LONDON, July 5. /TASS/. Spain’s Paula Badosa defeated Russian tennis star Daria Kasatkina on Friday in Round 3 of the 2024 Wimbledon tennis tournament in London.

The Spaniard defeated 14th-seed Russian with the final score of 7-6 (8-6); 4-6; 6-4. Badosa is now to set to play in the other round against the winner of the encounter between Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska (28th-seed) and unseeded Donna Vekic of Croatia.

Badosa, 26, has been plagued by a back injury since early 2023 and it forced her to retire from the last year’s Wimbledon.

"I know it's not my first time in the second week of a Grand Slam," the WTA (the Women Tennis Association) official website quoted the Spanish player as saying after the match. "But for me it's a special one because a few months ago I didn't know if I could play tennis anymore. So to be here is very special."

Addressing the crowds at the court, Badosa said: "One of the reasons I come back on the court is for you guys."

"Hearing my name and cheering for me, it's really for you guys. I really feel the love," she added.

Russia’s Kasatkina, 27, is currently ranked 12th in the WTA Rankings is playing under a neutral status at the international tournaments and she has seven 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 Wimbledon tournament, the most prestigious out of the four Grand Slam tournaments, has been held annually in London since 1877.

This year’s Wimbledon runs between July 1 and 14 and offers $63 million in prize money. Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic are the reigning Wimbledon champions in men’s and women’s singles respectively.

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.