Russian tennis player Anna Blinkova defeated world number three Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
The match, which lasted 2 hours and 46 minutes, ended with the score of 6:4, 4:6, 7:6 (22:20) for the Russian athlete, who ranks 57th in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings. In the next round, Blinkova will face Italian representative Jasmine Paolini (26th seed).
Rybakina became a finalist in the last Grand Slam tournament and took third place. Blinkova reached the third round of the Australian Open for the first time.
Russian tennis players continue to participate in international tournaments as neutral athletes. The only tournament they missed was Wimbledon in 2022. Sanctions were imposed because the organizers did not allow Russian tennis players to participate in the tournament.
The current winner of the Australian Open is Belarusian Arina Sabalenka.
Previously the top 5 Russian tennis players flew out From the Australian Open.