DUBAI, February 19. /TASS/. Russia’s top female tennis player Mirra Andreeva has been knocked out from the 2026 Dubai Tennis Championships after she lost on Thursday in the quarterfinals round of the tournament to Amanda Anisimova of the United States.

The 5th-seeded Andreeva, who is playing under a neutral status at the tournament, started confidently in the opening round against 2nd-seed Anisimova, but eventually lost to the US player 6-2; 5-7; 6-7 (4-7).

"I was almost in tears there at the end," the tournament’s official website quoated Anisimova as saying after the match. "It was such a tough battle, and I thought we played incredible tennis."

"Seeing Mirra [Andreeva] down like that, it's understandable," Anisimova continued in regard to Andreeva, who almost cried in tears after the match. "We both fought so hard today, and it made me emotional seeing her like that. She was playing so well, she's the defending champion and I feel like we both won on the court today."

"These type of matches, it's always tough that someone has to lose at the end of the day," she pointed out.

"It's not easy to see someone that gives their all and then to react like that," Anisimova said. "It made me really sad for her. In my mind, I was just thinking if she keeps playing like this, there's a title around the corner for her."

"Obviously she's going to have a great year. She seems to be doing all the right things," the US tennis player added.

The 24-year-old US player is currently 6th in the WTA Top-10 Rankings and she is now set to play in the next round against her compatriot Jessica Pegula (4th-seed).

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.