Russia Fed Cup team

Russia
Captain	Anastasia Myskina
ITF ranking	4 2 (18 April 2016)
Colors	red & white
First year	1968
Years played	40
Ties played (W–L)	131 (90–41)
Years in World Group	34 (59–31)
Titles	4 (2004, 2005, 2007, 2008)
Runners-up	7 (1988, 1990, 1999, 2001 2011, 2013, 2015)
Most total wins	Larisa Savchenko (65–22)
Most singles wins	Larisa Savchenko (29–15)
Most doubles wins	Larisa Savchenko (36–7)
Best doubles team	Larisa Savchenko / Natasha Zvereva (12–1)
Most ties played	Larisa Savchenko (55)
Most years played	Larisa Savchenko (17)

The Russia Fed Cup team represents Russia in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Russian Tennis Federation. They currently compete in the World Group.

Current team

As of April 17, 2016.

Name	DOB	First	Last	Ties	Win/Loss			Ranks
					Sin	Dou	Tot	Sin	Dou
Gasparyan, MargaritaMargarita Gasparyan	September 1, 1994	2013	2016	2	0–2	0–1	0–3	47	42
Kasatkina, DariaDaria Kasatkina	May 7, 1997	2016	2016	2	1–1	1–1	2–2	32	53
Kulichkova, ElizavetaElizaveta Kulichkova	April 12, 1996	2016	2016	0	0–0	0–0	0–0	111	315
Kuznetsova, SvetlanaSvetlana Kuznetsova	June 27, 1985	2004	2016	19	21–11	6–2	27–13	13	173
Makarova, EkaterinaEkaterina Makarova	June 7, 1988	2008	2016	7	4–2	5–0	9–2	29	25
Pavlyuchenkova, AnastasiaAnastasia Pavlyuchenkova	July 3, 1991	2009	2016	9	4–7	5–2	9–9	27	37
Vesnina, ElenaElena Vesnina	August 1, 1986	2003	2016	15	2–2	10–4	12–6	51	13

History

Russia competed in its first Fed Cup in 1968, as the Soviet Union. They won the Cup in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008, and have finished as runners-up four times.

Prior to 1992, Russian players represented the Soviet Union. In 1992, eleven countries which had previously been part of the Soviet Union played as the Commonwealth of Independent States, with Evgenia Manyukova and Elena Makarova, who both played in following years for Russia, and Elena Pogorelova, who played one doubles match in the Fed Cup.

Russia in the Fed Cup since 1995

2004–2008: Zenith

In 2008, the player staff was revised to include debut Maria Sharapova.^[1][2] Dinara Safina replaced Svetlana Kuznetsova, who asked Tarpishchev not to include her as she wanted to fight for the top ranking with Amelie Mauresmo.^[3] Anna Chakvetadze, Elena Vesnina and alternate Elena Likhovtseva were also announced for the first round against Israel.^[4] As a result of the 4–1 win, the distance between the top-ranked Russian team and the second-placed team Italy increased to 12,847 points.^[5]

In the semifinals against the United States, Sharapova was replaced by Kuznetsova. Captain Tarpishchev explained, that they came to an agreement to switch the two players, so that both can concentrate on their tennis schedule.^[6] Likhovtseva was removed from the alternate position. Vera Zvonareva now took participation for the next match in the Luzhniki Stadium. Team Russia defeated the Americans without the Williams sisters, Lindsay Davenport and Ashley Harkleroad,^[7] 3–2.^[8]

The final took place in Madrid against Spain. Safina and Elena Dementieva decided not to participate this time.^[9] Ekaterina Makarova made her debut in the doubles dead rubber match with Vesnina. Russia confidently defeated the Spaniards, 4–0.^[10] Carla Suárez-Navarro after her loss in the second rubber called Russia the Queen of Tennis.^[11]

2009–2013: Out of top ranking

The 2009 Fed Cup season started against Team China. Alisa Kleybanova, who previously defeated the 5th-seeded Ana Ivanovic in the third round of the Australian Open, debuted in this season.^[12] Zvonareva decided to skip this match for Pattaya, where she would win the tournament.^[13] Dementieva headed the Russian team, the other players being Kuznetsova, Chakvetadze and Kleybanova.^[14] Russia crushed the Chinese, 5–0. The last rubber was the only one to be played in three sets.^[15]

