Sloane Stephens faced an early exit in Hobart, Jelena Ostapenko secured a victory over Sorana Cirstea in Adelaide

Sloane Stephens experienced a setback in her preparations for the Australian Open after losing a closely contested match to China’s Yuan Yue in the Hobart International’s first round. The intense match, lasting nearly three hours, concluded with Yuan securing a tie-break victory in the third set. Despite Stephens serving for the match at one point and leading in the tie-break, Yuan managed to turn the game around for a notable win.

Yuan expressed her excitement over the victory, especially considering Stephens’ status as a Grand Slam champion, whom she had often watched on TV. Meanwhile, former Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin smoothly advanced in the Melbourne Park warm-up event, defeating Greet Minnen with a straight-set victory. Kenin will next face Daria Saville in her quest for the quarter-finals.

At the Adelaide International, Jelena Ostapenko, the sixth seed, recovered from a slow start to defeat Sorana Cirstea. After losing the first set, Ostapenko, a former French Open champion, rallied back, eventually winning the match with a powerful serve that included six aces. Laura Siegemund, fresh off a United Cup title with Germany, achieved an upset by beating world number 14 Liudmila Samsonova.

In men’s tennis, Denis Shapovalov, returning to the tour since Wimbledon, faced a defeat at the Auckland Classic, losing to Sebastian Ofner in straight sets.