It is reported that the only Russian player to win this tournament was Maria Sharapova in 2004 and the reigning champion is Garbine Muguruza of Spain
Russian tennis star Daria Kasatkina has qualified for the 2022 WTA (Women Tennis Association) Finals tournament, which will be hosted by the United States in Fort Worth, Texas.
The 25-year-old Russian earned her way to play in the prestigious season-end WTA tournament after Viktoria Azarenka of Belarus defeated Madison Keys of the United States in Round 3 of the 2022 WTA Guadalajara Open tournament in Mexico.
The list of qualified players for the 2022 WTA Finals already includes Belarusian tennis champ Arina Sobolenko, who plays at the WTA tournaments under neutral status just like the rest of the players who are either from Belarus or Russia.
The other qualified players for this year’s tournament are Poland’s Iga Swiatek, Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff (both from the United States) and Caroline Garcia of France.
Kasatkina currently stands in 11th place in the WTA Singles Rankings. She is the winner of six WTA tournaments in women’s singles and her best results playing at the Grand Slam series tournament was reaching the semifinals of the 2022 French Open and the quarterfinals of the 2018 Wimbledon Championships.
The WTA Finals is the annual tournament played at the end of each season since 1972. Martina Navratilova, who played at this tournament under the national flags of Czechoslovakia and the United States at various times, holds the record of winning eight titles of the WTA Finals.
The only Russian player to win this tournament was Maria Sharapova in 2004 and the reigning champion is Garbine Muguruza of Spain.
Russian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments
On February 28, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.
Following the IOC’s recommendations in late February, the majority of global sports federations decided to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1 to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations and also canceled all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in these countries.
On March 14, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition on the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from taking part in the 2022 Davis Cup and 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.
The Women Tennis Association (WTA) and the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) allowed tennis players from Russia and Belarus to continue participating in WTA and ATP tournaments, but under a neutral status.
