Elena Dementieva

Nickname(s) : Lena
Country : Russia
Residence : Monte Carlo, Monaco
Date of birth : October 15, 1981 (1981-10-15) (age 27)
Place of birth : Moscow, then Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height : 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight : 64 kg (140 lb; 10.1 st)
Turned pro : 25 August 1998
Plays : Right; Two-handed backhand

Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva (Russian: Елена Вячеславовна Дементьева, jɪˈlʲenə dʲɪˈmʲentjɪvə (help·info); born 15 October 1981) is a Russian professional tennis player, who has won one Olympic medals in singles, including the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Her performance at the Olympics is the strongest of any competitor in recent times, with an 11–2 record. She has also reached the finals of two Grand Slam events. Her career high ranking was World No. 3 which she achieved on April 6, 2009. As of 21 September 2009, she is ranked World No. 4.

Early and personal life :
Dementieva was born in Moscow to Viatcheslav, an electrical engineer, and Vera, a teacher, both recreational tennis players. She was rejected by Dynamo Sports Club and the Central Red Army Tennis Club at the age of 7, before enrolling at Spartak Tennis Club, where she was coached for 3 years by Rauza Islanova, the mother of Marat Safin and Dinara Safina.

She then moved to the Central Red Army Club with Sergei Pashkov, when she was 11. She is now coached by her mother Vera and her older brother Vsevolod. She has homes in Monaco, Moscow and Boca Raton, Florida, and enjoys snowboarding, baseball, reading and traveling.
Dementieva was the cover girl for Marie Claire Russia's January 2009 issue.

Early career:
Dementieva played and won her first international tournament, Les Petit As, in France at the age of 13. In 1997, she entered the WTA top 500. She turned professional in 1998 and entered the top 100 in 1999.

Playing style :
Dementieva is an offensive baseline player. Her primary groundstroke is her forehand, which she hits hard and flat. In particular, her running forehand, which she rarely misses, is a key weapon for Dementieva when she is on the defensive.

Dementieva is also known for her excellent athleticism and speed around the court. Dementieva makes few net approaches except to return drop shots or to take advantage of weak returns from her opponents, although since Wimbledon 2009 she has been more aggressive at times.

She has no particular favourite surface, as her playing ability allows her to adapt easily on each surface although her best results have tended to be on hard courts, and she looks less comfortable moving confidently on clay.

While her heavy groundstroking baseline game would not seem to be that suited to grass, her athleticism and improved serve have lead to two consecutive semi final appearances at Wimbledon.

Dementieva's serve has shown improvement since 2008, committing fewer double faults and occasionally managing aces. She is thought to be one of the most talented players who has yet to win a Grand Slam in the tennis community.

In 2009 after the US Open, Elena was awarded the Order of Honour by the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at the Kremlin in Moscow.

The Order of Honor is awarded to Russian citizens for high achievements in government, economic production, scientific research, sociocultural, public and charitable activities which essentially made it possible to improve conditions of life in the country, for merits in training highly skilled personnel, training the growing up generation, and the maintenance of legality and law.

The Order of Honor is worn on the left side of the chest; when other orders of the Russian Federation are present, it is located after orders awarded for military merits.

On September 14th, Dementieva has qualified for the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Qatar, from which begins on October 27th for the 9th time. The top eight players from 2009 will compete for the coveted Sony Ericsson Championships title and a share of the record Championships prize money of $4.45 million.