Match Report | WTA Auckland: Wang Xinyu Advances to Auckland Quarterfinals to Face the "Inspirational Girl" Jones

On January 7th Beijing time, the WTA250 Auckland tournament held the second round of the women's singles. The 7th seed and Chinese player Wang Xinyu took 1 hour and 53 minutes to defeat Mexican player Zarazua 7-5, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals, marking her first consecutive win since the WTA250 Cleveland event last August.

Wang Xinyu

In the first set, Wang Xinyu saved four break points to hold serve. She broke serve for the first time in the ninth game but was immediately broken back in her service game to close the set, tying the score at 5-5. Fortunately, she regained momentum late in the set, securing consecutive breaks and holds to take it 7-5. In the second set, Wang broke in the opening game and held serve to lead 2-0, establishing an early advantage. Both players exchanged breaks in the eighth and ninth games before Wang, serving for the match, saved a break point and held to close the set 6-4.

Wang Xinyu’s opponent in the quarterfinals will be the “inspirational girl” Jones, marking their first meeting. Jones caused an upset in the first round by defeating the tournament’s 2nd seed Navarro. The 25-year-old British player was born with ectodermal dysplasia, resulting in only four fingers on each hand and fewer toes than usual on both feet.

Yang Zhaoxuan / Xu Yifan

Good news also came from the women’s doubles event. In the earlier quarterfinals, the 3rd seeded Chinese pair Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan fought hard to beat Havrlag and Loomsden 6-4, 1-6, 10-5, advancing to the semifinals in their first tournament of the season. Their doubles rankings improved slightly, with Xu Yifan rising to No. 40 and Yang Zhaoxuan moving up to No. 44.

Guo Hanyu

The 2nd seeds Guo Hanyu and Meladnovic defeated Aoyama and Rinette 6-1, 6-4 to reach the semifinals, with Guo Hanyu’s doubles ranking climbing to No. 24. If they win the title at this event, they have a chance to secure a seeded spot for the Australian Open this year. Meladnovic previously paired with Zhang Shuai during the 2024 season, achieving notable results including a runner-up finish at the US Open. However, Meladnovic was sidelined by injury since February last year and only returned at the China Open last year. This season, she formed a new partnership with Guo Hanyu to compete on tour.

(Text and editing by Wang Fei, photos courtesy of Visual China)