Biography

Elena was born March 10th 1983 in Moscow, Russia from parents Oleg (former member of the national water-polo team) and Margarita.She has one sister who studies law in the United States.

She made an impressive professionel debut as she won the ITF event in El Paso, USA in 1998. The next year, she played her first WTA event entering the qualifying tournament in Miami.

Although she has been making constant improvement, it was the 2002 year that opened the tennis world to her. As one of many emerging Russians, Elena got attention with among other things, a first singles title in Warsaw, and a quarterfinal performance at the US Open (with an early upset of Jelena Dokic). She will without any doubt be one to look out for in the coming years.