WASHINGTON, August 18. /TASS/. Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev failed to advance to the fourth round of the 2026 ATP Cincinnati Open in the United States after falling on Tuesday to Portugal’s Nuno Borges.

The 13th-seed Rublev, who is playing under a neutral status at the tournament, lost to his unseeded opponent from Portugal in straight sets 3-6; 4-6. The Portuguese tennis player is now set to play in the Round of 16 against the winner of the duel between Russia’s 4th-seed Daniil Medvedev and 27th-seed Brandon Nakashima of the United States.

Rublev, 28, is currently the 18th-ranked player in the world. He has won 18 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.

The ATP Cincinnati Masters 2026 Open tennis tournament is played on outdoor hard courts in the city of Cincinnati, in the US state of Ohio, and will run through August 23. The event offers $9.4 million in prize money. The tournament’s reigning champion is Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz.

Russian 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 decided to bar 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 taking part in the 2022 Davis Cup and 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.