However she reached the Third round of the 2006 NASDAQ-100 Open and 2006 Bausch & Lomb Championships losing to Tatiana Golovin 6–2, 6–3 and Virginia Ruano Pascual 6–4 3–6 6–4, respectively.
The week after, playing at 2006 Family Circle Cup she again came out the loser in a three-setter, this time against experienced fellow-Russian star Vera Zvonareva, who took the match 6–4 5–7 6–2. In May, retreating to a lower-level Tier IV event at Estoril, Portugal, she was surprised again to encounter Flavia Pennetta, the first seed in the draw, in the first round; and this time the Italian wrought her revenge in the third set tie-break of a very evenly-tied match that ran 2–6 6–2, 6–7. At the 2005 Berlin Open, she lost to Czech Květa Peschke in the first round 6–4 6–3.
At the 2006 Internationaux de Strasbourg she encountered fierce resistance in the first round from upcoming Italian World No. 249 Karin Knapp, but finally defeated her 1–6 6–3 7–6 to book her place in the second round, where she made light work of French World No. 27 Marion Bartoli for the second time in her career, this time dismissing her 6–1 6–1. In the quarter-finals, clay-court expert and World No. 28 Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain had the better of their joust, taking it 6–2 6–4. At the 2006 French Open she lost Peng Shuai, 2–6 2–6 in the first round.
She then entered the grass-court circuit, at Birmingham, England and 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands, and both reaching the second round losing to Italian World No. 39 Mara Santangelo 3–6 3–6 and World No. 8 Elena Dementieva, 1–6 6–4 4–6, respectively. In July, entering 2006 Wimbledon Championships world-ranked No. 63, she recovered from a set down to fend off Spanish World No. 75 Maria Sánchez Lorenzo in the first round, and then second round she lost compatriot Anna Chakvetadze in a close three setter 4–6 6–3 3–6.
At the events of 2006 Acura Classic and 2006 JPMorgan Chase Open she reached the Second round of both events , losing to Finnish Emma Laine 7–6 6–7 4–6 and American Meghann Shaughnessy 6–7 3–6, respectivley. At the Qualifying round of the 2006 Rogers Cup she was upset by Neha Uberoi of the United States in the first round. The following week at 2006 Forest Hills Tennis Classic she lost to Meghann Shaughnessy, 2–6 5–7, at the quarter-final stage. In September, in her first appearance at the 2006 US Open, she lost to World No. 14 Mary Pierce in the first round, 5–7 1–6.
Later that month, at the 2005 China Open, In the first round, she at last wreaked revenge upon Emma Laine after a lengthy struggle, 7–6 5–7 6–3, but then in the second she fell in three sets to Chinese World No. 23 Li Na, 6–3 1–6 1–6. A string of three further moderate second-round finishes in successive weeks followed in the earlier part of October in 2006 Guangzhou International Women's Open losing to veteran Israeli Tzipora Obziler 6–4 3–6 3–6, in 2006 Tashkent Open losing to Ukrainian talent Kateryna Bondarenko, 6–3 4–6 4–6, in 2006 Kremlin Cup losing to Amelie Mauresmo 5–7, 6–3, 7–6(3).
At the 2006 Generali Ladies Linz after qualifying she got pass the first round of the main draw against World No. 16 Daniela Hantuchová after the Slovak retired 4–3 RET. World No. 12 Jelena Janković of Serbia awaited her in Round Two, and although Vesnina won the first set on a tie-break, it was Janković who would emerge victorious in three, 6–7(4) 6–4 6–2. In her last tournament at 2006 Gaz de France Stars she retired against native Kirsten Flipkens 4–0 RET.The Russian finished the year still ranked 44th in the world, up 67 places year-on-year.
2007
In her first tournament of the year at the 2007 MAW Hardcourts she reached the quarterfinals losing to Italian Tathiana Garbin, 5–7 2–6. the following week, at the 2007 Moorilla Hobart International she lost Anabel Medina Garrigues in the first round, 1–6 3–6. At the 2007 Australian Open she avenge her lost to Anabel Medina Garrigues in the first round, defeating her with a 6–7 6–1 6–1. But lost in the Second Round to Maria Elena Camerin, in a very close three-set match, 4–6 6–3 8–6. Following the 2007 Australian Open then proceeded to suffer a string of disappointing first round exits over the remainder of the Winter season at the 2007 Toray Pan Pacific Open she lost to Japanese World No. 26 Ai Sugiyama 4–6 2–6, at the 2007 Proximus Diamond Games she lost to compatriot Dinara Safina, at the 2007 Dubai Tennis Championships she was outplayed by Daniela Hantuchová, 1–6 3–6, at the 2007 Pacific Life Open she was crushed by China's Peng Shuai in a double bangle 6–0, 6–0, at the 2007 Bausch & Lomb Championships she lost Catalina Castaño, 7–5 3–6 1–6 and finally at the 2007 Family Circle Cup to compatriot Vasilisa Bardina, 6–1 3–6 1–6. She has now lost 7 straight matches in a row. Her losing streak ended in the hands of Urszula Radwanska in the first round of the 2007 J&S Cup beating her 2–6 7–6(4) 6–3 but lost in the next round to Jelena Jankovic 2–6, 5–7. At the 2007 Qatar Telecom German Open a week later, she suffered a heavy defeat by 65th-ranked Spaniard Lourdes Domínguez Lino at the first round, 2–6 1–6.
