Tennis in Russia

Tennis is one of the most popular sports in the Russian Federation. For a long time tennis held a marginal position amongst the local sports since it was not an Olympic sport. The main Russian National Tennis Centre [ru] (named after Juan Antonio Samaranch) was established in September of 2009 in Moscow.
Arthur Davydovich McPherson or Macpherson (1870–1920) was the founder and president of the first All-Russian Union of Lawn Tennis Clubs, the forerunner of today's Russian Tennis Federation. In 1903 he organized the first St. Petersburg tennis championship and the first national tournament four years later. By 1913, the Russian championship was on the international tour and was thriving. McPherson also helped establish the country's first Olympic Committee. He was awarded the Order of St. Stanislaus by the monarch for his contribution to the promotion of tennis in Russia. Following the 1917 Revolutions (that took place in February and October) he was imprisoned and died from typhus in a Moscow prison.
After his father's death in January 1920, Arthur Macpherson Jr. (1896–1976, Russian: Артур Артурович Макферсон) reached his career-best in the quarterfinals of the 1920 Wimbledon Championships. This was his first grand slam (GS) event and also the first GS event for any Russia-related or ex-Russian tennis player. While this generation of Russian, Russia-related and ex-Russian tennis pioneers, including Lev Urusov (1877–1933), Mikhail Sumarokov-Elston (1893–1970) and his mixed doubles partner Nadezhda Martynova-Danilevskaya (1887–1969), were still alive and active, none of the other local athletes could think about being welcomed by the international sports community.
During the Soviet era, tennis was not popular due to its lack of appearance in the Olympic games, cost, and strong association with the Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov (abbr. HGR) royal dynasty. From 1974 to 1984, Soviet tennis players had been forced by the Tennis Federation of the USSR to boycott all the international competitions, except for the Davis Cup, in an unsuccessful attempt of the government to influence apartheid in South Africa. In addition, local men's tennis players were seriously bullied by the other Soviet athletes for competing in what they deemed a 'girlie' sport. Many thought this because, at one point, about 80 percent of tennis coaches in the USSR were women.
In 1976, The New York Times reported that while tennis was still popular in the USSR, there was a scarcity of equipment, and no tennis clubs.
Since the end of the Soviet era, tennis has become more popular and Russia has produced many famous tennis players. In recent years, the number of top Russian women players has been considerable, with Maria Sharapova (of Belarusian origin, Belarusian: Марыя Юр’еўна Шарапава, romanized: Maryja Jur’jeŭna Šarapava) and Dinara Safina (of Tatar origin, Tatar: Динара Мөбин кызы Сафина, romanized: Dinara Möbin kızı Safina). Other Russian women to achieve international success include Anna Chakvetadze, Elena Dementieva, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anastasia Myskina, Nadia Petrova, Vera Zvonareva and Anna Kournikova. The Russian Federation has won the Fed Cup 4 times, in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008.
At the Beijing 2008 Olympic Tennis Event, Russia swept the women's tennis podium with Elena Dementieva winning the gold, Dinara Safina and Vera Zvonareva the silver and bronze, respectively. As of 5 October 2009, four Russian women were ranked in the WTA tour's top 10.
Russia also boasts three former number 1 men's players–Safina's older brother Marat Safin (of Tatar origin, Tatar: Марат Мөбин улы Сафин, romanized: Marat Möbin ulı Safin), Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Daniil Medvedev. Russian men currently in the top 10 include Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, the former of whom was a finalist at the 2019 US Open, 2021 Australian Open, 2022 Australian Open. He won the 2021 US Open. Medvedev had briefly reached the number 1 ranking in February 2022, before being overtaken by Novak Djokovic. He reclaimed his first spot again in June 2022. Medvedev was the first player to reach number 1 without being a member of the 'Big Four'; Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and Rafael Nadal, since February 2004.
Nevertheless, a majority of their projected target audience expects every successful tennis player from Russia to obtain foreign citizenship sooner or later, even if only for the sake of a better travel visa.
Active players in bold. Last updated after the 2021 Mallorca Championships.
Active players in bold. Last updated after the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open.
Active players in bold. Last updated after the 2024 Bad Homburg Open.
Active players in bold. Last updated after the 2024 Iași Open.
Last updated after the 2025 Doha (SGL), 2023 Madrid Open (DBL).
Last updated after the 2025 Indian Wells (SGL), 2025 Miami (DBL).
Last updated after the 2024 Games of the XXXIII Olympiad.