BERLIN, June 25. /TASS/. Japan’s tennis star defeated in straight sets one of Russia’s top tennis players, Yekaterina Alexandrova, at the 2026 WTA Bad Homburg Open in Germany on Thursday.

In a match for the berth in the quarterfinals, unseeded Alexandrova, who is playing under a neutral status at the tournament, suffered a defeat from 6th-seed Osaka 2-6; 2-6.

Alexandrova, 31, is currently the world’s No. 19 player, according to the WTA Rankings. She holds five career WTA titles under her belt and played in four Grand Slam quarterfinal matches. She also won the 2021 Billie Jean King Cup playing for the Russian national team.

The 2026 Bad Homburg tennis tournament is a WTA-500 class event running from June 21-27 on outdoor grass courts in Bad Homburg, Germany. It offers $1.2 million in prize money. Jessica Pegula of the United States is the reigning champion. Russia’s Diana Shnaider won this tournament in 2024.

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.