By Richard Pagliaro
© WTA, Henk Abbink

(October 29, 2010) Elena Dementieva's stuttering, sling-shot service motion could create complications out of the simple act of starting a point. One of the game's grittiest competitors delivered graceful closure to a commendable career that saw her capture 16 career titles, including the Olympic gold medal, reach two major finals and a career-high rank of No. 3 and establish a well-earned reputation as a Russian role model and global tennis ambassador.

The 29-year-old Dementieva called it quits today, officially retiring after her 6-4, 6-2 loss to Francesca Schiavone at the WTA Championships, to conclude a 13-year career in which she never mastered a major but gained major respect for her determination and disposition.

"I want to thank everyone who has supported me through my career, including the WTA, all of the tournaments and the staff, all of the WTA players I have had the pleasure of playing with, the sponsors that are so important for our sport, my mother Vera and my family and of course, the fans that have been there for me through the years," said Dementieva.  "While I look forward to the next chapter of my life, I will miss all of you very much."

Dementieva, who grew up dreaming of becoming a doctor before opting to pursue a career in tennis, turned professional in 1998, solidified her status as a standout by reaching the 2002 US Open final in just her second Flushing Meadows appearance and won her first WTA event at Amelia Island in 2003. She won 576 of her 849 matches, capturing 16 WTA titles, including two this year at the Medibank International (Sydney) and the Open GDF Suez (Paris) and earning more than $14 million in prize money.

One of the most consistent players in the history of the sport, Dementieva competed in 46 consecutive Grand Slams (the longest streak of any active woman), only missing this year’s Wimbledon after having to withdraw with a calf injury. Dementieva became the first player from Russia ever to reach the semifinals of the US Open and was part of the historic first all-Russian Grand Slam final at 2004 Roland Garros, losing to Anastasia Myskina.

The level of respect and high regard fellow players have for Dementieva was on display as several players, including Kim Clijsters, Vera Zvonareva, Lisa Raymond and Gisela Dulko, wiped away tears while Dementieva addressed the crowd in Doha.

"It's a very special moment (because) this is my last tournament," Dementieva said.

Characteristically classy in closing her career, Dementieva spent much of her speech thanking others — WTA CEO Stacey Allaster, her peers and her fans — for their support.

"It's a big honor for me to be a part of the Tour for such a long time. It was so nice to get to know all of you and work with you for so many years," Dementieva said, her voice cracking with emotion at one point. "I'm gonna miss all of you for so much. It's very emotional....I would like to thank all the people around the world for supporting me.  Thank you for your devotion."

The Moscow-born Dementieva directed her gaze at her mother Vera, who has stood beside her daughter nearly every step of her career since she turned pro in 1998, and thanked her mother, whose eyes glistened with tears behind her black-frame glasses as she listened to her daughter credit the unbreakable mother-daughter bond as an ongoing source of strength.

"I would like to thank my family — especially my mom — she was very supportive, encouraging, inspiring and always there for me and I know it is a very emotional moment for her as well," Dementieva said while looking into her mother's eyes and addressing her directly. "We did it together. I couldn't have done it without you. I love you mom."




Dementieva has qualified for the season-ending WTA Championships 10 times, reaching the semifinals in 2000 and 2008.  A three-time member of the Russian Olympic team, Dementieva is a two-time Olympic medalist, having won the gold in Beijing (2008) — which she considers her greatest achievement — and silver in Sydney (2000). Dementieva also represented Russia in 18 Fed Cup ties, leading them to victory in 2005.

US Open champion Clijsters grew up playing Dementieva in a rivalry that dates back to their junior days. Both women were teenagers when they each made their debut at the season-ending tournament back in the glory days when it was still staged at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Both women are known for their class, sportsmanship and fighting spirit and Clijsters praised Dementieva for those qualities while praising Dementieva as a classy person and a committed competitor.

"We wanted to show our appreciation of the person she's been, not just on on the court but off the court as well," Clijsters said. "I remember playing doubles finals against her when we were 13 or 14. We kind of grew up together in our careers.  Tennis is not a sport we will play forever, but she's been one of the most professional, nicest girls on Tour and it's gonna be rare to see another girl like her."

While some will remember Dementieva for her Sissyphus-like struggles with her serve that spanned virtually her entire career (Dementieva broke down in tears after falling in the 2004 French Open final to childhood friend Myskina, confessing "I just can't serve") and others will label her as the best player of this generation who never won a Grand Slam title, Dementieva deserves credit for her remarkable resiliency, consistency and competitiveness.

Despite a debilitating serve that could generate double digit double faults when it went off the rails, Dementieva was a tremendously fierce competitor, who compensated for her service struggles with one of the finest return of serves in tennis and  finished in the year-end top 10 in six of the last seven years.

The two-time Grand  Slam finalist started this season on a 10-1 tear, beating Serena Williams to win Sydney in her first tournament of the year and topping Lucie Safarova to claim the Paris Indoors in her third event of the season.

A capable competitor on all surfaces, Dementieva reached at least the semifinals of three of the four majors — Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open — highlighted by her 2004 season in which she lost to Myskina in the French Open final then fell to compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova in the 2004 US Open final. Dementieva was a popular presence among New Yorkers as she eloquently expressed her support for the city and Americans in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

Some fans connected to Dementieva on a deep level, seeing a top 10 pro struggling with a stroke almost as severely as a recreational player. Yet she she never made alibis or wallowed in self pity as she worked with coaches and consultants ranging from Wimbledon winner Richard Krajicek to former French Open finalist Harold Solomon in an effort to reconstruct a serve that sometimes resembled a woman slinging a stick sidearm at a moving pinata while teetering on a step stool.

Facing Dementieva's slice serve could be a bit like playing Russian Roulette with a pop gun: it was not strong enough to be fatal, but could be unsettling particularly when she followed it up with her canon-fired forehand. The fact that Dementieva could not only survive, but thrive with that suspect serve was a testament to her tenacity, fitness and stellar strokes that Nick Bollettieri compared to Andre Agassi's strokes.

Though a Grand Slam title would elude her, Dementieva was a major title contender in each of the last two years.

Dementieva came within one point of the 2009 Wimbledon final. She held a match point at 5-4 in the final set of the Wimbledon semifinals before succumbing to fourth-seeded Serena Williams, 6-7(4), 7-5, 8-6 in the highest-quality women's match of that season. Williams went on to beat older sister Venus and win the Wimbledon title.

Last June, Dementieva suffered a torn calf muscle at the French Open and retired from her semifinal match against Schiavone after the 17th-seeded Italian won the first set, 7-6.

So what's next for Dementieva?

There is speculation she will settle down, marry long-time boyfriend 31-year-old NHL wing Maxim Afinogenov of the Buffalo Sabres and start a family. Dementieva has always said family was a central foundation of her life, and Clijsters, who took time out from tennis to start a family, suggests Dementieva may be ready

"The emotions with her mother — you see the bond that that they have (and) they traveled for so many years together — you have so many great successes, but also some bad moments in a career," Clijsters said. "To be able to share that with the person you probably care about the most (is special). She is ready for a new chapter of her life. She's probably gonna start a family and do all that stuff."

Tennis Now caught up with Dementieva earlier this season for a video interview. To view the video interview please click Part 1 here and Part 2 here.