Background and career
Elena Viacheslavovna Dementieva (Russian: Еле́на Вячесла́вовна Деме́нтьева, [jɪˈlʲɛnə dʲɪˈmʲenʲtʲjɪvə] ; born 15 October 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She was ranked world No. 3 in women's singles and world No. 5 in women's doubles by the WTA. Dementieva won 16 WTA Tour-level singles titles, including an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, adding to a silver medal from the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She was also the runner-up at the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open, and reached seven other major semifinals. Dementieva was part of the victorious Russian team at the 2005 Fed Cup. In doubles, she won six titles, including the 2002 WTA Championships with Janette Husárová, and was runner-up in two US Open finals.
Dementieva announced her retirement from the sport after the 2010 WTA Tour Championships. Between 2003 and 2010, she only ended one year, in 2007, outside the top 10. She is considered to be one of the most talented players never to have won a Grand Slam tournament.
