DUBIA, February 19. /TASS/. Russian tennis player Veronika Kudermetova defeated Ukraine’s Diana Yastremskaya in the opening round of the 2024 WTA Dubai Open Tennis tournament on Monday.

Russia’s 13th-seed Kudermetova, who plays under a neutral status at the tournament, outplayed her Ukrainian wildcard opponent Yastremskaya with the final score of 6-0; 1-6; 6-0.

The Russian is now set to face off in the next round against unseeded Sorana Cirstea of Romania, who defeated earlier in the day Sofia Kenin of the United States 6-3; 7-6.

Kudermetova, 26, is currently ranked 19th 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.

The 2024 Dubai Open Tennis tournament is the WTA-ranked 1000 competition on the organization’s calendar and it takes place at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre in Dubai between February 18 and 24.

The tournament is played on outdoor hard courts and offers over $3.2 million in prize money. World No. 12 Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic is the reigning champion of the tournament in Dubai.

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.