Sakkari stays on course, while Stojsavljevic defies the odds

In another thrilling day at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, fourth seed Maria Sakkari turned things around against Maya Joint, while teenage Mika Stojsavljevic made an impression. Qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich ousted Talia Gibson in three hours to reach the quarterfinals.

Sakkari fights back, while Stojsavljevic enters the draw at the last minute and beats Kenin
Liu and Sasnovich pull off the upsets
Eala, Wang and Cirstea participate in a charity Pro-Am event
Venus Williams enjoys Ocean Park

GOOD TO KNOW: SOLD OUT! Public tickets for match days between 5–8 November at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open 2026 are fully booked.

Sakkari fights back, while Stojsavljevic gets late entry ticket and beats Kenin

Maria Sakkari (#30) came back from a set down on Wednesday to fight off rising Australian tennis star Maya Joint (90) and will now face Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the quarterfinals.

The Greek phenom had never faced Joint before, and she had to dig deep to go over the finish line (4-6, 6-3, 6-3) in 2h15. Her 20-year-old rival, who beat Serena Williams at Wimbledon this year, came back from 3-1 and 4-2 down in the first set before breaking at 4-4 and clinching it on her third set point. Sakkari came back roaring right from the start of the second set (2-0, 4-1), but still had to work hard to take over Joint in a contested third set. Joint saved two break points at 1-1 and three more at 2-2, but Sakkari got the decisive break at 3-3, saved a break point to hold for 5-3, and then didn’t lose a point to get another break to wrap it up.

What did Sakkari say?

“Obviously a very tough match, but I’m very happy I managed to turn it around. She’s a very good player, like everyone in this tournament. So you always have to bring a good game to beat these players. I’m just very happy with the way I played in the second and third sets. (…) I’ve been playing some good tennis. Had some good results. Not amazing, but not bad either. I would love to finish the season with a title, of course. I’m just very happy with how it’s going so far. (…) They have very good food here, so very happy with that. My belly is very happy this week. Yesterday I went to Central, and maybe tomorrow I’ll do something else. But it’s nice to have the afternoon off and just, you know, disconnect and not think about tennis and then have a nice dinner and prepare for Friday.”

One’s bad news was someone else’s chance on Wednesday. Canadian star Leylah Fernandez, on a superb run with a title in Singapore and two finals (Ningbo, Tokyo), had to withdraw before her first match at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open due to a left arm injury. And that opened the path for 17-year-old Mika Stojsavljevic to shine. The British teenager (#411) entered the draw at the last minute and delivered a stunning performance to beat Grand Slam champion Sofia Kenin (#187) on Centre Court (6-3, 4-6, 6-4).

At just 17, Stojsavljevic has been on the radar for a little while already. She won the US Open junior title in 2024 after reaching the Wimbledon Junior quarterfinals at only 14 the year before. This season, she reached the quarterfinals in Birmingham (WTA 125), becoming the youngest player to do so. And so on Tuesday, she made another step by winning that match at a WTA 250 in Hong Kong.

She could have had an even more impressive win as she was up 6-3, 3-0 and 4-2 before Kenin started to turn things around. Nerves and experience were fighting as much as groundstrokes out there, as Stojsavljevic also led 4-1 in the third set before Kenin started to shrink that lead again (4-3). But it was Mika’s day in Hong Kong, and so she found a way to close the door. She will now face Zeynep Sonmez.

What did Stojsavljevic say?

“I found out more or less an hour before I went on, so I didn’t really think about the match too much. I just tried to play my game and obviously realized that I was playing a very good opponent, but I just tried to play my tennis the best I could. I think now it’s just about continuing to do my routines, doing what I do basically every day. I’ve been here for a couple of days now, so I feel like I’m kind of accustomed to how everything works. I just have an aggressive game style. I’m also just always fighting, as well as the most important thing, and just hanging in there.

Liu and Sasnovich pull off the upsets

Claire Liu (#102) got a big win for her last event of the season when she defeated Katie Boulter (#49), a finalist here in 2024, in straight sets (7-5, 6-4) on Wednesday at Victoria Park.

