SYDNEY, January 20. /TASS/. Russian tennis player Karen Khachanov cleared the opening round of this year’s first Grand Slam tournament, the 2026 Australian Open on Tuesday, defeating Alex Michelsen of the United States.

The 15th-seeded Russian, who is playing neutrally at the tournament, needed five sets to take down his unseeded American opponent 4-6; 6-4; 6-3; 5-7; 6-3. In the next round, he will play against another US player, Nishesh Basavareddy, who reached the second round after a comeback win against Australia’s Christopher O’Connell 4-6; 7-6; 6-7; 6-2; 6-3.

Khachanov, 29, is currently 18th in the ATP Rankings and he has seven career ATP titles under his belt. His best performance in the Grand Slam series was when he reached the semifinal rounds at the 2022 US Open and the 2023 Australian Open.

The Russian player also took home the silver medal in men’s singles at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. He also won the 2021 Davis Cup as part of the Russian national team.

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.