TENNIS PLAYERS from Belarus

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Belarusian Tennis Players of all time. This list of famous Belarusian Tennis Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Belarusian Tennis Players.

1. Aryna Sabalenka (b. 1998)

With an HPI of 59.18, Aryna Sabalenka is the most famous Belarusian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 47 different languages on wikipedia.

Aryna Siarhiejeŭna Sabalenka (born 5 May 1998) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. She is currently ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), and is a former world No. 1 in women's doubles. Sabalenka has won 20 WTA Tour-level singles titles, including three majors at the 2023 Australian Open, 2024 Australian Open, and 2024 US Open, as well as nine WTA 1000 events. She has also won six doubles titles, including two majors at the 2019 US Open and 2021 Australian Open, both partnering with Elise Mertens. Sabalenka came to prominence in 2017 when, together with Aliaksandra Sasnovich, she led the Belarus Fed Cup team to a runner-up finish even though both were ranked outside the top 75 at the time. She finished 2018 and 2019 ranked No. 11 in the world in singles. Following two major singles semifinal appearances in 2021, Sabalenka rose to the world No. 2 ranking but struggled to maintain that success in 2022 consistently. In 2023, she won her first major singles title at the Australian Open and obtained the world No. 1 ranking, being named the ITF World Champion for the season. She defended her Australian Open title and won the US Open the following year, clinching the year-end No. 1 ranking. In 2025, Sabalenka reached the finals of the Australian and French Opens, finishing runner-up at each. Sabalenka also began playing doubles regularly in 2019. With Mertens as her partner, she found instant success by winning the Sunshine Double (Indian Wells and Miami) that same year. After the US Open doubles title later in the season, she qualified for the WTA Finals for the first time. With the 2021 Australian Open doubles title, Sabalenka became the world No. 1 in the discipline, after which she shifted to playing exclusively singles. Sabalenka has an aggressive style of play, often accumulating high numbers of winners and unforced errors. With her height, she also has a powerful serve.

2. Natasha Zvereva (b. 1971)

With an HPI of 56.30, Natasha Zvereva is the 2nd most famous Belarusian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 39 different languages.

Natalya "Natasha" Maratovna Zvereva (born 16 April 1971) is a former professional tennis player from Belarus. She was the first major athlete in the Soviet Union to demand publicly that she should be able to keep her tournament earnings. Zvereva and her main doubles partner Gigi Fernández are the most successful women's doubles team (measured by WTA Tour and major titles) since Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver. On 12 July 2010, Zvereva was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame alongside Fernández.

3. Victoria Azarenka (b. 1989)

With an HPI of 55.53, Victoria Azarenka is the 3rd most famous Belarusian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 68 different languages.

Victoria Fiodaraŭna Azarenka (born 31 July 1989) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. She has been ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), having held the position for a total of 51 weeks (including as the year-end No. 1 in 2012). Azarenka has won 21 WTA Tour-level singles titles, including two majors at the 2012 and 2013 Australian Opens, becoming the first Belarusian to win a major singles title. Azarenka is also a three-time major finalist at the US Open, finishing runner-up to Serena Williams in both 2012 and 2013 and to Naomi Osaka in 2020. In singles, she has won six Premier Mandatory tournaments (including the Sunshine Double in 2016), four Premier 5 tournaments, and the singles bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics. She was runner-up at the 2011 WTA Finals to Petra Kvitová. She finished with a year-end top 10 singles ranking from 2009 to 2013. Azarenka has won 10 WTA Tour doubles titles (including one WTA 1000, two Premier Mandatory, and two Premier 5 titles), reached four major finals in women's doubles, and reached a career-high ranking of No. 7 in the world on 7 July 2008. She has won three mixed doubles titles — two major titles at the 2007 US Open with compatriot Max Mirnyi and the 2008 French Open with Bob Bryan, and the Olympic gold medal in mixed doubles at the 2012 London Olympics with Mirnyi.

4. Max Mirnyi (b. 1977)

With an HPI of 52.62, Max Mirnyi is the 4th most famous Belarusian Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 38 different languages.

