Vera Zvonareva couldn't beat another rising star as the 41-year-old Russian lost 3-6 3-6 to 20-year-old Petra Marcinko in the ITF W100 Dubai final.
In the first set, the 2010 Wimbledon and US Open finalist recovered from a break down - but lost her serve once again in the eighth game - before No. 4 seed Marcinko served out for the opener in the following game.
After losing the first set, Zvonareva also found herself 0-2 down early in the second set. While the former world No. 2 managed to get back into the second set and tie it to two games apiece, she kept struggling on her serve as Marcinko claimed breaks in the fifth and ninth games to complete a two-set win.
For Marcinko, this was her 12th ITF title. The Croatian, who entered this week ranked at a career-high ranking of No. 103 in the world, is now set to break into the top-100 and she will climb to No. 82 on Monday.
Zvonareva's outstanding week ends with a Dubai final loss
Prior to Dubai, Zvonareva hadn't played a tournament on the Tour since April 2024. The Russian, who didn't have a ranking at the start of the week, will be ranked at No. 654 on Monday.
For the 41-year-old Russian, this was her first singles final since she by Kaia Kanepi in the 2020 ITF Istanbul final.
Meanwhile, Zvonareva's Dubai run still isn't over since she has the doubles final with Rada Zolotareva. The Russian pair is playing against Gao Xinyu and Mananchaya Sawangkaew.
