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Russia’s Rublev loses opener at 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships

He took home the gold at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo in mixed doubles (with teammate Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova) and also won the 2021 Davis Cup as part of the Russian national team

DUBAI, February 25. /TASS/. Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev lost in the opening round at the 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday.

In a hard-fought match that lasted for two hours and ten minutes, the 3rd-seeded Rublev, who is playing at the tournament under a neutral status, lost to Frenchman Quentin Halys 6-3; 4-6; 6-7 (5-7). The French player, who entered the tournament via the qualifiers, will now face Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut in the next round.

Rublev, 27, is currently ranked 9th in the ATP Rankings list. He has won 17 career ATP singles tournament titles and four more in men’s doubles. Rublev has also appeared in numerous Grand Slam tournaments, albeit never advancing beyond the quarterfinals.

He took home the gold at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo in mixed doubles (with teammate Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova) and also won the 2021 Davis Cup as part of the Russian national team.

The 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships is the ATP-500 event. It is played between February 24 and March 1 on outdoor hard courts at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). France’s Ugo Humbert is the tournament’s 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.

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