Qatar Open | Mixed fortunes for the Americans as Peyton Stearns falls to 41-year-old veteran

The first WTA 1000 of the season got underway at the Doha Open, and the first Americans were already out on court, with mixed fortunes for the tournament’s early representatives. Peyton Stearns was defeated in the first round by 41-year-old Vera Zvonareva – a two-time Grand Slam runner-up – who was making her return to a tournament of this category after three years away.

However, there were some positive notes for the Americans, after qualifier Alycia Parks (who recently trained with Serena Williams) continued her strong run of form and pulled off an upset. She defeated 15th seed Diana Shnaider in a three-set battle that lasted two and a half hours. Ann Li also recorded an important victory, beating former US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez in straight sets.

There were notable absences among the Americans – without Pegula, Madison Keys or Iva Jovic, three top-20 players with serious ambitions at this level of tournament. Even so, hopes remain firmly placed on Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova, the third and fourth seeds respectively, who have been battling closely for months for the chance to become the American No. 1.

The first American to take to the court was the world No. 50 Peyton Stearns, who received a wildcard from the organisers. She had originally been drawn to face Barbora Krejcikova, but the Czech ultimately withdrew from the singles draw and is competing only in doubles this week. As a result, Stearns ended up facing 41-year-old Vera Zvonareva, currently ranked world No. 584. The two-time Grand Slam runner-up turned around a tight match that lasted over two hours and claimed her first top-50 victory in 28 months, winning 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Stearns had already suffered against Venus Williams at the DC Open last year, when she endured a painful defeat against the then 45-year-old. Once again, Stearns could not overcome a vastly more experienced opponent – 17 years her senior on this occasion – and continues to struggle with poor form in recent months. Stearns converted two of her four break-point opportunities, while Zvonareva broke serve five times from nine chances. The Russian relied heavily on her serve, landing 67% of first serves and winning 75% of those points, which proved to be the key factor in her victory.

From an early age, Alycia Parks was tipped as one of the great American talents, but after winning her first title in 2023 she failed to fully convince. She already has seven wins this season, reached the second round of the Australian Open and made the quarter-finals in Ostrava. This time, she came through qualifying and made a winning debut in the first round in Doha, while seeing her ranking rise to No. 77. The victory came against 15th seed Diana Shnaider, by 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(5).

Parks’ serve was impressive: a total of 11 aces and 74% of points won on first serve. It was a match marked by a large number of opportunities for Parks, but also by Shnaider’s ability to save 13 of 15 break points during the encounter. The two breaks secured by Parks were enough to seal the victory, after coming back from a break down in the second set (4-6, 2-3). In the second round, she will face the winner of the match between Zheng Qinwen and Sofia Kenin.

Quietly, Ann Li (No. 41) has managed to reinvent herself after a period plagued by injuries and, while still searching for consistency, continues to achieve positive results. The 25-year-old this time overcame Canadian Leylah Fernandez (No. 25) without major complications, winning in straight sets 6-4, 6-3. Despite a low first-serve percentage (just 52%), she managed to win 69% of her service points – well above Fernandez’s 58%. The American faced few problems: she saved the only break point she faced in her opening service game, and from that moment on Fernandez had no further chances.

It was not a poor performance from the Canadian, who faced break points only on limited occasions, but the key moments tilted in favour of her opponent. The level of the former US Open finalist is beginning to raise concerns, as she has just one win and five defeats at the start of the year. Ann Li, meanwhile, advanced to the second round and will now await a clash against lucky loser Magdalena Frech, who caused an upset by defeating 13th seed Samsonova in the first round.