Tatjana Maria defeated Venus Williams 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of the Hobart International, registering a straight-sets win in the first career meeting between the two veterans. The 38-year-old mother of two closed out the match after breaking serve five times in just under an hour-and-a-half on court.

Their combined age exceeded 84 years, making it the oldest match on the WTA tour since the tour began in 1973. The result followed Maria’s loss the previous week in the first round of the Brisbane International to 17-year-old Aussie Emerson Jones.

“Everybody loves Venus—I love her too!” the German said, noting a local connection: Maria makes her family home near Williams in Florida. She also described her children’s excitement about the matchup. Maria said her two daughters, 12-year-old Charlotte and 4-year-old Cecilia, count Williams among their favorite players.

“They said they are for me! But Charlotte’s reaction was, ‘Oh my God, that’s amazing. I’m going to see Venus against you?’,” Maria said. “For me, to play her was such an honor because I never played her before. It was not easy with all the wind but it was amazing.”

For Williams, the loss extended a difficult run in main-draw singles. Since becoming the second-oldest winner of a WTA main-draw singles match in the Open Era last summer in Washington, D.C., former world No. 1 Williams has lost five straight singles matches. The Hobart meeting paired two experienced players and produced a clear, straight-sets outcome as the early-season events continue to unfold.

Top-seeded Elina Svitolina captured her 19th WTA Tour title Sunday at the ASB Classic, defeating seventh-seeded Wang Xinyu 6-3, 7-6 (8). The 13th-ranked Svitolina improved to 5-0 to open the year after ending 2025 on a four-match losing streak and now owns 19 titles from 24 finals appearances.

This was Svitolina’s first tournament since she took a mental health break that ended her 2025 season in September. She was supported courtside throughout the week by her husband Gael Monfils, who won the men’s title in Auckland last year and will defend that title from Monday.

“It definitely feels amazing to win another title, especially after a not very pleasant end of year for me,” Svitolina said. “But that break really helped me to regroup and come back with a new energy and I’m very happy that I got a title here.

“This one was very special because, obviously, my husband won here last year and this year he told me if you don’t win this year I don’t know what to tell you anymore.”

Svitolina showed resilience from the start, saving a break point in her opening service game. Wang, in her first WTA Tour final, displayed sharp net play and a well-disguised drop shot, weapons notable from her French Open doubles success.

Svitolina converted her first break opportunity in the sixth game and closed out the opening set in just over 30 minutes. In the second set, Wang held a tight opening game and used a drop shot to force Svitolina out of position, then survived break points in the fifth with a running volley and pushed to lead 5-4.

The match reached a tiebreak where Wang took an early advantage, but Svitolina quickly recovered. She produced two powerful serves to move ahead 6-5, survived a saved championship point and then seized a crucial minibreak before serving out the victory on her second match point.

Svitolina now heads to Melbourne, where she will play an exhibition against fourth-ranked Amanda Anisimova on Wednesday.

After finishing second in the United Cup the past two seasons, Poland completed a run to the title with a narrow 2-1 victory over Switzerland. The tie was decided in mixed doubles when Katarzyna Kawa and Jan Zielinski beat Belinda Bencic and Jakub Paul 6-4, 6-3 to secure the win for Poland.

The weekend had produced tense two-set reversals and three-set singles battles. Belinda Bencic rallied from a set down to upset Iga Swiatek 3-6, 6-0, 6-3. Hubert Hurkacz then forced the deciding doubles by defeating Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Poland had fallen short in the final in each of the two previous editions, losing to Germany in the 2024 final and to the United States last year. This time the country got over the line thanks to the breakthrough mixed doubles pairing of Kawa and Zielinski, whose straight-sets victory clinched the tie.

Bencic earned tournament MVP honors after compiling a 9-1 record over the event. She described the award as “bittersweet.” The Swiss player’s comeback over Swiatek and consistent performances through the week were central to Switzerland’s challenge in the final.

The match sequence underlined how small margins decided the title. Singles victories by Bencic and Hurkacz set up a decisive doubles match that ultimately swung Poland’s way. Kawa and Zielinski delivered under pressure, converting the opportunity to lift the trophy for their nation after two successive runner-up finishes.

© 2026 Robert Prange