TASS, February 12. Russian tennis player Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova took down her countrywoman Daria Kasatkina in the opening round of the 2024 Qatar Open in Doha on Monday.

The unseeded Pavlyuchenkova cruised by 11th-seeded Kasatkina in straight sets 6-2: 7-6 (7-2) and she is now set to face off in the next round against Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine. The Ukrainian player earlier cleared the opening round of the tournament by defeating Caroline Dolehide of the United States (6-3; 7-5).

Pavlyuchenkova, 32, is currently ranked 32nd in the WTA Rankings and has 12 career WTA titles. Her best result to date in Grand Slams was in 2021 when she reached the final of the French Open.

The Russian tennis player also won a gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo in mixed doubles (with teammate Andrey Rublev), as well as the 2021 Billie Jean King Cup as part of the Russian national team.

Playing in the final last weekend at the 2024 WTA (the Women's Tennis Association) Abu Dhabi tennis tournament, Kasatkina fell to Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina 1-6; 4-6.

Kasatkina, 26, is currently ranked 13h in the WTA Rankings and has six WTA tournament titles to her name. To date, her best result in Grand Slams was in 2022 when she reached the semifinals of the French Open. She was also part of the Russian team that won the 2021 Billie Jean King Cup.

The 2024 Qatar Open Tennis tournament is the WTA-ranked 1000 competition on the organization’s calendar and it takes place at the International Tennis and Squash complex in Doha, Qatar, between February 11 and 17.

The tournament is played on outdoor hard courts and offers over $3.21 million in prize money. World No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland is the reigning champion of the tournament in Doha.

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 canceling 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.