Despite the fact that Russia is going through a difficult time in the current sports environment due to its international suspensions due to doping (they will not be able to use their flag at the Tokyo Olympics), in tennis, their name is on the rise.
Russians have starred in this sport during the pandemic thanks to the names of figures such as Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Aslan Karatsev and Daria Kasatkina; Although they have had great world references throughout their history in tennis, 2020 and 2021 have shown a rebound that was not seen since the beginning of the century with characters such as Maria Sharapova, Maria Kirilenko or Marat Safin.
Karatsev was champion of the Dubai Open (ATP 500) this March 20, the first title of his career. His life has changed diametrically in the midst of the pandemic: on March 3, 2020, he was ranked 263 in the ATP ranking. Now, after his title in the United Arab Emirates, he will become number 28 in the world, so four Russian tennis players will be part of the Top 30 from this March 22.
Aslan is 27 years old and until 2020 he had not even reached the quarterfinals of an ATP 500 or a Grand Slam, but in 2021 he already reached the semifinals of the Australian Open (eliminated by the champion, Novak Djokovic) and won the Dubai Open, where he eliminated his compatriot Andrey Rublev, currently Top 10 in the world. In 2021 alone, Karatsev has earned $ 606,745, which is 52% of his career earnings (he has been a professional since 2012).
For her part, Daria Kastakina won the Saint Petersburg Open (WTA 500) against her compatriot Margarita Gasparyan. In fact, the Russians dominated this tournament in their territory: of 16 competitors in the round of 16, nine were of this nationality.
At 23, Daria won the fourth title of her career (three WTA 500 and one 250), two of them this year (the other was in Melbourne, Australia, in February). In January 2019, when it already had two championships, it became number 10 in the world; she’s now in the top 40.
But Russia’s success in tennis today goes beyond these champions. Earlier this month, Daniil Medvedev took the No. 2 spot in the men’s world rankings only behind Novak Djokovic. This meant breaking with more than 15 years in which the four best in the world were the aforementioned Djokovic, Rafael Nada, Roger Federer and Andy Murray. They remained in the positions of honor since July 25, 2005.
Medvedev has won 10 ATP titles since January 2018, notably the 2020 ATP World Finals against Austrian Dominic Thiem; However, he has never won one of the four Grand Slams, as the closest have been the runners-up of the US Open in 2019 (against Nadal) and that of Australia in 2021 (against Djokovic). His 2019 final was the first at a Grand Slam for Russia since Marat Safin at the 2005 Australian Open.
The other prominent Russian in recent years is Andrey Rublev, with eight titles since July 2017, although none of them from a Masters 1000 or a Grand Slam. At 23, the Muscovite entered the World Top 10 in October and is the current champion of the Rotterdam Open; in Grand Slams, its maximum reach has been the quarterfinals.
Thus, Russia has two tennis players in the men’s world Top 10: Medvedev (# 2) and Rublev (# 8); Karen Khachanov and Aslan Karatsev are in the top 30. Russia is the only country that has two players in the top 10 of the ATP. In Australia 2021, for the first time, three Russians reached the semi-finals of a Grand Slam in the Open era.
In the women’s branch, the best placed Russian is Ekaterina Alexandrova (# 34), followed by Veronika Kudermetova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Anastasia Pavyluchenkova within the Top 50.
In addition to this, Russia won the second edition of the ATP Cup in 2021, a tournament in which 12 countries from four continents participated. The Russians defeated Italy and relieved Serbia as the reigning champion. The team was made up of Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Aslan Karatsev and Evgeni Donskoy.
“To be honest, I would be happy if one of those guys beat me in terms of number of titles and weeks at No. 1 in the world. It is a great joy for all Russians, ”said Evgeny Kafelnikov, the only Russian to be a single and double champion in a Grand Slam (Roland Garros, 1996) and who became number 1 in the ranking in 1999.
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