FCI Staff Writer Sacramento 
fcielitecompetitor.com, fciwomenswrestling2.com, femcompetitor.com, grapplingstars.com fcielitecompetitor.com Shuttertock-Mai-Groves-photo-Editorial-use
December 6, 2023,
Some sayings, often repeated over time, hold true, most of the time, but not all of the time.
Here is one of them.
To be the best, you have to beat the best.
That may be true most of the time, but in women’s tennis, that certainly is not true all of the time.
Case in point.
Caroline Wozniacki was ranked world No. 1 in singles for a total of 71 weeks, including at the end of 2010 and 2011.
Now, that is considered being the best.
She achieved the top ranking for the first time on October 11, 2010, becoming the 20th player in the Open Era and the first from a Scandinavian country to hold the top position.
As far as Grand Slams, how many did she win?
One.
The 2018 Australian Open.
So, you see, she was number one, for a whopping 71 weeks, but she didn’t always have to beat the best, especially at the Grand Slams, to get there.
The star of our story today, Veronika Kudermetova, recently beat the best.
On September 29, 2023, tennis.com reported, “Veronika Kudermetova pulled off the biggest upset of the week in Tokyo on Friday, taking out top-seeded Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals of the WTA 500 hard-court event, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.”
Incredible.
To some, shocking.
What made this important victory substantial was that Ms. Swiatek had won all four previous meetings easily by scores of 6-3, 6-3; 6-1, 6-0; 6-0, 6-1; and 6-1, 6-1.
That could be described as domination.
So, applause all around. Veronika has beaten the best.
But to be the best, or number one, currently ranked at number 19 in the world, Veronika has a little ways to go but the victory over Iga was certainly a step in the right direction.
Time for a closer look at Veronika.
Veronika is a Russian professional tennis player with a career-high singles ranking of world No. 9, achieved on October 24, 2022, and a best WTA doubles ranking of No. 2, reached on June 6, 2022.
She also has won three WTA 1000 titles, and won the 2022 WTA Finals with Elise Mertens. In addition, she reached the doubles final of Wimbledon in 2021, with Elena Vesnina.
Amazing accomplishments.
Time for a little history.
The 2015 season saw Veronika failing to win a single title on the ITF Circuit as she had a disappointing 15–15 win–loss record with just one final reached.
Her year-end ranking was 400. It is hard to get into a Grand Slam with that ranking.
After a lackluster start, Veronika made her first final of the year at Andijan in May. It was followed by consecutive $25,000 titles in Imola and Astana, ensuring that she moved into the world’s top 300 for the first time.
Things continued to improve.
Overall, she enjoyed a 34–18 win–loss record in 2016, with a total of two ITF Circuit titles. Her year-end ranking improved by a total of 190 spots, ending at the 210th spot.
Over the next few years, our luminary showed steady improvement.
Let’s move up the timeline to 2023.
Veronika started the season at the Adelaide International 1, seeded fourth. In her first tournament as a top-10 player, she defeated Amanda Anisimova and Bianca Andreescu in the first two rounds, respectively.
That was huge news.
She continued her good form in the Adelaide 2 event, when she defeated Victoria Azarenka and Danielle Collins in three sets.
Drum roll please.
At the 2023 Toray Pan Pacific Open she won her second title after two and half years drought defeating world No. 2 and top seed Iga Swiatek and world No. 4 and second seed Jessica Pegula.
So, you see, on her way to fighting to be the best, she certainly is beginning to defeat the best.
Those kind of results will get you noticed in financially high places.
After wearing Nike and Asics clothes, without any personal contract with the brands, Veronika became endorsed by Armani for clothing in 2020, becoming the EA7 Brand Ambassador.
Time to visit the village that helped raise her.
Kazan is the largest city and capital of Tatarstan, Russia.
The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of slightly over 164 square miles, with a population of over 1.3 million residents, and up to nearly 2 million residents in the greater metropolitan area.
Kazan is the fifth-largest city in Russia, being the most populous city on the Volga, as well as within the Volga Federal District.
Kazan is renowned for its vibrant mix of Tatar and Russian cultures. In 2015, 2.1 million tourists visited Kazan, and 1.5 million tourists visited the Kazan Kremlin, a World Heritage Site.
In terms of finance, Kazan is one of the largest industrial and financial centers of Russia, and a leading city of the Volga economic region in construction and accumulated investments.
An innovative economy is represented by the largest IT-park in Russia which is one of the largest of its kind among Eastern European science parks.
Kazan now is one of the most developed cities in Russia in terms of sport. The city has hosted two Bandy World Championships, in 2005 and 2011, the World Summer Universiade 2013, the World Championship in fencing in 2014, the Aquatics Championship FINA 2015, 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2018 FIFA World Cup and other international competitions of various levels.
As we can see, Veronika is from an economically vibrant and sports robust region of Russia.
That background can impel you to seek greatness.
If that is the case, it is starting to pay off.
As we have noted above, after a slow start, Veronika can now go toe to toe and defeat the top players on the women’s professional tennis tour. She is not one to be taken lightly, even by a number one player.
A big test, in terms of her progress, will be this year’s 2024 Australian Open. We will be watching closely to see if she has a good run. Hopefully a great one.
Beating the best.
Her resume demonstrates she certainly is capable of that.
~ ~ ~
OPENING PHOTO Shuttertock-Mai-Groves-photo-Editorial-usefcielitecompetitor.com, fciwomenswrestling2.com, femcompetitor.com, grapplingstars.com fcielitecompetitor.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Wozniacki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veronika_Kudermetova
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazan
https://www.fciwomenswrestling2.com
https://www.fcielitecompetitor.com/
https://fciwomenswrestling.com/
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