PARIS, May 26. /TASS/. Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya won her opening round match at the French Open on Tuesday, defeating Lois Boisson of France.

The 22nd-seeded Kalinskaya, who plays under a neutral status at the tournament, breezed past her unseeded French opponent with in straight sets 6:2; 6:2.

In the next round, she will face her compatriot, 18-year-old Alina Korneeva, who earlier in the day downed Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6:3; 6:3 in what was her French Open debut.

Kalinskaya, 27, is ranked 24th in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Rankings. She has never won a title on the WTA tour. In 2024, she reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, marking her best career finish at any Grand Slam.

One of tennis’ four Grand Slam events, the 2026 French Open takes place in Paris, nicknamed the "City of Light," between May 24 and June 7. The tournament is played on outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros. Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff from the United States are the tournament’s reigning champions on the men's and women's sides 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.