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.
Early life 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.
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 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 in New York City.
In 2015, she moved to Florida and began working as a private coach.
Junior Grand Slam finals Girls' doubles: 1 (runner-up) ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 1984 Wimbledon Grass Larisa Savchenko Caroline Kuhlman Stephanie Rehe 3–6, 7–5, 4–6
ITF finals $100,000 tournaments $75,000 tournaments $50,000 tournaments $25,000 tournaments $10,000 tournaments
Singles (1–4) ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 1. 8 September 1986 Zagreb, Yugoslavia Hard Lilian Kelaidis 2–6, 7–5, 3–6Win 2. 30 March 1987 Bari, Italy Clay Aida Halatian 1–6, 6–1, 7–5Loss 3. 14 September 1987 Sofia, Bulgaria Clay Eugenia Maniokova 1–6, 0–6Loss 4. 9 April 1990 Bari, Italy Clay Laura Golarsa 3–6, 4–6Loss 5. 16 July 1990 Darmstadt, West Germany Clay Cristina Tessi 1–6, 6–7
Doubles (14–2) ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 1. 30 December 1986 Chicago, United States Hard Natalia Egorova Elizabeth Evans Jennifer Prah 6–1, 6–1Loss 2. 6 January 1986 El Paso, United States Clay Natasha Zvereva Cammy MacGregor Cynthia MacGregor 6–4, 3–6, 4–6Win 3. 8 September 1986 Zagreb, Yugoslavia Clay Natalia Egorova Renata Šašak Karmen Škulj 6–2, 6–3Win 4. 15 September 1986 Sofia, Bulgaria Clay Natalia Egorova Laura Golarsa Marianne van der Torre 6–0, 6–2Win 5. 30 March 1987 Bari, Italy Clay Aida Halatian Karin van Essen Sarah Sullivan 6–2, 2–6, 7–6Win 6. 20 April 1987 Monviso, Italy Clay Aida Halatian Hana Fukárková Iwona Kuczyńska 7–5, 6–3Win 7. 28 September 1987 Bol, Croatia Clay Elena Brioukhovets Aida Halatian Eugenia Maniokova 6–4, 5–7, 6–4Win 8. 16 November 1987 Croydon, United Kingdom Carpet Paulette Moreno Eugenia Maniokova Natalia Medvedeva 6–4, 6–1Win 9. 12 June 1988 Modena, Italy Clay Eugenia Maniokova Yayuk Basuki Ei Iida 6–3, 4–6, 6–0Win 10. 19 June 1988 Salerno, Italy Clay Eugenia Maniokova Anne Aallonen Yayuk Basuki 1–6, 7–5, 6–4Win 11. 26 June 1988 Arezzo, Italy Clay Eugenia Maniokova Yayuk Basuki Titia Wilmink 0–6, 7–5, 6–1Win 12. 15 August 1988 Rebecq, Belgium Clay Elena Brioukhovets Ilana Berger Anat Varon 6–2, 6–2Win 13. 29 August 1988 Nivelles, Belgium Clay Elena Brioukhovets Réka Szikszay Amy van Buuren 1–6, 7–5, 6–1Win 14. 16 April 1990 Marsa, Malta Clay Anna Mirza Eva Bes Silvia Ramón-Cortés 6–2, 7–6Loss 15. 30 July 1990 Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany Clay Agnese Blumberga Petra Holubová Sylvia Štefková 4–6, 4–6Win 16. 8 July 1991 Erlangen, Germany Clay Maja Živec-Škulj Louise Stacey Angie Woolcock 6–4, 6–4
Other finals Singles ResultYearChampionshipLocationOpponentScoreWin1984USSR Tennis National ChampionshipTashkent, Soviet Union Oksana Lifanova6–0, 6–4Loss1981European Junior Championships 14&USerramazzoni, Italy Manuela Maleeva2–6, 4–6Loss1987USSR Tennis National ChampionshipTallinn, Soviet Union Natasha Zvereva1–6, 2–6
MedalDateTournamentLocationOpponentScore Silver August 1984 1984 Friendship Games Katowice, Poland Elena Yelisieyenko 6–0, 6–4
Doubles ResultYearChampionshipLocationPartnerOpponentsScoreWin1984European ChampionshipOstend, Belgium Natalia Egorova Isabelle Demongeot Nathalie Tauziat2–6, 6–3, 6–4Loss1981European Junior Championships 14 & UnderSerramazzoni, Italy Irina Zvereva Manuela Maleeva Katerina Maleeva3–6, 7–5, 1–6
ResultDateTournamentLocationPartnerOpponentsScore Gold July 1987 1987 Universiade Games Zagreb, Yugoslavia Leila Meskhi Iva Budařová Nora Bajčíková 6–3, 6–4
References
External links
Tennis Stats – H2H Stats – MatchStat Viktoria Milvidskaia. WAVE OF FUTURE HERE FROM SOVIET The New York Times. NTV Interview: "So far and so close". Interview with Anna Kurnikova by Viktoria Milvidskaia.