MOSCOW, June 11. /TASS/. Russian tennis players have slim prospects in singles competitions to achieve success at one of the most prestigious Grand Slam tournaments, 2025 Wimbledon, which begins in London in late June, President of the Russian Tennis Federation (RTF) Shamil Tarpishchev told TASS on Wednesday.
"We may expect something [in women’s doubles competitions] regarding the duo of Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider, but few stand a chance for the success on the grass court, particularly at the Wimbledon," Tarpishchev stated.
This year’s two previous Grand Slam editions, namely in Australia and France, were played on clay courts.
The Wimbledon tournament, the most prestigious out of the four Grand Slam tournaments, has been held annually in London since 1877 and it is played on grass courts.
This year’s Wimbledon takes place between June 30 and July 13 and offers a total of 50 million Euro [some $57.4 million] in prize money. Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic are the reigning Wimbledon champions in men’s and women’s singles, respectively.
Athletes representing Russia and Belarus are playing under a neutral status at international tennis tournaments.
This year the duo of Andreeva/Shnaider won tennis tournaments in Australia’s Brisbane in January and US Miami in March. They also reached the semifinals of the 2025 Australian Open. At the 2024 Olympics in Paris the Russian pair lost in the final to Italy’s Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini.
Andreeva, 18, has three WTA titles under her belt. She is Russia's top-ranked female player according to the WTA Rankings (6th). Her best finish at Grand Slams was at the 2024 French Open when she reached the semifinals. In 2023, the WTA named Andreeva the rookie of the year. Playing at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, she won a silver medal in women’s doubles paired with Shnaider. Andreeva is 14th in the WTA Doubles Rankings.
Shnaider, 21, is currently ranked 12th in the WTA Rankings. She has four WTA titles to her name, winning all of them in the previous tennis season. Her best result in Grand Slams was advancing to Round 4 of the 2024 US Open. She is also the 2024 Olympics silver medalist. Shanider is 9th in the WTA Doubles Rankings.
Russian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments
On February 28, 2022, 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 2022, 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, 2022 to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations while also canceling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.
On March 14, 2022, 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.