WTA Hong Kong Open Round-Up: Alexandra Eala benefits from early retirement; Mboko and Fernandez maintains top form

Day Two of the WTA 250 Hong Kong Open began and concluded with the definition of the players advancing to the second round, without major surprises. The Filipina Alexandra Eala took advantage of Katie Boulter's injury to advance after dominating the encounter, while Belinda Bencic maintained her winning streak after being crowned champion in Tokyo last week.

On the other hand, the Canadians Leylah Fernandez and Victoria Mboko maintain their dispute to be the country's No. 1. Fernandez defeated China's Xiyu Wang, while Mboko returned to victory after overcoming Talia Gibson.

Leylah Fernandez (No. 22) debuted with a victory at the Hong Kong Open, defeating China's Xiyu Wang (No. 167) without complications 6-1, 6-4. The 2021 US Open runner-up recently lifted the title at the Osaka Open and then reached the round of 16 in Tokyo – falling to eventual champion Elena Rybakina. The 23-year-old Canadian maintains good form in the final part of the season and has already reached World No. 23 in the live ranking – and a good campaign in Hong Kong could propel her into the top-20.

For now, the first round was a straightforward task for Fernandez, who won 76% of points with her first serve – far better than her opponent's poor 44% – and secured 5 breaks on 8 opportunities, against 2 breaks for Wang on three opportunities. In the first set, Fernandez came out fired up, taking two breaks in a row and leading 5-0. With the advantage on her side, she managed to take the set on her third set point. In the second set, Wang managed to recover a break deficit twice, but Leylah finally stood strong on her serve to close out the victory 6-1, 6-4. In the second round, she will face the German Eva Lys (No. 44).

Victoria Mboko (No. 21) found her winning rhythm again last week in Tokyo, reaching the quarter-finals after wins over Bianca Andreescu and Eva Lys. Those were her first wins since she won the Canadian Open title – having accumulated a four-match losing streak. This time in Hong Kong, she again showed resilience to secure the victory against Talia Gibson (No. 134) 6-7(2), 6-1, 6-4.

In a tight first set with no breaks, Gibson took the lead in the tie-break convincingly 7-6(7-2). However, the comeback from Mboko would arrive in the second set – as she strung together 6 consecutive games to take the set 6-1. In the third set, things evened out again – with no breaks on either side until the final part of the set, when Mboko secured the break – and match point – in the 10th game, closing out another win, which puts her in the second round of the tournament, where she will face the Filipina Alexandra Eala.

Belinda Bencic (No. 11) continues on the path of victory after being crowned champion of the WTA 500 Tokyo Open last week. The Swiss – the first seed this week in Hong Kong – defeated Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich (No. 111) in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. The Swiss showed no signs of fatigue and started on the right foot, with a more than decent performance on serve – winning 62% of the points on her serve, against only 52% for her opponent.

In the first set, Bencic was the first to take the lead with a relatively early break in the 4th game. She maintained the lead with good service games and finished closing the set 6-3 on her third set point. The second set began with what became a battle of breaks on both sides. However, the former gold medalist recovered from a 1-3 deficit and took five of the last 6 games to close out the victory 6-3, 6-4 after an hour and a half. For the second round, she will face China's Yafan Wang.

Alexandra Eala (No. 51) took advantage of the retirement of her opponent Katie Boulter (No. 79) to advance to the second round, after maintaining a 6-4, 2-1 lead in just over an hour of play. Boulter – a finalist in the tournament in 2024 – was forced to abandon due to injury, leaving the match in tears, as her irregular present on the WTA Tour deepens.

Eala was the first to take the lead in the first set – going ahead on her third break point for 4-2. Boulter quickly recovered, equalizing the score at 4-4, but could not maintain the rhythm in the final part of the set, and Eala took the lead. The start of the second set saw an early break from Boulter, but the injury ended up forcing her out of the match. The Brit is projected to drop out of the top-100 after an inconsistent year.