Olga Vasilyevna Morozova (Russian: Ольга Васильевна Морозова, IPA: [ˈolʲɡə mɐˈrozəvə] listen (help·info)) (born 22 February 1949) is a retired tennis player who competed for the Soviet Union. She was the runner-up in singles at the 1974 French Open and 1974 Wimbledon Championships. Due to her achievements as both player and coach, Morozova often is referred to as the Godmother of Russian tennis.

Olga Morozova

Country (sports)	Soviet Union
Residence	London, England
Born	(1949-02-22) 22 February 1949 (age 73) Moscow, Soviet Union
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Turned pro	n/a
Retired	1977 and 1989
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money	n/a
Singles
Career record	no value
Career titles	8 WTA, 25 ITF
Highest ranking	No. 3 (August 1974)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	QF (1972, 1975)
French Open	F (1974)
Wimbledon	F (1974)
US Open	QF (1972)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	5th place (1975)
Doubles
Career record	no value
Career titles	16 WTA, 26 ITF
Highest ranking	no value
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	F (1975)
French Open	W (1974)
Wimbledon	SF (1974)
US Open	F (1976)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	n/a
French Open	SF (1974)
Wimbledon	F (1968, 1970)
US Open	SF (1976)
Medal record Representing  Soviet Union Tennis Summer Universiade 1973 Moscow Women's Singles 1973 Moscow Women's Doubles 1973 Moscow Mixed Doubles

Career

Born in Moscow, Morozova started to play tennis aged 10. By 16, Morozova had improved so quickly that she was invited to represent the USSR at Wimbledon in the Girls Singles. Travelling internationally for the first time and playing on grass for the first time, Morozova won the 1965 Wimbledon junior's singles title.

Morozova was the first Soviet tennis player, male or female, to reach the singles final of any major tournament when she was the runner-up at the 1972 Italian Open. However, the peak of Morozova's career came during the summer of 1974 when she was the women's singles runner-up at both Wimbledon and the French Open, losing to Chris Evert on both occasions. At Wimbledon she shocked the defending champion Billy Jean King in straight sets in the quarters, and then came back from a set down against Virginia Wade to win the semi-final 6-4 in the third. She rose to No. 3 in the world going into the US Open that year — the highest ranking she achieved in her career.

In terms of other achievements, Morozova became the first Soviet tennis player, male or female, to win a Grand Slam title when she teamed with Evert to win the women's doubles championship at the French Open in 1974. She was the first Soviet player to lead her team to the Federation Cup semifinals in 1978 (and again in 1979). She and Alex Metreveli were the first USSR players to reach a Grand Slam final when they teamed at Wimbledon in 1968, losing to Margaret Court and Ken Fletcher. As well as winning the French Open doubles in 1974, Morozova also was the runner-up at the 1975 Australian Open (teaming with Margaret Court), the 1975 French Open (teaming with Julie Anthony) and the 1976 US Open (teaming with Virginia Wade).

Morozova's playing career was cut short in 1977 because of the USSR's policy against allowing their athletes to compete with South Africans. At this point, she retired early from the professional tour. Morozova then began a coaching career. She became head coach of the Soviet Union ladies squad through the 1980s leading the Soviets to their first appearance in a Federation Cup Final (1988, losing to Czechoslovakia). Morozova also helped pioneer the creation of the Kremlin Cup.

In 1990, the LTA hired Morozova as head of girls tennis, based at the national performance centre in Bisham Abbey, UK. Morozova became a fixture in UK tennis for much of the 1990s. In December 1996, in a Russian interview, she noted a key difference in approach towards sport between the two countries, England and Russia: "For them [the English], sport-wise participation is considered more important than winning. They fancy Coubertin a lot. For us, [ethnic] Russians, it is still more important to win".[1][2]

In the 1990s, Morozova preferred to joke about the difference in tennis players' pay between the 1970s and 1990s: "I'm upset to the least because I wasn't paid at all."[1] Her former compatriot and player, as a coach — Larisa Savchenko — also had a similar perspective, stating in 2021 the following: "The daily subsistence was 'decent'. Back then, all the other [USSR] sports trolled us: 'Here we are, tennis! They have $25 a day, and we have only $5'."[3]

In 2003, she began working individually with notable players, including Elena Dementieva, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Sergiy Stakhovsky and Laura Robson. Morozova has been widely credited as one of the few successful female coaches to work at the very highest levels of the tour.[4][5]

In 1998, she was awarded the Sarah Palfrey Danzig Trophy for character, sportsmanship, manners, spirit of cooperation, and contribution to the growth of the game as well as the help she rendered to professional players and junior players.[6]