in her next main draw appearance she reached the quarterfinals at the 2007 Internationaux de Strasbourg she lost to Marion Bartoli for the first time in three meetings, 1–6 6–4 3–6. At the 2007 French Open, she was drawn against no. 1 seed and eventual champion Justine Henin of Belgium in the first round, and lost in two relatively close sets, 4–6 3–6.
The following week, at the 2007 Ordina Open, she got thorugh as a qualifier but lost in the second round by Angelique Kerber of Germany, losing to her 3–6 3–6. Entering 2007 Wimbledon Championships world-ranked 67th in July, she enjoyed a strong start with successive comfortable straight-sets wins over fellow-Russian World No. 32 Olga Poutchkova in the first round 6–1 6–3 and World No. 43 Émilie Loit 6–1 6–2 of France in the second, before losing once again to no. seed and eventual semi-finalstJustine Henin, in the third round 1–6, 3–6. Following Wimbledon she competed at the 2007 W&S Financial Group Women's Open where she reached the quarterfinals losing to eventual champion and compatriot Anna Chakvetadze, trailing to her 0–6 1–4 before retiring.
At the 2007 Nordea Nordic Light Open she defeated Swedish World No. 109 Sofia Arvidsson in straight sets in the first round, but then lost to fast-rising Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki, in the second, 5–7 1–6. She then competed in the last tournamtn before the US Open at the 2007 Forest Hills Tennis Classic, after receiving a first round bye, she began well with straight-sets victories over World No. 68 Séverine Brémond 6–4 6–4 and Japanese World No. 52 Aiko Nakamura 6–3 6–2 to reach her career-first WTA-level semi-final, but then lost heavily to Virginie Razzano, 2–6 0–6 even winning their first three meetings. Entering the 2007 US Open, Vesnina was drawn to play World No. 89 Croat Jelena Kostanić Tosic in the first round, but lost to her in straight sets 4–6 2–6.
The following week, representing Russia in the 2007 Fed Cup final against Italy, she avenged her straight sets defeat by Mara Santangelo in their only previous meeting, by outplaying the current World No. 34 to win in straight sets herself this time around, 6–2 6–4. Towards the end of the month, the Russian could reach only the second round of the 2007 Banka Koper Slovenia Open before she succumbed to Argentinian Gisela Dulko 6–7(3) 1–6.
Returning to the Tashkent Open in October ranked 61st in the world, she exceeded her performance of the previous year by reaching the semifinals with successive victories over Italian Alberta Brianti 6–3 6–4, Belarussian Tatiana Poutchek 7–5 6–4, and Romanian youngster Ioana Raluca Olaru in three sets 2–6 7–6 6–4, but at this stage, she lost fast-rising Belarussian teenager Victoria Azarenka, 6–4 6–2.
At the 2007 Kremlin Cup she lost once again to Czech World No. 13 Nicole Vaidišová at the second round, 3–6, 4–6. At the her last two tournaments of the year at the 2007 Zürich Open and 2007 Generali Ladies Linz she failed to qualifyi losing to American Meilen Tu 5–7 3–6 and German Sandra Kloesel 4–6, 4–6. She ended the year at No. 54 ten spots lower than the previous year.
2008
Back in Australia for the beginning of the new season early in January, Vesnina suffered a poor start with a three-set loss in the first round at Gold Coast to an Australian wildcard then ranked just 158th in the world, Monique Adamczak, 6–7 6–3 5–7.
Having failed to defend the points accrued from her quarter-final finish at Gold Coast a year previously, she found her ranking slipping to 60th. But she mostly made up for it by reaching the quarter-finals at Hobart the following week with back-to-back straight-sets wins over Japanese World No. 48 Akiko Morigami and Nuria Llagostera Vives of Spain. But her quarter-final opponent, World No. 23 Vera Zvonareva, had the better of her 6–3 6–3.
Entering the Australian Open for the third year running, now ranked World No. 55, Vesnina enjoyed a marginally more successful run than she had done in 2007, in reaching the third round with successive wins over World No. 31 Julia Vakulenko of the Ukraine, 6–4 1–6 6–4, and World No. 98 Jill Craybas of the United States, 6–2, 6–4. However, there was no stopping eventual tournament champion Maria Sharapova in Round Three, as she raced away with their match 6–3 6–0.
