Natasha Zverava

Belarusian tennis player Natasha Zverava excelled in doubles, winning 20 Grand Slam titles and reaching the rank of world number one. Zverava played professionally from 1988 to 2002, often partnering with Gigi Fernández. Zverava competed at four Olympic Games, winning a bronze medal, and earned almost $8 million in prize money during her career. Zverava and Fernández were both inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in July 2010.

Zverava won four singles titles on the WTA Tour but this paled by comparison to the 80 doubles titles she won from June 1988 to May 2002. In addition to a very successful partnership with Fernández, Zverava also won multiple titles with Larisa Savčenko, Pam Shriver, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, and Lindsay Davenport.

Zverava’s first Grand Slam final was in the singles at the 1988 French Open where she lost in straight sets to Steffi Graf. In the doubles she reached 31 finals, going on to win 18 titles; six at the French Open (1989, 1992–95, 1997), five at Wimbledon (1991–94, 1997), four at the US Open (1991–92, 1995–96), and three at the Australian Open (1993–94, 1997). Fourteen of the 18 titles came with Fernández, winning two with Savčenko, and one each with Shriver and Martina Hingis. In the mixed doubles Zverava won the 1990 Australian Open with Jim Pugh and the 1995 Australian Open with Rick Leach.

Zverava competed in the singles and doubles at four successive Olympic Games; 1988 Seoul, 1992 Barcelona, 1996 Atlanta, and 2000 Sydney. At the Barcelona Games she won bronze in the doubles with Leila Meskhi. Zverava just missed out on a medal at the Sydney Games when she finished in fourth place with Volha Barabanshchykava as her partner.