Canada’s Victoria Mboko and Leylah Fernandez have advanced to the second round of the women’s singles draw at the Hong Kong Open. Mboko, seeded third, staged a comeback to defeat Talia Gibson of Australia with a score of 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-4 in nearly two hours on Tuesday. The 19-year-old from Toronto, who previously clinched the National Bank Open in Montreal, delivered an impressive performance with 19 aces and a conversion rate of four out of five break-point opportunities. Her next opponent will be determined by the outcome of the match between Britain’s Katie Boulter and Alexandra Eala from the Philippines.
In a dominant display, the second-seeded Fernandez secured a comfortable 6-1, 6-4 victory over Wang Xiyu from China in her opening match. The 23-year-old from Laval, Que., is set to face Germany’s Eva Lys in the next round.
Meanwhile, Montreal’s Félix Auger-Aliassime kept his ATP Finals hopes alive by overcoming Argentine qualifier Francisco Comesana in the first round at the Paris Masters tournament. Auger-Aliassime fought back from a set down to win 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-3. On the same day, Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo triumphed over Tallon Griekspoor from the Netherlands 6-3, 6-4, whereas Denis Shapovalov from Richmond Hill, Ont., fell short against Joao Fonseca in a three-set match. Auger-Aliassime’s victory narrowed the gap to 440 points behind eighth-placed Lorenzo Musetti in the ATP Race To Turin rankings, where the top eight players qualify for the season-ending event in Italy.
Auger-Aliassime, who recently won an ATP 250 event in Belgium, will face France’s Alexandre Muller next. Diallo, ranked 42nd globally, will challenge the sixth seed Alex de Minaur of Australia after defeating Griekspoor. Shapovalov, despite displaying a strong performance with nine aces, succumbed to Fonseca, who went on to win the tournament and become the third-youngest player to claim an ATP 500 title.
In a significant development for women’s tennis, Valerie Camillo has been appointed as the new chair of the WTA Tour and WTA Ventures, succeeding Steve Simon. Camillo expressed her honor in leading the premier women’s sport during a crucial period, highlighting the pivotal decisions ahead that will shape the future of players, tournaments, fans, and partners. With a background in sports management and extensive experience in various leadership roles, including overseeing business operations for prominent sports organizations, Camillo is poised to steer women’s professional tennis towards continued progress and success.