In 2000, the Russian Tennis Federation awarded Morozova the honour of Russian Tennis Player of the Twentieth Century.[7]

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 2 (2 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1974	French Open	Clay	Chris Evert	6–1, 6–2
Loss	1974	Wimbledon	Grass	Chris Evert	6–0, 6–4

Doubles: 4 (1 title, 3 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1974	French Open	Clay	Chris Evert	Gail Chanfreau Katja Ebbinghaus	6–4, 2–6, 6–1
Loss	1975	Australian Open	Grass	Margaret Court	Evonne Goolagong Peggy Michel	7–6, 7–6
Loss	1975	French Open	Clay	Julie Anthony	Chris Evert Martina Navratilova	6–3, 6–2
Loss	1976	US Open	Clay	Virginia Wade	Linky Boshoff Ilana Kloss	6–1, 6–4

Mixed doubles: 2 (2 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1968	Wimbledon	Grass	Alex Metreveli	Margaret Court Ken Fletcher	6–1, 14–12
Loss	1970	Wimbledon	Grass	Alex Metreveli	Rosemary Casals Ilie Năstase	6–3, 4–6, 9–7

WTA career finals

Singles: 16 (8 titles, 8 runner-ups)

Result	W/L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Jan 1971	Sydney, Australia	Hard	Margaret Court	2–6, 2–6
Win	1–1	Feb 1971	Moscow, Soviet Union	Carpet (i)	Maria Kull	6–1, 7–5
Win	2–1	Apr 1971	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Clay	Anna-Maria Nasuelli	6–0, 6–3
Loss	2–2	Jan 1972	Adelaide, Australia	Hard	Evonne Goolagong	6–7(4–7), 3–6
Loss	2–3	Jan 1972	Perth, Australia	Hard	Evonne Goolagong	2–6, 5–7
Loss	2–4	Apr 1972	Rome, Italy	Clay	Linda Tuero	4–6, 3–6
Win	3–4	Aug 1972	New Jersey, United States	Grass	Marina Kroschina	6–2, 6–7, 7–5
Loss	4–4	Mar 1973	Akron, United States	Hard	Chris Evert	3–6, 4–6
Win	5–4	Jun 1973	London, United Kingdom	Grass	Evonne Goolagong	6–2, 6–3
Win	6–4	Apr 1974	Philadelphia, United States	Hard (i)	Billie Jean King	7–6, 6–1
Loss	6–5	Jun 1974	French Open	Clay	Chris Evert	1–6, 2–6
Loss	6–6	Jul 1974	Wimbledon	Grass	Chris Evert	0–6, 4–6
Win	7–6	Dec 1974	Adelaide, Australia	Grass	Evonne Goolagong	7–6, 2–6, 6–2
Loss	7–7	Dec 1974	Perth, Australia	Hard	Margaret Court	4–6, 5–7
Win	8–7	Jan 1975	Moscow, Soviet Union	Carpet (i)	Yelena Granaturova	6–0, 1–6, 6–4
Win	9–7	Jun 1976	Beckenham, United Kingdom	Grass	Marise Kruger	7–5, 2–6, 6–3

