Veronika Kudermetova

Veronika Eduardovna Kudermetova (born 24 April 1997) is a Russian professional tennis player.

She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 9, achieved on 24 October 2022, and a best WTA doubles ranking of No. 2, reached on 6 June 2022.

She also has won three WTA 1000 titles, and won the 2022 WTA Finals with Elise Mertens.

In addition, she reached the doubles final of Wimbledon in 2021, with Elena Vesnina.

Kudermetova won her first WTA Tour singles title at the 2021 Charleston Open, and her first WTA doubles title at the 2019 Wuhan Open, partnering Duan Yingying.

Her younger sister Polina Kudermetova (born 2003) is also a tennis player.

Kudermetova is married to tennis coach and former player Sergei Demekhine, whose highest ranking had been No. 673.

They started dating in 2015 despite Demekhine returning to being her coach again since 2012, on which Kudermetova commented in 2020: "At the age of 16 I just liked him but I didn't even think about anything more. Probably, it's my upbringing that affected. Such thoughts had been unacceptable to me".

Partnering Evgeniya Rodina, Kudermetova won her first $50k tournament at the Kazan Summer Cup, defeating Alexandra Artamonova and Martina Borecká in the final.

There, she also reached the semifinals in singles as a wildcard.

Kudermetova reached consecutive $10k finals at Antalya at the start of the year, and after several strong performances, she cracked the world's top 500 for the first time in her career.

Playing in her first $100k tournament at the President's Cup, she reached the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion, Vitalia Diatchenko.

She ended the year as the No. 343 in the rankings with a 24–14 win-loss record, lifting her maiden ITF title in the process.

The 2015 season saw Kudermetova failing to win a single title on the ITF Circuit as she had a disappointing 15–15 win–loss record with just one final reached.

Her year-end ranking was 400.

After a lackluster start, Kudermetova made her first final of the year at Andijan in May.

It was followed by consecutive $25k titles in Imola and Astana, ensuring that she moved into the world's top 300 for the first time.

A fourth final of the season in Telavi marked her continuous rise.

Her ranking soon made it possible for a direct admission into the main draw of the Taipei Challenger, her debut on a WTA 125 tournament.

She won her first match against Varatchaya Wongteanchai before losing in the second round.

Overall, she enjoyed a 34–18 win–loss record in 2016, with a total of two ITF Circuit titles.

She made her WTA Tour main-draw debut in singles at the 2018 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, and in doubles at the 2014 Kremlin Cup, partnering with Evgeniya Rodina.

Playing for Russia Fed Cup team, Kudermetova has a win–loss record of 3–4.

Kudermetova was born to Eduard Kudermetov, a Russian national ice hockey champion.

She started playing tennis at the age of eight.

Her year-end ranking improved by a total of 190 spots, ending at the 210th spot.

Her Grand Slam debut came at the Australian Open, where she lost in the first round of qualifying.

Attempting a transition onto the WTA Tour, she played qualifying in multiple events but failed to reach the main draw in all of them.

Kudermetova won her first qualifying round at the French Open but fell in her next match.

She reached her first WTA 125 quarterfinal, at the Taipei Challenger to end off the year.

Kudermetova had a 28–24 win-loss record for the year, failing to reach any finals but recorded more appearances on the WTA Tour.

After starting the year with a triumph at the $25k event at the Yokohama Challenger, she qualified for her first WTA Tour event at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, a Premier tournament.

Riding on her momentum, Kudermetova stunned top-30 player Carla Suárez Navarro in the first round before putting up a strong performance against eventual champion and top-ten player Karolína Plíšková.

She reached the final round of qualifying at the French Open for the first time in her career, where she fell to Barbora Krejčíková.

Another big win soon followed as she beat defending champion Anett Kontaveit on grass, in the first round of the Rosmalen Open.

Furthermore, she stunned Belinda Bencic in her next match, reaching her first WTA Tour quarterfinal.

She reached another WTA quarterfinal at the Ladies Championship Gstaad where she defeated Viktória Kužmová, before falling to Eugenie Bouchard, in straight sets.

She had a 34–23 win-loss record for the year, gaining first success on the WTA Tour.

Kudermetova started the year with a quarterfinal run at the Shenzhen Open after qualifying for the main draw, defeating higher-ranked compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the process.

She qualified for the main draw at the Australian Open for the first time in her career, losing to Sofia Kenin in round one.