Oleksandra Oliynykova reached her first WTA semifinal at the Transylvania Open with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over No. 4 seed Wang Xinyu. The 25-year-old, wearing temporary bat tattoos on her face in keeping with the tournament theme, is two wins away from a first title at the Transylvania Open.

The Ukrainian refugee recorded her first WTA match win in Cluj-Napoca earlier this week and built on that momentum, saving 20 of 22 break points en route to the milestone. The match lasted two hours and one minute on Center Court.

“I’m so happy,” an overcome Oliynykova said in her on-court interview, draped in the Ukrainian flag. “For me now, it’s hard to describe what I feel. But for me, it’s so important to be here, to play for my country and to feel so much support. I’m really thankful to all the people here and I really hope to see you in the semifinals.

“I have so many emotions I forgot how to speak!” she added with a laugh.

Oliynykova has emerged as one of the breakout stories of the 2026 season, having pushed defending champion Madison Keys to a first-set tiebreaker at the Australian Open in her Grand Slam debut. A visually striking player with an unorthodox game, she debuted the small bat-shaped temporary face tattoos for this spooky-themed Transylvanian tournament.

“It’s kind of a celebration of the game for me,” said the 91st-ranked Oliynykova, who is projected to move up 20 spots in the WTA rankings because of this result. “When I was at the US Open, I saw these randomly in some store and I got the idea to put these on for the match. For this tournament, it’s special because it’s thematic and it was my dream to play her. I signed up for this tournament the last year but I didn’t even enter to qualies! For me, it means a lot to play here because of the tournament itself.”

Oliynykova, who goes by “Sashka,” has used her rising profile to speak on behalf of Ukraine, which the article notes has been under siege from Russian and Belarusian aggression since 2022. She wore a pro-Ukraine shirt to her Australian Open press conference and declined to shake the hand of opponent Anna Bondar after her second-round win in Cluj-Napoca, citing Bondar’s participation in a Russian government-sanctioned exhibition tournament in 2022.

“I’m coming from a country where there is war and you don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring. For me, it’s so important during such hard times in my country, I learned to enjoy every moment, every moment of tennis. In some way, I really celebrate the game. I’m doing this for sport, for tennis.

“I think the key, not only today but in general with the progress I’ve made, it’s tough for me that it be important whether I win or lose. I’m happy to win, of course, and it means a lot, but it’s not the most important thing. I learned to be in the moment and this is probably how I’m making it during this season and the previous season, which was super successful for me.”

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.”