Doubles: 27 (16 titles, 11 runner-ups)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponent	Score
Win	1.	Jan 1971	Sydney, Australia	Hard	Margaret Court	Helen Gourlay Kerry Harris	6–2, 6–0
Loss	2.	Feb 1971	Moscow, Soviet Union	Carpet (i)	Yelena Granaturova	Eugenia Birioukova Marina Kroschina	6–7, 7–5, 5–7
Win	3.	Apr 1971	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Clay	Betty Stöve	Beatriz Araujo Ines Roget	7–5, 6–1
Loss	4.	Jun 1971	Beckenham, United Kingdom	Grass	Zaiga Jansone	Christine Truman Nell Truman	3–6, 7–9
Win	5.	Jan 1972	Adelaide, Australia	Hard	Evonne Goolagong	Marilyn Tesch Kerry Hogarth	6–3, 6–0
Loss	6.	Jan 1972	Perth, Australia	Hard	Janet Young	Evonne Goolagong Barbara Hawcroft	3–6, 0–6
Win	7.	Apr 1972	Rome, Italy	Clay	Lesley Hunt	Gail Chanfreau Rosalba Vido	6–3, 6–4
Win	8.	Aug 1972	New Jersey, United States	Grass	Marina Kroschina	Carole Caldwell Patti Hogan	6–7, 6–2, 6–2
Win	9.	Mar 1973	Hingham, United States	Hard	Marina Kroschina	Evonne Goolagong Janet Young	6–2, 6–4
Win	10.	Jun 1973	Rome, Italy	Clay	Virginia Wade	Martina Navratilova Renáta Tomanová	3–6, 6–2, 7–5
Win	11.	Jun 1973	Beckenham, United Kingdom	Clay	Marina Kroschina	Jackie Fayter Peggy Michel	8–6, 6–3
Loss	12.	Mar 1974	Akron, United States	Hard	Julie Heldman	Rosie Casals Billie Jean King	2–6, 4–6
Win	13.	Apr 1974	St. Petersburg, United States	Hard	Betty Stöve	Chris Evert Evonne Goolagong	6–4, 6–2
Win	14.	Apr 1974	Hilton Head, United States	Hard	Rosie Casals	Karen Krantzcke Helen Gourlay	6–2, 6–1
Win	15.	May 1974	Rome, Italy	Clay	Chris Evert	Helga Masthoff Heide Orth	w/o
Win	16.	Jun 1974	French Open	Clay	Chris Evert	Gail Chanfreau Katja Ebbinghaus	6–4, 2–6, 6–1
Win	17.	Dec 1974	Perth, Australia	Hard	Martina Navratilova	Lesley Hunt Kazuko Sawamatsu	6–1, 6–3
Loss	18.	Dec 1974	Perth, Australia	Hard	Martina Navratilova	Evonne Goolagong Peggy Michel	7–6, 4–6, 1–6
Loss	19.	Dec 1975	Australian Open	Grass	Margaret Court	Evonne Goolagong Peggy Michel	6–7, 6–7
Loss	20.	Feb 1975	Chicago, United States	Hard	Margaret Court	Chris Evert Martina Navratilova	2–6, 5–7
Loss	21.	Apr 1975	Amelia Island, United States	Hard	Rosie Casals	Evonne Goolagong Virginia Wade	6–4, 4–6, 2–6
Loss	22.	Jun 1975	French Open	Clay	Julie Anthony	Chris Evert Martina Navratilova	3–6, 2–6
Win	23.	Jun 1975	Eastbourne, United Kingdom	Gras	Julie Anthony	Evonne Goolagong Peggy Michel	6–2, 6–4
Win	24.	Jan 1976	Washington, United States	Hard	Virginia Wade	Wendy Overton Mona Guerrant	7–6, 6–2
Win	25.	Jan 1976	Chicago, United States	Hard	Virginia Wade	Evonne Goolagong Martina Navratilova	6–7(4–5), 6–4, 6–4
Loss	26.	Sep 1976	US Open	Clay	Virginia Wade	Linky Boshoff Ilana Kloss	1–6, 4–6
Loss	27.	Jun 1977	Beckenham, United Kingdom	Grass	Natasha Chmyreva	Brigitte Cuypers Annette DuPlooy	7–9, 4–6