Vesnina emerged from the tournament world-ranked No. 52. With only 16 ranking points for her to defend between February and April inclusive out of a total of 549 to her credit, she was presented with a strong theoretical opportunity to return to or exceed her pre-existing career-high WTA world ranking of 41st by the beginning of May.
However, her challenge began disappointingly for her at Doha in mid-February with a first-round main-draw loss in straight sets to Japanese World No. 134 Ayumi Morita, 3–6 4–6. Then at the Tier II tournament at Dubai at the end of the month, she was forced to go through the qualifying tournament, where she was defeated in the second round on the final-set tie-break of a very close three-set match by resurgent Chinese player Zheng Jie, whose then-current ranking of World No. 226 reflected her recent absence from the tour resulting from injury. The sum total of the ranking points earned by the Russian in February was just six.
Returning to action in mid-March at the Tier I fixture taking place at Indian Wells, Vesnina could manage only the second round of the main draw after defeating World No. 98 Hsieh Su-Wei of Taipei in a close three-set match in the first, as World No. 10 Marion Bartoli vanquished her 6–0 6–4, levelling up their career head-to-head at two matches all.
Vesnina at the 2008 US Open.
Arriving at Miami at the end of March world-ranked 53rd, down one place on the beginning of February, she finally achieved a measure of success for the first time in two months, reaching the fourth round with wins over Russian veteran Elena Likhovtseva (6–4 6–4), Hungarian World No. 18 Ágnes Szávay (6–2 4–6 6–1) and improved American World No. 60 Ashley Harkleroad (6–4 5–7 6–4) before succumbing to Belgian World No. 1 Justine Henin 2–6 2–6. The 70 ranking points she earned from this performance lifted her comfortably within the Top 50 again at No. 45, with a total of 638 ranking points, but still left her some 50 points adrift of the current standard required to match her previous best ranking of 41st.
At the Tier II Amelia Island in early April, Vesnina reached the third round after defeating Venezuelan star Milagros Sequera 7–6 6–0 and veteran Swiss World No. 12 Patty Schnyder 6–2 2–6 6–2. But then she lost to much-improved French World No. 49 Alizé Cornet 1–6 5–7. As a result, she achieved a net gain of just 25 ranking points to 663, and only one ranking place.
2009
Vesnina participated in the 2009 ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand in January. It was here that she advanced to her first final on the WTA Tour, upsetting the tournament's sixth-seed Nicole Vaidisova in the second round and the second-seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in the quarterfinals along the way. She then prevailed in a marathon semifinal against British #1 Anne Keothavong with a score of 6–7(3), 6–1, 7–5 to set up a meeting with fellow Russian and tournament first-seed Elena Dementieva. She started strongly in the match with a 3–1 lead but eventually lost to Dementieva 6–4 6–1.
Vesnina participated in the 2009 Australian Open but lost in the first round to French player Julie Coin. At the 2009 Dubai Tennis Championships, where she was a qualifier, Vesnina made it to the quarterfinals, defeating Chinese player Li Na 1–6, 6–4, 6–4 in the first round and achieving her first win over a top 10 player by defeating 7th-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova 6–4, 3–6, 6–0. In the third round, she defeated 12th-seeded Dominika Cibulkova, who retired after Vesnina was leading 4–6, 6–1, 4–0. In the quarterfinals her series of upsets ended when she lost to 16th-seeded Kaia Kanepi 3–6, 5–7.
At her next tournament, the 2009 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, Vesnina defeated Sabine Lisicki 7–6(4), 7–5 in the first round and 32nd-seed Sorana Cirstea 5–7, 6–2, 6–3 in the second round. In the third round, she lost to 8th-seed Victoria Azarenka 3–6, 5–7. Vesnina started her 2009 clay court season at the 2009 MPS Group Championships in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. She upset 6th-seeded Shuai Peng in the first round 2–6, 6–1, 6–3, and the 3rd-seed Dominika Cibulkova 7–5, 6–7(5), 6–3 in the quarterfinals. She lost to 2nd-seeded Caroline Wozniacki 2–6, 6–3, 7–6(4) in the semifinals after having 4 match points in the third set.
Vesnina at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships.
She then reached the quarterfinals of the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina before losing to Sabine Lisicki 6–4, 6–0 while battling a leg strain.
