Maryna Zanevska is a Ukrainian-born Belgian former professional tennis player who was born on August 24, 1993, in Odesa, Ukraine. After opting to train in Belgium as a junior, she acquired citizenship while honing her skills on the big stage.
During her formative years, her results at junior Grand Slams, such as winning the girls' doubles at the Roland Garros and the US Open, were bound to set her up for success in the years to follow.
Following a few years solely on the ITF Tour during her youth years, the Belgian was ready to try her luck amongst the seniors, with her first chance coming at the Palermo Open in 2013. Despite losing in the first round to Nastassja Burnett, this very much spurred her on and gave her the bug to achieve more great things.
Later on that season, she grabbed her first win at WTA main draw level after beating Aleksandra Krunic in the first round of the Austria Open in Linz. The following year was another one of firsts for Zanevska, with her making her Grand Slam debut at the French Open.
Despite losing in the first round to Timea Bacsinszky, this pushed her to relive the experience, which she did by making the first round of the US Open. Despite having made her debut at all levels, Zanevska struggled to maintain this rhythm and push on to become a consistent player.
Resultingly, she spent the rest of the decade predominantly at the ITF level before starting the 2020s with renewed hope that this would be her time. In 2021, she reached her first tour-level semifinal at the Lausanne Open, where she eventually lost to the tournament’s number 1 seed, Tamara Zidansek.
This was a sign of intent, as the following week, the Belgian rocked up to the WTA 250 tournament in Gdynia only to find herself in her first final. The time was now for Zanevska, as she saw off Kristina Kucova in straight sets to claim her first bit of silverware at the WTA level.
Shortly after this, she achieved her highest-ever ranking position of world number 62. This came the season before what would be her last, with the 2023 US Open proving to be her final tournament on Tour, losing out to second seed Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets.
