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Who is Jannik Sinner's girlfriend Anna Kalinskaya? All you need to know about tennis star

Published at :September 13, 2024 at 6:47 PM
Modified at :September 16, 2024 at 3:36 PM
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(Courtesy : Getty Images)

Kartik Warrier


The World Number 14 Russian put on her best performance yet in singles at all four Grand Slams in 2024.

Social media was set ablaze as ATP World No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam Champion Jannik Sinner started dating Russian tennis star Anna Kalinskaya in April this year. They have been repeatedly seen together in public and have also been rooting for each other, sitting in the stands during matches.

There were rumours of the two having parted ways last month. However, it was later confirmed that the news of the split was untrue. Anna was even present at the US Open 2024 final on Sunday and gave Sinner a kiss after his victory.

Jannik Sinner was once asked about Kalinskaya during a press conference in May at the French Open. To which, he responded “I’m with Anna, yes, but we keep everything very confidential, you know my confidentiality, I won’t say more.” Anna, meanwhile, had revealed that a few footballers have been sending her private messages on social media, which she has been ignoring.

Who is Anna Kalinskaya?

Anna was born in Moscow to two professional badminton players. Wielding a racquet ran in her veins! At the age of 14, she moved to the USA to pursue tennis. After making France her abode for a while, she returned to Moscow.

She had a stellar junior record, winning eight titles each in singles and doubles. She won the 2016 Australian Open in doubles, apart from ending as the runner-up at the 2015 French Open in singles and the 2015 U.S. Open in doubles. The Russians had the highest combined junior ranking of number 3.

Also Read: Nick Kyrgios receives backlash for ‘second serve’ comment on Anna Kalinskaya, Jannik Sinner’s girlfriend

Anna made her Grand Slam debut in 2017, making an appearance at the Australian Open qualifiers in singles, where she lost in the first round. She also made her debut for Russia in the Fed Cup the same year, securing victory in a doubles match.

She made her Grand Slam main draw debut in singles at the Australian Open 2018 and replicated the same in the US Open, losing in the first round in both tournaments. While she failed to qualify in singles in the remaining Grand Slams, she made her Grand Slam doubles debut at the French Open with fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova.

The year 2019 was a landmark one for Anna. She won her first WTA tour title, winning the Prague Open with Slovak Viktória Kužmová. She then entered the Wimbledon main draw for the first time. This was followed by her first WTA tour singles semifinal appearance, defeating the likes of Olympic Champion Monica Puig and France’s Kristina Mladenovic before losing to eventual champion Jessica Pegula.

What followed was even more sensational, as she stunned local favourite and then World Number 10 Sloane Stephens in the first round of the US Open before crashing out in the second round. She reached the third round of the tournament in doubles, partnering Yulia Putintseva. She also made her top 100 debut in singles and doubles.

The next two years saw Anna struggling with performances, and a resurgence in the second half of 2021 was required to bring her back on track. While 2022 was devoid of WTA tour titles, she had quite a few impressive performances including a victory against the then World Number 6 Czech Karolina Pliskova in the second round of the Miami Open. She came close to breaking into the top 50 that year. In November 2023, Anna won her first WTA 125 in Midland at the Greater Midland Tennis Center.

Anna has hit a purple patch in 2024. She put on her career-best performance in all four Majors. Having never reached the third round of a Grand Slam in singles before this, Anna took three leaps forward. She entered the quarterfinals of the Australian Open (a tournament which coincidentally marked Sinner’s first Grand Slam title) before losing to eventual runner-up Zheng Qinwen in three sets. With this performance, she managed to enter the top 50.

The Russian then had another sensational run in the WTA 1000 Dubai Championships, where she entered as a qualifier. Enroute to the final, she defeated former French Open Champion Jelena Ostapenko, before defeating two stars of the game in straight sets: Coco Gauff and World Number 1 Iga Swiatek. Finishing as the runner-up, she managed to enter the top 25 in the ATP rankings.

Anna then again defeated Ostapenko at the Miami Open, securing her fifth win over a top 10 player in a span of three months, becoming just the fourth player outside the top 20 to achieve this feat in this century.

She followed it up with her first ever Roland Garros Women’s Singles main draw victory, but lost in three sets in the second round, against Bianca Andreescu.

The Russian reached her first ever final on grass-the Berlin Ladies Open. Her campaign, which paved way for her entry into the top 20, consisted of victories against World Number 3 Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Azarenka.

After reaching the Wimbledon fourth round for the first time, the 25-year-old retired mid-way in her match against fourth seed Elena Rybakina. This was followed by a Round of 16 finish at Toronto and Round of 32 finish at Cincinnati.

At the final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open, Anna started off with two convincing wins and reached the third round for the first time at Flushing Meadows. However, she couldn’t proceed further as she suffered a direct sets loss against 22nd seed Beatriz Haddad Maia.

Following her exploits and consistent performances this year, the Russian has risen to a career-high WTA singles ranking of #14.

More on her personal life, Anna’s net worth is around $3 million. The 5 foot 7 inch tall athlete currently trains in Miami.

She had also been dating Aussie tennis star Nick Kyrgios, for a year, before they announced they had split in 2020. After the US Open final, Kyrgios put up a social media post reminding the Russian of her earlier relationship, which sparked outrage.

Currently ranked a career-high 14th in the WTA rankings in singles, 25-year-old Anna Kalinskaya will be looking to upgrade her game further in order to be considered among the best.

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