Anna Kalinskaya is at the top of the world right now! The Russian tennis star made it to the Berlin Open finals, though the ultimate victory would have been sweeter than the runner-up award. With her remarkable performance, Kalinskaya broke into the top 20 WTA rankings as a World No.17. In addition to her successful start to the Grass season, Kalinskaya is also celebrating her boyfriend, Jannik Sinner’s recent win at the Halle Open. However, tennis fans see Kalinskaya’s feat as a gift served on a silver platter, with mid-game retirements aiding her through the course of her campaign.

It wasn’t an easy feat for the Russian, as she defeated former World No.1 Victoria Azarenka to claim her spot in the finals. Before defeating Azarenka in the semifinal, Kalinskaya won her quarterfinal due to Aryna Sabalenka’s medical-induced retirement. Sabalenka retired even before the completion of the first set. However, this wasn’t the only by retirement through her way to the final. In the round of 16, Marketa Vondrousova also retired towards the end of the first set, due to a leg injury.

However, a win is a win and luck is also a part of the game. As Kalinskaya shared her thoughts about winning a bigger title (maybe Wimbledon), a tennis fan took a screenshot of her story and tweeted it. Kalinskaya had said, “Thank you all for the support, who knows maybe my tittle is a bigger one.” No harm in dreaming big, but some tennis fans did not appreciate them. Highlighting her journey, the fan said, “Girl, you got 2 retirements. On your way into the final.”– deflating the celebratory balloon of the Russian!

This tweet set in the cycle of unwelcoming thoughts from some tennis fans as they further responded to the shared snippet taking a dig at Kalinsakaya for her celebrations after a relatively easy journey through the tournament. As a result the Russian removed her story shortly after. A happy moment with Jannik Sinner‘s win and her successful campaign went downhill fast!

Unhappy tennis fans draw “voodoo doll” comparison between Anna Kalinskaya and Veronika Kudermetova

Both the World No.3 Aryna Sabalenka and the defending Wimbledon champion, Marketa Vondrousova, retired early into their matches due to injury. As the Wimbledon Open is just around the corner, no tennis star wants to jeopardize their chances to stake a claim at the title. And hence, both the top contenders for the title retired at the slightest hint of injury. A stitch in time saves nine. However, tennis fans made sure to stick the fact to Kalinskaya. They said, “From the reigning Wimbledon champion and the top player world #3, mind you.” Reminding her of the strength of her opponents.

Some of the fans drew parallels with another Russian tennis star, Veronika Kudermetova. The latter tennis player also faced a similar situation. Her opponents retired mid-way through the match due to injury. One such instance was the 2022 French Open. During the fourth round, Kudermetova faced the Spanish challenge in Paula Badosa. The Russian was leading the match, with 6-3,2-1, but Badosa suffered an injury on the clay court. Allowing Kudermetova to proceed further into the tournament. Keeping track of such instances, a tennis fan took a dig at Kalinskaya, as they tweeted that she “took over the retirement voodoo doll from Kudermetova.”

This was not all, as they fell short of words to express their disappointment about being unable to enjoy the top players on the court. Some let out their frustration, saying,“ ‘m screaming 😭😭😭😭.” However, there was one league of the fans who were not happy with Kalinskaya’s feat, as they resorted to name-calling in the end. “nasty witch” – tweeted another fan.

Unanticipated hard words from tennis fans after sharing her grateful message certainly backfired for the Russian. However, the 25-year-old has many other tournaments to make them eat their words!