"I only knew an hour before I was going to be playing" - 17-year-old Mika Stojsavljevic breaks new ground in Hong Kong as Katie Boulter exits

At the start of the day, 17-year-old Mika Stojsavljevic was not in the draw for the Hong Kong Open. By the end of it, she had defeated a former Grand Slam champion and confirmed her spot in the second round in a breakthrough day for the British youngster.

She defeated Sofia Kenin 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 for a maiden WTA main-draw win in fine fashion. She came in as a lucky loser with Leylah Fernandez supposed to be playing. However, the number of matches and finals reached in this Asian swing for the Canadian proved to be too much, and she opted to withdraw at the last minute.

A statement said, "I am sorry to the fans who come to watch me. I hope to be back next year and play in front of you again.”

For Stojsavljevic, this opened the door for a golden opportunity, and she took it with open arms. Breaks were traded early on, but Stojsavljevic seized control in the sixth game before backing it up with a crucial hold. She served it out and was looking good on court.

Kenin, a former Australian Open champion and Roland Garros runner-up, has endured another poor season as her form continues to go downhill. She fell to a 3-0 deficit in the second set but completed a terrific turnaround. She won six of the next seven games, culminating with a break to love to force a third set decider.

Stojsavljevic got the momentum back on her side of the court. She won four consecutive games, including a nine-point burst, to lead 4-1. Kenin got one of the breaks back, but she could not turn it around. The damage had already been done, and Stojsavljevic picks up a huge victory.

After the match, the World No.411 shared how close it was to finding out she was playing in the tournament as a lucky loser. "I only knew an hour before I was going to be playing. I kind of just went out and swung today," Stojsavljevic said. "I know she's a Grand Slam champion and it was never going to be an easy match, but I believed in myself and it worked out."

In the last-16, she will take on Zeynep Sonmez who picked up a fine straight set win over Dayana Yastremska.

It was not all good news for the British contingent in Hong Kong. 2024 runner-up Katie Boulter was dumped out in a tight 7-5, 6-4 defeat against Claire Liu. The American struck late in the set, converting a second set point after missing one two games earlier to get her nose in front.

A break to love put her 3-1 to the good, but an instant response by Boulter kept her in contention. Once again, Liu left it until the final game of the set to produce that definitive blow, and it would seemingly culminate Boulter's much improved 2026 season with a defeat.

Maria Sakkari was also in action. She advanced into the quarter-finals with a terrific comeback victory against Maya Joint, prevailing 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

The Greek broke twice in the first set, but Joint responded each time. She then took control and served it out for the first set. Sakkari looked for an instant response and got that with an early break. Both players failed to take their other chances in the set, and a third set decider was needed. After Joint took a 3-2 lead, it all went the way of the former World No.3 who won the final four games, breaking to love to advance into the final eight.