Maksim Mikalaevich "Max" Mirnyi (born 6 July 1977) is a Belarusian former professional tennis player. Mirnyi became a doubles specialist following his singles career, in which he reached a career-high of World No. 18 (August 2003) and finished in the top 50 in the world for seven straight years despite only winning one ATP singles title (2003 Rotterdam Open). He represented Belarus in Davis Cup competition from April 1994, where he holds a record of 47 wins and 27 losses in 35 ties played. He reached the World No. 1 doubles ranking in June 2003 and won ten Grand Slam titles: Men's doubles in the 2000 and 2002 US Open and the 2005, 2006, 2011 and 2012 French Open; and mixed doubles in the 1998, 2007, and 2013 U.S. Opens and 1998 Wimbledon. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Mirnyi carried the flag of Belarus at the Opening Ceremony on 27 July 2012, and won the gold medal in the mixed doubles with Victoria Azarenka on 5 August 2012. His nickname is "The Beast of Belarus".

5. Olga Govortsova (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 47.20, Olga Govortsova is the 5th most famous Belarusian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Olga Alekseyevna Govortsova (Belarusian: Вольга Аляксееўна Гаварцова (Volha Alyakseyeuna Havartsova); Ольга Алексеевна Говорцова; born 23 August 1988) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. On 23 June 2008, she achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 35. On 29 August 2011, she peaked at No. 24 in the doubles rankings.

6. Anna Smashnova (b. 1976)

With an HPI of 46.52, Anna Smashnova is the 6th most famous Belarusian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Anna Aleksandrovna Smashnova (Hebrew: אנה סמשנובה, Russian: Анна Александровна Смашнова; born July 16, 1976) is a Soviet-born Israeli former tennis player. She retired from professional tour after Wimbledon 2007. Smashnova reached her career-high singles ranking of world No. 15 in 2003. She reached 13 finals, and won 12 of them. In addition, she won a junior Grand Slam title, the 1991 French Open girls' singles championship.

7. Tatiana Poutchek (b. 1979)

With an HPI of 44.50, Tatiana Poutchek is the 7th most famous Belarusian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Tatiana Poutchek (Belarusian: Таццяна Мікалаеўна Пучак; Russian: Татьяна Николаевна Пучек; born 9 January 1979) is a retired tennis player and current captain of the Belarus Billie Jean King Cup team. Her career-high ranking is No. 55 in the world, achieved on 22 July 2002. Many of Poutchek's greatest career results came in Tashkent reaching one singles final and seven doubles finals winning five. In 2002, she made her only WTA Tour singles final there, losing to Marie-Gayanay Mikaelian. In doubles, she won eight titles on the WTA Tour (five in Tashkent, two in Guangzhou, and one in Baku) between 2002 and 2010, and 20 titles on the ITF Women's Circuit between 1997 and 2009.

8. Aliaksandra Sasnovich (b. 1994)

With an HPI of 43.25, Aliaksandra Sasnovich is the 8th most famous Belarusian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Aliaksandra Aliaksandraŭna Sasnovich (born 22 March 1994) is a Belarusian professional tennis player. She achieved her best singles ranking of world No. 29 on 19 September 2022, and peaked at No. 39 in the WTA doubles rankings on 23 August 2021. She has won eleven singles and seven doubles titles on the ITF Circuit. She has reached a major semifinal in doubles, at the 2019 US Open, together with Viktória Hrunčáková (then Kužmová).

9. Vladimir Voltchkov (b. 1978)

With an HPI of 43.16, Vladimir Voltchkov is the 9th most famous Belarusian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Vladimir Nikolayevich Voltchkov (Belarusian: Уладзімір Мікалаевіч Валчкоў, Uładzimir Mikałajevič Vałčkoŭ; Владимир Николаевич Волчков; born April 7, 1978) is a Belarusian former professional tennis player. Voltchkov reached the semifinals at the 2000 Wimbledon Championships, where, as a qualifier, he lost to Pete Sampras in straight sets. He represented Belarus in both the Davis Cup and the Olympic Games in 2000, also won the Wimbledon juniors competition in 1996. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 25.

10. Anastasiya Yakimova (b. 1986)

With an HPI of 41.91, Anastasiya Yakimova is the 10th most famous Belarusian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Anastasiya Yakimova (Belarusian: Настасся Аляксееўна Якімава; Russian: Анастасия Алексеевна Екимова; born 1 November 1986) is a former tennis player from Belarus. She made it to the third round of the 2007 Australian Open, defeating Ai Sugiyama, a seeded player, on the way in the second round. The last tournament on the ITF Women's Circuit she played in August 2017, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.