Nadezhda Petrova is a Russian tennis player, winner of two WTA Final Championships in doubles. The former third racket of the world in singles and doubles rankings is a finalist of two Grand Slam tournaments in doubles and a bronze medalist of the Olympic Games in London in doubles.
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova was born in Moscow in 1982, on June 8. The girl began to play sports early. The parents came to the conclusion that their daughter has an ability for athletics and swimming. Since practicing these sports starts at twelve, it was decided to wait and pick up something else.
The road to big sport
The choice fell on tennis. Classes started at eight. For a very long time, they did not pay attention to the talented girl. She was not part of the national teams, she studied very calmly. Parents-athletes watched their daughter.
The first coach was a mother athlete. On the capital's court, Nadia first picked up a racket. Mom was replaced by Maria Shmagina, after her Andrei Arunov began to train the young tennis player.
With the beginning of the work of her parents with the national athletics team and Arab disc throwers, the girl went with them to Cairo. Nadia attended school and played tennis. She participated in competitions, even got to the Egyptian championship. Promotion took place without a personal trainer.
At the youth tournament in Israel, Petrova came to the attention of Tomasz Iwanski, a beginning Polish mentor. He asked why a promising athlete so rarely participates in competitions.
After clarifying the problem, Tomas offered his help. Mom and Nadya went to Poland, where they met Andrzej Glinski. After two days of observation of the future ward, he decided to take her under his own patronage. The first professional contract was signed. This was a turning point in the biography of Petrova.
The family continued to live in Egypt. Dad had to stay, since he could not stop working, and mom and Nadia had to attend tournaments. The parent continued to train the dock.
First successes
In 1997, in Tbilisi, a fifteen-year-old athlete from a girl unknown to anyone turned in one moment into a winner in her age category. Nadia's confidence in her powers increased markedly.
The next year, the girl, without being seeded, won the junior Open tournament in France. Vice-President of the RTF Alexei Selivanenko invited Petrova to participate in the Kremlin Cup. A contract with Advantage was immediately offered. The debut was successful.
Since 1999, Tatyana Naumko began to train the athlete. Nadezhda's results were already good. By the end of 1999, the girl was one of the hundred best tennis players in the world. In the 2000th supertournament, held in Miami, Nadia bypassed Elena Dementieva. It was not possible to finish the season successfully due to injury. At the Kremlin Cup, Petrova was already only a spectator.
The new mentor helped the ward to deliver the technique. Until 2005, the athlete had a difficult time. But then the girl began to rise rapidly. She managed to get to the semifinals of Roland Garros, win in Linz, get to Los Angeles for the final championship and enter the top ten. She was trained at that time by Glen Schaap. Relations with the new mentor did not work out, both parted very quickly. He was replaced by Alexander Mityaev.
In 2007, during the French Open Championship, Petrova was injured. The recovery took a long time. I had to part with thoughts of winning at Roland Garros.
The tennis player has achieved significant success under the mentorship of Tomasz Ivanski. The sports career continues. In doubles, Petrova won the 2012 WTA final championship. For a long time, Nadezhda was in the top twenty.
Living in the present tense
The girl really likes Australia. She loves the nature of the country, its people and cities. The tennis player loves to go back there. Petrova also loves Russian literature. Of the singers, she likes Enrique Iglesias.
Nadezhda has excellent artistic skills. She copies almost any picture. However, the athlete has almost no time for hobby. Even during her vacation, Nadia does not do without physical activity for more than a week. She is constantly engaged in morning jogging, fitness, and performs special exercises.
Petrov's character is not easy. She is very intractable. Recently, the athlete has not had a permanent coach. He is replaced by her sparring partners. Leadership is closer to a goal-oriented tennis player. She knows how to insist on her own. For some time Nadezhda lived in Amsterdam, then returned to Moscow. It was not easy for the girl to get used to the rapid saturation of life in the capital.
The girl is not enthusiastic about the life of a professional athlete. She believes that she only mistakenly believes that there is nothing in the life of a tennis player except a spot. Far from it. It is impossible to take part in the public because of the constant flights, such a schedule has a noticeable effect on personal life.
Practically none of her colleagues and Petrova herself likes being outside the court. Such being does not suit anyone. In an interview, Nadia admitted that she dreams of living life to the fullest, having the right to do stupid things, and not follow a strict sports regimen and always go to bed on time.
Petrova announced the end of her professional career on January 11, 2017. In July, she had a child, a daughter. Nadezhda is conducting charity events to help children, and is thinking of developing a line of tennis clothes.
For achievements in sports and contribution to the development of physical education, the tennis player was awarded a medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland.
