Wang Xinyu is in a tough spot, Xiao Shangbu narrowly wins, Sijian hopes for a match against Alcaraz, Draper advances

Three minutes daily to catch up on global tennis news. Hello tennis fans, today is Tuesday, February 24, 2026. Welcome to the news midday report brought to you by "Tennis Home."

Early this morning Beijing time, the WTA500 Merida event began. In a first-round singles match, British player Bolt defeated Brazil’s top player Maia 6-4, 6-4 to advance smoothly; meanwhile, Ukrainian Yastremska lost 4-6, 3-6 to Canadian Stakusic, exiting in the first round.

In a first-round doubles match, the Chinese-Spanish pair Jiang Xinyu and Buksha won 6-1, 4-6, 10-5 against Kasintseva and Strakhova, securing a strong start.

The WTA250 Austin tournament also began early this morning Beijing time. China’s No. 2 Wang Xinyu took the court at noon to face Swiss player Masarova. By the time of this report, the first set ended with Wang losing 3-6, facing a difficult situation. Hopefully, she can turn it around! In completed matches, Americans Townsend and Oswalt both won in three sets and advanced together.

Let’s turn to the men’s court. Last night Beijing time, the ATP500 Dubai event started. In a key first-round singles match, Chinese player Zhang Zhizhen saved five match points but still lost 3-6, 6-7(4) to top seed Canadian star Auger-Aliassime, exiting on his debut.

In the men’s doubles first round, the Chinese-Kazakh duo Shang Juncheng and Bublyk staged a thrilling comeback from 4-6, 6-4 to win 12-10 against He Chengrui and Jebens, reaching the quarterfinals. Around 6 PM Beijing time tonight, Xiao Shang will compete in his singles first round against Russian star Medvedev.

Other matches: Former champion and Swiss veteran Wawrinka opened with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Lebanese player Hassan. After this match, Wawrinka set a new record as the ATP player with the most tour wins (10) after turning 40. In an interview, Sijian said he hopes to face world No. 1 Alcaraz in his final season, stating, "The new generation is always stronger than the last. Look at the level of Yannick and Carlos now — it’s astonishing. I’ve had many tough matches against Yannick recently. I hope to play Carlos once more before I retire."

Other matches: Britain’s top player Draper defeated qualifier Aris 7-6(8), 6-3; French power Pericard narrowly beat wildcard Eschaji in three tiebreak sets.

Early this morning Beijing time, the ATP500 Acapulco tournament began. In a first-round singles match, 4th seed Spanish player Fucsovics beat German Altmaier 7-5, 6-3 to reach round two; Americans Brandon Nakashima and Serbian Kecmanovic also won to advance; Chinese top player Wu Yibing, coming through qualifying, faces a tough first-round challenge against 3rd seed and Norway’s top player Ruud.

The ATP250 Santiago event also started simultaneously. In a first-round singles match, Croatian Pližmić defeated local favorite Jarry 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 to open his campaign successfully.

Finally, a guessing game: here is a photo of a player training. Without any hints, can you recognize who she is?

Last time’s guess was correct. Yes, the person in the photo is the current women’s singles world No. 1 Sabalenka.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Independent Thinker)