Soy Nikolayevna Rudnova

Soy Rudnowa (1972)

Soja Nikolajewna Rudnowa ( Russian Зоя Николаевна Руднова ; born August 19, 1946 in Moscow ; † March 12, 2014 there ) was a Soviet table tennis player who was among the world's best in the 1960s and 1970s. She won two titles at world championships and ten titles at European championships.

youth

Rudnowa played penholder style. At the European Youth Championships in 1961, she won singles, doubles (with Sofia Belotserkowskaja) and with the team. A year later she defended the title with the team.

Style of play

Although Soja Rudnowa played with the Japanese penholder style and with pimple-inside rubbers, her playing style was more like the Chinese men of the time. With little - or if so, then extremely fast - topspins, but many seamless, hard shots, she preferred a very risky, uncompromising and aggressive offensive game. Her short movements that took up little space also made her the ideal double player.

European championships

From 1964 to 1976 Rudnowa took part in six European championships . She was European champion ten times, namely in 1968 in mixed (with Stanislaw Gomoskow ), in 1970 in all four disciplines singles, doubles (with Swetlana Grinberg ), mixed (with Stanislaw Gomoskow) and team, in 1972 in singles and mixed (with Stanislaw Gomoskow) , 1974 in mixed (with Stanislaw Gomoskow) and with the team and in 1976 with the team. In 1968 she won silver in singles and doubles (with Swetlana Grinberg).

In 1974 she was first in the European ranking tournament Europe TOP-12 . In 1971 she was ranked second in Europe.

World championships

From 1963 to 1977 Rudnowa was nominated seven times for world championships . She was most successful in 1969 when she became world champion both in doubles with Swetlana Grinberg and with the team.

Private

Rudnova studied languages ​​in Moscow. In 1976 she worked as a journalist at Pravda , and in 1978 she ended her career as a competitive athlete.

Results from the ITTF database

Association	event	year	place	country	singles	Double	Mixed	team
URS	European Championship	1976	Prague	TCH	Quarter finals		Semifinals	1
URS	European Championship	1974	Novi Sad	YUG	Semifinals	Semifinals	gold	1
URS	European Championship	1972	Rotterdam	NED	gold	Semifinals	gold
URS	European Championship	1970	Moscow	URS	gold	gold	gold	1
URS	European Championship	1968	Lyon	FRA	silver	silver	gold	2
URS	European Championship	1964	Malmo	SWE	Semifinals	Quarter finals
URS	European Youth Championship (Juniors)	1962	Bled	YUG				1
URS	European Youth Championship (Juniors)	1961	Bad Blaukenburg	FRG	gold	gold		1
URS	EURO TOP12	1977	Sarajevo	YUG	7th
URS	EURO TOP12	1976	Lübeck	FRG	6th
URS	EURO TOP12	1974	Trollhatten	SWE	1
URS	EURO TOP12	1973	Boeblingen	FRG	4th
URS	EURO TOP12	1972	Zagreb	YUG	3
URS	World Championship	1977	Birmingham	CLOSELY	last 32	Quarter finals	last 64	6th
URS	World Championship	1973	Sarajevo	YUG	last 32	Quarter finals	last 32	5
URS	World Championship	1971	Nagoya	JPN	last 16	Quarter finals	Quarter finals	5
URS	World Championship	1969	Munich	FRG	last 32	gold	Quarter finals	1
URS	World Championship	1967	Stockholm	SWE	Semifinals	Semifinals	Semifinals	2
URS	World Championship	1965	Ljubljana	YUG	last 64	last 32	last 64	9
URS	World Championship	1963	Prague	TCH	last 128	last 32	last 64	9

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Austrian Table Tennis Show 1971/06 (accessed on March 16, 2011; PDF file; 3.61 MB)
2. ↑ DTS magazine , 1964/24 page 5
3. ↑ DTS magazine , 1976/7 page 6
4. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from March 13, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on August 25, 2010) 
5. ↑ Soja Nikolajewna Rudnowa Results from the ITTF database on ittf.com (accessed on September 14, 2011)

Web links

• European Youth Championships (accessed January 7, 2016)
• Image by Rudnova (accessed August 25, 2010)
• Ian Marshall: The Student who Became the Teacher, Zoja Rudnova Passes Away Obituary on ittf.com (accessed March 13, 2014)
• Zoja RUDNOVA passes away obituary on ettu.org (accessed on March 13, 2014)