Anna Kalinskaya Reveals How She Developed a Back Injury at Patrick Mouratoglou’s Academy

Anna Kalinskaya has struggled with physical problems and injuries in her career.

Anna Kalinskaya Reveals How She Developed a Back Injury at Patrick Mouratoglou’s Academy

Anna Kalinskaya and Patrick Mouratoglou (via X/The Tennis Letter/Swiss Tennis)

In Short
  • Anna Kalinskaya revealed her back injury was a result of intense training at Patrick Mouratoglou's Academy.
  • She emphasized the lack of individual training approaches and overwhelming physical demands during her time there.
  • Kalinskaya expressed disappointment over not securing a sponsorship deal with Adidas despite wearing their gear during tournaments.

Anna Kalinskaya has opened up about her training years at the famous sports training center, Patrick Mouratoglou’s Academy. The Russian star’s revelation highlights the contrast between the academy’s public reputation and her punishing experience, explaining why she will never return to the sports center.

Kalinskaya has often struggled with injuries in her career, most stemming from a back injury that has forced her to withdraw from several Grand Slam tournaments. In 2024, the Russian star was forced to retire from her match at the Wimbledon Championships against the 2022 champion Elena Rybakina.

However, the Patrick Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in France is widely regarded as one of the best training facilities in the sport. Several players over the years have gone to the training center and trained before tournaments. Also, it’s known for its world-class infrastructure and facilities that attracted big stars.

Nonetheless, the global name and facility services were completely different from the actual training experience for Kalinskaya. The academy training emphasized intense physical conditioning, which put a lot of pressure on Kalinskaya’s body while in the academy. The pressure was too much for Kalinskaya’s young body to handle.

In an interview with Elena Vesnina on the BB Tennis podcast, Kalinskaya emotionally noted that the insane workload at the academy boosted her performance on the court, but it came at a severe physical cost, which saw her suffer a back injury:

They started putting a lot of physical effort there, and I wasn’t ready for that. Until I was 16, I did very little; I didn’t do any weightlifting; if I did, it was just some one-off workouts. I played with sparring, and the workload was insane. I started seeing results. I was playing well, but my back also started hurting. And that was my first injury, and yes, it still comes back sometimes. The last time I was there, I came for 10 days, I trained with one coach for two days, and I came on the third day, and there’s already a different coach.

Despite the physical struggles, Kalinskaya has remained one of the most resilient players in the women’s circuit. At the Australian Open, she pushed Iga Swiatek to the limit in the third round but later fell to the former World No.1 in three sets. At the ongoing Doha Open, she defeated Elina Svitolina in the round of 16 before losing to Karolina Muchova in the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 tournament.

Anna Kalinskaya opens up on an unusual incident with giant kit brand

Anna Kalinskaya, who once dated Jannik Sinner, often wore brand-deal kits including Adidas-manufactured outfits in tournaments even though for years she was not under contract with any clothing brand. But after reaching her maiden Grand Slam quarter-finals at the 2024 Australian Open, she was approached by Adidas for a ticket to her match in Melbourne against Qinwen Zheng.

Anna Kalinskaya
Anna Kalinskaya (Image via XGame, Set & Talk)

The World No.28 willingly gave out the ticket to the Adidas official with the hopes of finally getting a deal with the giant brand, but that didn’t come. She revealed during the aforementioned interview that it surprised her that Adidas didn’t try to sign her despite wearing their kits to play the match, which she eventually lost:

Contracts are every three years, right? I’ve thought about it – not that I want a contract, I just want to continue working with this brand. When it didn’t happen in 2024, I went on court without a contract, but wore Adidas. Then the head of the tennis division came up and asked for tickets to the quarterfinal. I thought we’d be re-signing right then. That didn’t happen, which surprised me, but it didn’t really bother me much.

Kalinskaya will hope to continue with her form at the Dubai Tennis Championships, which kicks off on February 16. The Russian star is set to face former Doha Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in her opening match. Ostapenko reached the semi-finals of the Doha Open before losing to teenage sensation Victoria Mboko in straight sets.

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