PARIS: Twelve months after Russia provided both finalists at the French Open, the country's female tennis players are experiencing a serious collective slump.
Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated compatriot Dinara Safina in straight sets in last year's decider but both have since failed to make any kind of impression at the major tournaments.
Golden girl Maria Sharapova reached the quarter-finals in 2009 following her return from a long-standing shoulder problem but injuries continue to plague her and the former world number one is currently ranked 13th.
Kuznetsova, Safina and Olympic champion Elena Dementieva continue to fly the Russian flag in the world's top 10 but the Williams sisters Serena and Venus are now ranked first and second respectively and arrive at Roland Garros with proven Grand Slam pedigree.
Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki, currently ranked third, is the new rising star in the women's game and Belgian comeback queens Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin have returned from retirement with silverware in their sights.
Safina's fall from grace has been perhaps the most alarming.
Her 6-4, 6-2 defeat to Kuznetsova in Paris last June meant she had lost her first three Grand Slam finals in straight sets and after being thrashed by Venus in the Wimbledon semi-finals she lost in the third round at the US Open.
A painful back injury sustained at the Australian Open forced her out in the fourth round and her subsequent absence has seen her fall to ninth in the rankings, having risen to first last year.
Her return to action saw her reach the last eight at Stuttgart but she fell in the first round in both Rome and Madrid and insists her focus now is on keeping free from injury.
"My back injury is the worst you can get, because if things go wrong again, that might be it for my professional career altogether," said the 24-year-old, who was diagnosed with a double stress fracture and a ruptured muscle in her back in January.
"With a broken arm or leg, you can rest it, but with your back it is almost impossible. It has made me realise how much I love tennis.
Defending champion Kuznetsova, meanwhile, followed up her Roland Garros triumph with a third-round exit at Wimbledon and defeat to Wozniacki in the fourth round at the US Open.
She got no further than the fourth round at the Australian Open and a serious of early exits culminated in a shock first-round loss to Israel's Shahar Peer in Madrid earlier this month.
"It's frustrating, because I know I have the game," said Kuznetsova after a second-round defeat at Indian Wells in March.
"I feel great. I do practice, play unbelievable, and then get to the match and I don't do much."
Sharapova was another first-round casualty in the Spanish capital, losing in straight sets to Lucie Safarova on her comeback from a two-month lay-off with an elbow injury.
Sharapova last tasted success in Memphis in February and her countrywomen Dementieva, Vera Zvonareva, Alisa Kleybanova and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova have also won titles in 2010.
The big guns, however, have fallen quiet, and with the Williams sisters on the warpath, Russia's women look uncharacteristically exposed.
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