Matthews/Zavozin teamed up in 2001. Matthews began skating at age 5 after her grandmother took her to see Nutcracker on Ice. She switched to ice dancing at age 10 but also went into pairs for a while. Zavozin is the son of Russian ice dancers Elena Garanina and Igor Zavozin who competed at the international level. His parents put him on the ice when he was four years old, but his regular training was interrupted when he traveled with his parents to shows. Zavozin stopped skating at age 7 as there was no time for pursuing it. Instead, he took ballroom dance classes for four years. He took up skating again at age 13. Zavozin's mother is coaching the couple. His brother and stepfather are involved in figure skating as well.