BEIJING: Russia’s top-ranked tennis player Daniil Medvedev won his 24th ATP title in what was an all-Russia final at the 2026 Hangzhou Ope...
BEIJING: Russia’s top-ranked tennis player Daniil Medvedev won his 24th ATP title in what was an all-Russia final at the 2026 Hangzhou Open tournament in China where he beat compatriot Andrey Rublev.
It took the 1st-seeded Medvedev 1 hour and 33 minutes to sink the 2nd-seeded Rublev in straight sets 7:5, 6:4.
This was their 10th head-to-head encounter at ATP tournaments with Medvedev winning eight of them. The previous time Medvedev and Rublev faced off against each other was in November 2023 at the ATP Finals tournament, when Medvedev outplayed Rublev 6:4, 6:3.
"There is always a tiny bit more on the line," the ATP official website quoted Medvedev as saying after the match. "I think I handled it well. I played good in the important moments and I’m really happy with my level."
Medvedev also congratulated his Russian teammate after the match by saying: "I'm really happy to see you in this final."
"Sorry that I served good today, but hopefully we can finish the season this strong," he added.
Medvedev, 30, spent sixteen weeks as the world’s number one player in 2022. He is currently ranked 6th in the ATP Rankings. He previously won the 2021 US Open and holds 24 ATP titles. He won five of those 23 titles in 2023. Also, in 2021, he won the Davis Cup as well as the ATP Cup playing for the Russian national team.
Rublev, 28, is currently the 24th-ranked player in the world. He has won 17 career ATP singles tournament titles and four more in men’s doubles. Rublev has never made it past the quarterfinals in any Grand Slam. The Russian tennis player took home the gold at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo in mixed doubles (with teammate Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova) and also won the 2021 Davis Cup as part of the Russian national team.
The 2026 Hangzhou Open is the ATP-250 tennis tournament that was played on outdoor hard courts on September 23-29 at Hangzhou Olympic Sports Expo Center.
Russian tennis players are participating in international tournaments under a neutral status. The US Open is no exception.
Russian 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.
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