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 30 (25–5)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1.	January 1967	Moscow, Soviet Union	Hard (i)	Anna Dmitrieva	9-7, 8-6
Winner	2.	September 1967	Tbilisi, Soviet Union	Hard (i)	Anna Dmitrieva	7-5, 4-6, 6-1
Winner	3.	January 1968	Moscow, Soviet Union	Hard (i)	Anna Dmitrieva	7-9, 6-1, 10-8
Winner	4.	August 1968	Moscow, Soviet Union	Hard	Marina Chuvirina	6-1, 6-3
Winner	5.	February 1969	Moscow, Soviet Union	Hard (i)	Betty Stöve	6-2, 6-2
Runner-up	6.	March 1969	Cairo, Egypt	Clay	Lea Pericoli	1-6, 2-6
Runner-up	7.	March 1969	Alexandria, Egypt	Clay	Nell Truman	3-6, 6-2, 3-6
Winner	8.	January 1970	Moscow, Soviet Union	Hard (i)	Marina Chuvyrina	6-3, 6-2
Winner	9.	February 1970	Moscow, Soviet Union	Hard (i)	Anna Yeremeyeva	6-4, 6-2
Runner-up	10.	February 1970	Moscow, Soviet Union	Hard (i)	Helga Niessen	5-7, 6-2, 3-6
Winner	11.	March 1970	Cairo, Egypt	Clay	Lea Pericoli	6-3, 3-6, 9-7
Winner	12.	March 1970	Cairo, Egypt	Clay	Marcela Barochová	6-4, 6-0
Runner-up	13.	June 1970	Beckenham, United Kingdom	Grass	Patti Hogan	1-6, 3-6
Winner	14.	August 1970	Moscow, Soviet Union	Clay	Tiiu Kivi	6-4, 6-4
Winner	15.	December 1970	Adelaide, Australia	Hard	Kristien Shaw-Kemmer	6-4, 4-6, 9-7
Winner	16.	March 1971	Cairo, Egypt	Clay	Lea Pericoli	7-5, 6-0
Winner	17.	January 1972	Hobart, Australia	Grass	Anne Guerrant	6-3, 6-3
Winner	18.	January 1972	Perth, Australia	Grass	Janet Young	6-4, 6-2
Winner	19.	April 1972	Tashkent, Soviet Union	Hard	Eugenia Birioukova	6-2, 6-0
Winner	20.	June 1972	Beckenham, United Kingdom	Grass	Jill Cooper	6-4, 6-1
Winner	21.	August 1972	Tallinn, Estonia	Clay	Zaiga Jansone	6-1, 6-0
Runner-up	22.	August 1972	Bucarest, Romania	Clay	Marina Kroschina	6-4, 2-6, 5-7
Winner	23.	August 1972	Moscow, Soviet Union	Clay	Marina Kroschina	8-6, 6-2
Winner	24.	February 1973	Baku, Soviet Union	Hard (i)	Marina Kroschina	6-1, 6-2
Winner	25.	March 1973	Moscow, Soviet Union	Hard (i)	Galina Baksheeva	6-2, 6-3
Winner	26.	August 1973	Pescara, Italy	Clay	Éva Szabó	6-0, 1-6, 9-7
Winner	27.	February 1974	Salavat, Soviet Union	Hard (i)	Yelena Granaturova	6-4, 4-6, 6-2
Winner	28.	February 1974	Moscow, Soviet Union	Hard (i)	Marina Kroschina	6-3, 6-1
Winner	29.	August 1975	Tallinn, Estonia	Clay	Marina Kroschina	2-6, 7-6, 6-0
Winner	30.	August 1979	Sopot, Poland	Clay	Hana Mandlíková	4-6, 7-6, 6-3

