SYDNEY, January 16. /TASS/. Russian tennis player Veronika Kudermetova prevailed over Katie Boulter from the United Kingdom on Thursday to reach Round 3 of the 2025 Australian Open tournament in Melbourne.
It took the unseeded Russian two hours and 20 minutes and three sets to take down her 22nd-seeded British opponent. The final score was 7-6 (7-3); 2-6; 6-2. Kudermetova, who is playing as a neutral at the tournament, will now face 15th-seeded Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia in Round 3.
Kudermetova, 27, is currently ranked 75th 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 also won the 2021 Billie Jean King Cup as part of the Russian national team. Kudermetova has been slightly more successful playing in women's doubles, winning eight WTA titles, including two WTA Final titles in 2022 and 2023.
The 2025 Australian Open tournament is being played on hard courts at Melbourne Park on January 12-26 and has a purse of $59.7 million in prize money up for grabs. The season’s first Grand Slam, this year marks the 113th edition of the tournament. Italy’s Jannik Sinner and Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka are the reigning Australian Open 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 on the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from taking part in the 2022 Davis Cup and 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.
However, the Women 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.