HONG KONG - The Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open (PHKTO) 2026 has demonstrated once again why it is one of the most popular events on Hong Kong’s annual sporting calendar with a sell-out crowd at the iconic Victoria Park Tennis Stadium for the second consecutive day.
World No. 17 and fan favourite everywhere, Alexandra Eala, stepped onto Centre Court tonight to rapturous applause as she took on Australian Emerson Jones in their first-round encounter. The Filipina didn’t take long to settle and went 4-love up before being caught by the teenager. Eala regained control and was always on top in the second to run out a 6-4, 6-3 victory over the lucky loser, who secured her place in the draw after Eala’s original opponent, Alycia Parks, withdrew due to injury.
Eala, who won her maiden title this year in Washington DC, said, “I had a lot of energy and motivation. Emerson played really well today, she really went for shots, so it was tough playing her. It was a good battle, I really enjoyed it. Hong Kong is very familiar to me. I've been here many, many times and I feel very loved. There's a huge Filipino community here, and the Hong Kong people have been very, very hospitable towards me and my family, and all of the players really. It feels wonderful to be here.”
Tournament top seed Sorana Cirstea was in a titanic struggle and had to dig deep to beat a determined Maria Timfeeva 7-6 (6), 1-6, 7-5. The Romanian will next meet Venus Williams’ conqueror, Mary Stoiana in the last 16.
The 36-year-old commented, “It was a great match. I have to give credit to Maria as she played absolutely amazing today. She was hitting winners left and right. I am very happy with this win, and very proud of the way I fought. I think this was the only three-hour match I played this year, and the crowd really got into it. Towards the end, I could really feel their energy, and they pulled me through.”
Play in the afternoon was interrupted due to intermittent rain but it did not dampen the spirits of tennis fans who enjoyed the day’s opening match, a baseline battle between the No. 5 seed Talia Gilson and Ukrainian Oleskandra Oliynykova. The former advanced with a 7-6 (5), 6-1 scoreline, and will play either Singapore Open 2026 Singles Champion Leylah Fernandez or the 2020 Australian Open Singles Champion Sofin Kenin in the next round.
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa felt unwell and had to retire against lucky loser Elena Pridankina after losing the first set 7-5. Pridankina will now meet qualifier Alexandra Shubladze who upset seventh seed Liudmila Samsonova 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 for a quarter-final spot at PHKTO 2026.
Three Hong Kong players made their appearance in the doubles draw today. Teaming up with world No. 32 Jiang Xinyu, Cody Wong Hong-yi showcased her prowess at the net that has taken her to career high at No. 145 in the world in doubles. The two combined superbly to down a very difficult pair, the No. 3 seeds Ingrid Neel and Giuliana Olmos, 6-4, 7-5. Olmos has reached the women’s doubles quarter-finals in all four Grand Slams, and the mixed doubles final at Wimbledon and the US Open.
Local star Wong said, “We played better than what we had predicted. We practised together a bit and combined well today, we are pleased with the result. Having played singles a couple of days ago, I got used to the courts, which are slow compared to the ones I played on in Guangzhou.”
Adithya Karunaratne and Yandy Shek Cheuk-ying exited the doubles draw after a 3-6, 4-6 defeat to Chinese mainland pair Tang Qianhui and Ye Qiuyu.
Karunaratne, who won the W15 Kursumlijska Banja doubles title this year, is full of praise for Shek. She said, “I am super grateful for the opportunity to be able to play both singles and doubles here this week, and to share the court with Yandy today. We had a lot of fun, and the match was super close. Even though it was our first time playing together, I felt we had a good vibe going on, so it was really nice playing with her.”
Shek, who is also a ITF doubles champion, added, “We have chemistry together, and we work well together. We were able to find different ways to work through the match, and we had many close games during the match. I felt they really had to work for their win.”
PHKTO Day Three will start with the Fernandez and Kenin blockbuster first round, followed by British No. 1 Katie Boulter who will take on American Claire Liu for a place in the quarter-finals. Tournament No. 4 seed Maria Sakkari will kick start the evening session (not before 6:30pm) against Maya Joint who beat her compatriot Maddison Inglis 7-5, 6-2 earlier today.
Legend Venus Williams will return to Victoria Park tomorrow to team up with China’s Xu Yifan to play Chinese Taipei pair Lee Ya-Hsin and Wu Fang-Hsien in a doubles first round clash to complete Day Three’s Order of Play.
PHKTO 2026 main draw is held at the iconic Victoria Park Tennis Stadium from 2 to 8 November 2026. The tournament is proud of being an “M” Mark event that helps enhance the image of Hong Kong as Asia’s sports event capital. The “M” Mark is awarded by the Major Sports Events Committee, symbolising intense, spectacular and signature events in the territory sports calendar.
Tickets are available via Ticketflap (https://www.tickets.tennishk.org/hkts-wta250-2026) with prices ranging from HK$180 to HK$1,070. A 50% discount is available on Cat 2 tickets for persons aged 18 or below, full-time students, and seniors aged 60 or above.
