Alexandra Eala produced a dramatic recovery at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, overturning a 4-0 deficit in the final set and surviving a match point to defeat Aliaksandra Sasnovich, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(5). The 20-year-old left-hander completed the comeback in two hours and 51 minutes before a sold-out crowd at the Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex.

Sasnovich, a 31-year-old lucky loser in the draw, held match point at 5-2 in the decider but double-faulted on the crucial point. That error opened the door for Eala, who then forced a tiebreak and captured the last three points to clinch the encounter. Earlier in the match Eala trailed by a set and a break at 6-2, 1-0, and she also saved a break point while serving at 5-5 in the final set.

Sasnovich finished with more winners and points: 38 winners to Eala’s 22, and 121 overall points to 111. Her break-point conversion was higher as well, converting 6-of-11 opportunities compared to Eala’s 5-to-17. Still, the late moments belonged to Eala, whose return to form in the closing stages decided the match.

A visibly moved Eala spoke to 2016 Olympic champion Monica Puig after the victory. “I just think these moments are moments I only have dreamed about,” she said, as the jam-packed stadium chanted her name. “Selling out stadiums, it’s insane. Being in these matches in particular are really the ones that stick with you, and I’ve had a lot of them in the past year.”

Eala reflected on her opponent’s start and her own effort later in the match. “I think she started really well and in the tight moments, she also stepped up, especially with the serve and a lot of winners,” Eala added. “I really tried my best in those moments … to find the fight, and in the end, when I was coming back, I found it, so I’m very proud of that.”

The win sends Eala into the quarterfinals and extends a season that has already included a WTA 1000 semifinal in Miami, a WTA 250 final in Eastbourne and a WTA 250 semifinal in Auckland.

No. 6 seed Arthur Fils made a successful return to competition at the Open Occitanie, his first event since early August 2025 following a lower back injury. The 21-year-old produced 50 winners, including 14 aces, to defeat countryman Valentin Royer 7-6(7), 6-7(4), 6-2 in two hours and 33 minutes in Montpellier.

“It’s been a while since I last competed, so returning to the circuit is great,” Fils told press during Media Day. “I feel a lot of joy and happiness. I’m very excited to be back on the courts with so many fans.

“It’s been a long process. I’m back, so that means everything is positive, both mentally and physically.”

Fils withdrew from Roland Garros in May 2025 after suffering a lower back injury that was later diagnosed as a stress fracture during a five-set, four-and-a-half-hour second-round battle against Jaume Munar. That match was later selected as the second-best of 2025, according to Steve Tignor.

He tried to resume play in Canada in August 2025, winning a singles match and teaming with Ben Shelton to reach a doubles quarterfinal, but the comeback was short-lived. He then announced that he would shut down his season to recover. “Excluding Roland Garros, I think withdrawing from the Masters 1000 in Paris was the hardest moment,” he said in Montpellier.

The injury interrupted a rapid rise: Fils climbed to a career-high No. 14 in April 2025 after runs to the quarterfinals at Indian Wells, Miami (including a win over world No. 2 Alexander Zverev) and Monte Carlo, and a semifinal in Barcelona. Now ranked No. 42, he arrives in Montpellier determined to rebuild and defend points.

Fils skipped the opening weeks of the 2026 season, missing the Australian swing while continuing rehabilitation, a decision he outlined in a vlog on his YouTube channel. He has worked with a nutritionist and said he lost “six or seven kilos since Roland Garros.” “I’m 21, I still have around 10 to 15 years of career [ahead], so it’s not a race,” he added. “I work with a lot of people to try to start fresh … and I think that now I’m on the right track, so I’ve got to continue.”

Oleksandra Oliynykova continued an eye-catching start to the 2026 season by reaching her first WTA quarterfinal at the Transylvania Open. The 25-year-old followed up her breakout performance at the 2026 Australian Open with a straight-sets victory over No. 8 seed Anna Bondar, 6-4, 6-4.

Oliynykova declined to shake Bondar’s hand after the match, a decision she said was made prior to the contest because of Bondar’s participation in a 2022 Russian tournament. The North Palmyra Trophies, held six months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, was sponsored by Gazprom, which Oliynykova described as “one of the key financial pillars of Russia’s war machine.”

She explained the moral basis for her stance in a statement. “These are the same funds Russia uses to kill and maim Ukrainian women and children, and to destroy our families and cities,” said the 25-year-old. “From a moral standpoint, accepting Gazprom money in December 2022 is equivalent to playing in Nazi Germany in 1941 and being paid with property taken from victims of death camps. The same evil—just 80 years later.”

Oliynykova said she would have shaken Bondar’s hand if the Hungarian had issued an apology, but none was given and Oliynykova advanced. Earlier in the week she won her first WTA main-draw match in Cluh Napoca, recovering from a set down to eliminate Mayar Sherif.

Her run at the Transylvania Open is projected to lift her to a career-high ranking of No. 78, with the possibility of moving higher if she wins her quarterfinal match. The result builds on the momentum she generated in Melbourne, where she played an entertaining first-round match against defending champion Madison Keys and drew notice for temporary face tattoos.

Oliynykova’s performances this season have combined on-court progress with a public stance on matters she regards as morally significant for Ukrainians.