Tennis
“Mom, what are these idiots?” A fabulous love story by Karen Khachanov
The star Russian tennis player met his future wife at the age of 8. And immediately fell in love.
Russian Karen Khachanov makes history at the Australian Open. The player has already broken a personal best by reaching the semi-finals of this Grand Slam tournament for the first time. Now Karen has only two matches left to win the main title in his career.
But without the support of the family, all this could not have happened. Karen overcame the difficult period of his career, which lasted for several years, thanks in large part to the support of his wonderful wife, who has been with him since childhood.
Their unusual love story is simply mesmerizing.
“What kind of idiots are these?”
The famous Russian tennis player Karen Khachanov made it to the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the first time in his professional career. Already next week, the player can return to the top ten of the ATP world ranking, where he has not been since October 2019. It’s all because of the decline in gaming that Karen has been struggling with for several years. At times, Khachanov even dropped into the fourth ten and did not get into the seeding at the Grand Slam.
All this time, Karen was helped to keep faith in himself by his family. Wife Veronica and son David instilled in the tennis player self-confidence. It was to them that the tennis player first turned after the landmark victory over the American Sebastian Korda in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
The story of Veronica and Karen’s acquaintance is like a fairy tale. It happened at the airport when Khachanov was only eight years old.
It’s love since childhood. We have known Veronica since the age of eight. She also played tennis then, we played in the same group. She and her mother stood at the front desk. At this moment, my friend and I, shouting and laughing loudly, crash into her on a cart. After that, she turns to her mother and asks: “What kind of idiots are these?” As a result, we flew together, and love at first sight began, ”Karen shared the story of his acquaintance.
The couple started dating in their teens. At the age of 15, Khachanov began to show signs of attention to the girl. Even then, he knew for sure that he wanted to see Veronica as his wife. In 2016, when Karen was not even 20, they legalized the relationship. The wedding was played in a circle of close people, without a big scope. The ceremony took place in Barcelona. The newlyweds spent their honeymoon in the Maldives. At the same time, the athlete did not post joint photos with his wife on social networks for a long time, having done this only in 2018.
“Being a father is… It’s hard to describe in words”
A year later, the couple had their first child. The child was named David. The birth of a son was at the peak of the tennis player’s career, when he was in the top ten. The appearance of a son only strengthened the family. Karen often talks about fatherhood in delightful terms in interviews and social networks.
– Being a father is … It’s hard to describe in words. The day I first saw my son was the happiest day of my life. However, I know that now I need to play tennis. I don’t have much time to be at home with my family, ”Khachanov wrote on social networks then.
In recent years, Karen has only occasionally delighted fans, often ending early tournament appearances. The tennis player was going through a clear game crisis. But in this difficult time, his wife always supported him.
Veronica often appeared in the stands of tournaments where the player performed. Karen, on the other hand, during post-match interviews, constantly noted the importance of the presence and support of his wife.
– Veronica could not support me from the stands for a long time, more than four months after Roland Garros. I am glad that she is with me again at the stadium and can support me. We talked a little after the match, and she immediately went to David. Now, as soon as I am free, I will also join them, ”Karen said at the Kremlin Cup.
“I don’t read as fast as she does”
Veronica is a non-public person. Very little is known about his personal life. As a child, she played tennis for her own development. She also graduated from MGIMO and trained at UNESCO. Basically, you can learn about Veronica from an interview with her husband.
“Sometimes, after reading something, Veronica advises it to me too, so that we can discuss it later,” Karen said. “I don’t read as fast as she does,” TATLER quoted the tennis player as saying.
In a winning interview after the game with Korda, he also said that the family is the place where he can relax after hard tennis battles. Veronica and David perfectly understand when it is not necessary to disturb him, for which he thanks them.
In Australia, Karen performs without her family at home. But he feels their support, even despite the long distance. Khachanov has only two matches left to win on the way to the biggest success of his career, and he is quite capable of doing this.
Source: Sportbox
I am a sports journalist who has written for a number of Sportish. I have a background in journalism and have been writing since I was young. My main focus is sports news, but I also write about general news. I am currently working as an author at Sportish.
January 25 Ukraine Elina Svitolina won against Mirra Andreeva In the 1/8 final at the Australian Open.
Elina won in two sets with scores of 6:2 and 6:4 in 1 hour 24 minutes. Svitolina faced Andreeva for the second time and defeated the Russian for the first time.
The best moments of tennis matches LIVE on Telegram channel Tennis on Sport.ua
Spor.ua invites you to familiarize yourself with the photo gallery of the confrontation between Svitolin and Andreev!
Elina will compete against world number three Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
🏆 Australian Open 2026. 1/8 final
Elina Svitolina [12] – 🏳️ Mirra Andreeva [8] – 6:2, 6:4
PHOTOGRAPH. He pushed another Russian woman away. How it happened: Svitolina beat Andreeva
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
January 25, Australian Open 2026 Ukrainian youth started.
In the main draws of the competition, Ukraine is represented by one tennis player and three tennis players: Nikita Belozertsev, Antonina Sushkova, Sofia Belinskaya and Polina Sklyar.