Doubles: 37 (27–10)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1.	February 1967	Moscow, Soviet Union	Hard (i)	Tatiana Chalko	Galina Baksheeva Anna Dmitrieva	2–6, 1–6
Runner-up	2.	March 1967	Moscow, Soviet Union	Hard (i)	Tatiana Chalko	Galina Baksheeva Anna Dmitrieva	3–6, 1–6
Runner-up	3.	February 1968	Moscow, Soviet Union	Hard (i)	Rauza Islanova	Galina Baksheeva Anna Dmitrieva	2–6, 5–7
Winner	4.	July 1968	Båstad, Sweden	Hard	Eva Lundqvist	Kathy Harter Julie Heldman	6–2, 6–3
Winner	5.	August 1968	Moscow, Soviet Union	Hard	Marina Chuvirina	Kerry Harris Lesley Hunt	6–0, 6–4
Winner	6.	February 1969	Moscow, Soviet Union	Hard (i)	Zaiga Jansone	Tiiu Kivi Maria Kull	6–4, 8–6
Winner	7.	August 1969	Moscow, Soviet Union	Hard	Zaiga Jansone	Galina Baksheeva Marina Chuvirina	6–3, 6–2
Winner	8.	September 1969	Turin, Italy	Hard	Zaiga Jansone	Marina Chuvirina Tiiu Kivi	6–1, 4–6, 6–3
Winner	9.	January 1970	Moscow, Soviet Union	Hard (i)	Zaiga Jansone	Rauza Islanova Eugenia Isopaitis	6–2, 6–2
Winner	10.	February 1970	Moscow, Soviet Union	Hard (i)	Zaiga Jansone	Tiiu Kivi Maria Kull	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	11.	February 1970	Moscow, Soviet Union	Hard (i)	Zaiga Jansone	Nell Truman Joyce Williams	5–7, 5–7
Winner	12.	August 1970	Sofia, Bulgaria	Clay	Tiiu Kivi	Eugenia Isopaitis Marina Kroschina	6–2, 6–1
Winner	13.	August 1970	Moscow, Soviet Union	Clay	Tiiu Kivi	Peggy Michel Valerie Ziegenfuss	6–4, 6–3
Winner	14.	January 1971	Hobart, Australia	Grass	Patti Hogan	Brenda Kirk Laura Rossouw	6–2, 6–0
Runner-up	15.	January 1972	Hobart, Australia	Grass	Barbara Hawcroft	Anne Guerrant Janet Young	3–6, 2–6
Winner	16.	February 1972	Moscow, Soviet Union	Hard (i)	Zaiga Jansone	Eugenia Birioukova Marina Kroschina	6–3, 5–7, 6–4
Runner-up	17.	April 1972	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Helga Niessen Masthoff	Lucia Bassi Lea Pericoli	4–6, 4–6
Winner	18.	April 1972	Tashkent, Soviet Union	Hard	Zaiga Jansone	Eugenia Birioukova Marina Kroschina	5–7, 6–3, 11–9
Winner	19.	June 1972	Beckenham, United Kingdom	Grass	Sharon Walsh	Laura DuPont Anne Guerrant	8–6, 6–1
Winner	20.	August 1972	Tallinn, Estonia	Clay	Zaiga Jansone	Galina Baksheeva Anna Yeremeyeva	4–6, 6–3, 6–3
Winner	21.	August 1972	Bucarest, Romania	Clay	Zaiga Jansone	Eugenia Birioukova Marina Kroschina	6–1, 6–1
Winner	22.	October 1972	Donetsk, Soviet Union	Clay	Zaiga Jansone	Aleksandra Ivanova Eugenia Isopaitis	6–3, 6–3
Runner-up	23.	January 1973	Moscow, Soviet Union	Hard (i)	Eugenia Isopaitis	Galina Baksheeva Marina Chuvirina	3–6, 6–3, 3–6
Winner	24.	January 1973	Tallinn, Estonia	Hard (i)	Marina Chuvirina	Eugenia Birioukova Anna Yeremeyeva	6–0, 7–5
Winner	25.	February 1973	Baku, Soviet Union	Hard (i)	Zaiga Jansone	Galina Baksheeva Marina Chuvirina	6–3, 6–1
Winner	26.	July 1973	Kitzbühel, Austria	Clay	Aleksandra Ivanova	Janet Young Evonne Goolagong	2–6, 6–4, 6–2
Winner	27.	August 1973	Pescara, Italy	Clay	Zaiga Jansone	Eugenia Birioukova Marina Kroschina	6–3, 3–6, 6–1
Winner	28.	February 1974	Salavat, Soviet Union	Hard (i)	Eugenia Birioukova	Rauza Islanova Eugenia Isopaitis	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	29.	February 1974	Moscow, Soviet Union	Hard (i)	Eugenia Birioukova	Galina Baksheeva Marina Chuvirina	5–7, 1–6
Runner-up	30.	June 1974	Eastbourne, United Kingdom	Grass	Chris Evert	Helen Gourlay-Cawley Karen Krantzcke	2–6, 0–6
Winner	31.	August 1974	Wrocław, Soviet Union	Clay	Marina Kroschina	Natasha Chmyreva Yelena Granaturova	6–2, 6–0
Winner	32.	July 1975	Tallinn, Estonia	Clay	Marina Kroschina	Natasha Chmyreva Marina Chuvirina	6–1, 6–2
Winner	33.	August 1975	Vienna, Austria	Clay	Marina Kroschina	Martina Navratilova Renáta Tomanová	4–6, 7–5, 6–4
Winner	34.	August 1975	Tallinn, Estonia	Clay	Marina Kroschina	Galina Baksheeva Lydia Zinkevich	6–7, 6–4, 6–2
Runner-up	35.	November 1975	Osaka, Japan	Hard (i)	Jeanne Evert	Françoise Dürr Rosie Casals	3–6, 3–6
Winner	36.	August 1976	Přerov, Czechoslovakia	Clay	Marina Chuvirina	Galina Baksheeva Natasha Chmyreva	6–4, 6–4
Winner	37.	August 1979	Sopot, Soviet Union	Clay	Natasha Chmyreva	Eugenia Birioukova Natalia Borodina	1–6, 6–0, 6–0

Junior Grand Slam finals

Girls' singles (1–0)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1965	Wimbledon	Grass	Raquel Giscafré	6–3, 6–3

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Bibliography

Olga Morozova (2000). Only Tennis (in Russian). Moscow: Vagrius. Archived from the original on 26 February 2007.

See also

• Performance timelines for all female tennis players who reached at least one Grand Slam final

References

External links

• Olga Morozova at the Women's Tennis Association
• Olga Morozova at the International Tennis Federation
• Olga Morozova at the Billie Jean King Cup

На других языках

[de] Olga Wassiljewna Morosowa

[es] Olga Morózova

[ru] Морозова, Ольга Васильевна