Jannik Sinner breezes by Christopher Eubanks in French Open opener with special spectator in the stands

Jannik Sinner showed no signs of rust as he resumed his 2024 season at Roland Garros on Monday. Sinner had a hip injury that kept him out of action, most notably at his home tournament, the Italian Open last week.

Sinner entered the French Open as the Australian Open champion who has played his best tennis when healthy this year. Judging by his result against USA's Christopher Eubanks, he is picking up right where he left off, and the Roland Garros draw should be on alert.

Sinner's game was never under threat in this match. He had all the shots and footwork in play. Winning in straight sets under the roof and getting off the court to recover are to his benefit. His peers on the outer courts, including Felix Auger-Aliassime and Ben Shelton, are dealing with rain delays in their in-progress matches.

Jannik Sinner had a special guest watching

Another significant piece of news coming from the Sinner match is that Russian player Anna Kalinskaya was spotted in the stands watching his match. Speculation has been at a fever pitch that the pair was dating though neither player has said anything.

Sinner recently posed for a photo with a fan while holding his phone which reportedly showed an incoming call from "Anna" on his screen. Given the number of people in the world named Anna, this did not move the needle enough to convince some fans that Sinner and Kalinskaya were dating. Her appearance at his match substantiates the rumors.

Kalinskaya was scheduled to take the court on Court 14 after Ben Shelton's match. She is seeded 23rd and is set to face French woman Clara Burel. Kalinskaya, 25, turned professional in 2016, but like Sinner, she is playing some of her best tennis this year. She had a dream run in Dubai including victories over World No. 1 Iga Swiatek and World No. 3 Coco Gauff. Kalinskaya was on the brink of capturing her first career WTA title in Dubai, but the red-hot Jasmine Paolini, also playing some outstanding tennis in 2024, won the final. Kalinskaya followed up the good result in Dubai with her best-ever Grand Slam showing, as a quarterfinalist at the Australian Open.

In the era of more tennis players dating each other and supporting one another on and off court, such as Paula Badosa and Stefanos Tsitsipas and Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur, add "Sinskaya" to the mix.

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