All four Ukrainian teenagers won their starting matches and advanced to the 1/16 final.
Australian Open 2026. Youth
R1: Nikita Belozertsev [6] – Aaro Gabet [Q] – 6:4, 6:1
R2: Nikita Belozertsev [6] – Vihaan Reddy
R1: Antonina Sushkova – Zhang Qian Wei – 7:6 (7:1), 6:4
R2: Antonina Sushkova – Ellen Hirschi
R1: Polina Sklyar [Q] – Teresa Germanova – 6:4, 6:2
R2: Polina Sklyar [Q] – Ksenia Efremova [3]
R1: Sofia Belinskaya – Emily Chen [WC] – 6:3, 6:4
R2: Sofia Belinskaya – Maia Ilinka Burcescu
Nikita Belozertsev and Polina Sklyar performed in the doubles tournament on Sunday. Unfortunately, no one made it to the second round.
Antonina Sushkova and Sofia Belinskaya will also compete in the girls’ doubles category; They will face each other in the first round.
Australian Open 2026. Couples. Youth
Nikita Belozertsev / Jamie Mackenzie- Ymerali İbrahimi / Cooper Pouch [WC] – 6:7 (6:8), 6:4, [5:10]
Polina Sklyar / Aishi Das- Mariella Tamm / Zhang Rui’en [6] – 5:7, 7:6 (7:2), [6:10]
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina She held a press conference after defeating Mirra Andreeva in the 1/8 final of the Australian Open 2026:
– Elina, congratulations on reaching the quarter-finals here for the fourth time. What does it feel like?
– Yeah, that’s great. Another chance to play in the semi-finals. But I am very happy with the match, and I am also very happy with my performance today. I think I implemented the plan well. I am very pleased with the result.
– Your next opponent will be Coco. If we talk about the preparations for this match in terms of temperature, I believe that the conditions will be similar to yesterday, at the same temperature. I know you don’t know when and where you’ll play yet. How do you prepare for conditions where temperatures will be very high?
– I didn’t actually think about it. I tried to prepare for today’s match. Someone told me a few days ago that it would be hot on Tuesday. So I’ll have to prepare. I think the preparations will start tomorrow with fluid intake and trying to stay calm. I think it’s important to prepare as much as you can, but we’ll both be in the same conditions. It is important to use tomorrow just to rest and prepare for this intense heat.
– You had incredible matches with Coco. What are your expectations and what do you need to do to reach your target semi-final?
– I need to discuss the plan with the coach and understand how to implement it. We had difficult matches, the last two I think were in three sets. We made the final in Auckland and the US Open a few years ago. We know each other’s game well. It is important to work on some points tomorrow, meet with the coach and be prepared for extreme heat. We will play not only against each other, but also against the conditions in which we will have to play in the heat.
– Is it more convenient for you to play in the daylight or under the roof?
– Of course, it’s better to play later. But I don’t decide the program. Maybe one match will be in the afternoon and the other in the evening. In the evening the weather is more pleasant, although the ball will still fly faster due to the heat, but in general everything will be fine.
– Considering the previous three quarter-finals, what does it mean to you to reach the semi-finals?
“Of course it means a lot to me, but I don’t want to think about it too much.” This is another opportunity to go far in the tournament. I want to focus on recovery and the game plan I need to execute well. These are my priorities now. If everything goes well, we will have a chance to win the next match.
– What gives you the confidence that you can take your game a step or two further?
– We did our pre-season preparations well. We worked on a lot of things on tactical issues. It was important to analyze what went well in 2025 and understand what could be improved and how. We worked with statistics, looked at where I could improve my serving, receiving and other aspects of the game. It opened my eyes to some things that I continue to work on. Everything is going well but the year is long, we have to keep going. The main priority is to stay in shape.
We made our pre-season preparations well. We worked on a few things. We worked on many tactical issues. It was important for me in 2025 to analyze what I did well and try to find where and how I could improve; We noticed a few tactical points. We worked with statistics to understand where I could improve my serving, receiving and overall game. It’s really opened my eyes to some things and I’m trying to work on them. I think it’s working so far but it’s been a long year so I need to keep going. I think the priority is still to stay fit.
– In your match against Mirra today, you won 15 of 20 points on her second serve – 75%. Was this planned? How much did that help you win in straight sets?
“It was important for me to apply pressure. Because if I let him get ahead in the rally, he can hit the ball very well to score points. He knows how to win matches, how to win tournaments. So for me it was important to try to take the initiative first and find a way to win because he is a very cunning tennis player. He changes the tempo, the length of the strokes. So you have to adapt very quickly and make split-second decisions to go to the ball or direct the ball to the right place.”
– Today Alexandra Oleynikova again commented on the situation with the war and stated that she was not happy that Arina Sabalenka had large advertising contracts. Do you have any thoughts about Russian and Belarusian players, their sponsorship deals and participation in Tours?
“I really have nothing to say about this.” I don’t know exactly what you said, so I don’t know.
Source: Sport UA
I am a sports journalist who has worked in print and online. I have authored articles for a sports website and have covered sports news for over 6 years.
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