Bu Feng praised Shang Juncheng's potential to break into the TOP 10, Sabalenka avenged Firebaby to reach the final, Zhang Shuai was eliminated in the first round.

In just three minutes daily, stay updated on global tennis news. Hello tennis fans, today is Saturday, January 10, 2026. Welcome to the midday news report brought to you by "Tennis Home."

Last night Beijing time, the ATP250 Hong Kong Open concluded its singles quarterfinals, determining the four semifinalists. The two Chinese players Huang Zelin and Shang Juncheng both lost, failing to advance. Huang Zelin was defeated 4-6, 4-6 by top seed Musetti; Shang Juncheng lost 1-6, 6-7 to second seed Bublik.

In the second set of Shang Juncheng’s match against Bublik, the two battled all the way to a tiebreak, where Shang even had a set point but missed it. After the match, Bu Feng highly praised Shang, believing he has the potential to enter the world’s top 10, but with one condition. Bublik said, “Shang Juncheng is a familiar and respected opponent. The second set was decided by just a point or two. Since our encounter at the 2024 US Open, he has improved greatly. However, his luck hasn't been great since then, but he definitely has potential. He was once a top 50 player, and I believe he can reach the top 20 or even top 10.” Still, Bu Feng added a prerequisite: “If he stays healthy, he can reach that level.” The implication is that Shang must maintain strong physical health, because no matter how good his skills are, frequent injuries will only hold him back.

The other two semifinal spots went to Russian veteran Rublev and American Jenson. The semifinals matchups are Musetti vs. Rublev and Bublik vs. Jenson.

ATP250 Brisbane: In the singles quarterfinals, top seed and Russian star Medvedev came back from a set down to defeat lucky loser Majchrzak 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-2, advancing to the semifinals in the season’s first event. In the semifinals, he will face American Mickelson. The other two semifinalists are Americans Kovalewski and Brandon Nakashima.

WTA500 Brisbane: In the first singles semifinal finished this morning Beijing time, top seed and world No.1 Sabalenka played excellently, defeating 11th seed and Czech star Muchova 6-3, 6-4, ending a three-match losing streak against her and leveling their head-to-head at 2-3. This marks her first final of the season and the 41st career final on tour. She now awaits the winner between Pegula and Kostyuk for the second final spot.

WTA250 Auckland: The singles semifinals will begin at noon Beijing time today. The first match features China’s No.2 Wang Xinyu against the Philippines’ top player Irela, starting at 12:30 pm. The second semifinal will follow, between Ukraine’s young talent Svitolina and American rising star Jovic.

Additionally, at the WTA500 Adelaide qualifying first round, Chinese veteran Zhang Shuai’s stamina dropped in the deciding set, and she was defeated 5-7, 7-5, 4-6 by Uzbekistan’s Rakhimova, resulting in an early exit.

Let’s turn to the United Cup mixed team tennis event. This morning Beijing time, the first semifinal started with Switzerland facing Belgium. At the time of reporting, Bencic won in three sets over Mertens, earning Switzerland the first point. The match between Wawrinka and Berghers is currently tied at 3-6, 5-5 in the fourth set.

The second semifinal will take place at 2:30 pm Beijing time today, featuring defending champions USA against Poland. In the quarterfinals the previous day, Poland secured their semifinal spot by winning the mixed doubles decider 2-1 over host Australia.

Finally, let’s play a guessing game. The picture below shows a player serving. Without any hints, can you identify who it is?

Last time’s guessing game received correct answers from some fans. Yes, the person in the picture is women’s world No.1 Sabalenka.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Independent Spirit)