For the latest tournament updates, please visit the tournament website at https://www.hktennisopen.hk/en/
World No. 17 and fan favourite everywhere, Alexandra Eala, stepped onto Centre Court tonight to rapturous applause as she took on Australian Emerson Jones in their first-round encounter. The Filipina didn’t take long to settle and went 4-love up before being caught by the teenager. Eala regained control and was always on top in the second to run out a 6-4, 6-3 victory over the lucky loser, who secured her place in the draw after Eala’s original opponent, Alycia Parks, withdrew due to injury.
Eala, who won her maiden title this year in Washington DC, said, “I had a lot of energy and motivation. Emerson played really well today, she really went for shots, so it was tough playing her. It was a good battle, I really enjoyed it. Hong Kong is very familiar to me. I've been here many, many times and I feel very loved. There's a huge Filipino community here, and the Hong Kong people have been very, very hospitable towards me and my family, and all of the players really. It feels wonderful to be here.”
Tournament top seed Sorana Cirstea was in a titanic struggle and had to dig deep to beat a determined Maria Timfeeva 7-6 (6), 1-6, 7-5. The Romanian will next meet Venus Williams’ conqueror, Mary Stoiana in the last 16.
The 36-year-old commented, “It was a great match. I have to give credit to Maria as she played absolutely amazing today. She was hitting winners left and right. I am very happy with this win, and very proud of the way I fought. I think this was the only three-hour match I played this year, and the crowd really got into it. Towards the end, I could really feel their energy, and they pulled me through.”
Play in the afternoon was interrupted due to intermittent rain but it did not dampen the spirits of tennis fans who enjoyed the day’s opening match, a baseline battle between the No. 5 seed Talia Gilson and Ukrainian Oleskandra Oliynykova. The former advanced with a 7-6 (5), 6-1 scoreline, and will play either Singapore Open 2026 Singles Champion Leylah Fernandez or the 2020 Australian Open Singles Champion Sofin Kenin in the next round.
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa felt unwell and had to retire against lucky loser Elena Pridankina after losing the first set 7-5. Pridankina will now meet qualifier Alexandra Shubladze who upset seventh seed Liudmila Samsonova 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 for a quarter-final spot at PHKTO 2026.
Three Hong Kong players made their appearance in the doubles draw today. Teaming up with world No. 32 Jiang Xinyu, Cody Wong Hong-yi showcased her prowess at the net that has taken her to career high at No. 145 in the world in doubles. The two combined superbly to down a very difficult pair, the No. 3 seeds Ingrid Neel and Giuliana Olmos, 6-4, 7-5. Olmos has reached the women’s doubles quarter-finals in all four Grand Slams, and the mixed doubles final at Wimbledon and the US Open.
Local star Wong said, “We played better than what we had predicted. We practised together a bit and combined well today, we are pleased with the result. Having played singles a couple of days ago, I got used to the courts, which are slow compared to the ones I played on in Guangzhou.”
Adithya Karunaratne and Yandy Shek Cheuk-ying exited the doubles draw after a 3-6, 4-6 defeat to Chinese mainland pair Tang Qianhui and Ye Qiuyu.
Karunaratne, who won the W15 Kursumlijska Banja doubles title this year, is full of praise for Shek. She said, “I am super grateful for the opportunity to be able to play both singles and doubles here this week, and to share the court with Yandy today. We had a lot of fun, and the match was super close. Even though it was our first time playing together, I felt we had a good vibe going on, so it was really nice playing with her.”
Shek, who is also a ITF doubles champion, added, “We have chemistry together, and we work well together. We were able to find different ways to work through the match, and we had many close games during the match. I felt they really had to work for their win.”
PHKTO Day Three will start with the Fernandez and Kenin blockbuster first round, followed by British No. 1 Katie Boulter who will take on American Claire Liu for a place in the quarter-finals. Tournament No. 4 seed Maria Sakkari will kick start the evening session (not before 6:30pm) against Maya Joint who beat her compatriot Maddison Inglis 7-5, 6-2 earlier today.
Legend Venus Williams will return to Victoria Park tomorrow to team up with China’s Xu Yifan to play Chinese Taipei pair Lee Ya-Hsin and Wu Fang-Hsien in a doubles first round clash to complete Day Three’s Order of Play.
PHKTO 2026 main draw is held at the iconic Victoria Park Tennis Stadium from 2 to 8 November 2026. The tournament is proud of being an “M” Mark event that helps enhance the image of Hong Kong as Asia’s sports event capital. The “M” Mark is awarded by the Major Sports Events Committee, symbolising intense, spectacular and signature events in the territory sports calendar.
Tickets are available via Ticketflap (https://www.tickets.tennishk.org/hkts-wta250-2026) with prices ranging from HK$180 to HK$1,070. A 50% discount is available on Cat 2 tickets for persons aged 18 or below, full-time students, and seniors aged 60 or above.
For the latest tournament updates, please visit the tournament website at https://www.hktennisopen.hk/en/
0 Comments