Wang Yafan withdrew from the Australian Open due to injury, leaving only two Chinese women in the singles draw, while Medvedev advances to the final, continuing his city pattern.

Today brought breaking news: Chinese tennis star Wang Yafan has sadly withdrawn from this year's Australian Open women's singles main draw due to a wrist injury. As a result, only Wang Xinyu and Zhang Shuai remain representing China in the women's singles. Meanwhile, at the ATP Brisbane event, Russian star Daniil Medvedev secured a spot in the final with a commanding performance.

It is reported that Wang Yafan’s injury is a recurrence of a previous wrist issue, marking the second time in her career that this injury has significantly impacted her participation in major tournaments. Since the US Open last year, her wrist discomfort forced her to withdraw from several events, including the Ningbo tournament. The good news is that, despite her withdrawal, WTA rules allow her to use a protected ranking in future events, providing her with a pathway back to competition.

Regarding Wang Yafan’s withdrawal, some fans commented: “It’s really unfortunate! The protected ranking system does offer players some relief, but being sidelined for a long time poses huge challenges for regaining form and maintaining ranking. Hopefully, she can fully recover and prove herself again in upcoming tournaments.”

This sudden change has also adjusted Chinese tennis fans’ expectations for the performance of Chinese women’s singles players at this year’s Australian Open.

At the same time, in the ATP Brisbane tournament, top seed Daniil Medvedev continued his strong start to the season. In the semifinals, he defeated Mikael Ymer decisively with a score of 6-4, 6-2, advancing smoothly to the final.

This marks Medvedev’s 41st career appearance in an ATP Tour singles final. He will face Brandon Nakashima in the final, which is also his first final of the new season. Medvedev showed excellent form in his opening tournament of 2026, setting a positive tone for his season ahead.

An intriguing statistic about Medvedev is that his 21 ATP singles titles have all come in 21 different cities. So far, Brisbane is not among the cities where he has won a title.

This “city law” statistic has sparked widespread discussion in the tennis community. Medvedev himself has not publicly commented on this interesting pattern, but he now has the chance at Brisbane to extend it by adding a 22nd unique city to his list with a tournament victory.

Fans have shared their thoughts on Medvedev’s chances of winning, saying: “Medvedev has adjusted his form very well, and Brisbane’s fast hard courts suit his style perfectly. If he maintains this level, he has a strong shot at the title.”

The discussion around the “city law” is lively among fans. One joked: “Medvedev seems to be on a mission to collect ATP tournament cities worldwide! I wonder if Brisbane will become his 22nd unique championship city.”

For Medvedev, regardless of the outcome, his consistency and ability to reach finals demonstrate his status as a top player. Can he continue this remarkable pattern? Let’s wait and see!(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Lu Xiaotian)