Larisa Savchenko-Neiland (Ukrainian: Лариса Савченко-Нейланд, Latvian: Larisa Savčenko-Neilande; née Savchenko; also Larisa Neiland; born 21 July 1966) is a tennis coach and former professional player who represented the Soviet Union and Latvia. A former world No. 1 doubles player, Neiland won six Grand Slam titles: two in women's doubles and four in mixed doubles. She also won two singles titles and 63 doubles titles on the WTA Tour. She is listed in fourth place for the most doubles match wins (766) in WTA history, after Lisa Raymond, Rennae Stubbs and Liezel Huber. Neiland has been the coach of Ukrainian tennis player Daria Snigur since 2017.[1]

Larisa Savchenko-Neiland
Country (sports) Soviet Union
 Latvia
ResidenceJūrmala, Latvia
Born (1966-07-21) 21 July 1966 (age 58)
Lviv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Height1.69 m (5 ft 6+12 in)
Turned pro1983
Retired2000
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$4,083,936
Singles
Career record322–283
Career titles2
Highest rankingNo. 13 (23 May 1988)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open4R (1992)
French Open3R (1984, 1989)
WimbledonQF (1994)
US OpenQF (1988)
Doubles
Career record766–258
Career titles65
Highest rankingNo. 1 (27 January 1992)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenSF (1995, 1996, 1997)
French OpenW (1989)
WimbledonW (1991)
US OpenF (1991, 1992)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour FinalsF (1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1999)
Mixed doubles
Career titles4
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian OpenW (1994, 1996)
French OpenW (1995)
WimbledonW (1992)
US Open2R (1997, 1999)
Medal record
Women's tennis
Representing  Soviet Union
Friendship Games
Bronze medal – third place 1984 Women's doubles

Career

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Savchenko turned professional in 1983 as No. 10 on the ITF Junior rankings in that year. Doubles team of Savchenko and Svetlana Parkhomenko reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 1983 and 1984, both times as an unseeded pair; beat No. 2 seeds Fairbank/Reynolds in 1983 and No. 3 seeds Horvath/Ruzici in 1984. In 1984, Savchenko reached the third round of the French Open as a qualifier, which was her best singles result at the French Open. She won her first singles title in Chicago in January 1984, where she only lost one set.

Having 1986 wins over Wendy Turnbull (twice), Ann Henricksson, and Annabel Croft, Savchenko was ranked No. 1 in USSR for 1986. She qualified for the Virginia Slims Championships in March and November 1986 with partner Svetlana Parkhomenko. She defeated Kathy Rinaldi, Peanut Louie Harper, and Nathalie Tauziat to reach the quarterfinals of Eastbourne in 1986.

Savchenko jumped from No. 53 to No. 28 (June 1983) on the Hewlett-Packard/WITA Computer rankings after performances at Birmingham and Eastbourne. She also had wins over Robin White, Ann Henricksson, Candy Reynolds, and Melissa Gurney.[2]

In 1988, Savchenko reached her first Grand Slam doubles final with Natasha Zvereva. They lost 10–12 in the final set to Gabriela Sabatini and Steffi Graf, who in that same year won all four Grand Slam singles titles and an Olympic gold medal. In 1989, again with Zvereva, Savchenko won her first doubles major final, over Graf and Sabatini in straight sets.

In December 1989, Larisa married Aleksandr Neiland and took his last name, she continued to compete as Larisa Savchenko-Neiland.[3]

In 1991, she captured the Wimbledon title with Zvereva. She won her first mixed doubles title at Wimbledon, as well, when she and Cyril Suk teamed and won over Dutch duo Jacco Eltingh and Miriam Oremans. That year, she reached the No. 1 doubles ranking. Neiland then reached her next five doubles runners-up with Novotná. Each and every final played with Novotná was lost, the first being the US Open in 1991 and losing to Pam Shriver and Zvereva.

She also represented Latvia at the 1992 Summer Olympics in both singles and doubles, but lost in the first round in both events.

Her final Grand Slam doubles final appearance came in 1996 at Wimbledon. Neiland played in 2000 but retired after losing at Wimbledon. She lost in the first round, when she and her partner Lina Krasnoroutskaya lost to Ai Sugiyama and Julie Halard, the eventual runners-up, in straight sets.

Neiland tested positive for prohibited levels of the stimulant caffeine at the 1999 Australian Open. She was subsequently stripped of the $15k she had earned for reaching the women's doubles quarterfinals with Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, and issued a warning by the International Tennis Federation.[4]

As a coach, she is best known for guiding Svetlana Kuznetsova to the 2009 French Open singles title, and has been a part of the Russian Fed Cup coaching team.

