Savor the successes, even the small ones. And, Anna Kalinskaya is exactly doing that. She has had an incredible run at the Dubai Tennis Championship this year. However, she couldn’t end up winning the title. But so what? She was seen celebrating the runners-up win in style.

The 25-year-old Russian qualifier was renamed the ‘Giant Slayer’ in Dubai, as she took down Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek to make her way to the finals. But on Saturday, her incredible run came to an end in the finals of the Dubai Tennis Championship at the hands of Italy’s Jasmine Paolini.

As Iga Swiatek said, Anna Kalinskaya “deserves to be in the final”

A couple of days back Anna Kalinskaya clinched the biggest win of her career by defeating the world number one, Iga Swiatek in straight sets in the semifinals. With this victory over Swiatek, she became the first player to defeat the Polish superstar in straight sets in 343 days. It also ended Swiatek’s incredible 7-match winning streak and ended her chances to clinch the Doha-Dubai title. That’s quite an achievement in itself for a qualifier to get during a tournament.

After the match Kalinskaya said, she was happy to play against the world number one and hoped to meet in many such finals shortly. Her happiness from this tournament was yet again portrayed as she celebrated her runners-up win with a bright smile on her face on Saturday. A fan posted that moment on social media heaped praise on her flair by calling her ‘my queen.’

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Her beautiful smile was perhaps the ‘right reaction‘ after such an incredible performance on her way to the finals. Even Iga Swiatek heaped praise on the Russian after her SF loss saying, “Today I would say, I mean she [Anna Kalinskaya] played well and for sure she deserves to be in the final.” 

‘Nonsense’ – Anna Kalinskaya Lapped Up by Tennis Fans After Iga Swiatek’s Harsh Remark

In the finals, however, Anna Kalinskaya couldn’t do much, as Italy’s Jasmine Paolini fought back from a set down to beat her by 4-6,7-5,7-5 to win the WTA 1000 event in Dubai. It took her almost 2 hours and 13 minutes to defeat the ‘Giant Slayer’. What were the reactions after the epic grand finale?

‘This is just the beginning of the year’- Kalinskaya

After her loss in the finals, Kalinskaya said, “Congrats Jasmine on your first big title. You deserve it. You fight every ball. Enjoy the moment. Thanks to the crowd for coming. I never played so much tennis in one week. It was a pleasure playing in front of you. You make it very special and give a lot of energy and support. Hopefully, see you all next year. Thanks to my coach and father who’s here. We are doing amazing. This is just the beginning of the year. Let’s keep going. I enjoy every single minute with you.”

Even Jasmine Paolini congratulated Kalinskaya for her unbelievable run throughout the week from the qualifiers. She also heaped praise on her team including her coach Patricia Tarabini. 

Rennae Stubbs was among the tennis stars who looked quite impressed with the performance of these two tennis stars. She showcased her admiration for the Italian and added, “What an incredible week for both her & Anna!“

Anna Kalinskaya’s journey has truly been remarkable in the last few days. Especially her win against Iga Swiatek. Renowned tennis author, Ben Rothenberg has called it to be the ‘most surprising story of tennis in 2024‘. What are your thoughts on that?