Anna Kalinskaya has expressed her openness to discovering love while on tour, following her revelation that a top-20 player persistently messaged her before she decided against pursuing his advances.

The 26-year-old from Russia, who previously had high-profile romances with Jannik Sinner, the outgoing world No 1, and the spirited Australian, Nick Kyrgios, has attracted attention once more after opening up about her personal life in a recent interview.

Kalinskaya shared that multiple ATP players have attempted to win her over through direct messaging, with one making as many as ten attempts. This player was later identified as Holger Rune, ranked No 11 in the world, whose persistence has already sparked conversation within the sport.

Rather than being dissuaded by the notion of tour romance, Kalinskaya believes that relationships can actually benefit players if they are healthy and built on maturity.

“No, I think it lifts you up if it is a healthy relationship and emotionally both people are mature and understand what is good for their partner, what is bad and they don’t try to feed their own ego or some other qualities, then love definitely does not get in the way,” she mentioned on the First&Red podcast.

Kalinskaya also spoke about the pressures of being in a relationship with another high-profile player. 

‘As much as possible. I tried and my partner also tried. But it’s hard to avoid when two people are famous and there are difficulties because of that too. It’s impossible to just go out on the street or go out for dinner calmly. Every time you’ll think twice whether to go somewhere or not.’

And she rejected suggestions that agents influence a player’s personal life, adding: ‘Agents do not have nothing to do with relationships. Work is work, personal life is personal life. Off court it’s different, no one decides for us.’

Kalinskaya’s views carry added intrigue because of her previous romances with two of the sport’s top stars. In 2020 she was linked to Kyrgios, with the pair often seen supporting each other at matches and even attending an NBA game together. 

The relationship ended within months, with Kalinskaya later delivering a blunt assessment on Instagram Live, telling him: ‘You are not a bad boy, you are simply a bad person.’

By 2024 she was dating Sinner, then on the rise towards becoming the world’s top-ranked player. Their relationship became public when she congratulated him with a kiss after his US Open triumph last September, though rumours of a split surfaced before the end of the year. 

Sinner confirmed he was single and later suggested that his career required stability, saying he wanted a relationship to enter his life ‘naturally’.

Kalinskaya’s revelations about Rune have only amplified interest in her life off court. The Dane was singled out as the player who had sent repeated messages.

‘Someone wrote like 10 times and then gave up,’ she said. ‘I’ll say who it is now, Holger Rune. He writes to everyone. He thinks too much of himself. Maybe he’s just desperate, but he’s not the only one [to have messaged me].’

Rune responded swiftly on X, claiming cultural differences had caused confusion and that his comments were not meant as an invitation to a date. 

‘Ha ha ha. We might have cultural differences that make Anna read a comment on a story as an invitation to a date. If I want to go for a date, I ask for a date. Don’t worry,’ he wrote.

Despite the fallout, Kalinskaya reiterated that love does not have to interfere with performance, saying it can even provide extra strength when both partners support each other.

For now she appears to have found stability again. While she declined to name him directly in her podcast appearance, she is believed to have rekindled her relationship with Tomas Ferrari, a businessman she dated in 2021. 

He has been spotted courtside at several tournaments this season, including Madrid, Indian Wells and Miami, and is the owner of Bella the dog who has been pictured celebrating with Kalinskaya on court in Washington.

Pressed about her current partner, Kalinskaya confirmed only that he was not an athlete but worked in finance. 

‘I don’t think I could be with a person who has zero interest in my profession, but he loves sports,’ she said.