Yevgeny Kafelnikov admits he is pleasantly surprised by Vera Zvonareva's stunning Dubai, and the former two-time Grand Slam champion jokes the 41-year-old may have been "eating some sort ot rejuvenating apples" lately.
After being out of action for 18 months, Zvonareva entered this week's W100 (ITF) tournament in Dubai. The former world No. 2 is playing in singles and doubles events and has reached the final in both competitions.
In singles, Zvonareva – who doesn't have a ranking at the moment – has beaten so far Tara Wurth, Tereza Martincova, Sofya Lansere, and also survived a three-set semifinal battle against 16-year-old rising star Mika Stojsavljevic. In doubles, the 2010 Wimbledon runner-up teamed up with fellow Russian Rada Zolotareva, and they have won three matches so far in their team debut.
41 year old 🇷🇺 Vera Zvonareva defeats 16 year old 🇬🇧 Mika Stojsavljevic 6-3, 6-7, 6-4 to reach the ITF W100 Dubai final.
First singles final since 2020 for the Former world No.2
Also scheduled to play doubles SF later
Zvonareva was ranked 7th in the world when Mika was born😅 pic.twitter.com/Ya2uiTEMDB
— edgeAI (@edgeAIapp) December 6, 2025
Kafelnikov: She is having fun and we can only be happy for her
“I don’t really understand what Vera is doing. I don’t know what the secret to success at 41 is. Maybe she’s eating some sort of ‘rejuvenating apples’ (laughs). Everyone does what they feel is right. If she enjoys playing tennis — great. We can only be happy for someone who is having fun and getting a thrill out of it. Why take that away from her? We can only be glad for her,” Kafelnikov told Championat.
After beating Stojsavljevic, Zvonareva is set to meet another teenager as her Dubai final rival will be 19-year-old Petra Marcinko, who is ranked at No. 103 in the world. They have no previous meetings.
In the Dubai doubles final, Zvonareva and Zolotareva will take on Gao Xinyu and Mananchaya Sawangkaew.
