Brooklyn’s Elvina Kalieva will step onto the US Open main-draw stage for the first time on Sunday, when the 23-year-old American qualifier meets Lanlana Tararudee at Flushing Meadows.
Elvina Kalieva turns home-court dream into US Open debut
For Kalieva, who grew up in New York dreaming of competing at the season’s final major, the occasion arrives after a long qualifying road. Her place in the draw came in her 11th attempt at Grand Slam qualifying, sealed only after she survived six break points in the last game of her final qualifying match.
“I tried to play one point at a time,” Kalieva said. “I focused on the plan and the areas of the court I wanted to use rather than thinking about the score. When she missed the final volley, it felt unreal.”
The American has chosen the professional circuit route rather than college tennis, having played her first pro event in 2017. She previously appeared at the US Open in mixed doubles in 2021 and also finished runner-up in the girls’ doubles that year, but Sunday will mark her first singles match in a Grand Slam main draw.
A breakthrough season lifts Kalieva to No. 115
Kalieva’s progress accelerated this season. In January, she won the largest of her three World Tennis titles at the WTA 100 event in San Diego. She followed it in March with her first WTA Tour victory in Miami, where she defeated Dalma Galfi.
Her summer run included a first WTA semifinal in Memphis in July. Kalieva beat Zeynep Sonmez and Peyton Stearns during that week, and her results have carried her to a career-best ranking of No. 115.
“This has probably been the best season of my career,” she said. “I’m proud of what my team and I have done, and I want to keep building. Breaking into the Top 100 would be a goal. I’ve made great memories, enjoyed the travel and had a lot of fun playing.”
Family support from the NHL
Kalieva has another professional athlete in her corner: older brother Arthur Kaliyev. The hockey forward has played 204 regular-season NHL games since the Los Angeles Kings selected him in the second round of the 2019 draft, scoring 38 goals. He has also played for the New York Rangers.
The siblings lean on one another through the changing fortunes of professional sport, despite competing in different environments.
“We can talk honestly about what we are feeling,” Kalieva said. “We help each other through difficult spells and the good moments. Hockey is a team sport and tennis is different, but there are parts of the experience that are similar.”
Her opening-round assignment against Tararudee comes on Kalieva’s preferred hard-court surface, with a New York crowd behind her. Still, she intends to keep the approach simple.
“I’ll treat it as a normal match,” she said. “It is incredibly exciting, but I want to stay focused. This is my favourite Slam — the fans, being at home, and hard courts being my favourite surface. It is hard to imagine a better feeling.”
SEO Title: Elvina Kalieva makes US Open main-draw debut against Lanlana Tararudee
SEO Description: Brooklyn-born qualifier Elvina Kalieva reaches her first Grand Slam singles main draw at the US Open after a breakthrough season and career-high No. 115 ranking.
