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Russia’s Shnaider starts 2026 Australian Open with win over Krejcikova of Czech Republic

In the next round, the Russian will face off against wildcard Talia Gibson of Australia

SYDNEY, January 19. /TASS/. Russia’s Diana Shnaider cleared the opening round of this year’s first Grand Slam series tournament, the 2026 Australian Open, defeating Barbora Krejcikova from the Czech Republic.

The 23rd-seeded Shnaider, who is playing under a neutral status at the tournament, outplayed her unseeded opponent 2-6; 6-3; 6-3. In the next round, the Russian will face off against wildcard Talia Gibson of Australia, who earlier in the day knocked out Russian Anna Blinkova.

Shnaider, 21, is currently ranked 22nd in the WTA Rankings. She holds five WTA titles. Her best result in Grand Slams was reaching Round 4 of the 2024 US Open. At the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, she captured a silver medal in women’s doubles with partner Mirra Andreeva.

The 2026 Australian Open tournament is being played on hard courts at Melbourne Park between January 18 and February 1 and has a purse of some $75 million in prize money up for grabs. The season’s first Grand Slam, this year marks the 114th edition of the tournament. Italy’s Jannik Sinner and American Madison Keys are the reigning Australian Open champions in men’s and women’s singles, respectively.

Russian and Belarusian 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.

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