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WTA Backspin by Todd Spiker: 2026 1Q Awards: Walking on Sunshine

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WTA Backspin by Todd Spiker: 2026 1Q Awards: Walking on Sunshine



1. Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
…three titles, four finals, two successful title defenses, four straight Indian Wells/Miami finals, six straight AO-IW-Miami finals, seven straight hard court major finals, a Sunshine Double in singles to go along with her ’19 doubles SD… and just one loss in 24 matches this year.

2. Elena Rybakina, KAZ
…carried over her late 2025 surge to the AO, where she claimed her second career major title. Posted a 16-2 mark in Melbourne, Indian Wells and Miami, but lost two of three match-ups with Sabalenka (who went 18-1) in the three events.

3. Katerina Siniakova/Taylor Townsend, CZE/USA
…successful both together and apart (both won three 1Q titles, two together), they joined forces to sweep Indian Wells and Miami to add a Sunshine Double to their growing collection of honors (two majors, three 1000s and both with stints at #1 during their partnership). In addition, Townsend added her maiden singles final in Austin, while Siniakova reached her maiden Indian Wells Round of 16.

4. Elina Svitolina, UKR
…back in the Top 10, the Ukrainian reached two finals (winning Auckland) and reached the SF at the Australian Open and Indian Wells

5. Li Xiaohui, CHN (WC)
…claimed her first wheelchair singles major in Melbourne (after being RU at the ’25 U.S.), sweeping the s/d AO crowns.

6. Karolina Muchova, CZE
…in fighting form (and not missing time), Muchova has gotten off to her best start ever, with a tour title (in Doha, her first since ’19), two SF (one in Miami) and a pair of big 4th Rounds (AO/IW) as she threatens to return to the Top 10 for the first time since ’24

7. Jessie Pegula, USA
…if only she could avoid Rybakina, against whom she’s 0-3 this season. Pegula, a title winner in Dubai when the Kazakh was nowhere to be found, went 19-1 against everyone else in the 1Q.

8. Elise Mertens/Zhang Shuai, BEL/CHN
…the AO doubles champs, a result that shot Mertens back into the WD #1 ranking

9. Victoria Mboko, CAN
…the highest-ranked teenager on tour, she’s continued to pick up steam with her maiden slam Round of 16, two finals (w/ Doha her second at a 1000), a Top 10 ranking, five Top 10 wins (behind only Rybakina) and even a 2-1 mark vs. the *second*-highest ranked teen (Mirra A.)

10t. Li Xiaohui/Wang Ziying, CHN/CHN (WC)
…the wheelchair duo successfully defended their AO crown and begin anew on a quest for a season Grand Slam. Last season, they reached all four major finals, losing only in Paris in a MTB.

10t. Anna Danilina/Aleksandra Krunic, KAZ/SRB
…finalists at the AO and Indian Wells, and winners in Doha. Though others won the three biggest 1Q titles, their consistency has the duo leading the Doubles Points Race

HM- Mirra Andreeva/RUS, Belinda Bencic/SUI, Cristina Bucsa/ESP, Sorana Cirstea/ROU, Olivia Gadecki/AUS (MX), Coco Gauff/USA, Talia Gibson/AUS


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MOST IMPROVED COMEBACK
1. Talia Gibson, AUS 1. Katie Boulter, GBR
2. Oleksandra Oliynykova, UKR 2. Vera Zvonareva, RUS
3. Hailey Baptiste, USA 3. Peyton Stearns, USA
4. Daria Snigur, UKR 4. Anhelina Kalinina, UKR
5. Cristina Bucsa, ESP 5. Storm Hunter, AUS
6. Zeynep Sonmez, TUR 6. Elisabetta Cocciaretto, ITA
7. Taylor Townsend, USA (s) 7. Diede de Groot, NED (wc)
8. Andrea Lazaro Garcia, ESP 8. Maria Sakkari, GRE
9. Sara Bejlek, CZE 9. Bianca Andreescu, CAN
10. Lilli Tagger, AUT 10. Francoise Abanda, CAN
11. Nikola Bartunkova, CZE HM- Kristina Mladenovic, FRA (d)
12. Joanna Garland, TPE —
HM- Anastasia Zakharova, RUS —

DOWN WHEELCHAIR
1. Iga Swiatek, POL 1. Li Xiaohui, CHN
2. Emma Navarro, USA 2. Li/Wang, CHN/CHN
3. Dasha Kasatkina, AUS 3. Diede de Groot, NED
4. Liudmila Samsonova, RUS 4. Yui Kamiji, JPN
5. Maya Joint, AUS 5. Aniek Van Koot, NED
6. Ekaterina Alexandrova, RUS 6. Wang Ziying, CHN
7. Madison Keys, USA 7. Ohtani/Zhu, JPN/CHN
8. Donna Vekic, CRO 8. Kgothatso Montjane, RSA
— 9. Lizzy de Greef, NED
— 10. Luna Gryp, BEL (jr.)

JUNIOR ITF
1. Ksenia Efremova, FRA 1. Hanne Vandewinkel, BEL
2. Kovackova/Kovackova, CZE/CZE 2. Celine Naef, SUI
3. Nauhany Vitoria Leme Da Silva, BRA 3. Bianca Andreescu, CAN
4. Sun Xinran, CHN 4. Lilli Tagger, AUT
5. Ekaterina Tupitsyna, RUS 5. Daria Snigur, UKR
6. Janae Preston, USA 6. Kovackova/Kovackova, CZE/CZE
7. Kristina Liutova, RUS 7. Emerson Jones, AUS
8. Giulia Safina Popa, ROU 8. Alina Korneeva, RUS
HM- Thea Frodin, USA HM- Anastasia Tikhonova, RUS (d)

COACH [PLAYER]
1. Sven Groeneveld [Muchova]
2. Anton Dubrov [Sabalenka]
3. Andrew Bettles [Svitolina]
4. Nathalie Tauziat [Mboko]
5. M.Knowles & M.Merklein [Pegula]
6. Stefano Vukov [Rybakina]
7. Jarrad Bunt [Gibson]
8. Tomas Kupka [Noskova]
9. Thomas Gutteridge [Jovic]
10. Francesca Schiavone [Tagger]
11. Michael Joyce [Boulter]
12. Ion Bucsa [Bucsa]

