Veronika Eduardovna Kudermetova (born 24 April 1997) is a Russian professional tennis player. She has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 9, achieved on 24 October 2022, and a best WTA doubles ranking of No. 2, reached on 6 June 2022. She is a doubles major champion at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships with Elise Mertens. She has won an additional nine WTA Tour doubles titles including three WTA 1000 and being crowned champion at the 2022 and 2025 WTA Finals editions. In addition, she reached the doubles final of Wimbledon in 2021, with Elena Vesnina. She has also won two WTA Tour singles titles.
Kudermetova made her WTA Tour main-draw debut in singles at the 2018 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, and in doubles at the 2014 Kremlin Cup, partnering with Evgeniya Rodina. Later, she won her first WTA Tour singles title at the 2021 Charleston Open, and her first WTA doubles title at the 2019 Wuhan Open, partnering Duan Yingying.
Playing for the Russia Fed Cup team, Kudermetova has a win–loss record of 3–4.
Personal life Kudermetova was born to Eduard Kudermetov, a Russian national ice hockey champion of Volga Tatar origin and a Russian mother. She started playing tennis at the age of eight. Her younger sister Polina Kudermetova (born 2003) is also a professional tennis player.
Kudermetova is married to tennis coach and former professional player Sergei Demekhine, whose career-high singles ranking is No. 673. They started dating in 2015 despite Demekhine returning to being her coach again since 2012, on which Kudermetova commented in 2020: "At the age of 16 I just liked him but I didn't even think about anything more. Probably, it's my upbringing that affected. Such thoughts had been unacceptable to me".
Career 2013–14: First ITF Circuit title Partnering Evgeniya Rodina, Kudermetova won her first $50k tournament at the Kazan Summer Cup, defeating Alexandra Artamonova and Martina Borecká in the final. There, she also reached the semifinals in singles as a wildcard entrant.
Kudermetova reached consecutive $10k finals at Antalya at the start of the year, and after several strong performances, she cracked the world's top 500 for the first time in her career. Playing in her first $100k tournament at the President's Cup, she reached the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion, Vitalia Diatchenko.
She ended the year as the No. 343 in the rankings with a 24–14 win-loss record, lifting her maiden ITF title in the process.
2015–17: Major & WTA Tour debut
The 2015 season saw Kudermetova failing to win a single title on the ITF Circuit as she had a 15–15 win–loss record with just one final reached. Her year-end ranking was 400.
After a lacklustre start to 2016, Kudermetova made her first final of the year at Andijan in May. It was followed by consecutive $25k titles in Imola and Astana, ensuring that she moved into the world's top 300 for the first time. A fourth final of the season in Telavi marked her continuous rise. Her ranking soon made it possible for a direct admission into the main draw of the Taipei Challenger, her debut on a WTA 125 tournament. She won her first match against Varatchaya Wongteanchai, before losing in the second round.
Overall, she enjoyed a 34–18 win–loss record in 2016, with a total of two ITF Circuit titles. Her year-end ranking improved by a total of 190 spots, ending at the 210th spot.
Her major debut came at the 2017 Australian Open, where she lost in the first round of qualifying. Attempting a transition onto the WTA Tour, she played qualifying in multiple events but failed to reach the main draw in all of them. Kudermetova won her first qualifying round at the French Open but fell in her next match. She reached her first WTA 125 quarterfinal, at the 2017 Taipei Challenger to end off the year.
Kudermetova had a 28–24 win-loss record for 2017, failing to reach any finals but recorded more appearances on the WTA Tour.
2018: Top 30 win, first career main-draw win After starting the year with a triumph at the $25k event at the Yokohama Challenger, she qualified for her first WTA Tour event at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, a Premier tournament. Riding on her momentum, Kudermetova stunned top-30 player Carla Suárez Navarro in the first round before putting up a strong performance against eventual champion and top-10 player Karolína Plíšková.
She reached the final round of qualifying at the French Open for the first time in her career, where she fell to Barbora Krejčíková. Another big win soon followed as she beat defending champion Anett Kontaveit on grass, in the first round of the Rosmalen Open. Furthermore, she stunned Belinda Bencic in her next match, reaching her first WTA Tour quarterfinal. She reached another WTA quarterfinal at the Ladies Championship Gstaad where she defeated Viktória Kužmová, before falling to Eugenie Bouchard, in straight sets.
She had a 34–23 win-loss record for the year, gaining first success on WTA Tour.
2019: Top 40 singles debut, first Premier-5 title
Kudermetova started the year with a quarterfinal run at the Shenzhen Open after qualifying for the main draw, defeating higher-ranked compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the process. She qualified for the main draw at the Australian Open for the first time in her career, losing to Sofia Kenin in round one.
At the WTA 125 event in Guadalajara, Kudermetova was unseeded but still managed to lift the biggest title of her career by defeating Marie Bouzková, 6–2, 6–0 in the final. Consecutive WTA quarterfinals came at the Ladies Open Lugano and the İstanbul Cup.
Her first major main-draw win came at the French Open when she beat Caroline Wozniacki, the 13th seed, in the first round. After beating Zarina Diyas in the second, Kudermetova was defeated by veteran Kaia Kanepi in the third round, despite winning the first set.
