MOSCOW, February 6. /TASS/. /TASS/. Russian tennis player Veronika Kudermetova lost her opening round match at the 2024 WTA Abu Dhabi tennis tournament on Tuesday to Great Britain’s Heather Watson.
The tournament’s 31-year-old British qualifier, Watson, outplayed her 9th-seeded Russian opponent, Kudermetova, in straight sets 6-3; 7-5. Watson is now set to face off in the next round against Cristina Bucsa of Spain.
Kudermetova, 26, is playing under a neutral status at the international tournaments and she is is currently ranked 16th in the WTA (the Women’s Tennis Association) Rankings. She has two WTA titles under her belt. Her best result playing in Grand Slams was when she reached the quarterfinals of the 2022 French Open. She is also the winner of the 2021 Billie Jean King Cup.
Watson is currently ranked 156th in the WTA Rankings and has won four WTA titles. Her best result playing on the Grand Slam circuit was reaching the 4th Round of Wimbledon in 2022.
The 2024 Abu Dhabi tournament is a WTA 500 professional tennis event, which is played on outdoor hard courts at the Zayed Sports City International Tennis Centre in Abu Dhabi between February 5 and 11 and has over $922,570 in prize money up for grabs.
Russian 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 decided to bar 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 cancelling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.
On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from the 2022 Davis Cup and 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.
However, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) allowed tennis players from Russia and Belarus to continue participating in WTA and ATP tournaments, but only under a neutral status.