Anna Kalinskaya: The up-and-coming Russian aiming for breakthrough WTA singles title in Washington
Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya continues her pursuit of a maiden WTA singles title when the 20-year-old takes on France’s Kristina Mladenovic in the quarterfinal of the Citi Open in Washington on Friday.
Kalinskaya came through qualifying at the event before beating Japan’s Nao Hibino in the round of 32 and battling past eighth seed Monica Puig of Puerto Rico in the last round.
For the Moscow-born Kalinskaya, Washington represents a chance to add a first WTA singles title to her name, following her first top-tier doubles title alongside Slovakia’s Viktoria Kuzmova at the Prague Open earlier this year.
The Russian has won a host of ITF singles and doubles titles, as well as being a French Open Junior finalist, but will see Washington as an opportunity for a breakthrough singles title on the bigger WTA stage.
To progress in the US capital, she will need to beat former world number 10 Mladenovic, who is aiming to add to her solitary singles title on the WTA stage.
The Frenchwoman, 26, has won both their previous encounters, which came on the hardcourt at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.
Kalinskaya is also in the semi-finals of the doubles at the Citi Open alongside partner Miyu Kato of Japan, and the pair meet home favorites Caty McNally and Cori Gauff – the latter of whom caused such a sensation at this year’s Wimbledon.
But despite her successes in the doubles outweighing her singles achievements to date, Kalinskaya has said that individual glory is very much the priority for her as she seeks to make a name for herself on the tour.
Kalinskaya has enjoyed little success in Grand Slams since making her bow at the Australian Open in 2018, losing in each of her four appearances in the first round in Melbourne, Wimbledon and at the US Open.
But as she has shown in Washington so far, Kalinskaya is gaining valuable experience as part of a new Russian generation including the likes of Anastasia Potapova, 18, and 22-year-olds Daria Kasatkina and Veronika Kudermetova, who are aiming to emulate the success of Grand Slam-winning countrywomen Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Kalinskaya is from good sporting stock: her father Nikolai Kalinsky is a former USSR badminton player, while her brother, also Nikolai, is a midfielder for Russian second-tier football team Tomsk.
Her emergence on the senior stage has also been accompanied by increased attention on her social media activities, where she enjoys a following of 21,000 on Instagram.
Kalinskaya's posts feature typical training and match images, but show a more relaxed, fun-loving side to life in her downtime in Moscow and on her travels around the world.
Her match against Mladenovic gets underway on the Grandstand at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park at 12:15pm local time on Friday.
