The gas layer: how our tennis players are preparing for Wimbledon
At the end of June, the main draw for the third major of the season, Wimbledon, will begin. In the meantime, Russians are getting used to the grass surface at lower-status tournaments in Germany, Great Britain and the Netherlands. See the Izvestia article about how the situation is developing for our tennis players on the eve of Wimbledon.
Success in a couple
Shamil Tarpishchev, President of the Russian Tennis Federation, said earlier that our athletes should not expect great success on this surface this season. His main hopes are pinned on the female star couple Mirra Andreeva and Diana Schneider.
We still have to find out how the MiDi feels on the grass. The Russians organized their duet last August at the Olympics in Paris, when Wimbledon had already passed. As a result, they have never performed together on this surface. The debut is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, June 18. In the first round of the Berlin tournament, Mirra and Diana will play against Timea Babos and Louise Stefani. In the German capital, our girls are "seeded" at number three.
Andreeva did not play in the first grass week, but Schneider organized a pretty good duet with ex-Russian Anna Danilina, who represents Kazakhstan. At the WTA 500 tournament in London, the girls reached the finals, where they lost only in the decisive tie-break to the American-Dutch duo Aji Muhammad and Demi Schurs. — 5:7, 7:6 (7:3), 4:10.
But the title was won by Danilina's former partner, Russian Irina Khromacheva. Last season, they formed a powerful duo that took four titles and claimed the WTA award as the best couple of the year. However, Anna and Irina did not win any big victories together in 2025. In the first grass week, Khromacheva played at a tournament with a lower status — the WTA 250 in the Netherlands 'S-Hertogenbosch. Together with Hungarian Fanny Stollar, our tennis player was stronger in the final than the American-Russian pair Nicole Melichar and Lyudmila Samsonova — 7:5, 6:3. For Khromacheva, this title was already the seventh since April 2024.
The problems of Myrrh
It's still not worth counting heavily on the next "major" for MiDi. The fact is that Russia's first racket Andreeva feels worse on grass than on other surfaces. This is evidenced by the statistics of last year's performances at Grand Slam tournaments. Wimbledon 2024 ended for Mirra already in the opening round. Although there is a plus in this. This means that Andreeva will not need to defend her rating points at the end of June, she can only purchase them.
Myrrh started her herbal season this week with a flop. In the first round of the WTA 500 tournament in Berlin, the Russian, seeded sixth, lost to Magdalena French from Poland. Moreover, everything started well for Andreeva: our tennis player won the first set. But in the second, the game didn't go according to plan. Mirra made too many mistakes, which shattered her nerves. Arguing with the judge and crying only made the situation worse. It ended not only with French's comeback, but also with a hard steering wheel for Andreeva in the third set. — 2:6, 7:5, 6:0.
The second racket of Russia, Schneider, is playing much better on grass. Last season, she won the title at the WTA 500 tournament in Bad Homburg, Germany. In 2025, Diana's solo performances are not easy. She is looking for options, changing coaches, but so far the results are not very encouraging. In the first grass week, the "girl in a headscarf" reached the quarterfinals of the tournament in London, where she lost to American Madison Keys.
Ekaterina Alexandrova was the furthest of the Russians in the singles of the 'S-Hertogenbosch tournament, which was held in parallel with the London one. She played in the semifinals against Belgium's Elise Mertens. Alexandrova probably wants to forget this match as soon as possible. In the second set, our tennis player missed 11 match balls. As a result, the Belgian made it to the finals, where she won her first title on grass in her career. Last season, Lyudmila Samsonova lifted the trophy in the Netherlands, but this time her path stopped in the first round, where she lost to qualifier Carson Branstin from Canada.
In the second week, our leaders compete at the WTA 500 tournament in Berlin, which has already lost Mirra Andreeva in singles. The WTA 250 in Nottingham, England, is also taking place in parallel, but only Anna Blinkova remains among the Russians in the draw.
Men's start
Andrey Rublev was the last Russian top player to step onto the grass. He chose a tournament in Halle, Germany, to start, where on Tuesday, June 17, he passed Sebastian Ofner very confidently in the first round match. The Austrian was initially intimidating with his serve, but looked helpless at the reception. During the match, the Russian showed perfect statistics of winning draws on the first serve — 100% (31 out of 31).
At the end of the opening set, our tennis player knocked off Ofner's pressure with a good deep reception, after which he did not give his opponent a chance to make a comeback. The second game followed a similar scenario. Having implemented the matchball, Rublev seemed even surprised that the match turned out so smoothly for him. In all key indicators, Andrey was stronger than his opponent: he made fewer mistakes (25:13 for unforced errors) and shot straight through more (17:13 for winners). Rublev will face Argentine Tomas Etcheverry in the second round. The tennis players played against each other once, last season at the Canadian Masters. The Russian won in two sets then.
Andrey's friends Daniil Medvedev and Karen Khachanov are also performing here in Halle. The first racket of Russia also successfully overcame the starting circle. Daniel, who was "seeded" at number three, easily dealt with the host of the tournament, Daniel Altmaier, who received a wild card from the organizers. Then the Frenchman Kentin Alice is waiting for Medvedev. The statistics of personal meetings in the tour are also in favor of the Russian — 1-0, with a victory in 2023 at the Masters in Miami. The fight between Alice and Medvedev will take place on Wednesday, June 18. Khachanov will also take to the court on the same day — he will play in the first round against Belgian Ziza Bergs.
Karen and Daniel started the grass season last week at a tournament in 'S-Hertogenbosch. The Russians finished it at one stage — in the quarterfinals. At first, Khachanov could not pass Canadian Gabriel Diallo, and the next day Medvedev dropped out of the grid, losing to American Riley Opelka.
The men's ATP 250 tournaments in Majorca and Eastbourne, England, will be held next week, followed by Wimbledon.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
