Russian tennis star Anna Kalinskaya celebrated reaching the final of the DC Open with the help of her pet Bella after the dog twice stormed the court in Washington DC.
On Saturday night, the 26-year-old secured a 6-4 6-3 semifinal win over British star Emma Raducanu and she was soon joined by Bella.
The dog followed her owner around the court – tail wagging – before being hoisted into the air as the crowd cheered the new darling of the DC Open.
Only a day earlier, Bella – who even has her own credentials for the tournament – had again found her way on to the court after Kalinskaya beat No 4 seed Clara Tauson.
As the Russian packed her bags following the straight-sets win, cameras caught the small dog sprinting across the court.
The puppy, wearing a pink harness and dragging along a pink leash, ran straight for Kalinskaya – much to the amusement of the crowd in DC.
Anna Kalinskaya also celebrated her win over Clara Tauson with the help of her pet Bella
The puppy, wearing a pink harness and dragging along a pink leash, ran straight for Kalinskaya
Earlier on Friday, Bella watched the quarterfinal from her own seat in the Russian’s box
The world No 39 was briefly unaware that she had a visitor, with the dog standing behind its oblivious owner while she gathered her possessions.
Eventually, however, Kalinskaya scooped up her pet and used its paw to ‘wave’ to the crowd at the DC Open, which serves as one of the warm-up events for the US Open.
The Russian player then carried Bella over to her team before continuing to celebrate the quarterfinal win.
Earlier, pictures from DC showed Bella watching her owner from the stands. She was given her own chair and a towel to sit on.
On a few weeks ago, Kalinskaya lost to Denmark’s Tauson in the second round of Wimbledon but she exacted revenge with a 6-3 7-5 win.
