ROME, May 15. /TASS/. Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev advanced to the semifinals of the 2026 ATP Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome after beating Martin Landaluce from Spain.

In a match that lasted for two hours and 23 minutes, the 7th-seeded Medvedev, who is playing under a neutral status at the tournament, outplayed his Spanish opponent 1-6; 6-4; 7-5.

In the semifinals the Russian is set to face off against top-seed Jannik Sinner of Italy, who earlier breezed past another Russian tennis star, Andrey Rublev, in straight sets 6-2; 6-4.

Medvedev, 30, spent sixteen weeks as the world’s number one player in 2022. Currently, he’s the 9th-ranked player in the world. He previously won the 2021 US Open and is now a 23-time ATP champion. He won five of those 22 titles in 2023. Also, in 2021, he won the Davis Cup as well as the ATP Cup playing for the Russian national team.

The 2026 Italian Open tennis tournament is an ATP 1000 event. Played on outdoor clay courts, the 83rd edition of the tourney takes place at Rome’s Foro Italico sports complex on May 5-17 and offers some $9.6 million in prize money. The tournament’s reigning champion is Carlos Alcaraz from Spain, who earlier withdrew from the current tournament citing an injury.

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.