Within sports disciplines, there is its own division. There is football - a truly folk game, accessible to the masses. There is athletics - the so-called queen of sports. Tennis was originally considered a purely aristocratic game, accessible to high society. This tradition came from the UK, people from high society, the so-called elite, could play tennis. And in the Soviet Union, initially tennis appeared in an aristocratic environment, in the society of the creative elite. In this environment, the sports career of Anna Vladimirovna Dmitrieva, the first Soviet woman who loudly declared herself in world tennis, began.
Dmitrieva Anna Vladimirovna: family
The Dmitriev family belonged to the creative elite of the Soviet Union. Her dad Dmitriev Vladimir Vladimirovich was the main artist in the largest theater of the Soviet Union - the Moscow Art Theater. Mom Marina Pastukhova-Dmitrieva is a famous actress of that time. The future tennis player Anna Dmitrieva (born in 1940) at the age of 7 was left without a father, Vladimir Vladimirovich. Later, Anna's mother married the famous composer - Kirill Molchanov. In her second marriage, her son Vladimir Molchanov was born, in the future a famous TV presenter.
Environment
From childhood, Dmitrieva Anna grew up in a creative environment. The fact that the godmother of the girl was the famous star of Soviet cinema Olga Knipper-Chekhova speaks volumes. Family belonging to the elite of Soviet society allowed the Dmitrievs to spend summer vacations in the Pestovo boarding house near Moscow, which at that time was departmental for the Moscow Art Theater. The favorite entertainment of vacationers was a game of tennis. Every day serious battles took place on the grass courts of the boarding house with the participation of theatrical stars of that time. Out of competition was Nikolai Ozerov, a wonderful tennis player and actor.
This hobby did not pass by Anna Dmitrieva. Every summer, young Anya disappeared on tennis courts, spending all her free time with a racket.
Choosing a Life Path
The success of the young girl on the tennis court did not go unnoticed. As a joke, many Moscow Art Theater predicted a young athlete a champion career. At some point, the family had a question: where to give the girl? The choice was between ballet and serious tennis. As often happens, in life everything was decided by chance. Once, while visiting a friend of the family of Boris Erdman, Anna met with the famous tennis player of the pre-war era, Nina Sergeyevna Teplyakova. Upon learning of the dilemma facing the girl, Nina Sergeyevna invited her to her place, in the tennis section of the Dynamo Sports House. As life will show in the future, fate will connect Anna Dmitrieva with this society for many years.
The first steps in professional tennis
In “Dynamo” there were several tennis departments. The group of younger girls-tennis players was led by Nina Nikolaevna Leo. It was in this group that the twelve-year-old Dmitrieva Anna Vladimirovna fell. Some tennis skills were already laid down by Anna, but the basic elements were obtained in training under the guidance of Nina Nikolaevna, who became the first serious coach Dmitrieva.
Anna got to her first official competitions Dmitrieva by accident. In Moscow, the city team championship was held, and one of the teams did not recruit. Who came just to watch the game of senior friends, Anna was urgently sent to the tennis court. Anna Dmitrieva lost the first game. But a year later at the same competitions she became the champion in her group. This title was the first of a great many that have been received in his entire sports career.
Professional career
In 1956, the USSR National Tennis Federation decided to allow sixteen-year-old Anna Dmitrieva to participate in adult tennis competitions. The first major victories were success in the doubles and mixed categories in the championship of Moscow. According to the results of 1957, Anna Dmitrieva’s track record includes a doubles victory in the All-Union Olympics for schoolchildren, as well as a successful performance at the country's adult championship in Tbilisi. According to the results of the past year, Anna Dmitrieva, whose photo is presented to your attention in the article, is among the ten best tennis players of the Soviet Union and receives the title of master of sports of the USSR.
International career
In 1958, a significant event took place for Soviet sports. The Tennis Federation of our country has been officially accepted into the International Tennis Federation. This was followed by the invitation of the Soviet team to the prestigious Wimbledon tournament. The team of the Soviet Union was young Dmitrieva Anna Vladimirovna. The debut games at international competitions were successful: a victory at the Junior Beckham tournament and participation in the final match of the main youth Wimbledon tournament. Unfortunately, in the final match Dmitrieva lost to the American tennis player Sally Moore. But, despite the failure in the finals, the sports world discovered a talented Soviet tennis player.
Titles
Over the years spent in professional tennis, an asset to Anna Dmitrieva has appeared a huge number of titles and awards. In the domestic arena, the athlete became the champion of the Soviet Union eighteen times, behind her six victories at the Games of the peoples of the USSR. In addition, a huge number of victories were won in competitions below the rank. Over her ten-year career, Dmitrieva Anna five times topped the list of the best tennis players of the Soviet Union for the year.
In the international tennis arena, the athlete left an equally striking mark. She has won victories in the open championships of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Uganda. She was the winner of competitions with the countries of Asia and Africa, the open championship of Scandinavia. As part of the women's team of the Soviet Union, Dmitrieva participated in the prestigious Federation Cup. According to the results of 1964, Anna Dmitrieva was the third in the list of the best tennis players in Europe. This result brought the athlete the title of "Honored Master of Sports" of the USSR.
Game Technique
According to eyewitnesses, the hallmark of Anna Dmitrieva’s playing style on the court was a demonstration of the highest technology. The variability of the applied actions both in defense and in attack put Anna's rivals in difficult situations. According to tennis experts, Dmitrieva became the first Soviet tennis player to use a quick attack tactic, with a diverse arsenal of attacks from both the net and the back line. The combination of these playing qualities allowed Anna Dmitrieva to remain the strongest tennis player in our country for ten years.
End of sports career
In 1968, tennis player Anna Dmitrieva decides to end her professional career. Over the next four years (from 1969 to 1973), Anna worked as a children's coach in her own sports society Dynamo. In 1975, Dmitrieva decided to leave for sports journalism. Given that during her professional tennis career, Anna studied at MSU at the same time as games, her choice did not look unexpected. Anna Dmitrieva became a sports commentator, working for a long time at the USSR Radio and Television and Radio, and since 1991 - on Russian television. From 2004 to 2010, Anna Vladimirovna headed the direction of the sports channels NTV Plus. At present, Anna Vladimirovna continues to work on sports television in the state of the Match TV television company.
For Russian tennis fans, it is with the voice of Anna Dmitrieva that broadcasts of tennis matches are associated. Anna Vladimirovna, the permanent presenter of reports from major tennis tournaments, has repeatedly received various awards confirming the high level and knowledge of the commented sport.
Her comments on tennis matches with in-depth analysis, complete immersion in the game attract viewers. Knowledge of the commented sport from the inside helps to reveal all the nuances of the game, draw the attention of the audience to various subtleties, often invisible to the average fan. All this makes Anna Vladimirovna Dmitrieva one of the best commentators on sports television in Russia.
Dmitrieva Anna Vladimirovna: personal life
The first wife of Dmitrieva was Mikhail Tolstoy, the grandson of the writer A.N. Tolstoy. The marriage was short. In that life period, Anna had a sports career in the first place, which negatively affected family relationships. Anna Vladimirovna currently lives with her second husband, Dmitry Chukovsky, a television director. Spouses have two adult children and five grandchildren.
Each sport for the fans is associated with any particular people. Many tennis fans cannot imagine tennis reporting without the calm voice of Anna Vladimirovna Dmitrieva. In our country, it is Anna Dmitrieva, whose biography is presented to your attention in the article, is the personification of tennis, its most striking figure.