Anna Kalinskaya’s boyfriend was forced to leave midway through her fourth-round French Open win because her dog was causing a stir. The Russian-born player is often joined at her matches by her beloved mini dachshund Bella.
Kalinskaya enjoyed her joint-deepest run at a Grand Slam in the French capital, making it all the way to the quarter-finals before being bested by qualifier Maja Chwalinska. The world No. 20 had to fight to get that far, however, and was taken to three sets by Anastasia Potapova in the fourth round. It was during this clash that she unfortunately lost the support of her partner and mischievous pup.
The 27-year-old, who has dated current men’s world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the past, took the first set against Potapova on Monday, 6-4. But in the second she was beaten 6-2, and a third was needed.
In the final set, neither could be separated and at 6-6, a tiebreak was required. Kalinskaya remained composed and dramatically took the third, 7-6 (10-7), to punch her ticket to the quarters. After the win, her dog Bella, came to congratulate her. Speaking to Tennis Channel, she detailed why her boyfriend and dog had to leave the court.
“The winning and that relief after the match, it was very joyful and to see the stadium and the atmosphere there was amazing,” Kalinskaya said. “[Having my dog there] is good to change your mind, to take care of her and to completely disconnect from tennis for some moments. Today, she couldn’t watch because she barked in the first set.
“That’s why my match was not very joyful. She actually barked and Anastasia missed the ball to the net. It was actually quite an important point. But then my boyfriend left the stadium with her. We haven’t done much with her, but they closed the dog-sitting [available to the players], what timing!”
Dogs are now commonplace at Grand Slams and Madison Keys, who does not have one herself, spoke about her counterparts’ furry friends last month.
“There’s just… a lot of dogs,” said Keys, who was knocked out in the fourth round on Monday. “Dogs are great. I think dogs are a large responsibility, though. So as long as we’re doing that, then I think dogs are wonderful.
“I totally see how it feels, like a little bit of normalcy and a piece of home. What are they called? Emotional support animals. I can see where that’s valid when we travel so much to have a little bit of just, like, something that we love.”