At Vesnina's next tournament, the 2009 Rome Masters, she reached the second round by defeating American Jill Craybas 1–6, 6–3, 6–2, but lost to Jie Zheng 2–6, 7–6(3), 2–6. She then reached the third round of the 2009 Madrid Masters and lost to Jelena Jankovic 2–6, 2–6. She lost to Agnes Szavay in the second round of the French Open, the first time she'd reached the second round there. She did however reach her first grand slam final in the doubles at the French Open partnering Victoria Azarenka. The pair were seeded 12th but lost in the final to the 3rd seeds and defending champions Virginia Ruano Pascual and Anabel Medina Garrigues 6–1 6–1.
At the 2009 Wimbledon Championships Vesnina defeated Yanina Wickmayer in the first round and defeated Vera Dushevina in the second round. She then caused a big upset over #14 Dominika Cibulkova in the third round. Vesnina won the first set and had a trainer come at the end of the second. She fell behind in the third, but rallied back. Vesnina then fell to #4 Elena Dementieva in the fourth round, 6–1, 6–3.
At the 2009 US Open Series in her first event of the series in 2009 LA Women's Tennis Championships she fell to Jie Zheng in the second round 4–6, 6–4, 0–6, it was followed by first round loses in the 2009 Rogers Cup to Anna Chakvetadze 7–5 6–3 and in the 2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and Women's Open to Jie Zheng 6–3 6–2. At the 2009 Pilot Pen Tennis, she upset two top-20 players – a fast-rising Samantha Stosur in the second round 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, and Amelie Mauresmo 5–7, 6–1, 6–2 in the semifinals. She however lost to Caroline Wozniacki in her second WTA Tour Career finals 6–2, 6–4 and her first in a Premier Event.
Vesnina was seeded 31'st at the 2009 US Open and it was the first time that she had been seeded at a Grand Slam Event. She faced Lucie Hradecká in the first round where she came through 6–4 7–6. In the second round she defeated Jill Craybas 7–6 6–1 to advance to third round at the US Open for the first time. There she faced fellow Russian and her former doubles partner Vera Zvonareva where she fell 2–6 4–6.
Vesnina next played at the 2009 Toray Pan Pacific Open where she was unseeded in singles. She beat Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez in the first round 6–3, 6–2 and Roberta Vinci 6–1, 7–6(6) in the second round but she had to retire in her thrd round match against the seventh seed Jelena Jankovic due to a left thigh strain while trailing 6–1, 3–0. She then played at the 2009 China Open but she lost in the first round to Melinda Czink 7–6(2), 5–7, 6–4. Vesnina then played in her home country at the 2009 Kremlin Cup where she was seeded 6th. She sufferd a surprise first round defeat to compatriot Yevgeniya Rodina 6–1, 3–6, 6–2.
Vesnina finished the year with a 34–21 singles record and she finished the year ranked World No. 24.
2010
Vesnina's first tournament of the year is the 2010 ASB Classic where she is seeded #6. In the first round she beat Alberta Brianti 6-1 6-4. In the second round she was defeated by Alizé Cornet 6-1 6-1.
Her next tournament was the Medibank International Sydney. In the first round she faced #7 Vera Zvonareva but at 3-3 Zvonareva retired due to a right ankle injury. In the second round she was defeated by Vera Dushevina 6-3 6-4.
Vesnina was seeded #28 at the Australian Open but was defeated in the first round by Tathiana Garbin 7-6 6-4. In the doubles she partnered with Zheng Jie of China where they were seeded #9. In the first round they beat Alize Cornet and Sharon Fichman 7-5 6-3 and in the second round they won in a walkover. In the third round they lost to the #8 seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Yan Zi 6-4 6-4. Vesnina also entered mixed doubles with Andy Ram and were the #8 seeds. In the first round they defeated Alicia Molik and Matthew Ebden 6-0 6-3. In the second round they beat Anna-Lena Grönefeld and Christopher Kas but then fell to the top seeded Cara Black and Leander Paes in the quarterfinals.
Her next tournament was the 2010 Open GDF Suez where she was seeded #8. She was knocked out in the second round by Tathiana Garbin.
At the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, Vesnina fell in three sets to World No. 14 Vera Zvonareva in the first round.
Country Russia
Residence Sochi, Russia
Date of birth August 1, 1986 (1986-08-01) (age 23)
Place of birth Lviv, Soviet Union (now Ukraine)
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Weight 60 kg (130 lb; 9.4 st)
Turned pro 2002
Plays Right
Career prize money $1,729,049
Singles
Career record 205–146
Career titles 0 WTA, 2 ITF
Highest ranking No. 22 (October 12, 2009)
Current ranking No. 33 (April 5, 2010)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open 4R (2006)
French Open 2R (2009)
Wimbledon 4R (2009)
US Open 3R (2009)
Doubles
Career record 134–99
Career titles 3 WTA, 6 ITF
Highest ranking No. 15 (March 9, 2009)
Australian Open 3R (2009)
French Open F (2009)
Wimbledon 3R (2007)
US Open QF (2009)