Major finals

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Grand Slam tournaments

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Women's doubles: 12 (2 titles, 10 runner-ups)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1988 Wimbledon Grass   Natasha Zvereva   Steffi Graf
  Gabriela Sabatini
3–6, 6–1, 10–12
Win 1989 French Open Clay   Natasha Zvereva   Steffi Graf
  Gabriela Sabatini
6–4, 6–4
Loss 1989 Wimbledon (2) Grass   Natasha Zvereva   Jana Novotná
  Helena Suková
1–6, 2–6
Loss 1990 French Open (2) Clay   Natasha Zvereva   Jana Novotná
  Helena Suková
4–6, 5–7
Loss 1991 French Open (3) Clay   Natasha Zvereva   Gigi Fernández
  Jana Novotná
4–6, 0–6
Win 1991 Wimbledon (3) Grass   Natasha Zvereva   Gigi Fernández
  Jana Novotná
6–4, 3–6, 6–4
Loss 1991 US Open Hard   Jana Novotná   Pam Shriver
  Natasha Zvereva
4–6, 6–4, 6–7(5)
Loss 1992 Wimbledon (4) Grass   Jana Novotná   Gigi Fernández
  Natasha Zvereva
4–6, 1–6
Loss 1992 US Open (2) Hard   Jana Novotná   Gigi Fernández
  Natasha Zvereva
6–7(5), 1–6
Loss 1993 French Open (4) Clay   Jana Novotná   Gigi Fernández
  Natasha Zvereva
3–6, 5–7
Loss 1993 Wimbledon (5) Grass   Jana Novotná   Gigi Fernández
  Natasha Zvereva
4–6, 7–6(7), 4–6
Loss 1996 Wimbledon (6) Grass   Meredith McGrath   Martina Hingis
  Helena Suková
7–5, 5–7, 1–6

Mixed doubles: 9 (4 titles, 5 runner-ups)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1992 Wimbledon Grass   Cyril Suk   Miriam Oremans
  Jacco Eltingh
7–6(2), 6–2
Win 1994 Australian Open Hard   Andrei Olhovskiy   Helena Suková
  Todd Woodbridge
7–5, 6–7(0), 6–2
Loss 1994 French Open Clay   Andrei Olhovskiy   Kristie Boogert
  Menno Oosting
5–7, 6–3, 5–7
Win 1995 French Open (2) Clay   Mark Woodforde   Jill Hetherington
  John-Laffnie de Jager
7–6(8), 7–6(4)
Win 1996 Australian Open (2) Hard   Mark Woodforde   Nicole Arendt
  Luke Jensen
4–6, 7–5, 6–0
Loss 1996 Wimbledon (2) Grass   Mark Woodforde   Helena Suková
  Cyril Suk
6–1, 3–6, 2–6
Loss 1997 Australian Open (3) Hard   John-Laffnie de Jager   Manon Bollegraf
  Rick Leach
3–6, 7–6(5), 5–7
Loss 1997 Wimbledon (3) Grass   Andrei Olhovskiy   Helena Suková
  Cyril Suk
6–4, 3–6, 4–6
Loss 1999 French Open (3) Clay   Rick Leach   Katarina Srebotnik
  Piet Norval
3–6, 6–3, 3–6

Year-end championships

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Doubles: 5 (5 runner-ups)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1988 New York Carpet (i)   Natasha Zvereva   Martina Navratilova
  Pam Shriver
3–6, 4–6
Loss 1989 New York (2) Carpet (i)   Natasha Zvereva   Martina Navratilova
  Pam Shriver
3–6, 2–6
Loss 1992 New York (3) Carpet (i)   Jana Novotná   Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
  Helena Suková
6–7(4), 1–6
Loss 1993 New York (4) Carpet (i)   Jana Novotná   Natasha Zvereva
  Gigi Fernández
3–6, 5–7
Loss 1999 New York (5) Carpet (i)   Arantxa Sánchez Vicario   Martina Hingis
  Anna Kournikova
4–6, 4–6

WTA career finals

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Singles: 9 (2 titles, 7 runner-ups)

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Legend
Tier I (0–1)
Tier II (0–0)
Tier III (1–4)
Tier IV (0–0)
Tier V (1–0)
Virginia Slims (0–2)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–1)
Grass (0–1)
Clay (0–0)
Carpet (1–5)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Jan 1987 Wichita Open, U.S. Carpet (i)   Barbara Potter 6–7(6), 6–7(5)
Loss 0–2 Jun 1987 Birmingham Classic, UK Grass   Pam Shriver 6–4, 2–6, 2–6
Loss 0–3 Feb 1988 Oakland Classic, U.S. Carpet (i)   Martina Navratilova 1–6, 2–6
Loss 0–4 Feb 1989 Oakland Classic (2) Carpet (i)   Zina Garrison 1–6, 1–6
Loss 0–5 Nov 1989 Chicago Cup, U.S. Carpet (i)   Zina Garrison 3–6, 6–2, 4–6
Win 1–5 Sep 1991 St. Petersburg Open, Russia Carpet (i)   Barbara Rittner 3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss 1–6 Feb 1993 Pan Pacific Open, Japan Carpet (i)   Martina Navratilova 2–6, 2–6
Win 2–6 Aug 1993 Schenectady Open, U.S. Hard   Natalia Medvedeva 6–3, 7–5
Loss 2–7 Aug 1994 Schenectady Open, U.S. (2) Hard   Judith Wiesner 5–7, 6–3, 4–6

