Month: June 2025

In recent years, Kazakhstan has become a notable presence on the global tennis map. The Central Asian country regularly hosts prestigious ATP tournaments and has nurtured top-tier talent. Leading the way is Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, who has become a global star in women’s tennis. On the men’s side, Alexander Bublik’s breakthrough at Roland Garros, where he became the first Kazakh man to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal, turned attention toward the country’s rising influence in tennis.

Junior success

Over the past three years, Kazakh juniors have made significant strides in tournaments worldwide. At the 2024 Junior Davis Cup, Kazakhstan secured fifth place, defeating four-time champion France twice – first in the group stage, and then again in the playoffs. In the tournament qualifiers, the Kazakh team also triumphed over Australia.

This followed a fourth-place finish in 2022 at the 14-and-under world team event for boys and 10th- and 9th-place finishes in 2023 at the Junior Davis Cup and the Junior Billie Jean King Cup, respectively.

Three Kazakh boys are currently ranked in the ITF junior top 100. The best among them, Amir Omarkhanov, reached as high as No 4 before the Junior Australian Open. He has already had several notable performances at the professional level, including reaching the semifinals of the $25,000 WTT tournament in Astana in July 2024 and competing in the qualifiers for the ATP Masters Madrid Open and the ATP250 Almaty Open.

Sixteen-year-old Zangar Nurlanuly won three junior tournaments last year and climbed to No 32 in the ITF junior rankings. Eighteen-year-old Sonja Zhiyenbayeva won two professional $15,000 WTT tournaments last year, and finished the year ranked No 17 in the ITF junior rankings. She is currently ranked No 630 among professionals.

In December, 14-year-old Ansar Niyetkaliyev received the prestigious Overseas Player of the Year award from Tennis Europe, a regional division of the ITF. Another Kazakh player, Akhmadi Makhanov, ranked 13th in a recent Tennis Europe U14 ranking.

In 2024, Kazakhstan had six players in the top 100 of the ITF junior rankings (both boys and girls), including three in the top 50. Additionally, seven players were ranked in the top 100 of the 14-and-under Tennis Europe rankings – more even than tennis powerhouse Italy.

All 13 of these highly ranked players were born and developed in Kazakhstan — the result of a nationwide, systematic approach to player development employing a combination of structured programs and dynamic private initiatives.

SOURCE: China Daily

In the final of the French Open in doubles, Kazakhstani Anna Danilina and Serbian Aleksandra Krunic lost to the 2024 Olympic champions, the second seeded pair of the current Roland Garros, Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini with a score of 4:6, 6:2, 1:6.

“Congratulations to Anna Danilina on her great game and the final at the French Open. This is not the first time that Anna has delighted tennis fans in Kazakhstan with her bright performances at Grand Slam tournaments: in 2023, she won the mixed doubles at the US Open, and in 2022, she reached the doubles final at the Australian Open. On behalf of all tennis fans, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Anna for her significant contribution to the development of tennis in Kazakhstan, for the inspiration she brings to young people, and for the pride we feel watching her achievements,” noted the President of the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation, Bulat Utemuratov, in his congratulatory speech.

SOURCE: DKnews.kz

Kazakhstani tennis players continue to delight fans on the courts of Roland Garros

For the first time in his career, the leader of the men’s team, Alexander Bublik, reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament. The leader of the women’s team, Anna Danilina, achieved similar success in doubles. For Anna, this is also the first quarterfinal at the French Open. The achievement made by two players at once at such a prestigious tournament underlines the irreversible progress of Kazakhstani tennis in the international arena.

Alexander Bublik (World No. 62) reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament in singles for the first time in his career. In the fourth round of the French Open, the leader of the Kazakhstan men’s team won an impressive victory over the world’s fifth-ranked player, Jack Draper. Having lost the first set, Bublik managed to turn the match around and achieved a confident victory — 5:7, 6:3, 6:2, 6:4. Thus, he became the first tennis player from Kazakhstan to reach the quarterfinals of a major in men’s singles. Bublik will play against the world’s first racket, Jannik Sinner, for a place in the semifinals of Roland Garros. The match will take place tomorrow, June 4.

Anna Danilina paired with Serbian Aleksandra Krunic met the fifth seeded pair of the tournament, Asia Muhammad (USA) and Demi Schuurs (Netherlands), in the 1/8 finals and won a confident victory in two sets – 6:4, 6:0. For a place in the semi-finals of Roland Garros, Danilina and Krunic will play against the duo of Kateřina Siniakova (Czech Republic) and Taylor Townsend (USA), seeded first.

SOURCE: Forbes.kz