Svetlana was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. Her father Alexandr Kuznetsov is a well respected cycling coach who has coached five Olympic and world cycling champions. Her father's protégés include her mother, Galina Tsareva, a six-time world champion and holder of 20 world records. Svetlana’s brother, Nikolai Kuznetsov, won a silver medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Kuznetsova also tried out cycling in her early years, but decided to focus on tennis instead and went to the Sanchez Casals Academy in Spain when she was 15 years old to receive training and coaching & continues to train there. Svetlana's coach is Stefan Ortega.