Doubles: 65 titles

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Result No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. Apr 1985 Seabrook Island, U.S. Clay   Svetlana Parkhomenko   Elise Burgin
  Lori McNeil
6–1, 6–3
Win 2. Sep 1985 Salt Lake City, U.S. Hard   Svetlana Parkhomenko   Beverly Mould
  Rosalyn Fairbank
7–5, 6–2
Win 3. Nov 1986 Little Rock, U.S. Carpet (i)   Svetlana Parkhomenko   Iva Budařová
  Beth Herr
6–2, 1–6, 6–1
Win 4. Jan 1987 Wichita, U.S. Carpet (i)   Svetlana Parkhomenko   Barbara Potter
  Wendy White
6–2, 6–4
Win 5. Feb 1987 Oklahoma City, U.S. Hard   Svetlana Parkhomenko   Lori McNeil
  Kim Sands
6–4, 6–4
Win 6. Feb 1987 Boca Raton, U.S. Hard   Svetlana Parkhomenko   Chris Evert
  Pam Shriver
6–0, 3–6, 6–2
Win 7. Jun 1987 Eastbourne, UK Grass   Svetlana Parkhomenko   Rosalyn Fairbank
  Elizabeth Smylie
7–6(5), 4–6, 7–5
Win 1. Jun 1988 Birmingham Classic Grass   Natasha Zvereva   Leila Meskhi
  Svetlana Parkhomenko
6–4, 6–1
Loss 1. Jul 1988 Wimbledon Grass   Natasha Zvereva   Steffi Graf
  Gabriela Sabatini
3–6, 6–1, 10–12
Win 2. Oct 1988 VS of Indianapolis Hard (i)   Natasha Zvereva   Katrina Adams
  Zina Garrison
6–2, 6–1
Loss 2. Nov 1988 Ameritech Cup, Chicago Carpet (i)   Natasha Zvereva   Lori McNeil
  Betsy Nagelsen
4–6, 6–3, 4–6
Loss 3. Nov 1988 VS Championships, New York Carpet (i)   Natasha Zvereva   Martina Navratilova
  Pam Shriver
3–6, 4–6
Loss 4. Feb 1989 VS of Washington Carpet (i)   Natasha Zvereva   Betsy Nagelsen
  Pam Shriver
2–6, 3–6
Loss 5. Feb 1989 Stanford Classic, Oakland Carpet (i)   Natasha Zvereva   Patty Fendick
  Jill Hetherington
5–7, 6–3, 2–6
Win 3. Apr 1989 Amelia Island Championships Clay   Natasha Zvereva   Martina Navratilova
  Pam Shriver
7–6(7–4), 2–6, 6–1
Loss 6. May 1989 Swiss Open, Geneva Clay   Natasha Zvereva   Katrina Adams
  Lori McNeil
6–2, 3–6, 4–6
Win 4. May 1989 French Open, Paris Clay   Natasha Zvereva   Steffi Graf
  Gabriela Sabatini
6–4, 6–4
Win 5. Jun 1989 Birmingham Classic Grass   Natasha Zvereva   Meredith McGrath
  Pam Shriver
7–5, 5–7, 6–0
Loss 7. Jun 1989 Wimbledon Grass   Natasha Zvereva   Jana Novotná
  Helena Suková
1–6, 2–6
Win 6. Oct 1989 Moscow Ladies Open Carpet (i)   Natasha Zvereva   Nathalie Herreman
  Catherine Suire
6–3, 6–4
Win 7. Nov 1989 Ameritech Cup, Chicago Carpet (i)   Natasha Zvereva   Jana Novotná
  Helena Suková
6–3, 2–6, 6–3
Loss 8. Nov 1989 VS Championships, New York Carpet (i)   Natasha Zvereva   Martina Navratilova
  Pam Shriver
3–6, 2–6
Loss 9. Jan 1990 Sydney International Hard   Natasha Zvereva   Jana Novotná
  Helena Suková
3–6, 5–7
Loss 11. May 1990 French Open Clay   Natasha Zvereva   Jana Novotná
  Helena Suková
4–6, 5–7
Win 8. Jun 1990 Birmingham Classic Grass   Natasha Zvereva   Lise Gregory
  Gretchen Magers
3–6, 6–3, 6–3
Win 9. Jun 1990 Eastbourne International, UK Grass   Natasha Zvereva   Patty Fendick
  Zina Garrison
6–4, 6–3
Win 10. Sep 1990 WTA Championships, Orlando Carpet (i)   Natasha Zvereva   Manon Bollegraf
  Meredith McGrath
6–4, 6–1
Win 11. Oct 1990 Nashville Hard (i)   Kathy Jordan   Brenda Schultz
  Caroline Vis
6–1, 6–2
Win 12. Jan 1991 Auckland, New Zealand Hard   Patty Fendick   Jo-Anne Faull
  Julie Richardson
6–3, 6–3

