Tennis ace Anna Kalinskaya was not amused. © APA/afp / CHARLY TRIBALLEAU

Anna Kalinskaya is wild as hell

There was a scandal at the US Open on Sunday. The focus was on Anna Kalinskaya, the girlfriend of Jannik Sinner.

September 02, 2024

From: det

While Jannik Sinner dreams more than ever of the big US Open title, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year is history for Anna Kalinskaya. The Russian, currently number 15 in the world, had to admit defeat to the Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia in two sets in the third round on Sunday.

This defeat will be hard for Kalinskaya to swallow, as she was the victim of a blatant referee error. The Russian was leading 2-0 in the first set when the controversial scene occurred. Kalinskaya played a drop shot that hit the ground twice and was only then returned by Haddad Maia.

Referee Miriam Bley had obviously not noticed this and awarded the point to the Brazilian. Kalinskaya then asked for video evidence - and although it showed that the ball first touched the ground and only then the Brazilian opponent's racket, the referee stuck to her decision. Even a lengthy dispute did not change this.

A cold handshake

It is understandable that Kalinskaya was not only completely perplexed, but also quite angry. The Russian also did not like the fact that her opponent Beatriz Haddad Maia turned her back on both Kalinskaya and the referee and acted as if nothing had happened.

Even a lengthy dispute with the referee did not help. © APA/afp / CHARLY TRIBALLEAU

This scene turned out to be the turning point of the match, as Kalinskaya lost her composure, gave up the lead and was ultimately defeated in two sets. The fact that the anger in her stomach had not dissipated even after the end of the match was evident in her frosty handshake with her opponent Haddad Maia.

Sinner's queen of hearts received a lot of support online. "That was one of the most embarrassing moments of the US Open. If that's how it goes, then there's no need to use the VAR," wrote tennis journalist Jose Morgado on X.