Over the past 20 years, Russian players have enjoyed numerous successes in women’s tennis, but it was Olga Morozova who set the benchmark.
At the 1974 Wimbledon championships, Morozova stunned top seed Billie Jean King and then Virginia Wade to become the first player from her country to reach a final at the Grand Slam. However, she was denied the title by Chris Evert, who dropped just four games in the final. Coincidentally, Evert was the player with whom Morozova won the French Open doubles trophy with earlier that year.
After ending her career as a player, the former world No.3 became a renowned coach. At one stage, she was supporting those who were coaching Andy Murray during the early part of his career. She also mentored Elena Dementieva and Svetlana Kutnetsova. In the UK, where she now resides, Morozova spent many years working for the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) and, just last year, was working with Katie Boulter.
In an exclusive interview with Ubitennis, 76-year-old Morozova reflects on her career as a player, a member of the media and as a coach. The timing of the interview came shortly after Iga Swiatek thrashed Amanda Anisiova 6-0, 6-0, in the Wimbledon final. A score Morozova can partly relate to after also being bageled in a Wimbledon final but 51 years earlier.
List of titles won by Morozova
SINGLES
1977 – Beckenham
1975 – Moscow Open
1974 – Philadelphia, Perth
1973 – London
1972 – Tasmanian, Beckenham, South Orange, Moscow International
1971 – Moscow Indoors, European Amateur, River Plate, USSR Championships 1970 – USSR Indoors, UAR Open, Alexandria Championships, Moscow International, European Amateur Championships, USSR Nationals
1969 – Moscow International
DOUBLES
1976 – Washington, DC (w/Wade), Chicago (w/Wade), Prerov (w/Chmyreva)
1974 – Roland Garros (w/Evert), Italian Open (w/Evert), St. Petersburg (w/Stove), Hilton Head (w/Casals), Perth (w/Navratilova); 1973 – Italian Open (w/Wade)
1972 – Italian Open (w/Hunt)
source – WTA
