BEIJING, October 2. /TASS/. Russia’s tennis star Diana Shnaider has joined her compatriot Mirra Andreeva in clearing Round Two of the 2026 China Open tennis tournament by defeating on Friday Janice Tien from Indonesia.
The 11th-seeded Russian, who is playing under a neutral status at the tournament, outpaced her unseeded Indonesian rival 6-0; 6-4. Shnaider is now set to battle against her compatriot Yelena Alexandrova (19th-seed), who earlier in the day ploughed by Alexandra Sasnovich 6-1; 6-4.
Shnaider, 22, is currently ranked 28th in the WTA Rankings. She holds five WTA titles. Her best result in Grand Slams was reaching the semis at 2026 French Open. At the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, she captured a silver medal in women’s doubles with partner Mirra Andreeva.
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.
Earlier in the day, Russia's top female racquet Mirra Andreeva cleared the second round of the 2026 China Open defeating on Friday Yue Yuan from China. She will be playing in the next round against Uzbekistan’s Polina Kudermetova, who outplayed in the previous round Canada’s Clara Tauson 6-4; 4-6; 6-4.
The 2026 China Open is a WTA 1,000 professional tennis tournament. Played on outdoor hard courts at the National Tennis Center in Beijing between September 30 and October 11, this year’s tourney offers over $4 million in prize money. Amanda Anisimova of the United States is the tournament’s reigning champion, but she is skipping it due to an earlier sustained injury.
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 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.