Veronika Kudermetova

Veronika Kudermetova Bio

Veronika Eduardovna Kudermetova (born 24 April 1997) is a Russian professional tennis player who has built a strong reputation in both singles and doubles. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 9 on 24 October 2022, and a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 2 on 6 June 2022. A right-handed player with a two-handed backhand, she is a doubles major champion at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships, partnering Elise Mertens. She has also won nine additional WTA Tour doubles titles, including three at the WTA 1000 level and two at the WTA Finals.

Standing 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) tall and based in Moscow, Kudermetova turned professional in 2011 and has compiled more than US$10.6 million in career prize money. She has represented Russia at the Billie Jean King Cup, helping her country win the 2020–21 title.

Early Life and Background

Kudermetova was born in Kazan, Russia, to Eduard Kudermetov, a Russian national ice hockey champion of Volga Tatar origin, and a Russian mother. She began playing tennis at the age of eight, an early start that helped shape her path toward a professional career. Her younger sister, Polina Kudermetova (born 2003), is also a professional tennis player, continuing the family’s sporting tradition.

Raised in a competitive athletic household, Kudermetova trained in Russia before stepping onto the international stage as a teenager. She turned professional in 2011 and began competing on the ITF Circuit, steadily building experience against older and higher-ranked opponents. Her development was guided from a young age by future husband and coach Sergei Demekhine, who joined her team in 2012.

Path to Tennis

Kudermetova’s rise through the sport began on the ITF Circuit, where she lifted her maiden $50k title at the 2013 Kazan Summer Cup alongside Evgeniya Rodina and reached the singles semifinals as a wildcard. By the end of 2013, she had cracked the world’s top 500 and finished the season ranked No. 343 with a 24–14 win-loss record.

She added her first two ITF singles titles in 2016 at Imola and Astana, and by the end of that year had moved into the world’s top 300. Her Grand Slam debut came at the 2017 Australian Open in qualifying. The following year, she qualified for her first WTA Tour main-draw event at the 2018 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, where she stunned top-30 player Carla Suárez Navarro in the opening round.

Veronika Kudermetova Career

Early Career (2013–2018)

Kudermetova’s developmental years were spent primarily on the ITF Circuit, where she gradually improved her ranking and game. She earned her first $50k doubles title in 2013 and continued reaching ITF finals across Europe and Central Asia through 2015, despite a winless season in titles that year.

In 2018, she made her first WTA Tour main-draw appearance at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, beating Suárez Navarro before pushing eventual champion Karolína Plíšková. She also reached the quarterfinals at the Rosmalen Open and the Ladies Championship Gstaad, posting a 34–23 win-loss record and gaining her first sustained success on the main tour.

WTA Tour Breakthrough (2019–2021)

In 2019, Kudermetova cracked the singles top 40, lifted her biggest title at the WTA 125 in Guadalajara, and recorded her first career top-ten win over Belinda Bencic. In doubles, she won the Wuhan Open with Duan Yingying, defeating Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka in the final to claim her first WTA doubles title.

The 2021 season marked her singles breakthrough. Seeded 15th at the Charleston Open, she won her first WTA Tour singles title, defeating Danka Kovinić in the final without dropping a set. She also reached the women’s doubles final at Wimbledon with Elena Vesnina, saving match points en route, and entered the top 20 in doubles. At the Tokyo Olympics, she partnered Vesnina to a fourth-place finish in doubles.

Top 10 Era (2022–2023)

2022 was the best season of Kudermetova’s career. She reached the singles quarterfinals at the French Open for the first time and made her top-10 singles debut at world No. 9 in October. In doubles, she and Mertens won the WTA Finals in Fort Worth, defeating Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková in the final, and she also lifted her first WTA 1000 doubles title at the Italian Open with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

In 2023, she defended her Dubai doubles title with Liudmila Samsonova and won her second WTA Tour singles title at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, defeating Jessica Pegula in straight sets. She also reached the Madrid Open singles final, losing to Iga Świątek, and closed the year ranked No. 19 in singles and No. 29 in doubles.

2024 Season

The 2024 season was quieter in singles, with first-round exits at the Australian Open and limited deep runs throughout the year. In doubles, she reached the final of the China Open with Chan Hao-ching and qualified for the WTA Finals with Chan, reaching the semifinals before falling to Siniaková and Taylor Townsend.