WTA Backspin by Todd Spiker: 2026 1Q Awards: Walking on Sunshine


#1 – SHINY HAPPY SABALENKA …Aryna Sabalenka becomes the fifth woman to complete a Sunshine Double with titles in Indian Wells and Miami, and the *only* player (male or female) to have done it in singles *and* doubles (winning both IW/MIA in ’19). After losing to Rybakina in the most recent WTAF and AO finals, she defeated the now world #2 in the I.W. final and Miami SF.
#2 – BUTTONED-DOWN AND DYNAMIC …Elena Rybakina’s big 2025 4Q lives on in 2026 in Melbourne, in the form of her second major title after rallying from 3-0 down in the 3rd vs. #1 Sabalenka in a rematch of the AO23 final that she’d lost in the deciding set
#3 – ROLLING DOWN UNDER …Li Xiaohui sweeps the AO26 wheelchair titles, becoming the first Chinese woman to win the singles crown in Melbourne, handing Diede de Groot her first slam singles final loss since 2019, as well as her *worst* defeat — with just three games won — in her four major title match losses. It ended de Groot’s 17-match run at the AO. In recent seasons, Li also ended de Groot’s 145-match winning streak in 2024, and her 52 straight slam match streak at last year’s RG. Li also teamed with Wang Ziying to take the doubles, successfully defending their historic AO25 win and claiming their fourth title in the last five majors (only losing in the RG final via a MTB).
#4 – DOUBLING THEIR FUN …Katerina Siniakova & Taylor Townsend join Sabalenka (and Jannik Sinner) in pulling off a Sunshine Double during this year’s Indian Wells/Miami swing, losing just one set over ten matches. It’s the first Sunshine Double for Siniakova, who has won pretty much everything else in her doubles career (claiming every major, the WTAF and Olympic Gold in both WD & MX).
#5 – GIBSON’S BIG SWING …Aussie Talia Gibson strings together a remarkable breakout Sunshine Swing, putting up QF/4r runs in Indian Wells and Miami that featured five Top 20 wins (consecutive upsets of Alexandrova, Tauson and Paolini, her first Top 10 victim, in California, then two more — over Osaka and Jovic — in Florida) as she completed a 21-4 wave of post-AO success that saw her raise her ranking from #118 to #56. The only players who’ve ever posted more Top 20 Sunshine wins in a single season were named Steffi (8), Martina (Hingis, 8), Serena (7), Aryna (6, this year) and Kim (7).
#6 – GETTING THE “DUB” IN DUBAI …Jessie Pegula reaches her seventh straight semifinal dating back to 2025, finally picking up her first title during the stretch in Dubai, posting Top 10 wins over Anisimova (SF) and Svitolina (F)
#7 – AN UNASSUMING SWEEP …ever under the radar, Cristina Bucsa rises to the top in Merida with a singles/doubles title sweep, finishing off with her first career Top 10 win (def. Paolini in the final)
#8 – THANKING HERSELF IN ADELAIDE …Mirra Andreeva’s uneven 1st Quarter hits its high point with a no-sets-lost title run in Adelaide, topped off by a win in the final over Vicky Mboko in the opener of what might just be the best on-court teen rivalry the tour has seen in years



Olivia Gadecki …repeats as AO MX champ w/ John Peers
Marta Kostyuk …records three straight Top 10 wins in Brisbane before losing in the final vs. Sabalenka in her attempt for a fourth
Mertens/Zhang …win first major title as a pair at AO
Karolina Muchova …wins biggest career crown in Doha 1000, her first tour title in six and a half years
Antonia Ruzic …reaches the Dubai 1000 QF as a lucky loser after having failed to convert any of 6 MP and losing in the opening Q-round, only to get into the MD after so many player withdrawals from the tournament meant that there weren’t enough Qualifying-finals participants to fill the empty slots
Aryna Sabalenka …Brisbane repeat w/o dropping a set
Aryna Sabalenka …reaches the final at a fourth straight AO, and seventh consecutive hard court major
Aryna Sabalenka …is the first woman to reach each of the AO-IW-Miami finals in the same season for a second time in her career, doing it in back-to-back years
Elina Svitolina …opens season at 10-0, winning in Auckland and reaching the AO semis after recording two Top 10 wins to set up her own Top 10 return


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*THE MOST SIGNIFICANT POINT OF THE 1st QUARTER OF 2026?*

*EVERYBODY LOVES ZEYNEP*

*IT ALL STARTED WITH… (or “PRELUDE TO A PURGE“)*

*HOW TO SAY YOU’RE *CLOSE* TO BEING BACK WITHOUT ACTUALLY SAYING YOU’RE *REALLY* BACK*

*RELATABLE RYBAKINA*

*FASHION SHOW, Pt.1*

*THE OLIYNYKOVA EFFECT*

*OUT OF THE MOUTH OF COCO*

*QUARTERLY KAROLINA MUCHOVA APPRECIATION CORNER*

*EVER GET THE FEELING THAT, NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU’RE TRYING, YOU’RE JUST IN THE WAY?*

*NIKOLA BARTUNKOVA BRINGING SOMEWHAT MUCHOVA VIBES WITH THE CASUALNESS (but countrywoman Karolina would have probably won the point)*

*UNDERSTANDING THE MISSION (i.e. complimentary colors — especially if they’re pastels at the Miami Open — are good in tennis fashion)*

*HANG IT IN THE LOUVRE NATIONAL GALLERY OF VICTORIA*

*”UNDERCOVER ALONA” (coming to Netflix this fall!)*

*MIRRA DOING HER THING*

*FASHION SHOW, Pt.2*

*MOST AWKWARD POINT*

Meanwhile, if the WTA had a real (or, you know, any) eye for marketing itself (so others have to do it for them)…

*BEST SOCIAL MEDIA MIC DROP: LEGEND EDITION*

*QUARTERLY COCO ACTION SHOT APPRECIATION*

*YOU KNOW…*

*DANCE LIKE NOBODY’S WATCHING, EVEN IF EVERYONE IS… and you don’t really care what they think of you*

Here she was after her 1st Round AO match…

Putintseva is gonna Putintseva.

