Russian tennis chief Shamil Tarpishchev appears to suggest that if world No. 9 Vera Zvonareva does not get healthy and regain her form, he may leave her off the Olympic team, even if she qualifies for the event. Zvonareva will miss Russia’s Fed Cup tie next week against Serbia with a shoulder injury.
"Vera has been injured a lot this year," Tarpishchev told reporters. "If she doesn't show her best at the French Open (in May), she won't be able to make our Olympic team. She must have a good clay-court season in order to stay in the Top 10 and qualify for London."
Players who are ranked inside the top 56 after Roland Garros qualify for the Olympics if their country nominates them. As it stands today, No. 2 Maria Sharapova, No. 9 Zvonareva, No. 21 Maria Kirilenko, and No. 22 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova would qualify as Russia’s four singles players. ITF rules only allow each nation four singles players and two doubles teams, which can be decided by rankings or by parings determined by that nation’s Olympic captain, which in this case is Tarpishchev.
Zvonareva, 27, has a healthy 660 points to defend between today and the end of Roland Garros, so she could struggle to stay inside the Top 10. Kirilenko only has 256 points to defend, but Pavlyuchenkova has 835 points to defend and has been slumping. No. 27 Svetlana Kuznetsova and No. 32 Nadia Petrova would presumably be the next in line to qualify.
However, even if Zvonareva doesn’t win a match through Roland Garros, her ranking would still likely be in the Top 15, so unless any of those players ranked below her make substantial upward moves in the rankings, she will likely still be Russia’s second ranked player. It would then be up to Tarpishchev to determine whether recent form and injury is a good enough reason to leave her off the team.
Zvonareva won a bronze medal behind Elena Dementieva (gold) and Dinara Safina (silver) at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when the Russians won all the women's singles medals. Zvonareva was a last minute call up as Sharapova was injured and could not play.
Tarpishchev may also decide to choose doubles standout Elena Vesnina, who has been loyal to Fed Cup but does not have an obvious Russian partner, as she plays with India’s Sania Mirza on tour. With their eyes on the Olympics, Kirilenko has been playing with Petrova, and Kuznetsova has been playing with Zvonareva, although the latter partners have both said they will aim for singles. If Petrova cracks the Top 10 in doubles (she's currently ranked No. 16) along with Vesnina (she's currently No. 11), Tarpishchev could have another tough decision on his hands.—Matt Cronin