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Russia’s Alexandrova advances to final of 2026 WTA Abu Dhabi Open

The Russian is now set to play in the final of the tournament against 3rd-seeded Clara Tauson from Denmark

DUBAI, February 6. /TASS/. Russian tennis player Yekaterina Alexandrova advanced on Friday to the final of the 2026 Abu Dhabi Open defeating Hailey Baptiste of the United States.

In a match that lasted for about two hours and 30 minutes, the 2nd-seeded player from Russia, who plays under a neutral status at the tournament, snatched a comeback win against her US unseeded opponent 3-6; 7-6 (7-5); 6-3.

The Russian is now set to play in the final of the tournament against 3rd-seeded Clara Tauson from Denmark, who cruised past her semifinal opponent Simona Waltert of Switzerland in straight sets 6-3; 6-1.

Alexandrova, 31, is currently the world’s No. 11 player, according to the WTA Rankings. She holds five career WTA titles under her belt and played in four Grand Slam quarterfinal matches.

The 2026 Abu Dhabi Open is a professional women's tennis tournament that is classified as a WTA 500 event and played on outdoor hard courts at the Zayed Sports City International Tennis Centre in Abu Dhabi on February 1-7, 2026. This is the fourth edition of the tournament and Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic is the reigning champion.

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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