*BEST NON-TENNIS SHOT BY A FORMER TENNIS PRO*

*BEST VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF A WTA MARKETING TEAM MEETING (starring Mirra)*

*FASHION SHOW, Pt.3*

*IGA IS… BOB ROSS, CLARK KENT and…????*

Ummm, maybe “Toby Kidd”… back to the future all over again?

*RYBAKINA IN RED (almost always a great Trophy Photo Day choice)*

WTA Backspin by Todd Spiker: 2026 1Q Awards: Walking on Sunshine


1. Indian Wells Final – Aryna Sabalenka def. Elena Rybakina

…3-6/6-3/7-6(6). If the WTA could bottle this match, they’d have the greatest product in the world ideally within easy reach of everyone at any time. But we know they still wouldn’t know *how* to sell it.

As it is, we’ll just have to marvel at the two best players in the world (and since also the top two *ranked* players in the world) both playing great at the same time and producing the sort of high-level match drama (though the “crazy” kind is fun, too) that displays the WTA at its very best.

Less than two months after downing Sabalenka in the final in Melbourne, Rybakina took the 1st set from her in the desert in fairly routine fashion, breaking for 4-2 and coasting to the 6-3 win while the world #1 seemed to “accept” her fate. But Rybakina’s trip off-court before the 2nd seemed to tilt the momentum onto Sabalenka’s side of the court, as the Kazakh’s level of play and tactics dropped a notch while a more aggressive Sabalenka finally found her groove.

Sabalenka knotted the match, then took a break lead at 3-1 in the 3rd, the same edge she’d had in the AO decider in January.

Sabalenka flirted with another stumble here, but held on after seeing her 3-2, 40/love game lead go to deuce, buckling down and holding with an ace to go up 4-2. Down 15/40 two games later, Sabalenka ran off four straight points in the clutch (foreshadowing…) as Rybakina’s unconverted BP streak was extended to six, holding for 5-3. Serving for the title at 5-4, though, Sabalenka again slipped behind at love/30. She ripped off a big forehand to get on the board, but then faced double BP. Rybakina broke for 5-5, and all the old memories of lost leads in big finals were barking inside Sabalenka’s head.

With Sabalenka having converted all three BP she’d seen up until then, she had multiple chances to get the chance to serve it out again. In game 11, she had three BP chances on Rybakina second serves, and two others when the Kazakh got her first serve inside the box, but Sabalenka couldn’t put away any of them. Rybakina held for 6-5, and a Sabalenka love hold sent things to a TB.

After the last TB between the two had seen Rybakina shockingly defeat the “Tie-Break Queen” 7-0 (at the WTAF), this one was a tight affair from the start. Rybakina got the first mini-break at 4-3, but Sabalenka got the breaker back on serve two points later. At 5-5, Rybakina fired a backhand winner down the line to reach MP, but Sabalenka saved it with a crosscourt backhand rocket.

In the next point, Rybakina’s volley sailed beyond the baseline and suddenly the tables had turned and it was Sabalenka who had the MP at 7-6. Finally with the title on her racket again, she sent a big serve down the “T” that Rybakina couldn’t keep in the court, and Sabalenka had pulled herself *all* the way up to safety after having been dangling from the cliff just moments before.

The Sabalenka victory ends Rybakina’s 12-match winning streak over Top 10 opponents.

While both women played spectaular matches in the California sun, *another* loss after being so close to victory would have been such a body blow to Sabalenka (and the story of the ’26 WTA season, as it would suddenly be focused on a tiresome *negative* surrounding the #1-ranked player rather than all the positives that *should* come from a match like this) that it’s hard to not be glad that none of us had to experience it, or watch Sabalenka have to navigate such a moment until she gets another chance (and hopes it doesn’t all unravel yet again).

Instead, she went on to win in Miami, once again defeating Rybakina (this time in the SF), to complete the Sunshine Double.

And just like that.

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2. Dubai SF – Elina Svitolina def. Coco Gauff

…6-4/6-7(13)/6-4. While other tournaments would beg for semifinal matches like those that occurred in Dubai, this event’s Two-fer Friday came just days after the tournament director had called for players to be docked ranking points for *not* playing the event.

In the best match of the tournament, Gauff’s level of fight was high, but it was the veteran Ukrainian who pulled herself over the finish line first in the end.

After three consecutive mid-set breaks in the 2nd, Svitolina saved a pair of BP/SP at 6-5 to force a TB, where she had four MP to put away the match in straights (w/ the first at 6-5, and the last 14 points later at 13-12). Finally, on her fifth SP of the TB (seventh of the set), Gauff claimed the 28-point breaker by a 15-13 score.

The 3rd was tight, as well, and ultimately pivoted on a long game 9 (tied up at 4-4) in which Gauff held two BP chances to be able to serve for the win, only to see Svitolina deny them both and hold on her own sixth GP, then follow up by breaking Gauff a game later to get the victory, converting her sixth MP on a Gauff shot into the net to reach her first 1000 final in eight years.

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3. Australian Open 1st Rd. – Elsa Jacquemot def. Marta Kostyuk

…6-7(4)/7-6(4)/7-6(10-7). Immediately following a ANZ Arena court loss by #26 Dayana Yastremska, the Ukrainian AO seeds’ poor day (aside from #12 Elina Svitolina’s quick win) continued with #20 Kostyuk following her countrywoman out the door in a crazy 3:31, three-TB affair vs. Jacquemot in which the two combined to save 26 of 32 break points (17 of 20 by the French woman alone).

Kostyuk came into Melbourne off a sometimes-brilliant opening week in Brisbane in which she defeated three Top 10 players en route to the final (a TB-free two-sett loss to Aryna Sabalenka), but whether pre-slam results mean anything once the big event begins is often a coin flip, and Kostyuk was on the wrong side of a momentum-shifting game-of-chance match today.

