Anna Kalinskaya was forced to retire during her fourth-round tie against Elena Rybakina at Wimbledon, trailing 3-0 in the second set due to suspected shoulder and wrist issues. The No. 17 seed had earlier paused the match for a medical timeout in the first set, receiving treatment from her physio for several minutes. Despite resuming play, Kalinskaya’s physical struggles persisted, leading her to speak with the chair umpire and conclude the match early.
Visibly emotional, Kalinskaya sat in her chair, drying her eyes with a towel before leaving the court. Her boyfriend, Jannik Sinner, watched the distressing events unfold from her player box, clearly moved by her decision to retire. Sinner, the Italian Australian Open champion, has been a consistent presence at Kalinskaya’s Wimbledon matches, with Kalinskaya reciprocating by attending Sinner’s games, including his tournament opener against Yannick Hanfmann.
The couple, who went public with their relationship in May, have maintained a degree of privacy, citing the importance of confidentiality. Both have, however, acknowledged each other in public statements, particularly after featuring in grass court finals in Berlin and Halle three weekends ago.
Kalinskaya initially appeared poised for a strong performance against Rybakina, breaking her opponent’s serve in the opening game and holding her own serve confidently to gain a three-game lead. Unfortunately, her physical condition did not allow her to continue, marking the second time Rybakina has won by default against Kalinskaya, who leads 2-1 in completed head-to-head matches.
This poignant moment in the tournament highlighted the physical and emotional challenges faced by professional tennis players, with Sinner’s support for Kalinskaya demonstrating the personal stakes involved beyond the competitive court.
Jannik Sinner in 2024
WWWWWWWLWW Currently ranked no.1, the Italian played his last match on the 7th of July when he beat world no.14 Ben Shelton 6-2 6-4 7-6(9) in the 4th round in Wimbledon (draw).
At the moment, during this season Jannik achieved an overall 42-3 match record. Jannik has won 4 titles in 2024 at the Australian Open, Rotterdam, Miami and Halle.
Jannik Sinner will face the world no.5 Daniil Medvedev in the quarter on Tuesday at 1:30 pm on Centre Court. Their record is 6-5 for Medvedev.
The Italian clinched 4 titles in 2024 at the Australian Open, Rotterdam, Miami and Halle.
The Italian won 15 titles in his career: 6 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts, 7 on indoor courts and 1 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Sinner is scheduled to play next in Bastad (Nordea Open). He will start to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 15th of July.
Anna Kalinskaya in 2024
Currently the world no.18, Anna played her last match on the 8th of July when she had to retire when playing against world no.4 Elena Rybakina in the 4th round and the scoreline was 6-3 3-0 .
This year the Russian achieved a composed 28-13 match record. Anna Kalinskaya’s most significant result of the present year was reaching the final in Dubai and Berlin.
Jannik Sinner and Anna Kalinskaya |
| Embed from Getty Images |
