Last couple standing at Wimbledon out as Jannik Sinner's girlfriend Anna Kalinskaya makes tearful 4R exitÂ
Out of the seven couples that entered the Wimbledon Championships, Jannik Sinner and Anna Kalinskaya were the only pair who made it past the first week. Their title hopes took a massive dent as Kalinskaya was forced to retire during her fourth-round bout, leaving only Sinner in the mix at the event.
Kalinskaya squared off against Elena Rybakina in the fourth round and made a good start to the match. She struggled to maintain a high level after 30-odd minutes, due to some pain in her arm. Despite undergoing on-court treatment, the Russian was forced to retire in tears while trailing 3-6, 0-3, thus handing Rybakina the win.
Another couple, Alex de Minaur and Katie Boulter, were also in the singles draw of the Wimbledon Championships this year. Both players were high on confidence, amassing strong results in the lead-up to the grasscourt Slam. But Boulter was stunned by Harriet Dart in the second round, while De Minaur is through to the quarterfinals for the first time in London. He beat Arthur Fils in convincing fashion in the fourth round, winning 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
Many had high expectations from former World No. 3 Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas this year. While the Greek suffered a second-round exit at the hands of Emil Ruusuvuori, Badosa managed to reach the fourth round. Despite a valiant effort against Donna Vekic, she fell to the Croatian in three sets, 2-6, 6-1, 4-6.
Power couple Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina were also in the mix at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. 21st seed Svitolina has defeated the likes of Julie Neimer, Ons Jabeur and Xinyu Wang en route to the quarterfinals. On the contrary, Monfils was eliminated by Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets in the third round.
Two other tennis couples - Liam Broady and Eden Silva, and Anastasia Potapova and Alexander Shevchenko - were knocked out in their respective first round matches. Geneva Open runner-up Tomas Machac and his girlfriend Katerina Siniakova both faced second-round exits in London.
Having said that, Jannik Sinner, Alex De Minaur and Elina Svitolina are still in the hunt for a title at Wimbledon. Svitolina will square off against tournament favorite Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals. The head-to-head between the duo is poised at 2-2, with the Kazakh winning their most recent encounter in Paris.
Sinner, on the other hand, will lock horns with Daniil Medvedev in the last eight. The Russian leads their head-to-head battle 6-5, but Sinner has won their last five matches on tour. He has defeated Medvedev twice this year - at the Miami Open and the Australian Open.
Alex De Minaur will take on Novak Djokovic in the last eight. The Australian has been in exquisite form this year and will fancy his chances of causing an upset.
Jannik Sinner, Katie Boulter, Alex De Minaur won titles leading up to Wimbledon, Anna Kalinskaya secured a runner-up finish in Berlin
Jannik Sinner, Alex De Minaur and Katie Boulter all registered title-winning runs leading up to the Wimbledon Championships.
Sinner captured his fourth title of the season at the Halle Open. He defeated Hubert Hurkacz in the finals 7-6(8), 7-6(2) in one hour and 49 minutes.
De Minaur, meanwhile, began his campaign on grass with a brilliant performance in the Libema Open. The Australian defeated Sebastian Korda in straight sets to bag the title.
British No. 1 Katie Boulter successfully defended her title at the Nottingham Open. Despite losing the first set against Karolina Pliskova in the finals, she outlasted the Czech in three sets, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
World No. 18 Anna Kalinskaya came close to winning her first title of the season at the German Open. She put up a tough fight against Jessica Pegula in the final, but lost to the American in a close three-set bout.