ITF finals

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Singles (2–0)

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Legend
$75,000 tournaments
$10,000 tournaments
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1. 2 January 1984 ITF Chicago, United States Hard   Natasha Reva 6–2, 6–4
Win 2. 9 April 1984 ITF Caserta, Italy Clay   Elena Eliseenko 6–2, 6–1

Doubles (3–1)

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Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1. 2 January 1984 ITF Chicago, United States Hard   Svetlana Parkhomenko   Csilla Bartos-Cserepy
  Marianne van der Torre
w/o
Win 2. 9 April 1984 ITF Caserta, Italy Clay   Renata Šašak   Marie Pinterová
  Renáta Tomanová
6–1, 6–3
Win 3. 13 September 1993 ITF Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic Clay   Karina Habšudová   Radka Bobková
  Petra Langrová
6–3, 6–4
Winner 4. 28 September 1996 ITF Limoges, France Hard (i)   Natalia Medvedeva   Caroline Dhenin
  Dominique Monami
6–1, 6–1

Women's doubles performance timeline

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# P# DNQ A Z# PO G S B NMS NTI P NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Tournament 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 SR W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A 2R A NH A A A QF QF QF QF 3R SF SF SF 2R QF A 0 / 11 31–11
French Open A 1R 2R QF A A W F F SF F QF 3R SF QF SF QF 1R 1 / 15 48–14
Wimbledon QF QF QF 1R SF F F SF W F F QF SF F SF A 3R 1R 1 / 17 61–16
US Open 2R A A A 1R 2R QF SF F F 2R SF 3R A 3R 2R SF A 0 / 13 33–13
Win–loss 4–2 4–3 4–2 3–2 4–2 6–2 14–2 16–4 19–3 17–4 14–4 12–4 12–4 13–3 13–4 6–3 12–4 0–2 2 / 56 173–54
Year-end championships
Tour Championships A A A QF QF F F QF QF F F A SF SF SF QF F A 0 / 13 13–13
Tier I tournaments
Tokyo NH Not Tier I SF 1R QF A A A 1R A 0 / 4 3–4
Indian Wells Not Held Not Tier I 2R QF A A 0 / 2 2–2
Boca Raton NH Not Tier I W W Not Tier I Not Held 2 / 2 8–0
Miami Not Held Not Tier I QF 3R W W QF SF F 3R QF QF 2R 2 / 11 27–9
Charleston Not Tier I A A F SF 1R SF SF 2R SF 2R QF 0 / 9 13–8
Rome Not Tier I NH Not Tier I SF A A A QF A A 2R 2R 2R A 0 / 5 5–5
Berlin Not Tier I QF W W A SF F W SF SF SF A 3 / 9 25–5
Montreal / Toronto Not Tier I 2R W A W SF SF W SF 1R F A 3 / 9 23–5
Zürich NH Not Tier I SF SF 1R QF F SF 1R A 0 / 7 9–7
Philadelphia Not Held Not Tier I F A F Not Tier I 0 / 2 6–2
Moscow Not Held NTI SF 1R QF A 0 / 3 3–3
Career statistics
Year-end ranking 26 11 9 3 7 2 5 5 11 5 2 9 11 3 No. 1

Head-to-head records

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[citation needed]

Personal life

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She married Latvian tennis coach Aleksandr Neiland on 21 December 1989, after which her surname was changed from Savchenko to Neiland (Savčenko-Neiland). The marriage later ended in divorce.

References

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  1. ^ "Getting to know Daria Snigur, Halep's US Open conqueror". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  2. ^ Gossett, Peggy; Teitelbaum, Mike; Hanlon, Maureen; Riach, Ros; Hinkley, Suzanne. 1987 WITA Media Guide. p. 205.
  3. ^ "Савченко-Нейланд, Лариса Ивановна биография". Peoplelife.ru. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
    "Лариса Савченко-Нейланд. Всю жизнь с теннисом". Championat.ru. 21 July 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  4. ^ Bright, Richard (11 July 2000). "Drug shame for Neiland". The Daily Telegraph. London. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
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