Viktoria Milvidskaia Belinsky

Viktoria Mikhailovna Belinsky (née Milvidskaia, 20 April 1967) is a former professional tennis player from Russia. Her highest WTA rankings were 168 in singles and 145 in doubles.

Viktoria Milvidskaia Belinsky
Full nameViktoria Mikhailovna Milvidskaia
Country (sports) Soviet Union
 Russia
ResidenceNew York City and Miami, United States
Born (1967-04-20) 20 April 1967 (age 57)
Moscow, Soviet Union
Turned pro1983
Retired1994
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$71,427
Singles
Career record99–65
Career titles0 WTA, 1 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 168 (28 September 1992)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQ2 (1991)
French OpenQ1 (1991)
WimbledonQ2 (1992)
US Open2R (1992)
Doubles
Career record84–39
Career titles0 WTA, 14 ITF
Highest rankingNo. 145 (29 October 1990)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open1R (1991)
French Open1R (1991)
Medal record
Representing the  Soviet Union
Universiade
Gold medal – first place 1987 Zagreb Doubles
Friendship Games
Silver medal – second place 1984 Women's singles
Bronze medal – third place 1984 Women's doubles

Early life

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Belinsky began playing tennis at the age of seven in Moscow. She played for the famous Spartak tennis club, and her coaches were Alexandra Granaturova and Larisa Preobrazhenskaya.[1]

In 1983, she won the First International Tournament in Moscow which earned her the honour of Master of Sports of the USSR, International Class (equates to international champion).

Professional career

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She was a member of the USSR national tennis team (1983–1989) and represented the USSR in many different tournaments around the world. In 1984, she became the youngest USSR national champion.

Belinsky played in all Grand Slam tournaments. She had career wins over Manon Bollegraf, Tami Whitlinger, Sandra Wasserman, Nicole Arendt, Inés Gorrochategui, Lubomira Bacheva, Regina Maršíková, Andrea Strnadová, Sabine Hack, and Radka Bobková, and stopped playing in 1993 due to a knee injury. The same year, she moved to the United States.

Belinsky has an M.A. in physical education from the State Institute of Physical Culture and Sports in Moscow. She received this degree in May 1989.

From 2005 to 2008, Belinsky worked at the Russian NTV PLUS Tennis Channel. Her program was titled Tennis coach – is it nature or nurtured?. She interviewed many famous tennis coaches including: Wayne Bryan, Nick Bollettieri, Bud Collins, Robert Lansdorp, Carlos Rodriguez, Richard Williams. In addition, she has interviewed players such as Serena Williams, Andy Roddick, Anna Kournikova, Marat Safin and Janko Tipsarević. She worked as a sports broadcaster at the Olympic Games in Beijing (2008), and as a tennis analyst at Wimbledon, the US Open, the Davis Cup, and the Federation Cup.

In 2014, Belinsky worked as a coach for the USTA Player Development program[2] in New York City.

In 2015, she moved to Florida and began working as a private coach.

Junior Grand Slam finals

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Girls' doubles: 1 (runner-up)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1984 Wimbledon Grass   Larisa Savchenko   Caroline Kuhlman
  Stephanie Rehe
3–6, 7–5, 4–6

ITF finals

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$100,000 tournaments
$75,000 tournaments
$50,000 tournaments
$25,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments

Singles (1–4)

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Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. 8 September 1986 Zagreb, Yugoslavia Hard   Lilian Kelaidis 2–6, 7–5, 3–6
Win 2. 30 March 1987 Bari, Italy Clay   Aida Halatian 1–6, 6–1, 7–5
Loss 3. 14 September 1987 Sofia, Bulgaria Clay   Eugenia Maniokova 1–6, 0–6
Loss 4. 9 April 1990 Bari, Italy Clay   Laura Golarsa 3–6, 4–6
Loss 5. 16 July 1990 Darmstadt, West Germany Clay   Cristina Tessi 1–6, 6–7

Doubles (14–2)