The Ukrainian had claimed the opening set after trailing 3-1, then 3-1 in the breaker, but couldn’t serve out the win in the 2nd set. Kostyuk served at 5-3 and held a MP at 6-5, only to lose a 7-4 TB as Jacquemot swept the final four points.

In the 3rd, while Kostyuk went about quickly holding her serve, winning at love, 15, 15, love and love up until the score was knotted at 5-5. Over those same first ten games, Jacquemot had had to save two MP in game 1, then four in game 9. In game 11, the Pastry held again in a four-deuce game in which she saved another BP for a 6-5 lead. In game 12, Kostyuk saved a MP, as well, but turned her ankle during the game before holding to force a deciding MTB (making this the second three-breaker MD tour match in the season’s first two weeks and one day, after there’d been none since 2023, and the first at the AO in the Open era).

With Kostyuk just back after having had her MTO in the previous game, Jacquemot raced to a 5-1 lead in the TB, and led 7-4 before Kostyuk managed to tie things again at 7-all. But the French woman swept the final three points to win the triple-TB affair, picking up her maiden Top 20 victory.

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4. Doha 3rd Rd. – Victoria Mboko def. Mirra Andreeva

…6-3/3-6/7-6(5). Might this be the beginning of a beautiful rivalry? So far, so good.

Just a few weeks earlier, Andreeva triumphed over Mboko in the all-teen final in Adelaide. The Hordette nearly clipped the Canadian again here, but Mboko saved a MP on Andreeva’s serve at 5-4, got the break of serve and ultimately forced a deciding TB, which she finally won on her third MP.

The two met again in the Miami 4th Round (three times in the first three months of ’26… yet Rybakina/Gauff has only happened *once* ever, and that match was almost *four* years ago), with Mboko winning a 1st set TB, then after Andreeva knotted the match, a love 3rd.

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5. Australian Open 1st Rd. – Maddison Inglis def. Kimberly Birrell

…7-6(6)/6-7(9)/6-4. Late in the evening, in a JCA affair that lasted until arond 12:30 a.m. in Melbourne, qualifier Inglis won an all-Aussie battle with Birrell to record her first MD win in a major since her 3rd Round AO run back in 2022.

Inglis nearly let it all slip away, losing a 7-6/5-2 lead and being unable to serve out the win at 5-3. In the 2nd set TB, she fell behind 5-2 and saved a pair of SP before holding two MP. Birrell surged back to win 11-9.

But, in the 3rd, Birrell couldn’t complete her comeback. The two combined to carve out just one BP chance (for Birrell in game 4) in the first eight games before Inglis finally gained an edge with a break to lead 5-4. She then served out the victory at love.

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6. Australian Open 2nd Rd. – Maddison Inglis def. Laura Siegemund

…6-4/6-7(3)/7-6(10-7). The #168-ranked qualifier saved what had been a bad day for the home contingent of Aussies in Melbourne, but she had to work overtime to do it.

In the 1st Round, Inglis nearly squandered a 7-6/5-2 lead vs. countrywoman Birrell, failing to convert two MP as Birrell won an 11-9 TB to force a deciding set, where Inglis prevailed with a late break/hold combo. A round later, against German vet Siegemund, Inglis found herself in another battle. Siegemund had rallied from 6-0/5-2 back in *her* 1st Rounder vs. Liudmila Samsonova, saving two MP and then recovering from another 3-1 deficit in the 3rd.

Here, after taking the 1st set, Inglis battled back from 5-2 down in the 2nd, saving a SP and getting the chance to serve out the win at 6-5. But she was broken at 15, and quickly fell behind en route to a 7-3 TB loss. In the 3rd, Siegemund grabbed an early break edge and served for the match at 5-4. But Inglis surged back in the big moment again, forcing a MTB and jumping out to a 6-2 lead. She reached MP at 9-5, and then sweated out a final stretch that could have gotten really sticky really quickly had she not finally put away MP #3 to win in 3:20, reaching her first AO 3rd Round since 2022 and becoming AO26’s Last Aussie Standing.

Other than her two AO runs, Inglis is 0-5 in her other major MD appearances, as well as having lost 15 times in slam qualifying.

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7. Dubai SF – Jessie Pegula def. Amanda Anisimova

…1-6/6-4/6-3. While it was overshadowed by the drama of the *second* semi (the aforementioned Svitolina/Gauff clash), Pegula/Anisimova provided its own “moment” in time.

Having never beaten her countrywoman in four tries, Anisimova put herself in great position for her first win, taking a 6-1/3-1 lead, and serving up 4-3. But her edge wasn’t big enough, as Pegula rallied back to prevail, claiming 11 of the last 15 games to reach just her second final in her seven-event run of consecutive SF+ results.

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8. Doha 3rd Rd. – Elena Rybakina def. Zheng Qinwen

…4-6/6-2/7-5. Rybakina managed to extend her winning streak to nine matches with a tight victory over Zheng, but it was anything but easy.

The AO champ led 5-2 in the decider, and held a MP on Zheng’s serve at 5-3. After failing to put away the match, Rybakina was broken in the next game. With Zheng serving down 6-5 to reach a deciding TB, though, Rybakina erased her 40/love lead with five straight points to get the win.

A quick look at the stats of the match, such as her 39-23 edge in winners (9-6 aces), reveal just how close Zheng was to ending the Kazakh’s run.

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9. Doha QF – Victoria Mboko def. Elena Rybakina

…7-5/4-6/6-4. In her next time out, Rybakina’s fortune didn’t hold firm against Mboko.

Again, in a pattern that — combined with the Zheng match — sure bears a striking resemblance to the many lost leads she had last season before her big 4Q run, Rybakina struggled to finish. In the 1st, she led Mboko 5-3, couldn’t serve out the set at 5-4, then saw the teenager save a pair of BP in a 6-5 hold. Mboko then broke Rybakina to secure the set and match lead.

