Don’t call her Miss Sinner. Anna Kalinskaya, 25 years old, born in Moscow and in the best moment of her career (she occupies the number 17 Wta, her best ranking)is first of all a very high profile player. Russian school, complete repertoire and good talent in the arm, entered the top 100 for the first time in October 2019 (for just one week), but then needed time to settle, with 2022 as the real year of high-level launch on the major circuit.
In essence, she was neither a precocious talent, nor a phenomenon of those that make people dream right from youth tournaments. Anna was number 3 in the Junior world rankings (in 2016), while if we talk about the Under 18 Slam she boasts the final at Roland Garros 2015 (lost against Paula Badosa) and two more quarterfinals. An important haul, but less sensational than that of other colleagues, who perhaps at that same age could already compete in the Tour of the greats. A bit like what is happening today to another Russian, Mirra Andreeva.
Yet Anna, growing at her own pace, is now finding a full maturity that allows her to play on par with everyone, everywhere. Examples? Let’s stay with this year. When she arrives in Adelaide she is still forced to play the qualifications, but her sporting life is about to change rapidly: at the Australian Open she plays the best Major of her career, reaches the quarterfinals and flies into the top 40. Prologue to a series of results that push her even higher: final in the Mille in Dubai (lost against Jasmine Paolini), eighth-finals in Miami (where she surrenders to a physical problem) and then above all the last act in Berlin, with those 5 match points missed against Jessica Pegula.
End who, the Muscovite therefore only has a WTA 125 title in her pocket (won in 2023 in the United States), as well as 7 ITF eventsbut the impression is that there is little left to dispel this taboo. Coached by Patricia Tarabini, Argentine and former top 30 WTA player, Anna is completing piece by piece a mosaic which is now starting to bear important fruit. And in all of this the South American coach has important merits, having managed to bring stability and continuity to a tennis that already had important performance peaks.
Even though the journey hasn’t been all smooth sailing: “I even thought about quitting – explained the Russian some time ago – when I couldn’t even get past the Slam rounds. It took me some time to understand how the major Tour worked, how different and more complicated it was compared to the Junior tournaments.” Then that thought returned and Anna found, above all, serenity. So much so that this year she chastised several top players: Krejcikova, Ostapenko, Gauff, even Iga Swiatek (beaten in Dubai), but also – in Berlin – Vika Azarenka.
In the meantime, the partnership with Patricia Tarabini – with Florida as a base – has consolidated, from every point of view. With the Argentine who also knew how to bring a dose of good humor to the Kalinskaya house, like when – in Berlin – he asked his student with a big smile on his face if she wanted a slice of carrot cake. But the secret of the explosion also lies in a different physical preparation and in attention to details, for example how (and what) you eat. The goal is as high as possible: “Winning a Slam – Anna said – and I’m convinced I can get there, in my own time”.
All in all, this year she has shown that this goal is not out of reach at all, on the contrary. In Australia she played her best tournament, then she defeated the world number 1, and in general she does not seem to have such weaknesses that she should set limits. On the contrary. Not even her undeniable beauty is a reason for distraction: “Being a model? At the moment I don’t care, I’m too focused on my career.” While on Instagram the almost 300 thousand followers promise to become many more soon. Not so much for her relationship with Jannik Sinner, but for her own merits.
