As 2012 comes to an end, the international media are recognizing Slava’s Golden Set as one of the greatest moments in sport. ESPN listed it at #14 in their top 100 moments in tennis for 2012, and Sports Illustrated put it at 87 in their list of the 112 most memorable moment in all sports for 2012, an accomplishment even more noteworthy in an Olympic year full of great sports stories. To read some of the media reports or to watch the Golden Set, visit the Media section on this site.

Slava started 2012 ranked 206 in singles after a tough 2011 season that included a knee surgery and many other challenges, but supported by her new team, Slava worked hard to climb back up the rankings. The results of the dedication started to show in March, when Slava reached the finals of an ITF tournament in Irapuato and won the ITF tournament the next week in Poza Rica. Then came the headline-making run from qualifying to the quarterfinals at Roland Garros, which would allow her to climb high enough in the rankings to qualify to compete in singles at the Olympics. More history came at Wimbledon with the Golden Set against top 10 player and Roland Garros finalist, Sara Errani, and a 3-set battle against Serena Williams in the 4th round. Slava’s steady improvement continued for the remainder of the year allowing her to finish the season with her best ever ranking.

After barely making the cut for qualifying and then losing 9-11 in her first match at the 2012 Australian Open, thanks to her hard work and great results throughout the year, Slava will return to the Australian Open in 2013 as a seeded player in the main draw! Big congratulations to Slava and all her team!

In addition to this impressive record, Slava had another excellent tournament at Wimbledon following up on her great results in Paris. In the 4th round she fought hard and played some outstanding tennis, but eventually lost a tough battle to Serena Williams 5-7 in the final set.

Slava stormed through qualifying without dropping a set, but that was just the beginning. In the main draw she worked her way past Mandy Minella 63 64, then completely dominated Sofia Arvidsson 61 60 in the 2nd round. In the 3rd round Slava’s mental toughness was tested as Carla Suarez Navarro came back from 2-4 in the second set to lead 5-4 but Slava fought hard and closed out the match 64 75 to advance to the 4th round against defending champion and 7th seed Na Li. It was a big win for Slava and after the match she cried tears of happiness on court. “I had so much emotion because it’s been a tough year since the surgery to come back after losing everything. It was super hard and I cried because it has been very difficult and very hard work. I was just super happy to achieve the same results as I did in my peak in 2010. It makes all the hard work worthwhile”.

But Slava’s amazing run wasn’t over yet. In the 4th round, she dropped her first set of the tournament to Na Li 63 and was down 2-1 in the second set but that was the last game Slava would lose in the match, as she came storming back to overwhelm the defending champion 36 62 60 and complete the upset of the tournament. “I just told myself to keep fighting and stay focused,” Slava said. “Believe me at 5-0 I had thoughts about players at the tournament this year losing from 5-1 or 5-2 but I just kept playing each point and fighting hard and I’m very happy to be back in the quarterfinals again. It’s just incredible!”

In the quarterfinals, Slava faced 4th seed and Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, and continued to play her aggressive style of tennis to take the first set 63. But the 12 matches and all the work of the previous two weeks finally caught up with Slava, and despite a tough fight she lost 63 26 46. “After the first set all my energy was gone. I was super tired but I kept fighting but then Petra was playing well and was just too strong in the end”.

After arriving in Paris ranked 142 in the world, Slava will be ranked 62 after Roland Garros and will qualify to play in the Olympics in singles and doubles. “It’s amazing! This has been my dream and my goal for so long and to reach it here in Paris is very special! It has been a lot of work to make this goal but not just my work, it’s team work and I am so thankful to all my team for the work, help and support.”

And it wasn’t only quarterfinals in singles for Slava! Teaming up with Vania again for Roland Garros, the dream team made it all the way to the quarterfinals too, eventually falling to finalists Kirilenko/Petrova in a close match. “It was so much fun to play with Vania again. We know each other so well and always play great when we are on court together. We can’t wait to be back together again after the Olympics”.

The Kazakh team’s good form continued in Madrid this week, where they reached the quarterfinals before falling to the 4th seeds Kirilenko/Petrova.

Slava and Galina will play together again during the grass season to continue their preparation for London. For Roland Garros, the two-time Grand Slam champion team of King/Shvedova will be back together!