Kalinskaya Advances to French Open Quarterfinals

Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya advanced to the quarterfinals of the French Open on Monday after defeating Austria's Anastasia Potapova of Austria.

In a match that lasted just under three hours, the 22nd-seeded Kalinskaya, who plays under a neutral status at the tournament, outplayed her 28th-seed Austrian opponent Potapova 6-4; 2-6; 7-6 (10-7).

"I'm shocked. I can't believe the match is over," the tournament’s official website quoted Kalinskaya as saying in her on court-win interview.

Potapova dethroned defending champion Coco Gauff from the United States in the tournament’s previous round.

"A really long fight from both of us 'til the last seconds," Kalinskaya said. "I've played her many times, but this one was definitely special. She improved a lot, so today was super challenging."

Kalinskaya will now play against the winner of another Round 4 duel between unseeded Dinae Parry of France and Polish qualifier Maria Chwalinska.

Kalinskaya, 27, is ranked 24th in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Rankings. She has never won a title on the WTA tour. In 2024, she reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, marking her best career finish at any Grand Slam.

One of tennis’ four Grand Slam events, the 2026 French Open takes place in Paris, nicknamed the "City of Light," between May 24 and June 7. The tournament is played on outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros. Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff from the United States are the tournament’s reigning champions on the men's and women's sides respectively.

Russian and Belarusian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments

On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.

Following the IOC's recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations moved to exclude athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1, 2022, to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations while also canceling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.

On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition on the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from participating in the 2022 Davis Cup and the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.