In the 3rd, Rybakina again led, at 4-2, only to drop the match’s final four games. Up love/40 on Rybakina’s serve at 5-4, Mboko finally recorded her fourth career Top 10 win by converting on her fourth MP attempt.

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10. Brisbane 3rd Rd. – Madison Keys def. Diana Shnaider

…6-7(5)/7-6(5)/7-6(4). And the season’s first three-TB clash (the first in a MD tour match since ’23, actually) goes to last year’s AO champ.

In a nearly three-hour match, Shnaider grabbed the 1st after rallying from 4-2 down, only to see Keys reclaim her Aussie form of a year ago and storm back to get the win. It took some work, as the reigning AO champ had two MP at 5-4 in the decider, but finally put away the “W” on #3 in the TB.

But an AO repeat wasn’t on deck for Keys, who ended the 1st Quarter with an 8-5 mark, 4th Round exit in her title defense attempt in Melbourne, and a pre-2Q ranking of #18 a year after rising to a career-best #5.

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11. Auckland QF – Elina Svitolina def. Sonay Kartal

…6-4/6-7(2)/7-6(5). Svitolina rallies from deficits in the 1st (4-2, winning 6-4), 2nd (from 5-2 to force a TB, won by Kartal) and 3rd (5-3, with Kartal serving at 5-4) sets before finally advancing to a season-opening SF/F for the second time in three seasons (’23 Auckland RU).

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12. Australian Open 3rd Rd. – Victoria Mboko def. Clara Tauson

…7-6(5)/5-7/6-3. In an intriguing early-round match-up, #17 Mboko and #14 Tauson faced off for a berth in what would be a maiden AO Round of 16 for the winner. As it turned out, “Mbokomania!” moved one step closer to full activation Down Under, while the Dane once again came *close* to what would have been one of her signature wins only to come up just short.

After taking a 4-2 lead in the 1st, Mboko saw Tauson battle back to get things on serve and, ultimately, into a TB. There, again, it was Mboko who surged ahead (5-2) only to see her lead erased (5-5), but the 19-year old Canadian didn’t let the set slip away as she claimed the final two points of the breaker to win 7-5.

Tauson opened the 2nd with a break and held for 2-0, but this time it was Mboko who staged the comeback. She served for the win at 5-3, but was broken at love. Still, Mboko soon had opportunities from 15/40 up in consecutive Tauson service games, holding five total BP (three of them MP at 5-4) as the Dane hit her way out of trouble, serving out the set at 7-5 as she swept the final four games.

Mboko grabbed the early 3-1 lead in the 3rd set, but time prevented Tauson from storming back, finishing off the victory with a backhand volley to reach the her first career slam second week in her debut AO appearance (and fourth major MD overall). The two combined for 61 winners on the day.

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HM- Indian Wells 2nd Rd. – Katerina Siniakova def. Leylah Fernandez

…5-7/6-4/7-6(1). At 3:28, this was the longest match on tour this season since the 3:31 Jacquemot/Kostyuk clash in the AO 1st Round, and it took two well-timed, big-time set closings from the Czech to prevail.

The two women combined to go 0-for-10 on BP opportunities in the 1st until Siniakova finally broke through to end the set, but it was Fernandez who came on strong to take the 2nd, erasing a 4-2 deficit and winning the final four games to knot the match.

The Canadian led 3-1 in the 3rd, but Siniakova weathered a game 8 storm to stay alive, saving four BP and holding for 4-4. When the match went to a deciding TB, it was the Czech who dominated to the tune of a 7-1 victory.

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*SABALENKA vs. KOSTYUK… featuring Potapova*


Australian Open 3rd Rd. – Aryna Sabalenka def. Anastasia Potapova

…7-6(4)/7-6(7). This match teetered back and forth when it came to momentum, with Potapova rising to the occasion while Sabalenka fired off both winners and unforced errors with near uniformity (well, actually her UEs led in the end, 44-34). In the opening set, the two exchanged breaks early, and Sabalenka failed to take advantage of a love/40 lead on return at 6-5. With Potapova completing the ninth straight hold of serve in the set, things went to a breaker.

It would be Sabalenka’s first TB of the new season (after winning her first 14 sets of ’26 with relative ease), following her historic run of success in them in ’25. Last year, she went 22-2 and at one point won a record 19 consecutive tie-breaks before Jessie Pegula managed to end the steak in Wuhan, then ended her year with a shocking 7-0 2nd set tie-break loss to Elena Rybakina in the WTAF final.

So how Sabalenka would respond in her first TB since then brought a bit of intrigue into the mix. But, have no fear, she took a quick 3-0, double-break lead in the breaker, gave back consecutive points on her own serve, but only allowed Potapova one more point on her final four serves, winning 7-4.

In the 2nd, Sabalenka raced out to a 4-0 lead and seemed ready to cruise into the second week. But Potapova bounced back to knot the set a 4-all. After dropping serve, she denied Sabalenka as she served for the match, then held to take a 6-5 lead.

If the new Austrian knew what was good for her, she would have done *anything* to break Sabalenka to claim the set. But that didn’t happen, and one might say that her fate was almost sealed.

Sabalenka opened the 2nd set TB with a handful of errors that played a large part in Potapova taking the lead and stretching it to 6-3. With the set on her racket, though, Potapova dropped back-to-back points, then double-faulted on SP #3 as Sabalenka suddenly pulled even at 6-6. Another Sabalenka forehand error gave Potapova a fourth SP, but it also went by the wayside. Finally, Sabalenka put away a shot at th net to reach her own MP at 8-7. A Potapova error ended it, as Sabalenka prevailed in two.

Sabalenka ended the 1st Quarter having won all six of the tie-breaks she’s played so far in ’26.

*A SERIES OF VENUS SIGHTINGS (if not victories)*


While Venus Williams didn’t post an actual match win in the 1st Quarter (going 0-6 to extend her career-long streak to nine), she left a trail of happy fans and opponents (and even some points to store in the memory bank) in her wake.

