LISBON, September 24. /TASS/. Russian tennis players Veronika Kudermetova, Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva have qualified for the 2025 WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Final in the doubles competition.

Kudermetova is playing in a pair with Belgium’s Elise Mertens. The duo won the WTA Final in 2022. They are currently ranked 4th in the WTA Doubles Rankings.

Shnaider and Andreeva are currently the 5th-ranked pair in the world and are the reigning silver medal-winning team at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2025 WTA Final will be played on indoor hard courts at the King Saud University Indoor Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from November 1-8. The tournament will see the top eight singles players and doubles teams that have qualified in the PIF WTA Race to the Finals competing for tennis’ ultimate prize. Matches are played in a round-robin format between two groups of four, with the top two players or teams from each group moving on to the knockout stage.

Kudermetova, 28, is currently ranked 30th in the WTA Rankings. She has two career WTA titles. Her best result playing in Grand Slam singles was when she reached the quarterfinals of the 2022 French Open. She also won the 2021 Billie Jean King Cup as part of the Russian national team. Kudermetova has had a little more success playing in women's doubles, winning eight tour titles, including two WTA titles in 2022 and 2023.

Shnaider, 21, is currently ranked 22nd in the WTA Rankings. She holds four WTA titles, winning all of them in the previous season. Her best result in Grand Slams was reaching Round 4 of the 2024 US Open.

Andreeva, 18, is a three-time WTA champion. She is currently Russia's top-ranked female player at 5th place in the WTA Rankings. Her best finish at Grand Slams was at the 2024 French Open when she reached the semifinals. In 2023, the WTA named Andreeva the rookie of the year.

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.