LONDON, July 3. /TASS/. Russia’s Kamilla Rakhimova defeated on Wednesday’s night WTA (Women Tennis Association) star Jasmine Paolini from Italy in Round 2 of the 2025 Wimbledon tennis tournament in London.
In a match that lasted 2 hours and 19 minutes, the unseeded Rakhimova, who is playing under a neutral status at the Grand Slam tournament in London, outplayed the 4th-seeded Paolini 4-6; 6-4; 6-4.
"It feels amazing. I enjoyed myself on the court today ... I believed in myself and worked for it," the WTA official website quoted Rakhimova as saying after her match against Paoline.
"I just tried to play point by point; it doesn't matter the score, doesn't matter the opponent, and did my job," Rakhimova noted.
"Playing on a big court in the beginning can be tough, I get a little bit tight, I lose my serve," she continued. "I just pretend I’m playing a normal girl, not No.4 in the world, and it worked out."
The Russian is set to play in the next round of one of the most prestigious Grand Slam events against the 30th-seeded Linda Noskova from the Czech Republic.
Rakhimova, 23, is ranked 39th in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Rankings. She had never won any match at the Wimbledon editions until this year. In her previous appearances at Grand Slam tournaments she reached the third round of the French Open (2023) and the US Open (2021).
Paolini, 29, is the runner-up of the previous Wimbledon edition. She is also the winner of three WTA titles. Playing at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, she won a gold medal in women’s doubles with partner Sara Errani.
This year’s Wimbledon takes place between June 30 and July 13 and offers a total of 50 million Euro [some $57.4 million] in prize money. Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Barbora Krejcikova 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 on the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from taking part in the 2022 Davis Cup and 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.