In the semifinals, Russia met Italy. The team was announced on 15 April; it consisted of Zvonareva, Kuznetsova, Petrova and Chakvetadze.^[16] Zvonareva could not participate due to ankle injury. Debutants Pavlyuchenkova and Kleybanova were nominated as alternates for Zvonareva, as at most four players could be called.^[17] One hour before the draw, the alternate was still not determined,^[18] but Kleybanova has been eventually removed. Russia lost four out of five rubbers, with Kuznetsova winning the only rubber. Sports commentator Anna Dmitrieva said, that nominating Chakvetadze was an error.^[19] Notwithstanding the loss, Russia stayed in the top rankings for now,^[20] but after the Italians utter defeat of the Americans in the final, they replaced Russia from the throne.^[21]

Team Russia in the upcoming match of the new season against Serbia was not made up of the leading tennis players Safina, Kuznetsova, Dementieva and Zvonareva, with the last two having injuries.^[22] Tarpishchev announced the new team consisting of Kleybanova, Pavlyuchenkova, Dushevina and Makarova.^[23] A few days before the start, Kuznetsova jumped in.^[24] Team Russia consisting only of Kleybanova and Kuznetsova defeated Serbia in Belgrade, after coming back from 1–2.^[25]

In April, Russia was to play against the United States. The fact that the match would be played in the United States introduced visa problems for the captain. Pavluychenkova, Zvonareva and Kleybanova could not participate due to injuries. Dementieva and Makarova were ready to play for the team.^[26] Due to volcanic dust, the draw was expected to be moved two days later,^[27] but the situation has been stabilized. In the deciding doubles rubber, Russia lost to the Americans, 2–3.^[28]

2014–2015: New coaching staff

The 2014 season saw a major change in the team leadership. Tarpishchev as an IOC member assisted in the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, and so could not continue heading the Russian team. Anastasia Myskina was elected new captain of the Fed Cup team, after alternate Larisa Savchenko's Latvian citizenship became an obstacle.^[29]

The new squad against Australia was announced on 30 January 2014. Those were Victoria Kan, Irina Khromacheva, Valeria Solovyeva and Veronika Kudermetova.^[30] This decision was unexpected as all four players were outside the two hundreds ranked. Russia eventually lost in the quarterfinal, 4–0.

Sochi became the hosting city of the play-off game against Argentina. Most of the players of the previous team were replaced by Vesnina and Makarova, only Solovyeva was kept for the doubles rubber. Injured Sharapova and Zvonareva could not compete for Russia.^[31][32] The Russians won in a straight 4–0, ensuring them a place in the World Group.

Defeating Argentina in the play-offs, Russia returned to the World Group in 2015. Team Russia, consisting of Kuznetsova, Sharapova and the doubles team Vitalia Diatchenko and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, faced the winner of the Fed Cup World Group Play-off Poland in the first round, and won 4–0. After losing three matches in a row, Poland decided to cancel the singles match, and played the dead rubber between Fed Cup debut Diatchenko and Pavlyuchenkova and doubles specialists Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Alicja Rosolska.

Russia's next opponent was Germany, who superseded team Russia in the world ranking after its first round win over Australia. Now Russia competed with Kuznetsova, Pavlyuchenkova and the duo Zvonareva / Vesnina, after Sharapova and Makarova decided not to participate in the semifinals. Sharapova cited her foot injury,^[33] and Makarova was too exhausted and unready, according to Makarova's coach Manyukova.^[34] Kuznetsova and Pavlyuchenkova won the first two rubbers, but then Germany levelled after winning the other two matches in straight sets. In the deciding doubles match, where Pavlyuchenkova partnered with Vesnina, team Russia overcame the Germans and moved to the finals, which took place in the Czech Republic. There Sharapova won two matches against Kvitová and Plíšková, as against Pavlyuchenkova who lost both of her matches. The deciding doubles match Pavlyuchenkova/Vesnina against Strýcová/Plíšková ended in a three set loss. This is the third time the Russians lost to the Czechs in a Fed Cup final.

