Personal

Coached by Vladimir Perko ... Encouraged to play tennis by her mother, who loved the sport because of its graceful nature ... Fathers name is Volodja; mothers name is Tatiana; older sister, Katya, is a national synchronized swimmer ... Other sports interest includes in-line skating ... Hobbies include listening to music (house, grunge), reading and watching movies.

Career Highlights

SINGLES
Winner: 2002 - ITF/Opole-POL; 1997 - ITF/Bushey-GBR; 1995 - ITF/Poiters-FRA.
Finalist (1): 1998 - Istanbul.
Semifinalist (1): 1997 - Pattaya City.

DOUBLES
Finalist (1): 1999 - Bratislava (w/Osterloh).
Semifinalist (4): 2000 - Olympics (w/Zvereva); 1999 - Knokke-Heist (w/Loit); 1997 - Gold Coast (w/Richterova), Pattaya City (w/Pleming).

ADDITIONAL
Belarus Fed Cup Team 1998-99, 2001, 2003. Belarus Olympic Team 1996, 2000.

Career in Review

1994 - Played first four ITF Circuit events in the UK and Russia, reaching one QF
1995 - Improved ranking 649 spots to No. 263; as a qualifier, won eight straight matches to win first pro title at ITF/Poiters-FRA
1996 - Failed to qualify for Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open; fell 1r at Atlanta Olympics to Pierce and played first Tour main draw at Pattaya City, l. 1r; reached final of ITF/Austin-USA as a LL
1997 - A WC entry into Indian Wells, reaching 2r; qualified for Hilton Head falling to world No. 6 C. Martinez and cracked Top 100 for first time at No. 99 on April 7; reached 3r of Birmingham and US Open, upsetting No. 13 seed Schultz-McCarthy; reached first Tour SF at Pattaya City, d. No. 6 seed Chladkova before falling to No. 2 seed Van Roost; finished season in Top 100 for first time (at No. 59)
1998 - Reached 3r of Australian Open, l. to No. 5 seed Pierce and shortly after in March, attained career-high ranking of No. 49; reached first final on WTA Tour at Istanbul, falling 11-9 in third-set tie-break to No. 1 seed Nagyova; reached QF at Tokyo [Princess Cup] (d. world No. 11 Van Roost for career-best win) and Pattaya City; stretched world No. 10 Tauziat to 3s in 2r of US Open
1999 - In consecutive weeks, reached QF at Warsaw (d. No. 1 seed, world No. 20 Schett) and Antwerp (l. to eventual champion Henin); stretched eventual Wimbledon semifinalist Stevenson to 3s in 2r; reached third QF at Bratislava and reached career-first doubles final (w/Osterloh); advanced beyond 2r only three times in 21 Tour main draws
2000 - Enjoyed career-best Grand Slam performance at Wimbledon, d. No. 15 seed Schett in 1r and world No. 25 Frazier en route to 4r; ranking vaulted from No. 92 to No. 65; ranked No. 89, d. world No. 17 Anke Huber in Sydney 1r; d. Spirlea in 1r of Australian Open (l. to No. 10 seed C. Martinez in 3s); also reached QF at Bogota, Budapest and Warsaw
2001 - Played tournaments through mid-April, then was off Tour for remainder of season with Achilles tendon injury
2002 - Snapped 11-match losing streak by winning 1r qualifying match at Australian Open; ranked No. 430, received WC for Indian Wells and l. 1r to No. 49 Mandula; reached final of ITF/Southhampton-GBR and SF of ITF/Dubai-UAE and ITF/Fano-ITA (as a qualifier), then won first title in five years at ITF/Opole-POL, returning to Top 200 for first time since July 2001, having started season ranked No. 784
2003 - As the last player accepted into qualifying draw at Sydney, won three matches to reach main draw, then became lowest-ranked player at No. 184 to reach the Sydney QF in 15 years with wins over world No. 34 C. Martinez and No. 23 Bovina; second QF at Tier II level; ranking vaulted 63 spots to 121, best since April 2001; as No. 1 seed, was upset in 1r at ITF/Rimini-ITA by LL Timotic; as No. 1 seed, was upset in SF at ITF/Tbilisi-GEO by qualifier and eventual tournament champion Vesnina; as world No. 128, l. 1r at Tashkent to world No. 156 Wartusch