VIENNA, October 28. /TASS/. Russia’s top-ranked tennis player Daniil Medvedev has cleared the opening round of the 2026 ATP Erste Bank Open tennis tournament in Austria’s Vienna.
Medvedev, who is playing under a neutral status at international tournaments, defeated Daniel Merida from Spain 7-6 (7-5); 6-1 and is now set to play in the next round of the tournament against Britain’s Cameron Norrie, who later in the day breezed past against Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo 6-4; 6-1.
"It’s just a matter of trying your best, because even if a court is slow or fast, I won on many courts, and even on different surfaces," the tournament’s official website quoted Medvedev as saying after his match against Merida.
"I just needed to try my best and get used to it, because it’s not easy when on Sunday you are playing on one court, and Wednesday on another one. It’s a good win, I’m looking forward to the next one," he added.
Medvedev, 30, spent sixteen weeks as the world’s No. 1 player in 2022. He is currently ranked No. 5 in the ATP Rankings. He previously won the 2021 US Open and holds 25 ATP titles. He won five of those 25 titles in 2023. Also, in 2021, he won the Davis Cup as well as the ATP Cup while representing the Russian national team.
The 2026 Erste Bank Open is an ATP 500 class tournament played on indoor hardcourts at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria, between October 26 and November 1. The tournament offers $2.7 million in prize money. Jannik Sinner of Italy is the reigning champion.
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.