2025 Season

Kudermetova opened 2025 by reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open, defeating Olivia Gadecki, Katie Boulter, and Beatriz Haddad Maia before losing to Elina Svitolina. Partnering Mertens, she finished runner-up in doubles at both the Madrid Open and the Italian Open.

At Wimbledon, she and Mertens won her first major title, defeating Hsieh Su-wei and Jeļena Ostapenko in the women’s doubles final. At the Cincinnati Open, she reached her first WTA 1000 singles semifinal in two years, climbing back into the WTA top 30 at No. 26. In November, she and Mertens won the doubles title at the WTA Finals, defeating Tímea Babos and Luisa Stefani in the final.

Driving Style and Strengths

Kudermetova plays right-handed with a two-handed backhand and combines powerful baseline groundstrokes with steady court coverage. Her doubles success has been built on strong serving under pressure, sharp net instincts, and a productive partnership with Elise Mertens, with whom she has won multiple WTA 1000, Wimbledon, and WTA Finals titles. In singles, she has shown the ability to out-hit top-ten opponents when her first serve is clicking.

Notable Events and Milestones

Kudermetova’s signature results include her 2021 Charleston Open singles title, her 2022 WTA Finals doubles crown with Mertens, her 2023 Pan Pacific Open title, and her 2025 Wimbledon doubles championship. She also helped Russia win the 2020–21 Billie Jean King Cup, winning all three of her doubles rubbers in the Finals alongside Liudmila Samsonova.

Veronika Kudermetova Career Wins

Veronika Kudermetova has built a versatile trophy collection across both singles and doubles. She has won 2 WTA Tour singles titles and 10 WTA Tour doubles titles, including 3 WTA 1000 crowns, the 2022 and 2025 WTA Finals, and the 2025 Wimbledon Championships in doubles.

WTA Tour Highlights

She lifted her first singles trophy at the 2021 Charleston Open without dropping a set, and added her second singles title at the 2023 Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo with a straight-sets win over Jessica Pegula. In doubles, her first WTA title came at the 2019 Wuhan Open with Duan Yingying, and her most recent major success was the 2025 Wimbledon doubles title alongside Elise Mertens.

She has also won the doubles title at the 2022 and 2025 WTA Finals, becoming a two-time WTA Finals doubles champion. Other notable doubles trophies include events in Dubai (2022, 2023), Istanbul (2021), and Rome (2022), and a runner-up finish at the 2021 Wimbledon and 2025 Italian Open, both with Mertens.

Other Wins and Performances

Earlier in her career, Kudermetova won her first ITF Circuit title at the 2013 Kazan Summer Cup and added two more ITF singles titles in 2016 at Imola and Astana. She also lifted the WTA 125 title in Guadalajara in 2019, her biggest title before her WTA Tour breakthrough, and helped Russia win the 2020–21 Billie Jean King Cup.

Veronika Kudermetova Family

Family Background and Racing Lineage

Kudermetova comes from an athletic family rooted in Kazan. Her father, Eduard Kudermetov, was a Russian national ice hockey champion of Volga Tatar origin, and her mother is Russian. Her younger sister, Polina Kudermetova (born 2003), is also a professional tennis player on the WTA Tour.

Personal Life

Kudermetova is married to tennis coach and former professional player Sergei Demekhine, whose career-high singles ranking was No. 673. The couple began dating in 2015, with Demekhine having served as her coach since 2012. The family is based in Moscow, Russia.

2025 Season Performance

Veronika Kudermetova’s 2025 season combined a deep singles run in Melbourne with a career-defining year in doubles. She reached the fourth round of the Australian Open, her best singles result in Melbourne, and returned to the WTA top 30 in singles after a semifinal showing at the Cincinnati Open.

In doubles, she and Elise Mertens finished as runners-up at both the Madrid Open and the Italian Open before capturing the Wimbledon women’s doubles title, Kudermetova’s first Grand Slam championship. The pair capped their season by winning the WTA Finals doubles title in November, defeating Tímea Babos and Luisa Stefani in the final.

Heading into 2026, the outlook is mixed: her doubles form is at a career peak, while a recent surgery and planned multi-month absence from competition will shape her singles schedule for the early part of the year.