2016: Out of World Group

In the new 2016 season, the Russians consisting of Kuznetsova, Makarova and newcomer Daria Kasatkina surprisingly lost to the Dutch team, 3–1. Sharapova while being member of the team decided not to play for it. She claimed to have coached the doubles team.^[35] The second rubber game, Kuznetsova against Hogenkamp, became the longest singles match in the history of the Fed Cup, lasting 4 hours and resulting 6–7^(4–7), 7–5, 8–10.^[36]

Captain Myskina after the unexpected loss put the youngsters Kasatkina, Gasparyan and Kulichkova forward.^[37] Kasatkina won the first rubber against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, but the following three rubbers were lost. Vesnina and Kasatkina, who replaced Kulichkova, won the dead rubber. For the first time since 1999, Russia left the World Group.^[38]

Results

Tournament	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	W–L
Federation Cup
World Group	QF	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	1R	A	SF	SF	QF	QF	QF	1R	2R	1R	1R	2R	F	QF	F	2R	A	A	A	27–15
Europe/Africa Zone	NH																								A	PO	SF	4–4
Consolation Rounds	NH	A	A	A	A	A	NH	A	1R	A	NH	A	A	A	A	W	A	W	F	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	NH	12–1
Win–Loss	2–1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0–2	—	3–1	3–1	2–1	2–1	2–1	5–1	1–1	5–1	4–2	1–1	4–1	2–1	4–1	1–1	—	3–2	1–2	43–20

Tournament	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	W–L
Fed Cup
World Group	A	A	A	A	F	8th	F	1R	SF	W	W	1R	W	W	SF	SF	F	SF	F	1R	F	1R	A	30–14
World Group Play-offs	A	A	A	W	A	NH	W	W	A	A	A	W	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	W	A	L		5–1
World Group II	A	A	A	W	A	Not Held					A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A		1–0
World Group II Play-offs	A	A	W	A	A						A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	1–0
Europe/Africa Group I	SF	F	W	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	9–4
Win–Loss	2–2	3–2	5–0	2–0	2–1	1–2	4–1	1–1	4–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	3–0	3–0	1–1	1–1	2–1	1–1	2–1	1–1	2–1	0–2		46–19
Year End Ranking								5	6	2	1	1	1	1	2	3	3	3	3	3	2

Records

Longest winning streak

Year	Competition	Date	Location	Opponent	Score	Result
1997	Europe/Africa Zone, Group I	22 April	Bari (ITA)	Greece	3–0	Won
	Europe/Africa Zone, Group I	23 April		Bulgaria	2–1	Won
	Europe/Africa Zone, Semifinals	25 April		Israel	2–1	Won
	Europe/Africa Zone, Final	26 April		Belarus	3–0	Won
	World Group II Play-off	12–13 July	Seoul (KOR)	South Korea	4–1	Won
1998	World Group II	18–19 April	Perth (AUS)	Australia	3–2	Won
	World Group Play-off	25–26 July	Moscow (RUS)	Germany	4–1	Won
1999	World Group, First Round	17–18 April		France	3–2	Won
	World Group, Semifinals	24–25 July		Slovakia	3–2	Won
	World Group, Final	18–19 September	Stanford (United States)	United States	1–4	Lost

Finals: 11 (4 titles, 7 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Venue	Surface	Team	Opponents	Opposing Team	Score
Runner-up	1988	Flinders Park, Melbourne, Australia	?	Larisa Savchenko Natalia Zvereva	Czech Republic	Jana Novotná Jana Pospíšilová Radka Zrubáková Helena Suková	1–2
Runner-up	1990	Peachtree W.O.T., Atlanta, United States	Hard	Elena Brioukhovets Nathalia Zvereva Larisa Savchenko Leila Meskhi	United States	Jennifer Capriati Zina Garrison Gigi Fernández Patty Fendick	1–2
Runner-up	1999	Taube Tennis Stadium, Stanford, United States	Hard	Elena Makarova Elena Likhovtseva Elena Dementieva	United States	Lindsay Davenport Venus Williams Serena Williams Monica Seles	1–4
Runner-up	2001	Parque Ferial Juan Carlos 1, Madrid, Spain	Clay (i)	Elena Likhovtseva Elena Bovina Elena Dementieva Nadia Petrova	Belgium	Laurence Courtois Els Callens Justine Henin Kim Clijsters	1–2
Winner	2004	Ice Stadium Krylatskoe, Moscow, Russia	Carpet (i)	Anastasia Myskina Vera Zvonareva Svetlana Kuznetsova Elena Likhovtseva	France	Nathalie Dechy Tatiana Golovin Émilie Loit Marion Bartoli	3–2
Winner	2005	Court Philippe Chatrier, Paris, France	Clay	Elena Dementieva Anastasia Myskina Dinara Safina Vera Dushevina	France	Amélie Mauresmo Mary Pierce Nathalie Dechy Tatiana Golovin	3–2
Winner	2007	Luzhniki Palace of Sports, Moscow, Russia	Hard (i)	Svetlana Kuznetsova Anna Chakvetadze Nadia Petrova Elena Vesnina	Italy	Francesca Schiavone Mara Santangelo Roberta Vinci Flavia Pennetta	4–0
Winner	2008	Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, Madrid, Spain	Clay	Svetlana Kuznetsova Vera Zvonareva Elena Vesnina Ekaterina Makarova	Spain	Anabel Medina Garrigues Carla Suárez Navarro Nuria Llagostera Vives Virginia Ruano Pascual	4–0
Runner-up	2011	Olympic Stadium, Moscow, Russia	Hard (i)	Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Svetlana Kuznetsova Maria Kirilenko Elena Vesnina	Czech Republic	Petra Kvitová Lucie Šafářová Lucie Hradecká Květa Peschke	2–3
Runner-up	2013	Tennis Club Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy	Red clay	Alexandra Panova Alisa Kleybanova Irina Khromacheva Margarita Gasparyan	Italy	Sara Errani Roberta Vinci Flavia Pennetta Karin Knapp	4–0
Runner-up	2015	O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic	Hard (i)	Maria Sharapova Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Elena Vesnina	Czech Republic	Petra Kvitová Karolína Plíšková Barbora Strýcová	2–3

