In the 2010 World Championships, Russia met Italy in the final. Kovalev came back from 4–15 in the fourth relay to give Russia the lead, scoring 12 hits against Luigi Tarantino. Russia eventually defeated Italy 45 to 41, allowing mates Aleksey Yakimenko, Artem Zanin, Veniamin Reshetnikov and Kovalev to take the gold. At the 2011 World Championships they retained the title in men's sabre team defeating Belarus in the final.