Hobart 1st Rd. – Tatjana Maria def. Venus Williams

…6-4/6-3. Over the first two weeks of the new season, 38-year old Maria experienced the full WTA age spectrum when it’s come to her opponents, falling to 17-year old Emerson Jones in Brisbane and then one match later facing off and defeating 45-year old Williams (combined age w/ Maria: 83) in Hobart.

The age difference between Maria’s opponents — 28 years — would comfortably fit a whole Aryna Sabalenka.

Miami 1st Rd. – Francesca Jones def. Venus Williams

…7-5/7-5. With this loss, Williams remains winless since the 1st Round (vs. Peyton Stearns) last summer in Washington. She’s posted just one victory in singles since a 1st Round win in Cincinnati… in *2023*.

In this case, it was Jones who notched her first career 1000 MD victory, doing so against one of the inspirations (along w/ Serena) that she says made her career possible.

WTA Backspin by Todd Spiker: 2026 1Q Awards: Walking on Sunshine

1. Auckland 1st Rd. – Wang Xinyu def. Caty McNally 6-2/3-6/7-5

Auckland SF – Wang Xinyu def. Alex Eala 5-7/7-5/6-4

…Wang’s pair of comebacks from MP down en route to the Auckland final.

In her ’26 opener, she completed the rally vs. McNally after trailing 5-3 in the 3rd, and being MP down at 5-4.

In the semis vs. Eala, she won a crazy back-and-forth affair, squandering a 5-1 lead in the 1st as the Filipina won six straight games, then after losing a 3-1 edge in the 2nd it was Wang who came back from 5-3 (and MP) down to level the contest with a four-game winning streak. In the 3rd, Wang again threatened with losing a 5-1 lead, as Eala closed to 5-4 before the Chinese player finally held to reach the final.

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2. Dubai 3rd Rd. – Coco Gauff def. Elise Mertens

…2-6/7-6(9)/6-3. While so many around her were dropping like flies (often pulling out without playing a match, and still others when they couldn’t finish one), Gauff battled to *stay* in the draw early on (as well as late), rallying from a set down and three MP in the 2nd set TB (at 6-5, 7-6 and 9-8) vs. Mertens to force a 3rd and win to reach her fourth QF in five appearances in Dubai.

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3. Dubai QF – Amanda Anisimova def. Mirra Andreeva

…2-6/7-5/7-6(4). For all the withdrawals and retirements, Dubai still had some great match-ups in the later rounds (including two all-Top 10 semis).

Andreeva came *this close* to a great Desert Double, but instead went out with a second consecutive opportunity left on the table. A week after failing to convert MP in Doha vs. Victoria Mboko, the Dubai defending camp lost a 6-2/2-0 lead vs. Anisimova, then a 3-1 edge in the 3rd, and failed to serve out the win at 6-5.

Anisimova used multi-match winning streaks to “steal” the 2nd and 3rd sets from the teenager. She claimed five straight to take a 5-2 lead in the 2nd, then soon after broke Andreeva at love to avoid a TB and knot the match. Four consecutive games won gave Anisimova a 5-3 edge in the 3rd, though she couldn’t serve out the win nor convert a MP as Andreeva got the break to stay alive.

With Andreeva serving for the win at 6-5, Anisimova broke to force a deciding TB, where she raced to a 5-1 lead before finally putting away her third MP for a 7-4 win.

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4. Australian Open 1st Rd. – Laura Siegemund def. Liudmila Samsonova

…0-6/7-5/6-4. With Germany looking square in the face of an opening round 0-4 mark at AO26, Laura Siegemund swooped in to save the day, and her match against #18-seed Samsonova.

Throwing her hat into the middle of the Zombie Queen of Melbourne nomination ring, the 37-year old rallied from a massive 6-0/5-2 hole in a match in which Samsonova served for the win at 5-3 and held a pair of MP. After the German forced a 3rd set, she fell behind again at 3-1 only to fight her way across the finish with a three-set comeback victory.

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5. Doha Final – Anna Danilina/Aleksandra Krunic def. Hsieh Su-wei/Alona Ostapenko

… 0–6, 7–6(3), [10–8]. After years of high-level results alongside Irina Khromacheva, Danilina seems to have found another consistent partner in Krunic, as the pair reached their sixth final together since last June (including two majors at RG25/AO26), with Doha their second (w/ Wuhan) at a 1000 event.

They’d only claimed one title together in their five previous finals (w/ the first coming in ’22), but proved at their best in the clutch all week in Qatar, winning MTBs to advance in the 2nd Round (vs. Fernandez/Mladenovic) and QF (Hunter/Joint), and then coming back from a love 1st set loss vs. Hsieh/Ostapenko in the final, falling behind 6-0/5-2 and saving a MP at 5-3 before rallying to win a 2nd set TB and then a 10-8 MTB to claim the title.

Danilina & Krunic reached still another 1st Quarter 1000 final at Indian Wells, but fell to Siniakova/Townsend in the first leg of what turned out to be their Sunshine Double.

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6. Austin 1st Rd. – Taylor Townsend def. Linda Fruhvirtova

…4-6/7-6(3)/7-5. Townsend rallies from 6-4/3-0 back, saving a MP on serve down 5-4 before forcing and winning a TB, then claiming another extended set in the 3rd.

It wasn’t just Townsend’s first MD WTA win of the season, but her first since exiting last year’s U.S. Open after failing to convert eight MP in a Round of 16 match vs. Barbora Krejcikova.

Townsend went on to reach her maiden tour-level singles final.

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7. Abu Dhabi 2nd Rd. – Alex Eala def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich

…2-6/6-4/7-6(5). Eala again brought the fans, and for a while in Abu Dhabi brought the results, too.

The Filipina trailed Sasnovich 4-0 and 5-2 in the 3rd, facing a MP on her opponent’s serve before breaking the Belarusian on her third BP chance. Sasnovich still served for the match again two games later, but still couldn’t put away the win, then held a mini-break lead at 5-4 in the TB (w/ two serves incoming). She lost both, as Eala swept the final three points to advance.

