By the time you're done reading this, you won't be able to figure out why the Kuznetsovas aren't the No. 1 Most Athletic Tennis Family.
Until tomorrow at least.
Currently ranked No. 21 in the world, Russia's
Svetlana Kuznetsova has a long way to go before she eve becomes the top female athlete in her family, let alone the best overall.
Svetlana's mother, Galina Tsareva, is a six-time world champion cyclists and holds 20 world records. She won her first championship in 1969, and was still dominating the sport 10 years later, when she won her final world title in 1979. Her talents allowed her to see the world, as she took part in championships in Czechoslovakia, Great Britain, Italy, Canada, Venezuela, The Netherlands, Germany and France. Galina's coach became far more than that over time.
Aleksandr Kuznetsov knew a thing or two about cycling, having trained five Olympic and world champions over the course of his lifetime. He and Galina ended up marrying and having two children, Svetlana and Nikolay.
Born in 1973, Nikolay followed in his mother's footsteps and was trained by his father as a cyclist. His hard work and dedication paid off in the summer of 1996, as he teamed with fellow Russians Eduard Gritsun, Alexei Markov and Anton Shantyr to win the silver medal in the Men's 4000m Team Pursuit at the Atlanta Summer Olympics.
Born in 1985, Svetlana was clearly pedaling to a different tune, declaring cycling "boring" early on, and focusing on tennis instead. At age 13, she was sent to Spain for better training and coaching, and overcame long odds as she turned pro at 16 in 2001. By 2002 she was ranked 43rd in the world, and won the US Open in 2004, ending Lindsay Davenport's 22-match win streak in the semifinals, then defeating Elena Dementieva in the final, eventually finishing fifth in the year-end rankings.
She came back to win the Australian Open doubles title the following year, and added the 2009 French Open title.
Coming Friday, the countdown culminates at #1!
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