2026 Australian Open: Wang Xinyu Advances Smoothly to Second Round, Zhang Shuai Narrowly Defeated by Local Youngster

On January 20th, Beijing time, the third day of the 2026 Australian Open main draw continued with first-round singles action. Chinese athlete Zhang Shuai started on Kia Arena and was defeated 3-6, 6-2, 3-6 by the 20-year-old local hopeful Preston, ending her run in the first round.

Zhang Shuai

The two had recently faced each other at the WTA Brisbane tournament, where Zhang Shuai won 2-1, with both players adopting an attacking approach. In this match, Zhang started somewhat slow and dropped the first set 3-6. The contest was closely fought throughout, but Zhang narrowly lost the deciding set 3-6. However, her Australian Open campaign is not over yet, as she will still compete in women's doubles and mixed doubles, with hopes to maintain her good form.

Notably, yesterday on the Rod Laver Arena, Yuan Yue, who played against Swiatek, mentioned in an interview that Zhang Shuai sent her an encouraging message before the match: “I won against Halep here ten years ago when no one believed in me, but I did it, and you can too.” As the senior member of the Chinese team, Zhang Shuai has always been warm-hearted, and her popularity on the tour is often praised.

Wang Xinyu

On Court 7, Wang Xinyu defeated qualifier Kalinina comfortably with two 6-3 sets, reaching the second round of the Australian Open for the third time in her career. Wang showed active movement and impressive net play during the match. Towards the end of the second set, she won five consecutive points to break serve and later capitalized on her first match point during her service game to clinch the victory. In the next round, she will face the winner between former Grand Slam champion Ostapenko and Schramková.

(Written and Edited by: Sunny)