Anna Kalinskaya and Jannik Sinner simultaneously reached their first Tour-level finals on grass this weekend, and the Russian was overjoyed.
Kalinksya and Sinner became the newest tennis couple after the Italian confirmed they were dating at last month’s Roland Garros, ending growing speculation back in his home country.
Sinner tends to keep a low profile on social media and told reporters that he would not comment further about their relationship. But they can’t seem to be separated in joint tournaments like the French Open, where they watched each other’s matches from close quarters.
This week, they are only separated in physical distance, but Kalinskaya confirmed that she would text him shortly after booking her spot in her maiden grass-court final at the Berlin Open.
She benefitted from two retirements by Aryna Sabalenka and Marketa Vondrousova during the week before taking down two-time former Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka in the semifinal.
Like Kalinskaya, Sinner also progressed into his first-ever grass-court title match at the Halle Open after a high-quality win over the improving Zhizhen Zhang of China in the semifinal.
After the match, the 25-year-old Russian, who has enjoyed a breakout year, was informed that her boyfriend reached the final less than 200 kilometers from Berlin. She would immediately congratulate him on air and promised to text him.
“I’m just trying to be a little bit as good as him… Let’s see if we can watch each other tomorrow. Congratulations to him, I’m gonna text him now. I’m so happy.”
While Kalinskaya couldn’t overcome Jessica Pegula in the Berlin Open final, her boyfriend was able to outplay Hubert Hurkacz in the Halle Open final. They had a chance to join the Australian-British couple of Alex de Minaur and Katie Boulter, who won titles in the same week (twice) this season.
