DUBAI, February 17. /TASS/. Russia’s top female tennis player Mirra Andreeva has advanced to the third round of the 2026 Dubai Tennis Championships after her second round opponent Daria Kasatkina of Australia withdrew from their match on Tuesday due to a reported injury.

According to tennis journalist Reem Abulleil, Kasatkina pulled out of the match against the 5th-seeded Andreeva, who is playing under a neutral status at the tournament, due to a right hip injury.

The tournament’s defending champion, Andreeva is set to play in the next round against Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian, whose second round opponent Ella Seidel from Germany also retired after losing the opening set 0-6.

Andreeva, 18, is a four-time WTA champion. She is currently Russia's top-ranked female player at 7th 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. Playing at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, she won a silver medal in women’s doubles paired with Diana Shnaider.

The 2026 Dubai Tennis Championships is a WTA-1,000 event. It is played on February 15-21 on outdoor hard courts at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Russia’s Mirra Andreeva is the tournament’s 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.