DOHA, February 14. /TASS/. Russian tennis player Yekaterina Alexandrova will not play for the title at the 2024 Qatar Open in Doha, losing her semifinal match on Friday to Amanda Anisimova of the United States in straight sets 3-6; 3-6.
"I've been putting in a lot of work ... and I think it's really showing up here," the tournament’s official website quoted Anisimova as saying after the match against Alexandrova. "I'm happy with the results and the performances I was able to put out here this week."
"Playing against so many tough competitors, getting all of these matches under my belt, has been really great," Anisimova added.
The 23-year-old American player, who is currently 41st in the Women's Tennis Association Rankings, will now play in the final against World No. 5 Jelena Ostapenko from Latvia. Earlier in the day, the Latvian defeated World No. 2 Iga Swiatek from Poland in the other semifinal.
Alexandrova, 29, plays under a neutral status at the international tennis tournaments, she is currently ranked 26th in the WTA Rankings and has five career WTA tournament titles under her belt. Her best career finish in Grand Slams was in 2023, when she reached the fourth round of Wimbledon. She is also the winner of the 2021 Billie Jean King Cup.
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. Iga Swiatek 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.