5 unknown facts about Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the Russian aiming to end Aryna Sabalenka's Australian Open 2025 title defense

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is in the midst of a resurgence at the Australian Open 2025, where she has advanced to the quarter-finals for the fourth time. She needed three sets to get past Yuan Yue and Anastasia Potapova in the first couple of rounds.

Pavlyuchenkova has raised her level since then, ousting Laura Siegemund and 18th seed Donna Vekic in straight sets. She will face her toughest battle yet in Melbourne in the quarterfinals, as she will take on two-time defending champion and World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

The Russian leads their head-to-head 2-1 and won their previous encounter en route the final of the 2021 French Open in three sets. However, Sabalenka has evolved into a different player since then and has won three Major singles titles since their last showdown.

Pavlyuchenkova is a veteran of the tour. An injury threatened to put an end to her career three years ago, but she persevered and has found success once again. A spot in the semi-final of the Australian Open is well within her reach. As she prepares for one of the biggest battles of her career, here's a look at some relatively unknown facts about her:

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#5 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkoa hails from a family with a strong sporting background

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was destined to be an athlete, given her family background. Her grandmother was a basketball player and represented the USSR back in the day, while her grandfather used to be a referee in the same sport.

Her father, Sergey, was an Olympic rower, while her mother, Marina, was a swimmer. Her brother Alexander dabbled in tennis for a while as well and even worked as her coach.

Given Pavlyuchenkova's family history with different sports, it didn't take her too long to follow in their footsteps. She started playing tennis at the age of six and soon became a teen sensation.

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#4 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was a prolific junior player

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the Qatar Open 2024. (Photo: Getty)

Pavlyuchenkova had a stellar resume as a junior player. She won the girls' singles title at the Australian Open and the US Open in 2006 and was the runner-up at the French Open as well. She attained the No. 1 ranking and defended her singles title Down Under a year later. Winning the Australian Open remains one of her favorite memories.

The Russian won five titles in singles as a teenager on the ITF circuit and started the transition to the WTA Tour in 2008. She ended the season ranked No. 45 and wouldn't drop out of the top 50 until 2022, due to an injury. Not many teen prodigies have carved out a name for themselves as a pro, but Pavlyuchenkova bucked the trend.

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#3 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova loves a good karaoke session

Pavlyuchenkova is an ardent music lover, and more than that, she loves to let loose by belting her favorite songs from time to time. A fun karaoke session is one of her favorite ways to unwind from her daily grind as a tennis player.

However, she has admitted that she's not as good with her vocal cords as she'S with a racquet. She's partial to the R&B and hip-hop genres but is open to discovering new music as well. Here's a video of Pavlyuchenkova briefly flexing her vocal chops during the French Open 2011:

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#2 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is a huge movie buff as well

Movies offer a great way to escape one's problems and also help people to expand their horizons. Pavlyuchenkova is a cinephile as well and usually opts for something that makes her laugh.

Considering her favorite genre is comedy, it's no surprise to know that Johnny Depp and Ben Stiller are among her favorite actors. Stiller has starred in some of the most well-known comedies over the past three decades, including Zoolander, There's Something About Mary and Tropic Thunder.

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#1 - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is an Olympic gold medalist

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Andrey Rublev at the Tokyo Olympics 2021. (Photo: Getty)

Pavlyuchenkova has a career-high ranking of No. 11 in singles and has won 12 titles over the years. She was the runner-up at the French Open 2021, going down to Barbora Krejcikova in three sets, and has reached at least the quarter-finals of the remaining three Majors.

However, one of Pavlyuchenkova's biggest accomplishments is often overlooked, as it came in mixed doubles. She won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics alongside Andrey Rublev, beating compatriots Elena Vesnina and Aslan Karatsev 6-3, 6-7 (5), 13-11 in an all-Russian final.

The duo saved a championship point to claim the top honor at the Olympics. Considering that players only get an opportunity to compete in it in four-year intervals, walking away with a gold medal in any of the disciplines is a huge achievement.