THE Dawn of the Eastern Era
There have been a few talented and successful female players from Russia and Eastern Europe in the past, e.g. Martina Navratilova and Monica Seles. However, women’s tennis is now being dominated by many players from Eastern Europe, such as new World Number One, Serbian tennis star, Ana Ivanovic. The quarterfinals of the 2008 French Open featured three Russians, i.e. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Dinara Safina and Elena
Dementieva along with the two famous Serbs, i.e. Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic, as well as Estonian, Kaia Kanepi. At the same time, the most recent WTA Tour rankings featured 13 players in the top 20 from Eastern Europe or the former Soviet Union. In addition, Ursula Radwanska from Poland, sister of current top twenty player, Agnieska Radwanska, was recently crowned as the ITF World Junior Girl’s Champion. Tennis is a very global sport, but there are definitely waves in terms of dominating countries and regions. Spain and France have many talented male players. However, today the women’s Tour is being led by players from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. How long will this trend last, when will the next wave arrive and from which region? It will probably last for the next 5-10 years, but Asia definitely has the potential to produce champions in a decade or so...
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