500 Adelaide International United Cup
Victoria Mboko outlasts Madison Keys in Adelaide, still chasing straight-set wins
Mboko has played five matches in 2026, all three-setters; she edged Keys and seeks straight-set wins
Victoria Mboko continued her string of three-set battles at the start of 2026, producing back-to-back wins in Adelaide to advance toward the semifinals. “Maybe I can try to find some straight-set wins soon.” The 19-year-old has now played five matches this year and all five have gone the distance. She is 4-1 in deciders to begin the season.
Mboko split her opening two matches at the United Cup before arriving at the WTA 500 in Adelaide. On Wednesday she saved a pair of match points to beat Anna Kalinskaya and keep her run alive. The following day she produced her biggest result of the stretch by defeating the defending champion, No. 2 seed Madison Keys, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
In the final set Mboko did not face a break point and won half of her return points to pull away from the reigning Australian Open champion. “She hits a pretty strong ball, and all I was thinking in that moment was just to try to stay low and try to redirect as much as I could, and try to either make her miss first or have a good opportunity to take control,” Mboko assessed during a press conference Thursday.
The world No. 17 is seeking a third career trophy. She captured her maiden WTA title on home soil last August at the 1000-level event in Montreal and finished 2025 with a title in Hong Kong. Local hopeful Kimberly Birrell, the player Mboko defeated at the start of that seven-match run, awaits in the semifinals.
As the eighth seed, Mboko can move into the Top 15 by winning the title this week. “I’m expecting a big fight tomorrow. She also has the crowd advantage, so that’s good for her,” she said. “But I’m going to just go in the match like I do every other match, and just stay right in there, try to play my game, and just have fun on court.”
Mboko reflected on the rapid change in her career over the last year. “I kind of had to adjust and adapt very quickly from playing ITFs to suddenly playing on the WTA tour full. Often playing top players, you have to get used to all of that,” she reflected. “So I’m glad I can kind of get a deep run in this tournament, and try to set the tone for the start of this year.” At this time a year ago she was ranked No. 337.
500
Singapore Open thinned out as Krejcikova joins the withdrawals
Singapore Open withdrawals mount as Krejcikova exits after opening-round victory in Singapore.
The Singapore Open has been disrupted by an unusually heavy run of withdrawals as the Asian swing gets underway on the WTA Tour. The event, first on that part of the calendar after the US Open, has already been affected by the physical demands that typically follow a long North American hard-court stretch. Travel, time-zone changes and overall fatigue have all shaped the picture in Singapore.
The list of absentees has grown steadily, with Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula and Diana Shnaider among the seeds who have already pulled out. Even with the tournament in progress, the attrition has continued.
Barbora Krejcikova is the latest player to exit, and her withdrawal came after she had won her opening-round match. The two-time Grand Slam champion has pulled out of her round of 16 meeting with defending champion Elise Mertens because of a lower back injury.
That development moved Mertens straight into the quarter-finals without needing to step on court. She will now face Roland Garros breakout star Maja Chwalinska for a place in the semifinals.
The draw has also placed Alex Eala and Mirra Andreeva in the position of top two seeds, and both now look well placed to progress deep into the event. Andreeva opens against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, while Eala faces Tatiana Prozorova for a place in the last eight.
With so many withdrawals already recorded, the tournament offers a clear opening for both players. Andreeva could win the title without facing a single opponent ranked inside the WTA top 10, especially after Pegula’s withdrawal earlier in the week. The highest-ranked player she may meet before the final is Mertens, who is world No 19. For Eala, the highest-ranked possible opponent before the final is world No 33 Maria Sakkari.
Singapore Open withdrawal list
Jessica Pegula (world No 3) → replaced by Kristina Mladenovic
Amanda Anisimova (world No 11) → replaced by Talia Gibson
Diana Shnaider (world No 13) → replaced by Viktoria Morvayova
Sorana Cirstea (world No 16) → replaced by Alycia Parks
Anastasia Potapova (world No 24) → replaced by Linda Fruhvirtova
Ekaterina Alexandrova (world No 27) → replaced by Sofia Costoulas
Sara Bejlek (world No 28) → replaced by Tatiana Prozorova
Ann Li (world No 29) → replaced by Aliaksandra Sasnovich
Clara Tauson (world No 40) → replaced by Daria Kasatkina
Janice Tjen (world No 46) → replaced Mei Yamaguchi
Barbora Krejcikova (world No 41) → Elise Mertens receives a bye into the QF
125 500
Singapore Open loses more names as withdrawals mount before WTA 500 start
Singapore Open withdrawals pile up before the WTA 500 begins, with Tjen the latest to exit.
