Year of the Snake starts with a win for Anna Kalinskaya at the Singapore Tennis Open
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SINGAPORE - There was a sigh of relief on the courts, and in the stands, on Jan 29 as top seeds Anna Kalinskaya and Camila Osorio both posted victories to advance to the quarter-finals of the Singapore Tennis Open.
The Year of the Snake has been a lucky one so far for Russian No. 1 seed Kalinskaya, who slithered into the top eight after defeating Switzerland’s 179th-ranked Simona Waltert 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) on the first day of Chinese New Year.
The world No. 18 player had to fend off a feisty challenge from Caroline Dolehide of the United States in her opening match on Jan 27, winning eventually in three sets for her first victory of the season.
Kalinskaya has had a tough start to her 2025 campaign, losing her opener at the Brisbane International before retiring in Adelaide to Belinda Bencic due to illness. She was also forced to withdraw from the Australian Open at the 11th hour due to a virus.
She said after her match on Jan 29: “It was a challenging match, since it was my first time playing against her. She’s a very good fighter. She was a smart player.
“She had some strong and big shots, so it was important for me to stay patient, and I had the chance to finish the match sooner. I was serving for the match, but I couldn’t do it. But I’m glad I could refocus and finish it in two sets.
“I think the key was to stay aggressive and take control of the point, and even if things were not working, just to keep going and… just to stay in the moment.”
Kalinskaya’s bid for her first title of the year continues with Thailand’s world No. 132 Mananchaya Sawangkaew – who beat 101st-ranked Spaniard Cristina Bucsa 6-4, 6-4 on Jan 29 – up next.
Both players have never met on court before. “I don’t know her much. I saw just couple of games before my match today, but she seems like a very tricky player,” said Kalinskaya.
“She had a lot of matches here, so she has a good rhythm. I will try to find some more videos of her to learn a little bit more if I can.”
Sixth seed and world No. 55 Osorio survived an early scare against world No. 163 Dominika Salkova of the Czech Republic at the Kallang Tennis Hub, clawing back from a 3-6 loss in the first set to win the next two 6-2, 6-4 and seal a spot in the quarter-finals.
Osorio said: “It was tough for me because I wasn’t feeling as great as the other day. So it was all mental. I believe it was about staying there and not giving up and then trying to do this as best as I could. So I’m really glad I went through.”
The Colombian will face either Belgian second seed Elise Mertens or German Tatjana Maria next.
She is hoping for a longer stay in Singapore this week, adding: “I really love it. It’s my first time here in Singapore. So when I got here, I was trying to visit all the places… trying the food. It’s a different experience for me. And I’m really enjoying it.”
After three days of competition at Kallang, only four of the top eight seeds remain in the women’s singles – Kalinskaya, Osorio, Mertens and Wang Xinyu (fourth) – after the first-round exit of former US Open champion Emma Raducanu on Jan 27 and Amanda Anisimova’s late withdrawal.
Women’s doubles top seeds Dolehide and Taylor Townsend were also headed for an early flight home after the Americans were upset 6-4, 6-4 by Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima and China’s Xu Yifan in their opener on Jan 29.
