In junior competition, Olga Barabanshchikova won the 1996 Italian Open singles title and was part of the winning girl’s doubles partnership at Junior Wimbledon. She played both singles and doubles at the Atlanta Games the same year. Reaching the top 100 in the rankings in 1997, her appearance in the final of the Enka Open in Istanbul coincided with her highest ever career ranking of 49. The year 2000 saw her reach the last 16 at Wimbledon, her best Grand Slam performance and with Natasha Zvereva as her partner, she narrowly missed a bronze medal in the women’s doubles at the Sydney Olympics. An Achilles tendon injury ended her 2001 season prematurely and her career never recovered from the setback. Barabanshchikova retired in 2003 and went on to present a sports news program on Belarus television. Her sister Katya is a national synchronised swimming champion.
Belarus