Anna Kalinskaya opens up after a rough day

Anna Kalinskaya was forced to retire during her match at the WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing against China’s Qinwen Zheng. In the third set, with her opponent leading 3-0, the Russian tennis player threw in the towel due to a physical issue that prevented her from continuing.

On Instagram, Jannik Sinner’s ex-girlfriend couldn’t hide her disappointment, explaining to her followers what happened: “I’m so sad that I had to withdraw yesterday… but health comes first.”

The Moscow-born tennis player is currently ranked 20th in the WTA rankings. At the recent U.S. Open, she was eliminated in the round of 16, while her best result of the year came at Roland Garros, where she reached the quarterfinals of the Paris tournament.

The match against Zheng had been a back-and-forth affair: Kalinskaya managed to win the first set in a tiebreak before losing the second set 6-4. In the third set, however, her physical injury left her with no choice but to withdraw when the Chinese player was already a break ahead. For Zheng, the home favorite and tournament favorite, this victory brings their head-to-head record to 2-1 in her favor, after Kalinskaya had won their first meeting in 2022 in Guadalajara and Zheng had taken her revenge at the 2024 Australian Open.