What a turnaround! Yuan Yue saves 3 match points to win in Austin

On February 24 local time, the 2026 WTA250 Austin event proceeded with the women's singles opening round. Chinese athlete Yuan Yue, competing as a lucky loser, overcame 3 match points and overturned Shramkova 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 to secure her place in the second round.

Yuan Yue

Austin has been a lucky venue for Yuan Yue. In 2024, she met Wang Xiyu in the singles final here and claimed her first career title; last year, she won the doubles championship partnering with Blinkova. However, returning to this favored ground with a singles world ranking of No.128, Yuan failed to directly enter the main draws in both singles and doubles. She was unexpectedly defeated by Osgerby in the second round of singles qualifying, casting a shadow over her participation this time.

At the last moment, fortune smiled upon Yuan Yue on this familiar court. The defending champion and top seed Pegula, who had just won the Dubai title last week, withdrew before her first-round match here due to a left knee injury. Yuan, as a lucky loser, replaced Pegula’s spot in the singles main draw. Although Yuan trails 0-1 in head-to-head matches against Shramkova, the latter has a poor season record of 2 wins and 5 losses, and her world ranking has fallen outside the top 100 due to recent struggles.

In this match, Yuan Yue faced breaks of serve early in all three sets. The pivotal moment came in the 10th game of the second set when Shramkova, serving for the match at 40-0, squandered 3 match points consecutively. Yuan then unleashed a 13-2 scoring run to level the match. In the deciding set, after being broken once, Yuan surged forward, winning 6 straight games to deliver a “bagel” and clinch the victory.

In the second round, Yuan Yue will face Hungarian player Gálfi for a spot in the quarterfinals. Gálfi battled through three sets to defeat wildcard and former US Open champion Andreescu 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. This match is scheduled to start at 9:30 AM Beijing time on the 26th. Meanwhile, American legend Venus Williams, who entered via wildcard, lost 4-6, 1-6 to Tomljanovic. Tomorrow, Venus will team up with Stearns on the center court in doubles to challenge the top seeds Hunter and Townsend.

Other match results

[2] Jovic def. Blinkova 6-3, 6-4

[4] Stearns defeated F. Jones 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

Krug won 6-1, 7-6(5) against McNally [7]

Biller lost 0-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Masinko [8]

Juvan beat Liu Jingwen [Q] 6-4, 7-6(1)

Zaharova overcame Stoyana [W] 3-6, 6-2, 6-4

(Text and editing: Dato, Photos: Visual China)