On 30 June 2012, Slava made history by becoming the only player ever to win a Golden Set at a Grand Slam tournament. She also became the first woman and only the 2nd player ever in professional tennis to do it, after Bill Scanlon achieved the remarkable feat in 1983 in a tournament in Delray Beach, Florida. In her third round match against world #10 and Roland Garros finalist, Sara Errani, Slava played perfect tennis to win the first set 6-0, without losing a single point. What makes the 24 straight points even more impressive is that Errani only hit one unforced error in the set. Slava went on to win the match 6-0 6-4 and it was only after the match that she found out she had made it into the history books. “I had no idea. I was just playing each point and focusing so hard. My coach told me after the match when I was cooling down and I didn’t believe him so I went and asked my manager and she said it was true! It is unbelievable and I am very happy to make this history”.
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.
