Anna Kalinskaya was not having a great time on court during her third-round match against compatriot Diana Shnaider at the National Bank Open. The 17th seed was far from her best level in the match, and her frustrations boiled over in the second set.

Having lost the first set, the match was on a knife-edge for Kalinskaya in the second set, with the score tied at 3-3. However, in the seventh game, the former World No.11 could not keep up with the scoreboard pressure, making double faults and handing a break and advantage to her opponent. At the changeover, the Russian could no longer keep it in, swinging her racket at the courtside cooler repeatedly until it broke, then throwing it on the ground.

The serve was an issue for Kalinskaya throughout the match. She got a break of serve early in both sets, but could not maintain the advantage as Shnaider got a proper measure of her serve, with the latter winning seventy percent of the return points on Kalinskaya’s second serve. Of the nine service games she played, Kalinskaya could only win four, which shows she was out of rhythm with the serve.

The North American hard-court swing has often seen Kalinskaya involved in emotional on-court outbursts. During her campaign in Washington last year, she threw her racket during her match against Clara Tauson. The Russian also had a heated verbal exchange with the chair umpire in Cincinnati last year, when she was being disrupted by drunk fans in the stands.

Get the Break Point Newsletter. Daily tennis news spanning the WTA, ATP, and Grand Slams — from on-court action to off-court storylines.

Kalinskaya is not alone when it comes to racket smashes in tennis, with players often venting their frustrations on their gear. Back at the Australian Open this year, Coco Gauff went off court after her heavy loss to Elina Svitolina, just so she could find a place to smash her rackets in order to let go of her emotions.

However, the Toronto loss highlights Kalinskaya’s inconsistent form this season, with the Russian unable to get past the quarterfinals.

Anna Kalinskaya Has Shown Inconsistent Form in 2026

Having a 23-16 win-loss record this season, Kalinskaya’s on-court performances have been underwhelming. The Russian has already had three third-round exits and four quarterfinal exits this season, showing she has struggled against top-ranked opposition in the latter stages of events.

Kalinskaya has fared better at Slams, having third-round exits at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon, losing in a three-set battle against Iga Swiatek in Melbourne, and being edged out in the third-set tiebreak by Belinda Bencic in London. Her best performance of the season came at the French Open, where she reached the quarterfinals with wins over Lois Boisson, Camila Osorio, and Anastasia Potapova before losing to Roland Garros sensation Maja Chwalinska.

Kalinskaya could not defend her points from her runner-up finish at Washington last year, as she lost to the top-seeded Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals this year. She did have a decent hard-court run earlier this year, when she reached the quarterfinals at the Qatar Open, which included a win over the in-form Elina Svitolina.

Kalinskaya is currently No. 21 in the WTA Rankings and will need to make deep runs at upcoming big events like the Cincinnati Open and the US Open to hold on to her ranking, as players like Chwalinska, Madison Keys, and Barbora Krejcikova are right behind her. The Russian has points to defend in Cincinnati, having made a quarterfinal run there last year, and an early loss could see her drop further in the rankings.