When your new man is world No 1 in tennis and just won the US Open, any ex would be jealous. But tennis player-turned-ESPN analyst Nick Kyrgios crossed a line when he reportedly made a sexist remark about his ex-girlfriend Anna Kalinskaya – who is now dating Jannik Sinner, the new man in question.
When a fan tagged Kyrgios in an old picture of him with Kalinskaya on X (formerly Twitter), he reportedly replied with a now-deleted comment saying, “Second serve.” In tennis, a second serve is, as the name suggests, a second chance to serve after the first one has a fault.
Tennis fans were quick to denounce the perceived “misogynistic” nature of the comment and called for ESPN to fire him, but the 29-year-old denied that his language was “abusive”.
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Fans then proceeded to throw shade at the Australian after Sinner celebrated his big win by planting a kiss on his new girlfriend. Kalinskaya dated Kyrgios back in 2020, and she reportedly started seeing the grand slam winner this year. However, Sinner isn’t controversy-free either, as his career has recently been mired in a doping scandal.
So, what else do we know about Anna Kalinskaya?
What is Anna Kalinskaya’s background?
Anna Kalinskaya is a Russian tennis player hailing from Moscow. She was born on December 2, 1998, to Nikolay and Elena Kalinskaya, both former pro badminton players. Her mother is Ukrainian and Anna has been quoted speaking up against the Russia-Ukraine war, saying, “It is very sad and frightening to see the people of Ukraine suffering.”
She picked up the tennis racquet at age five after watching her cousins play one summer at her grandma’s house and, per The Sun, moved to the US at 14 to go professional.
Sports definitely runs in the family: her brother Nikolay Kalinsky, meanwhile, is a football player in Russia.