Sabalenka stunned by Kalinina at the Miami Open
Anhelina Kalinina defeated Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 in Miami in the Belarusian’s second match following the death of her former boyfriend
Aryna Sabalenka, Miami 2024 | © Zuma / Panoramic
World No 2 Aryna Sabalenka was knocked out of the Miami Open in the third round, with Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina winning 6-4,1-6, 6-1 on Saturday.
Sabalenka, winner of the first Grand Slam of the year in Australia, lost to the 36th-ranked player just five days after her former boyfriend, ex-NHL player Konstantin Koltsov, died in Miami in what police described as an “apparent suicide”.
The Belarusian was visibly frustrated after losing match point, repeatedly hitting her racquet on the ground as she suffered an early exit in Miami.
Kalinina, meanwhile, has earned just her second win against a top five player in her career, with this win over the world No 2 standing as her finest.
In her opening match, Sabalenka was strong enough to beat her friend, Spaniard Paula Badosa (6-4, 6-3) a few days after Koltsov’s death, but she could not repeat the performance against another tricky opponent.
Sabalenka’s ups and downs
In the first set of the match, Sabalenka took a quick 2-0 lead with a break against Kalinina. But too many errors allowed her opponent to secure two consecutive breaks and lead 3-2 before winning the opening set 6-4.
In the second, the Belarusian secured a break in the fourth game, claimed five consecutive games to take the set convincingly, 6-1, in just 37 minutes. But she lost the momentum and Kalinina surged into a 4-0 lead, with two breaks in the third. Sabalenka managed to recover one break, but couldn’t mount a comeback.
Kalinina, ranked 36th in the world, will face Kazakh Yulia Putintseva for a spot in the quarter-finals. The Ukrainian edged out Danish wildcard Caroline Wozniacki (5-7, 7-5, 6-4) in the previous round.
Iga Swiatek remains the strong favourite in the women’s singles draw in Miami. Naomi Osaka and Elena Rybakina enjoyed victories on Saturday, but Ons Jabeur suffered another disappointing early exit as a difficult 2024 campaign continues for the Tunisian.
Miami WTA 1000, other third-round results (Hard Rock Stadium, hard, USD 8.770.480, most recent results first):
- Iga Swiatek vs. Linda Noskova
- Danielle Collins vs. Elina Avanesyan
- Caroline Garcia vs. Naomi Osaka
- Leylah Fernandez vs. Jessica Pegula
- Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova
- Coco Gauff vs. Oceane Dodin
- Daria Kasatkina vs. Sorana Cirstea
- Jasmine Paolini vs. Emma Navarro
- Katie Boulter (24) beat Beatriz Haddad Maia (11): 6-2, 6-3
- Anna Kalinskaya (22) beat Jelena Ostapenko (9): 6-3, 6-1
- Yulia Putintseva beat Greet Minnen (LL): 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
- Elena Rybakina (4) beat Taylor Townsend (Q): 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-4
- Madison Keys (17) beat Xinyu Wang: 6-4, 7-6 (5)
- Maria Sakkari (8) beat Dayana Yastremska (28): 7-5, 6-4
- Victoria Azarenka (27) beat Qinwen Zheng (7): 6-4, 7-5
