PARIS, May 27. /TASS/. Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev advanced to the third round of the 2026 French Open on Wednesday, defeating Camilo Ugo Carabelli from Argentina.

The 11th-seeded Rublev, who is playing under a neutral status at the tournament, took the opening set with relative ease, but had to pull himself together after losing the following set to take down his unseeded Argentinian opponent 6-1; 1-6; 6-3; 7-6 (7-5). The Russian will play against Portugal’s Nuno Borges in the next round.

Argentina’s Carabelli, 26, is 59th in the ATP Rankings, has never won a title on the ATP circuit and has never made it past the second round at any Grand Slam.

Rublev, 28, is currently the 13th-ranked player in the world. He has won 17 career ATP singles tournament titles and four more in men’s doubles. Rublev has never made it past the quarterfinals in any Grand Slam.

The Russian tennis player took home the gold at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo in mixed doubles (with teammate Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova) and also won the 2021 Davis Cup as part of the Russian national team.

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.