DOHA, February 11. /TASS/. Russia’s Mirra Andreeva failed to advance at the 2024 Qatar Open in Doha after she lost on Tuesday to Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova in Round 2 of the tournament.
The unseeded Slovakian prevailed over the 12th-seeded Andreeva, who is playing under a neutral status at the tournament, 3-6; 6-3; 7-5.
Andreeva, 17, is currently ranked 15th in the WTA (the Women's Tennis Association) Rankings. Her best result playing at the Grand Slam series was reaching the semifinals of the 2024 French Open. She has one WTA title so far in her career and also won a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics in women's doubles. In 2023, the WTA named Andreeva the rookie of the year. Playing at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, she won a silver medal in women’s doubles with partner Diana Shnaider.
The 2025 Qatar Open Tennis tournament is a WTA-1000 event on the organization’s calendar and it takes place at the International Tennis and Squash complex in Doha, Qatar, between February 9 and 15.
The tournament is played on outdoor hard courts and offers over $3.65 million in prize money. World No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland is the reigning champion.
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.