Awards

• The Russian Cup in the nomination Team of the Year (2004, 2005, 2008, 2015)

See also

• Fed Cup
• Russia Davis Cup team

External links

• Team page on FedCup.com

References

1. Шарапова вошла в состав сборной на матч Кубка Федерации
2. FedCup. Шарапова дебютирует, а Дэвенпорт возвращается
3. Кузнецова попросила Тарпищева не вызывать на матч с Израилем
4. Шарапова, Чакветадзе, Сафина, Лиховцева, Веснина — в сборной
5. Россия увеличила отрыв от преследователей в Кубке Федерации
6. В отсутствие Шараповой сборную России поведёт Кузнецова
7. Сборная США приедет в Москву без Дэвенпорт и сестёр Уильямс
8. После парного матча счёт в полуфинале Россия — США стал 3:2
9. Тарпищев: Дементьеву и Сафину мы решили не дёргать
10. Веснина и Макарова оформили разгром испанок в финале КФ
11. Суарес-Наварро: Россия — королева женского тенниса
12. Клейбанова: я заслуженно победила Иванович
13. Звонарёва: решили, что первый матч сборной я пропущу
14. Дементьева возглавит сборную России в матче с Китаем
15. Кузнецова / Дементьева оформили разгром сборной Китая — 5:0
16. В Италию поедут Звонарёва, Кузнецова, Петрова и Чакветадзе
17. Звонарёву заменит Клейбанова или Павлюченкова
18. Клейбанова: готова к любому решению капитана
19. Дмитриева: выбор Чакветадзе был большой неудачей
20. Сборная России осталась на вершине рейтинга Кубка Федерации
21. Италия обогнала Россию и стала первой в рейтинге Fed Cup
22. Россия осталась без ведущих теннисисток на Кубке Федерации
23. Тарпищев определился с составом сборной на матч КФ с Сербией
24. Кузнецова сыграет со сборной Сербии в КФ
25. Россия в пятой встрече добыла путёвку в полуфинал Fed Cup
26. Тарпищев: Дементьева сразу согласилась участвовать
27. Тарпищев: перенос матча для нас ещё хуже
28. Российская сборная не сумела выйти в финал Кубка Федерации
29. Мыскина будет капитаном сборной России в матче КФ с Австралией
30. Кан, Хромачёва, Соловьёва и Кудерметова сыграют с Австралией в Кубке Федерации
31. Мыскина: Шарапова не сыграет за Россию в матче Кубка Федерации с Аргентиной
32. Звонарёва не сыграет с Аргентиной в Кубке Федерации из-за рецидива травмы
33. Шарапова: я не успела восстановиться к полуфиналу КФ после травмы ноги
34. Мыскина: Павлюченкова сказала, что ей вырвали зуб мудрости и начались осложнения
35. "Шарапова: надеюсь, нашим девушкам по силам справиться без моей помощи" [Sharapova: I hope our girls will manage it without my help] (in Russian). Championat.com. 5 February 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
36. Erik Gudris (6 February 2016). "Hogenkamp Wins Longest Ever Fed Cup Match Over Kuznetsova". Tennisnow.com. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
37. "Мыскина: Гаспарян и Касаткина выдвигаются на первые роли в сборной России" [Myskina: Gasparyan and Kasatkina are promoted for the first places in the Russian team] (in Russian). Championat.com. 28 March 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
38. Belarus scale new heights after win in Moscow