Wang Xinyu was defeated by the rising star, delaying her first career title once again, yet Chinese tennis remains the biggest winner in Auckland.

The contest for the Auckland title between Wang Xinyu and Svitolina ended just as the public predicted, with the Ukrainian star comfortably taking the championship.

Wang Xinyu and the Ukrainian star are familiar opponents, having met at Wimbledon 2024. However, Wang suffered a heavy defeat then, winning only three games in the entire match as Svitolina swept her away mercilessly, leaving a disappointing record against the young Ukrainian.

After meeting again in the Auckland final, ignoring the bookmakers’ odds that largely favored Svitolina, her record of 18 wins in 22 finals made many feel that it would be extremely difficult for Wang Xinyu to cause an upset against the tournament’s top seed. Fans only hoped she would perform at her usual level and avoid the embarrassing loss she had at Wimbledon 2024, which would already be a great consolation for supporters and netizens.

From their performance in the first set, it was clear that Wang Xinyu’s raw ability was not on par with Svitolina’s.

After the first four games ended in a tie, some optimistic fans in the livestream expressed that Wang’s fierce determination might still allow her to create a surprise upset if she kept playing that way.

However, starting from the third game, although Wang showed great fighting spirit to upset the Ukrainian star, Svitolina gave her no chance and eventually took the first set 6-3, pushing Wang into a do-or-die situation for the rest of the match.

Seeing Wang quickly find her rhythm in the first set and give her all without overcoming Svitolina, the livestream chat soon echoed with voices saying “Wang Xinyu is about to be swept away.”

It was expected that the Ukrainian star would end the championship match quickly, but after Wang unleashed a fearless fighting spirit to battle Svitolina, the momentum surprisingly shifted dramatically in her favor.

The second set was not a mere showcase for Svitolina but rather the most intense and exciting part of the entire match, leaving fans and viewers amazed.

The two battled fiercely in the second set, which extended all the way to a tiebreak, with Svitolina narrowly securing the win in the end.

Although Wang Xinyu has yet to capture her first career title after reaching the tour final for the second time, many believe that her breakthrough is not far off after this strong showing against Svitolina.

Of course, there are also plenty of people who expressed regret for Wang Xinyu after her loss to the Ukrainian star.

Before the match, when the main focus was whether Wang Xinyu could upset the young Ukrainian, some said that if the Chinese No.2 could win, she would not only fill the gap of her first career title but also stand alongside another Chinese tennis pioneer, Zheng Jie.

In 2012, Zheng Jie won the Auckland title. Many years later, no other Chinese female player has replicated that shining moment. Wang had a great chance this year to match Zheng Jie’s achievement, but unfortunately, the draw was tough, facing the very experienced Svitolina in the final. Despite the loss, pushing the Ukrainian star to such a close match can be considered a successful effort.

In this 1 hour and 42-minute match, Wang Xinyu’s performance was quite impressive based on the post-match statistics.

For example, Wang’s first serve win rate was 68%, only four percentage points lower than Svitolina’s 72%; and on second serve points, Wang led with 61% compared to Svitolina’s 54%. These stats clearly show that Wang turned what was expected to be a one-sided match into a nearly even contest.

Wang’s loss ultimately came down to being less effective on serve and key points compared to Svitolina, as well as her relative lack of big-match experience. This lesson was valuable, as it gave Wang insight into how to compete in tour finals.

“This has been a crazy week for me. First, congratulations to Svitolina and her team on winning another title,” Wang said after the match, showing no sign of disappointment but rather growing confidence in her pursuit of a first career championship.

After the conclusion of the Auckland 250 event, many summarized that Chinese female players performed remarkably well. Besides Wang Xinyu finishing as singles runner-up, Guo Hanyu and French partner Meladnovic won the doubles title by defeating Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan in the final, making Chinese tennis the biggest winner in Auckland with one doubles championship and two runner-up finishes.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Moon River’s Starry Sky)