In July 2019, she reached the second round at Wimbledon, where she was beaten by Wozniacki. Prior to that, Kudermetova excelled at Rosmalen, making the semifinals where she was defeated by eventual champion Alison Riske.
In September, seeded eighth, she and Duan Yingying won the doubles title at the Wuhan Open, beating newly crowned US Open champions Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka in the final. It was their first time playing together, and Kudemetova's first doubles title. It took her at No. 24 in the doubles rankings, on 30 September 2019. She reached third round in the singles competition, which also took her to a career-high singles ranking of 42. In the tournament, Kudermetova beat Belinda Bencic for her first career top-ten win.
On a fantastic Asian swing, Kudermetova reached two semifinals at the Japan Women's Open and the Tianjin Open, respectively. To end off her first full season on the WTA Tour, she stunned world No. 4, Elina Svitolina, in the second round of the Kremlin Cup and reached the quarterfinals as a result, falling to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
A win-loss record of 44–25 saw Kudermetova ending the year (world No. 41) as the second highest-ranked Russian, lagging just behind Pavlyuchenkova, having reached a career-high of world No. 39 in singles on 11 November 2019, with three tour semifinals and one WTA 125 title. She finished the year at No. 25 in doubles.
2020: Progress in singles and doubles
Kudermetova began the year at the Brisbane International. She lost in the final round of qualifying to Marie Bouzková. Seeded fifth at the Hobart International, she reached the semifinals where she was defeated by fourth seed Zhang Shuai. As a result, she reached again the top 40 in singles, on 20 January 2020. At the Australian Open, she lost in the first round to Sara Sorribes Tormo. Despite the loss, she reached a new career-high of world No. 38, on 3 February 2020.
Playing for Russia in the Fed Cup qualifying tie against Romania, Kudermetova lost both of her rubbers to Ana Bogdan and Jaqueline Cristian. Despite those losses, Russia won the tie 3–2. In St. Petersburg, she was defeated in the second round by second seed, defending and eventual champion, Kiki Bertens. Getting past qualifying at the Dubai Championships, she lost in the second round to ninth seed Garbiñe Muguruza. At the Qatar Ladies Open, she was defeated in the second round by fourth seed Belinda Bencic. The WTA cancelled tournaments from March to July due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When the WTA resumed tournament play in August, Kudermetova competed at the Prague Open. Seeded eighth, she lost in the first round to Eugenie Bouchard. At the Western & Southern Open, she stunned top seed and 2016 champion, Karolína Plíšková, in the second round. She was defeated in the third round by 14th seed Elise Mertens. Seeded 29th at the US Open, she lost in the first round to Iga Świątek. In doubles, she partnered with compatriot Anna Blinkova; they both reached the semifinals of a major for the first time in their career where they lost to Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva. Following this run, she achieved her career-high doubles ranking of world No. 22, on 14 September 2020.
Playing in Rome, Kudermetova was defeated in the first round by Barbora Strýcová. At the French Open, she lost in the second round to 13th seed Petra Martić.
Coming through qualifying at the first edition of the Ostrava Open, Kudermetova upset second seed Karolína Plíšková in the second round. In the quarterfinals, she was defeated by Jennifer Brady. Her final tournament of the season was at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz. Seeded fifth, she reached the quarterfinals where she lost to second seed and eventual finalist, Elise Mertens.
Kudermetova ended the year ranked No. 46 in singles and No. 24 in doubles.
2021: First title & major final, top 15 in doubles Kudermetova started 2021 at the first edition of the Abu Dhabi Open. She stunned second seed Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals and defeated Marta Kostyuk in the semifinals. She lost in the final to fourth seed Aryna Sabalenka convincingly, but entered the top 40 for the first time in her career. At the first edition of the Grampians Trophy, she was defeated in the second round by Ann Li. Seeded 32nd at the Australian Open, she lost in the third round to second seed Simona Halep, after earning her first main-draw victories in Melbourne. In Adelaide, she was defeated in the first round by Shelby Rogers.
At Doha, Kudermetova lost in the first round to eventual finalist Garbiñe Muguruza. At Dubai, she was defeated in the second round by sixth seed and 2019 champion, Belinda Bencic. Seeded second in St. Petersburg, she reached the quarterfinals losing to eighth seed and eventual champion, Daria Kasatkina. Seeded 32nd at the Miami Open, she was defeated in the third round by seventh seed Sabalenka once again, although this time she owned a set point.
Seeded 15th at the Charleston Open, Kudermetova won her first WTA Tour singles title, beating Danka Kovinić in the final. Defeating the likes of Sloane Stephens and Paula Badosa, she did not lose more than eight games in a match and won the title without losing a set. She entered the top 30 at a career-high of No. 29 on 12 April 2021. The following week, she won her second doubles title at the İstanbul Cup, partnering Elise Mertens while also reaching the singles semifinals in which she lost to Mertens.
Kudermetova reached the third round of the Madrid Open with a top-ten win over defending champion Kiki Bertens, in straight sets. However, despite a tight match, she lost to Petra Kvitová eventually. At the Italian Open, Kudermetova upset Mertens in the first round but fell to world No. 1, Ashleigh Barty, in the third round.
She entered the French Open as one of the dark horses, and navigated a tough first-round win against former semifinalist Amanda Anisimova, in straight sets. However, she was stunned by Kateřina Siniaková in the second round, despite leading 5–1 in the final set.