Zvonareva finalist in Dubai: a surprise return synonymous with 654th place in the WTA rankings

A year and a half without competition, then four victories in a row: Vera Zvonareva created a surprise at the ITF Dubai tournament. At 41, the former world number 2 reminded everyone that she had lost none of her talent.

© Christian Mesiano - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vera_Zvonareva_at_the_2010_US_Open_01.jpg

Adrien Guyot

le 11/12/2025 à 08h15

1 min to read

Dubaï Zvonareva Vera

Last week, Vera Zvonareva surprised the tennis world by competing in the ITF Dubai tournament. The Russian, aged 41 and who had not played a single tournament for a year and a half, made an unexpected return to the forefront. Invited by the organizers of the Emirati tournament, the former world number 2 had won four consecutive matches before losing in the final.

A big leap forward in the rankings for Zvonareva

The double Grand Slam finalist had thus defeated Wuerth, Martincova, Lansere, and Stojsvaljevic. Then, it was the young Petra Marcinko who ultimately got the better of her in the final.

Thanks to her excellent run in Dubai, Zvonareva returns to the top 1000. While she had not appeared in the WTA rankings since October 2024, the Moscow native accumulated enough points last week to climb to 654th place.