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8. Indian Wells 2nd Rd. – Jaqueline Cristian def. Maya Joint

…0-6/6-2/7-5. A wild 3rd set saw Cristian take a 4-2 lead, but see Joint surge ahead and hold three MP on the Romanian’s serve at 5-4. Cristian held the six-deuce game by converting her fifth GP chance, then broke the Aussie on the third BP of game 11.

She saved a pair of BP in what turned out to be the final game of the match, serving out the 7-5 decider. Well — cough, cough — after a bit of an eleventh-hour delay.

It turned out to be the end of Joint’s nightmare 1Q, as the Aussie who had a breakout, two-title campaign in 2025 pulled out of Miami with a back injury, and ended the early hard court season with a 2-8 mark (w/ a Quarter-ending six-match losing streak, after it had started back in Week 1 with her withdrawing from the United Cup due to illness).

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9. Indian Wells 2nd Rd. – Camila Osorio def. Iva Jovic

…4-6/7-6(4)/6-3. Jovic seemed set to reach her first 3rd Round in the desert, taking the 1st and then hold an early break edge in the 2nd. She had three MP on serve at 5-4, but couldn’t close out the Colombian. Three BP in the following game came and went, as well, and Osorio forced a 3rd with a 7-4 tie-break win.

Osorio pulled away in the decider.

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10. Brisbane 1st Rd. – Magdalena Frech def. Marketa Vondrousova

…7-5/6-7(3)/7-6(0). In the longest MD match from Week 1, Frech staged 1st and 3rd set comebacks vs. the Czech to get the win, taking the 1st after initially trailing 4-2, and then saved two MP down 6-5 on the serve in the 3rd.

After holding to force a TB, the Pole shut out Vondrousova by a 7-0 score to win in 3:23.

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11. Brisbane 3rd Rd. – Mirra Andreeva def. Linda Noskova

…5-7/6-4/7-5. After a 20-3 start last year, Andreeva dragged a shell of her early-season self across the 4Q finish line (going 20-13 the rest of the year, 4-6 from her Wimbledon loss forward).

The (still-a) Hordette was immediately once again bright eyed and shining in the new season, dashing Noskova’s hopes after saving a pair of MP at 5-4 in the 3rd before going on to sweep the final three games to get the win.

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12. Miami 1st Rd. – Lilli Tagger def. Ella Seidel

…6-7(8)/6-4/7-5. Tagger received wild cards into the MD of both ends on the Sunshine Swing, playing 1st Round matches for the first times in her career at 1000 events. In Indian Wells, the 17-year old Austrian got a win over Varvara Gracheva, and in Miami she did the same vs. Ella Seidel.

It took some work against the German, though. Tagger couldn’t convert a SP in the 1st set TB as Seidel won it 10-8, but it was the teenager who rallied in the 3rd, staging a comeback from 4-2 down and saving a MP on serve at 5-4. After getting the hold, Tagger completed a break/hold combo in the final two games to get the win.

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*UNTIL NEXT YEAR…*


Australian Open Q1 – Lilli Tagger def. Gao Xinyu 3-6/7-5/6-3

Australian Open Q2 – Lilli Tagger def. Elena Pridankina 6-7(5)/7-6(5)/6-1

Australian Open Q3 – Lanlana Tararudee def. Lilli Tagger 6-3/6-0

…late last year, Austrian Tagger reached the final in her tour-level MD debut in Jiujiang, surging in the eleventh hour vs. Viktorija Golubic after being down triple MP at 5-4, 40/love in the 3rd. From MP down forward, Tagger won thirteen straight points to close out the victory.

While her first qualifying attempt in a major ultimately fell short in the AO Q3, Tagger continued to flash the sort of clutch persona down the stretch that makes her a name to watch very closely going forward. The teenager won from 6-3/4-2 down vs. Gao, then staged another comeback against Pridankina.

Tagger trailed 7-6/5-3, then won seven straight points to force a 3rd after falling behind 5-0 in the 2nd set TB, then dropping just one game in the 3rd.

WTA Backspin by Todd Spiker: 2026 1Q Awards: Walking on Sunshine

1. Australian Open 2nd Rd. – Nikola Bartunikova def. Belinda Bencic

…6-3/0-6/6-4. 19-year old Czech qualifier Nikola Bartunkova, a round after knocking off new Aussie Dasha Kasatkina in the 1st Round in her slam MD debut, was then behind the exit of the first Top 10 woman to fall at this year’s AO, taking out #10 Bencic (ending her six-match winning streak) for her maiden Top 10 victory.
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2. Australian Open 1st Rd. – Zeynep Sonmez def. Ekaterina Alexandrova

…7-5/4-6/6-4. Sonmez rallied from 5-2 down to claim a 7-5 1st set, then saw #11 seed Alexandrova erase an early 3-1 deficit in the 2nd to force a decider. In the 3rd, Sonmez once more had to put on a comeback surge (from 3-0 back), and at 5-4 finally served out the win on her fourth MP of game 10.

This AO was the third consecutive major at which Sonmez has posted at least one MD victory (after 2r and 3r results at the last year’s WI/US), and she ultimately became the first woman from Turkey to reach the AO singles 3rd Round.

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3. Indian Wells 4th Rd. – Talia Gibson def. Jasmine Paolini

…7-5/2-6/6-1. Gibson polishes off her third straight Top 20 — and first-ever Top 10 — victim with an upset of the Italian.

The Aussie would notch two *more* Top 20 wins in Miami to extend her sterling Sunshine Swing into *another* 1000 Round of 16.

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4. Miami 2nd Rd. – Magda Linette def. Iga Swiatek

…1-6/7-5/6-3. Two Poles were better than one, as Linette (teamed with coach Aga Radwanska) staged a rally after losing a 6-1 1st (her third straight 6-1 set lost to her countrywoman, after a 6-1/6-1 loss in Beijing in 2023) to hand Swiatek the latest in her growing list of eye-opening losses against players she’d previously had little difficulty with between the lines (though, granted, their only other meeting came two and a half years ago).