The Singapore Open is due to open the WTA Tour’s Asian swing, but the field has thinned considerably before the first ball is struck.
The WTA 500 event starts on September 21st, with Mirra Andreeva, Alex Eala and Amanda Anisimova among those still scheduled to compete. The draw has already been completed, and it had pointed toward a possible final between Andreeva and Eala. Even so, the list of withdrawals has kept growing.
Janice Tjen became the latest player to step out of the tournament, pulling out just one day before it was set to begin. She said a right wrist injury was behind the decision.
Tjen is the 10th player to withdraw from the event and joins a group that includes Jessica Pegula, Diana Shnaider and Sorana Cirstea. Pegula, who would have been the top seed, announced her withdrawal on social media.
“I’m really disappointed to have to withdraw from Singapore,” Pegula said via an Instagram Story on the 15th September, less than a week before the tournament was set to begin.
“After a long and physically demanding few weeks at the US Open, I’m just not quite ready to get back on court and compete at the level I expect from myself,” said the US Open 2026 semi finalist. “I was really looking forward to playing in Singapore and hope I can come back in the future.”
The withdrawal list also includes Diana Shnaider, Sorana Cîrstea, Anastasia Potapova, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Sára Bejlek, Ann Li, Clara Tauson and Mayar Sherif. Each has been replaced in the draw, with some spots going to named alternates and others to a qualifier or lucky loser.
The Singapore Open will serve as a lead-in to the China Open, the penultimate Masters tournament on the WTA Tour calendar. The event runs from September 21st to September 27th, ending three days before the China Open begins.
Elise Mertens will return as the defending champion after winning the title in 2025, and she enters the WTA 500 event as the fourth seed.
500
Eala faces a demanding path in Singapore after draw reveals possible heavyweight meetings
Eala’s Singapore Open draw includes Vekic, Anisimova and a possible final against Andreeva.
Alex Eala will need to negotiate a difficult field if she is to lift the Singapore Open title next week.
As the third seed, the 21-year-old has received a bye into the second round after being placed among the top four seeds. Her opening opponent will be either world No 152 Sofia Costoulas or world No 178 Tatiana Prozorova, a first-round match that will decide who meets the Filipina first.
Eala has not played either player before. If she comes through that match, the route could quickly become more demanding, with Queen’s Club champion and former world No 17 Donna Vekic waiting in the quarter-finals.
Eala leads Vekic 2-0 in their head-to-head after winning both meetings this year. The first came in Auckland, where she prevailed in three sets, while the second was a straight-sets result in Berlin. Those contests were tight, underlining the scale of the challenge ahead.
Should Eala move beyond that stage, second seed Amanda Anisimova could stand in her way in the semi-finals. The American won their only meeting in Cincinnati in August, taking a three-set battle as Eala fell 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in her final warm-up event before the US Open.
The upper half of the draw also places Mirra Andreeva in contention for the final, with the French Open champion projected to meet defending champion and fourth seed Elise Mertens in the semi-finals. Eala has never faced Andreeva on the WTA Tour, though she did defeat the Russian on the way to the girls’ singles title at the 2022 US Open.
There are other players capable of complicating the draw, including Maja Chwalinska, Leylah Fernandez, Barbora Krejcikova and Maria Sakkari. In other parts of the bracket, Andreeva may open against Daria Kasatkina or Aliaksandra Sasnovich, while Anisimova is set to begin against Talia Gibson or wild card Fiona Ferro.
The event has been upgraded from a 32-player WTA 250 held in late January last year to a 28-player WTA 500 in 2026. Eala, Andreeva, Anisimova and Mertens have already secured 60 ranking points and $18,045 in prize money by receiving byes into round two.
The champion will earn $185,500 and 500 points, while the runner-up will take home $114,500 and 325 points. The main draw starts on Monday.
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