# Elena Makarova

Elena Alekseyevna Makarova (Russian: Елена Алексеевна Макарова, listen, born 1 February 1973), is a former Russian professional tennis player.
Makarova played in the WTA Tour from 1991 to 1999. Her peak performances were in 1995, when she was ranked world No. 36 in doubles, and in 1996, when she was ranked No. 43 in singles. In 2011, she coached Russian tennis player Margarita Gasparyan.

## WTA Tour finals
### Singles: 2 (2 runner-ups)

Legend :
| WTA Championships | 0 |
| Tier I | 0 |
| Tier II | 0 |
| Tier III | 0 |
| Tier IV & V | 0 |
| Result | W-L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Sep 1995 | Moscow, Russia | Carpet (i) | Magdalena Maleeva | 4–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 0–2 | Jul 1997 | Palermo, Italy | Clay | Sandrine Testud | 5–7, 3–6 |

### Doubles: 1 (1 title)

| Legend |
| WTA Championships | 0 |
| Tier I | 0 |
| Tier II | 0 |
| Tier III | 1 |
| Tier IV & V | 0 |
| Result | W-L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | Sep 1994 | Moscow, Russia | Carpet (o) | Eugenia Maniokova | Laura Golarsa Caroline Vis | 7–6, 6–4 |

## ITF Circuit finals
### Singles: 11 (6 titles, 5 runner-ups)

* Legend
* $100,000 tournaments
* $75,000 tournaments
* $50,000 tournaments
* $25,000 tournaments
* $10,000 tournaments
* Finals by surface
* Hard (2–1)
* Clay (2–2)
* Grass (0–0)
* Carpet (2–1)
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 1. | 12 August 1991 | Rebecq, Belgium | Clay | Kateřina Šišková | 3–6, 0–6 |
| Win | 1. | 15 September 1991 | Haskovo, Bulgaria | Clay | Lubomira Bacheva | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 2. | 9 December 1991 | Érd, Hungary | Hard (i) | Petra Holubová | 7–5, 6–1 |
| Win | 3. | 20 January 1992 | Bergen, Norway | Carpet (i) | Julia Jehs | 6–0, 6–0 |
| Loss | 2. | 27 July 1992 | Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany | Clay | Barbara Mulej | 5–7, 3–6 |
| Win | 4. | 19 October 1992 | Moscow, Russia | Clay | Svetlana Parkhomenko | 7–5, 6–2 |
| Loss | 3. | 14 November 1992 | Manchester, England | Carpet (i) | Nancy Feber | 5–7, 6–4, 2–6 |
| Win | 5. | 22 November 1992 | Nottingham, United Kingdom | Carpet (i) | Elena Pampoulova | 3–6, 6–2, 7–5 |
| Win | 6. | 6 December 1993 | Val-d'Oise, France | Hard (i) | Petra Langrová | 0–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 4. | 4 October 1998 | Tbilisi, Georgia | Clay | Evgenia Kulikovskaya | 6–2, 2–6, 5–7 |
| Loss | 5. | 1 November 1998 | Poitiers, France | Hard (i) | Sandra Načuk | 0–6, 7–5, 1–6 |

### Doubles: 8 (6 titles, 2 runner-ups)

* $100,000 tournaments
* $75,000 tournaments
* $50,000 tournaments
* $25,000 tournaments
* $10,000 tournaments
* Finals by surface
* Hard (3–1)
* Clay (2–1)
* Grass (0–0)
* Carpet (1–0)
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 1. | 1 April 1991 | Šibenik, Yugoslavia | Clay | Irina Sukhova | Zdeňka Málková Janette Husárová | 1–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 1. | 30 March 1992 | Moncalieri, Italy | Clay | Kateřina Šišková | Radka Bobková Jana Pospíšilová | 6–4, 2–6, 6–2 |
| Win | 2. | 25 May 1992 | Putignano, Italy | Hard | Olga Lugina | Aida Khalatian Karina Kuregian | 6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 3. | 15 November 1992 | Manchester, United Kingdom | Carpet (i) | Elena Likhovtseva | Elena Pampoulova Natalie Tschan | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 2. | 28 March 1993 | Brest, France | Hard | Elena Likhovtseva | Kristie Boogert Linda Niemantsverdriet | 6–4, 5–7, 5–7 |
| Win | 4. | 5 July 1993 | Erlangen, Germany | Clay | Eugenia Maniokova | Janette Husárová Danielle Thomas | 6–1, 6–4 |
| Win | 5. | 6 December 1993 | Val-d'Oise, France | Hard (i) | Magdalena Feistel | Isabelle Demongeot Catherine Suire | 2–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 6. | 1 November 1998 | Poitiers, France | Hard (i) | Olga Lugina | Gabriela Kučerová Radka Pelikánová | 6–0, 6–1 |

### Head to head

* Lindsay Davenport: 0-3
* Venus Williams: 1-0
* Arantxa Sánchez Vicario: 1-2
* Dominique Monami: 0-1
* Martina Hingis: 0-1

## Junior Grand Slam finals
### Girls' singles: 1 (runner-up)

| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 1991 | Wimbledon | Grass | Barbara Rittner | 7–6$^{(8–6)}$, 2–6, 3–6 |

## Legacy

In Russia, despite her modest popularity as a top-50 player, Makarova is well-known for providing her explanation for the issue of LGBT-athletes being more common among female tennis players than on the ATP Tour (while the most popular example was Toomas Leius according to the locally popular 1993 short story Fugue with [Male] Tennis Player by Mikhail Veller). She said the following: “When you get tired after a match or training, you no longer want to dress up or go to a party. Therefore, some tennis players solve the problem of sex [absence] by means of "lesser bloodshed" [local idiom which means "easy" in a dual meaning: the simpler the better or silly] — with each other. Besides, you can't afford to take your beloved man with you — he has to work himself". The last part has been clarified to mean that "most female tennis players cannot afford traveling with their beloved man financially".