In this case, Swiatek never broke Linette’s serve in either of the final two sets, ending her string of 68 straight opening wins in knock-out events (I suppose one *could* say her “streak” was 73 in all events but, really, why *would* one do that since in WTAF and team events there are no lose-and-go-home stakes when it come to opening matches?) that goes back to 2021. Her one-and-done loss in Cincinnati in 2021 (vs. Ons Jabeur) had been her only winless *regular* singles event of the run of 81 tournaments that started with her breakout title at Roland Garros in 2020.

Linette’s momentum didn’t last, as she fell in her next match to Alex Eala, 6-3/7-6. Days later, Swiatek fired coach Wim Fissette.

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5. Indian Wells 3rd Rd. – Katerina Siniakova def. Mirra Andreeva

…4-6/7-6(5)/6-3. Andreeva’s title defense attempt comes to a thudding end, even while she consistently pushed back against the Czech in the opening two sets, then held a break lead in the 3rd. And, once again — as has become a too common occurrence when things haven’t gone well for her on the court — the teenager didn’t go out with her head held high.

Siniakova had a double-break edge at 3-0 in the 1st before Andreeva ran off six of seven games to take the opener, then the teenager immediately erased Siniakova break leads on *three* occasions in the 2nd, only to see Siniakova prevail on her *fourth chance* in the tie-break.

Having knotted the match, it was Siniakova who erased Andreeva’s break lead at 3-2 (converting on her fourth BP of the game) in the 3rd, then broke the Hordette again to end the match two games later for her 12th career Top 10 victory.

Siniakova was at a loss for words…

At the end of the match, we got a literal “welcome to the crazy women’s tennis tour” crash of moments, from Andreeva’s anger to Siniakova’s tears to Andreeva’s cursing at the fans and one fan’s “oh-my” reaction to it all.

And here is where we respectfully recognize that not all teenagers arrive with the temperament of a Coco Gauff. It’s hard not to push back — by at least two majors — the date of Andreeva’s “inevitable” slam triumph every time her immaturity “escapes its container” like this.

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6. Doha QF – Maria Sakkari def. Iga Swiatek

…2-6/6-4/7-5. At the time, this seemed a bigger win for Sakkari, who had her best confidence-building result in ages, than a big loss for Swiatek, who’d added the Greek to the list of players she’s recently dominated who had managed to flip the script and get the better of *her*.

In this instance, Sakkari rallied from 6-2/4-1 down, then turned back Swiatek again when she was close to closing out both the 2nd and 3rd sets. At 4-4 in the 2nd, she had two BP for the opportunity to serve out the match, but instead Sakkari held and then quickly took a love/40 lead on Swiatek’s serve, getting the break to force a deciding 3rd set.

There, Swiatek fell behind 5-2. Sakkari failed to serve out the match at 5-3, and couldn’t convert a MP on return at 5-4. At 5-5, Swiatek seemed set to turn the momentum all the way back to her side, but Sakkari buckled down to hold at love and then take a 15/40 lead on return. She got her biggest win since the 2022 WTAF by converting on her third MP, taking out the three-time Doha champ two rounds short of the final (she’d won 19 of her last 20 in the event, and hadn’t fallen before the SF since 2020). Swiatek had been 109-0 in 1000 level matches after winning the 1st set.

It was Sakkari’s first win over Swiatek since 2021… but it continued to prime the pump for what was a harrowing 1st Quarter for the former #1.

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7. Australian Open 1st Rd. – Bai Zhuoxuan def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

…6-4/2-6/7-6(12-10). Chinese qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan made Pavlyuchenkova the third Hordette to exit on Day 1 of AO26 (a full third of the entire reduced contingent in this year’s MD), winning a contest in which the two traded off MP chances in the deciding MTB. Bai had the first and last, finally converting to win 12-10.

The win is Bai’s first in the MD of a major since her 2023 debut at Wimbledon. She missed nearly the entire first half of the ’25 season, and ultimately appeared in just one tour-level event (a Jiujiang QF, along w/ three challengers) before opening her ’26 campaign with an AO qualifying run as the world #697.

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8. Auckland 1st Rd. – Kaitlin Quevedo def. Peyton Stearns

…6-2/7-5. 19-year old Quevedo, Florida-born and now representing Spain, carried over her ’25 surge (two $100K finals with one win, and a Top 150 ranking) into the opening week of ’26. She qualified to reach her maiden WTA MD, where she got a win over Stearns.

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*IF RUZIC WAS A “LUCKY LOSER,” THEN WHAT WAS SRAMKOVA?*

Dubai Q1 – Rebecca Sramkova def. Antonia Ruzic 5-7/7-5/6-1

Dubai 1st Rd.- Antonia Ruzic def. Emma Raducanu 6-1/5-7/6-2

Dubai 2nd Rd.- Antonia Ruzic def. Anastasia Zakharova 6-1/6-7(2)/6-1

…Ruzic failed to get out of the opening round of Dubai qualifying, despite leading Sramkova 7-5/4-1, then 5-3, and holding *six* MP on the Slovak’s serve at 5-4.

But with all the withdrawals from the MD, and seven LL entering the field, Ruzic was one of two players (w/ Petra Marcinko) who didn’t even reach the final Q-round who still got a second chance. The Croatian made the most of it, too, posting three-set wins over Emma Raducanu and Anastasia Zakharova (also a LL) en route to her maiden career 1000 quarterfinal.

Dubai 3rd Rd. – Antonia Ruzic def. Elena Rybakina

…5-7/6-4/1-0 ret. Ruzic’s remarkable run continued as Rybakina pulled up in the 3rd set due to illness, sending the LL Croatian into the first 1000 QF of her career.

Austin 1st Rd. – Yuan Yue def. Rebecca Sramkova

…4-6/7-5/6-1. Sramkova had saved six MP in the opening round of Dubai qualifying vs. Ruzic, eventually reaching the MD by her own racket (but falling in the 1st Rd.), while Ruzic became a lucky loser who played into the QF.

This time around, it was the Slovak who couldn’t put away any of three MP vs. lucky loser Yuan, having led 40/love on serve at 6-4/5-4.

Yuan ultimately won nine of the last ten games in the match.

Ah, tennis.

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All for now.

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