The Australian Open will see numerous top players returning to the tournament for the first time in years.
Former world number one Karolina Pliskova has confirmed her Australian Open participation, as she makes her Grand Slam return.
There has also been a lot of speculation over whether the likes of Stan Wawrinka, Venus Williams and Nick Kyrgios will receive Australian Open wildcards.
While their participation in Melbourne is still up in the air, a former world number two is now set to play at the Australian Open for the first time in four years.
Vera Zvonareva confirmed to play the 2026 Australian Open
Vera Zvonareva is a former world number two, and reached two Grand Slam singles finals at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2010.
After not playing a tournament for 18 months, many had assumed that now 41-year-old Zvonareva had retired from the sport.
However, these rumours were proven wrong, when Zvonareva returned to tennis at an ITF 100k event in Dubai.
This was a very successful return for the Russian, with Zvonareva reaching both singles and doubles finals, enabling her to make huge strides back up the WTA rankings.
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While Zvonareva returned to tennis, there were still many questions over what the future had in store for her.
These questions appear to now have been answered after Zvonareva has been reported to have signed up for the Australian Open women’s doubles draw alongside Ena Shibihara.
This will be Zvonareva’s first Grand Slam appearance since playing alongside Mirra Andreeva at the 2024 French Open.
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Vera Zvonareva’s best result at the Australian Open
While it is Zvonareva’s first Grand Slam appearance in nearly two years, it has been even longer since she last appeared at the Australian Open in 2022.
Zvonareva’s best singles results in Melbourne came in both 2009 and 2011, when she reached the semifinals.
She has also won a title at the Australian Open, having won the women’s doubles tournament alongside Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2012.
| Australian Open event | Vera Zvonareva’s Best Result | Vera Zvonareva’s Last Result |
| Singles | Semifinal (2009 & 2011) | First Round (2022) |
| Women’s Doubles | Won the title (2012) | Third Round (2022) |
| Mixed Doubles | Quarterfinal (2005 & 2006) | Second Round (2021) |
It is unclear as to whether Zvonareva plans to play in singles competition next year, with her current ranking of world number 655 unable to get her into many tournaments.
Zvonareva will make her Grand Slam return when the women’s doubles tournament at the Australian Open begins on Wednesday, January 21.
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