Liu is on a great run here in Hong Kong as she found a way through super in-form Tatiana Prozorova in the first round. Against Boulter, it was a very close battle. The US player lost her serve to start the match and then saw Boulter save a set point at 5-4 in that first set before converting her second break point of the set to take the lead (7-5). Liu was then up a break (3-1) in the second set before Boulter came back (3-3) and had her save two break points to stay ahead (4-3). Liu made the decisive push at 5-4 on her rival’s serve, clinching the match at her second chance (6-4). She will now face the winner of the match between Sonmez and Stojsavljevic.

What did Liu say?

“I feel like each week has been really tough. I know it’s the end of the season, but I feel like there’s so much good tennis happening, and so I’m just trying to stay in it. I feel like this Asian swing has been really challenging, so it’s just been really nice to get the edge over it, especially this last week (quarterfinals in Guangzhou). I feel like going into this, I put so much pressure on, like, this is the last week, so I need to make it end on a really good note. It’s actually my coach who was like, ‘Whatever happens this week doesn’t matter for the next year, like kind of try to make the most out of the week and just have fun and keep it more about the tennis instead of what the calendar says.’ It’s been really nice to see myself have a couple of wins.

Antonia Ruzic (#81) will be Wang Xinyu’s next opponent in Hong Kong after the Croatian defeated Alina Charaeva (#82) in straight sets (7-6(5), 6-4). She was down 4-2 in the first set and saved two set points at 5-6 when her rival was serving for the set. She saw two match points slip away at 5-3 in that second set, but didn’t miss her second chance to close it out on serve.

Qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich (#101) is having quite the journey in Hong Kong as she’s now qualified for the quarterfinals! After three hours of fighting, she edged Australian Talia Gibson (#36), a recent finalist in Singapore (WTA 500), in three sets (6-1, 5-7, 7-6(7)). The experienced Sasnovich was down a break twice in the third set (2-3, 4-5) and two points away from defeat when Gibson was serving for the match, but she didn’t let Gibson close the door on her. She saved three break points in a row at 5-5 and then was down in a tie-break (2-4 from 2-0 up) where she had to save two match points in (6-4) before clinching the victory on her second chance. Clutch! And now she will challenge fourth seed Maria Sakkari.

YOU HAVE TO SEE THAT!

Venus Williams and her family spent a great time at Ocean Park in Hong Kong.

The former World No.1 and her close ones enjoyed both the nature surrounding them and all the entertainment available. Pandas were also met on the way.

It also proved to be good luck as Williams then won her doubles match with Xu Yifan today in a tight match (4-6, 6-3, 10-4) against Wu Fang-hsien and Lee Ya-hsin. “Oh my gosh, it was so much fun,” Williams said after the match. “More than anything, she has so much positive energy. And so, matches can be up, and they can be down, but you can always control your attitude. And I think that just helped me to stay positive. You can clearly see we work really hard. Joy comes in the process, but also in, you know, having a successful process.”

STARS GATHERED FOR CHARITY

During the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, it’s also a lot about giving back. That’s why on Wednesday, a charity Pro-Am event was set up in support of the HKCTA Foundation. It starred top players Wang Xinyu, Sorana Cirstea, and Alexandra Eala.

The players joined a group of generous donors at the first-ever Hong Kong Tennis Foundation (HKTF) Pro-Am charity event to support the ongoing work of the HKCTA Foundation, the charity arm of the Hong Kong, China Tennis Association (HKCTA), for students, the special needs community and the development of wheelchair tennis.

Established in 2020, the HKCTA Foundation is dedicated to empowering disadvantaged and under-resourced groups through tennis. Through training pathways, scholarships, and community programmes delivered in partnership with NGOs and schools across Hong Kong, over 6,000 people have benefited from these efforts. The funds raised today will help underprivileged children, special needs youth, retirees, and people with disabilities learn about living a healthier life through tennis, and as a result, appreciate better physical and mental well-being.

Mr. Ronny Chow, Chairman of HKCTA’s CSR Committee, commented, “We would like to offer our sincere appreciation to our participants and to the donors for their more-than-generous donation, which allows us to go deeper into the community and help empower those who need our help. With the latest funds, we can continue our efforts to leverage tennis as a tool to educate on inclusion and diversity, build confidence and self-belief, and help those who struggle with discovering the art of long-term well-being.”