In the quarterfinals, the Russian is set to face off against 23rd-seeded Casper Ruud from Norway
AI Brief
Your highlights
ROME, May 12. /TASS/. Russia’s Karen Khachanov advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2026 ATP Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome after beating Dino Prizmic from Croatia on Tuesday.
In a little under two hours, 13th-seeded Khachanov, who is playing under a neutral status at the tournament, outplayed his Croatian opponent, who joined the tournament as a qualifier, 6-1; 7-6 (7-2).
In the quarterfinals, the Russian is set to face off against 23rd-seeded Casper Ruud from Norway, who earlier breezed past Italian 8th-seed Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets 6-3; 6-1.
A seven-time ATP champion, Khachanov, 29, is currently the 15th-ranked player in the world. His best performance in the Grand Slam series was when he reached the semifinal rounds at the 2022 US Open and the 2023 Australian Open.
The Russian player also took home the silver medal in men’s singles at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. He also won the 2021 Davis Cup as part of the Russian national team.
The 2026 Italian Open tennis tournament is an ATA 1000 event. Played on outdoor clay courts, the 83rd edition of the tourney takes place at Rome’s Foro Italico sports complex on May 5-17 and offers some $9.6 million in prize money. The tournament’s reigning champion is Carlos Alcaraz from Spain, who earlier withdrew from the current tournament citing an injury.
Russian and Belarusian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments
On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.
Following the IOC's recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations moved to exclude athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1, 2022, to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations while also canceling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.
On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition on the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from participating in the 2022 Davis Cup and the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.