NEW YORK, August 27. /TASS/. Russian tennis player Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova failed to clear the second round of the 2025 US Open after falling in straight sets defeat to former No. 1 player in the world Viktoria Azarenko of Belarus on Wednesday.

Azarenko breezed past the unseeded Russian, who is playing under neutral status at the tournament, with a solid 6-3; 6-3 win. In the next round, she will face the winner of the match between Russia’s Anna Blinkova and American Jessica Pegula.

Pavlyuchenkova, 34, is the world’s 45th-ranked player, according to the WTA (Women's Tennis Association). She has 12 career WTA titles. Her best result at Grand Slams was in 2021 when she reached the final of the French Open.

The Russian also won a gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo in mixed doubles (with teammate Andrey Rublev), as well as the 2021 Billie Jean King Cup as part of the Russian national team.

Azarenko is 36 years old and she is currently 132nd in the WTA Rankings boasting 21 WTA titles in women’s singles and 10 more in WTA women’s doubles. The Belarusian player is the two-time champion of the Australian Open (2012, 2013) and three-time US Open finalist (2012, 2013, 2020). She topped the WTA World Ranking for 21 weeks in 2012.

The 2025 US Open is being held on outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York between August 24 and September 7. The tournament will hand out $90 million in prize money. Italy’s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus are the reigning 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 moved to exclude 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 participating in the 2022 Davis Cup and the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.