Third time’s the charm?: Anna Kalinskaya books another final after ousting Emma Raducanu

Anna Kalinskaya overcame Emma Raducanu in the DC Open semifinals, securing a spot in a final once again as she searches for her maiden WTA title. The 26-year-old delivered another strong performance, taking another straight-sets victory and frustrating the Brit's desire to reach her first final since the 2021 US Open.

It was no easy challenge for the Russian, who has had a difficult past year. After reaching her career-high ranking of world No. 14 back in 2024, Kalinskaya experienced a significant drop in the rankings over recent months, currently sitting at just No. 48.

What's most striking is that Kalinskaya has yet to claim a WTA trophy. She has faltered in both finals she reached: first at the WTA 1000 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2024, where she was defeated by Italian Jasmine Paolini in a three-set battle. A few months later, she reached the final of the Berlin Ladies Open, this time falling to Jessica Pegula in a third-set tie-break.

This time she'll have another chance, against Canadian Leylah Fernandez. The Canadian defeated Elena Rybakina in the semifinals and was awaiting a potential rematch against Raducanu – with whom she contested the 2021 US Open final. However, Kalinskaya prevailed in a notable performance against the 22-year-old Brit.

Anna Kalinskaya displayed mental fortitude in a tight match against Raducanu, managing to pull ahead in critical moments. In the first set, everything remained even at the start, with neither showing any weakness on serve. With the score at 3-2 in favor of Raducanu, the first break opportunities arrived, but Kalinskaya saved both to maintain parity.

With Raducanu starting to struggle on serve, Kalinskaya found a couple of opportunities at 4-4, and this time she was effective on return, securing the crucial break. There were doubts when she had to close out the set, but she overcame a 15-40 deficit to take a 6-4 lead, showing good consistency on serve and capitalizing on her opponent's second serves.

Into the second set, Kalinskaya started in the best possible way by getting an immediate break, but then her serve security seemed to drop, going from 70% effectiveness on her first serve to just 59% throughout the set, which ultimately cost her an immediate break back to love.

The former world No. 14 had to fight harder in her service games, but she managed not to falter despite Raducanu appearing to have better chances this time. However, at 3-2, Raducanu hesitated, and Kalinskaya responded. A break in the third game gave her the definitive lead. Although Kalinskaya faced a break point against her a couple of games later, it was too late for Raducanu. The Russian secured the victory 6-4, 6-3 and guaranteed her spot in the tournament final.

Kalinskaya has guaranteed a significant 17-position climb in the ranking, currently sitting at world No. 31, displacing Raducanu to No. 33. The Russian will be seeking her first singles title after falling in her first two finals during 2024.

As for Fernandez, reaching the final also provides a boost in her ranking, positioning her at world No. 27 for now. Should she win the title, she will advance several more positions to No. 24.

After the 2021 US Open, Raducanu stole the spotlight, but Leylah Fernandez continued to work to establish her level on the tour. She reached a career-high ranking of world No. 13 and has won two titles since then (Monterrey 2022, Hong Kong 2023), in addition to falling in the final of the Eastbourne International two months ago against Daria Kasatkina. She has accumulated several deep runs in major tournaments, including a quarterfinal appearance at Roland Garros and three others at WTA 1000 events.