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Result No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. 30 December 1986 Chicago, United States Hard   Natalia Egorova   Elizabeth Evans
  Jennifer Prah
6–1, 6–1
Loss 2. 6 January 1986 El Paso, United States Clay   Natasha Zvereva   Cammy MacGregor
  Cynthia MacGregor
6–4, 3–6, 4–6
Win 3. 8 September 1986 Zagreb, Yugoslavia Clay   Natalia Egorova   Renata Šašak
  Karmen Škulj
6–2, 6–3
Win 4. 15 September 1986 Sofia, Bulgaria Clay   Natalia Egorova   Laura Golarsa
  Marianne van der Torre
6–0, 6–2
Win 5. 30 March 1987 Bari, Italy Clay   Aida Halatian   Karin van Essen
  Sarah Sullivan
6–2, 2–6, 7–6
Win 6. 20 April 1987 Monviso, Italy Clay   Aida Halatian   Hana Fukárková
  Iwona Kuczyńska
7–5, 6–3
Win 7. 28 September 1987 Bol, Croatia Clay   Elena Brioukhovets   Aida Halatian
  Eugenia Maniokova
6–4, 5–7, 6–4
Win 8. 16 November 1987 Croydon, United Kingdom Carpet   Paulette Moreno   Eugenia Maniokova
  Natalia Medvedeva
6–4, 6–1
Win 9. 12 June 1988 Modena, Italy Clay   Eugenia Maniokova   Yayuk Basuki
  Ei Iida
6–3, 4–6, 6–0
Win 10. 19 June 1988 Salerno, Italy Clay   Eugenia Maniokova   Anne Aallonen
  Yayuk Basuki
1–6, 7–5, 6–4
Win 11. 26 June 1988 Arezzo, Italy Clay   Eugenia Maniokova   Yayuk Basuki
  Titia Wilmink
0–6, 7–5, 6–1
Win 12. 15 August 1988 Rebecq, Belgium Clay   Elena Brioukhovets   Ilana Berger
  Anat Varon
6–2, 6–2
Win 13. 29 August 1988 Nivelles, Belgium Clay   Elena Brioukhovets   Réka Szikszay
  Amy van Buuren
1–6, 7–5, 6–1
Win 14. 16 April 1990 Marsa, Malta Clay   Anna Mirza   Eva Bes
  Silvia Ramón-Cortés
6–2, 7–6
Loss 15. 30 July 1990 Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany Clay   Agnese Blumberga   Petra Holubová
  Sylvia Štefková
4–6, 4–6
Win 16. 8 July 1991 Erlangen, Germany Clay   Maja Živec-Škulj   Louise Stacey
  Angie Woolcock
6–4, 6–4

Other finals

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Singles

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Result Year Championship Location Opponent Score
Win 1984 USSR Tennis National Championship Tashkent, Soviet Union   Oksana Lifanova 6–0, 6–4
Loss 1981 European Junior Championships 14&U[3] Serramazzoni, Italy   Manuela Maleeva 2–6, 4–6
Loss 1987 USSR Tennis National Championship Tallinn, Soviet Union   Natasha Zvereva 1–6, 2–6
Medal Date Tournament Location Opponent Score
  Silver August 1984 1984 Friendship Games Katowice, Poland   Elena Yelisieyenko 6–0, 6–4

Doubles

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Result Year Championship Location Partner Opponents Score
Win 1984 European Championship[4] Ostend, Belgium   Natalia Egorova   Isabelle Demongeot
  Nathalie Tauziat
2–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss 1981 European Junior Championships 14 & Under[5] Serramazzoni, Italy   Irina Zvereva   Manuela Maleeva
  Katerina Maleeva
3–6, 7–5, 1–6
Result Date Tournament Location Partner Opponents Score
  Gold July 1987 1987 Universiade Games Zagreb, Yugoslavia   Leila Meskhi   Iva Budařová
  Nora Bajčíková
6–3, 6–4

References

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  1. ^ Coyle, Daniel (March 4, 2007). "How to Grow a Super-Athlete". The New York Times. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  2. ^ "Player Development Home | Player Development". USTA. Archived from the original on January 4, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  3. ^ "European Junior Championship". Tennis Europe. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  4. ^ "European junior Championships". Tennis Europe. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  5. ^ "European Junior Championships". Tennis Europe. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
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