VENUS WILLIAMS OUSTED, WANG XINYU IN ROUND TWO WITH
VICTORY OVER LOCAL HOPE ADITHYA KARUNARATNE
(2 November 2026, HONG KONG) The eagerly-awaited Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open (PHKTO) 2026 kicked off today at the iconic Victoria Park Tennis Stadium with the brightest stars in women’s tennis including Venus Williams, Maria Sakkari, Wang Xinyu, and Katie Boulter taking to court for their first round matches.
With tickets sold-out, 23-time Grand Slam Champion Venus Williams was cheered on by an ebullient crowd in her night match against compatriot Mary Stoiana. However, the support of her fans was not enough as she was beaten 6-2, 6-3.
The legend started slowly but managed to stay toe-to-toe with Stoiana until 3-all in the second before the 23-year-old ran away with the set, and the match. She will now face either top seed Sorana Cirstea or Maria Timofeeva in the second round.
An ecstatic Stoiana said, “It was really cool to be on the court with Venus. I obviously grew up watching her and idolizing her and Serena, so it was super fun to share the court, and today, what was working was I had to stay aggressive. She was definitely taking it to me, so I had to keep going for my ground strokes and my serve, and try to play tough points, and it ended up working most of the time. I'm pleased about it.”
Williams was cheered on by an ebullient crowd right from the first point, and received a standing ovation as she left the court. On receiving the love and support of the Hong Kong fans, Venus commented, “Yeah, it was great. I mean, the crowd really supported me and it was nice to have them there with me every step of the way. I've met so many people, you know, supporting me and encouraging me in these last couple of years and that's been fantastic.”
Local wildcard entry Adithya Karunaratne fought courageously but was unable to keep up with the former world No. 30 Wang Xinyu, going down 1-6, 1-6.
Wang said, “I always enjoy coming back to Hong Kong. I like the courts here and I get huge support. I am super happy with the win today. I have been struggling a little bit the last few weeks, so it is important to get some wins, and get back into match rhythm.”
Despite the defeat, Karunaratne was upbeat about her WTA Tour debut, “Believe it or not, I actually had a lot of fun out there. It was really nice, and it really warmed my heart to feel all of the support. It was nice that there were people supporting both of us because we put in a lot of effort to play out there. For me, it was an atmosphere that I haven't really experienced before, and it was just wonderful because it's what we work towards.”
British No. 1 and tournament eighth seed Katie Boulter opened proceedings on Centre Court against Swiss former world No. 35 Viktorija Golubic. The Brit was leading comfortably but a temporary loss of concentration mid-way through the second set allowed Golubic back into the match. Boulter regrouped during the tie-break to secure a straight-set win for a place in the last 16.
Tournament No. 4 seed and two-time WTA Tour champion Maria Sakkari had an easier time in dispatching lucky loser Carol Suh Lee Young, 6-1, 6-4. The Greek will play the winner of the Maddison Inglis and Maya Joint clash.
PHKTO 2026 second seed and trailblazing Alexandra Eala will begin her campaign tomorrow against American Alycia Parks. The Filipina has enjoyed a breakthrough season with a maiden title at the DC Open, and is currently at her highest-ranking No. 17.
Chinese teenage sensation Sun Xinran has withdrawn from PHKTO 2026 because of injury following her semi-final run in Guangzhou last week.
In the doubles main draw, Hong Kong duo Karunaratne and Yandy Shek Cheuk-ying will play Tang Qianhui and Ye Qiuyu while Cody Wong Hong-yi, who is teaming up with doubles world No. 25 Jiang Xinyu, meet the No. 3 seeds Ingrid Neel and Giuliana Olmos for a place in the quarter-finals.
PHKTO 2026 main draw is held at the iconic Victoria Park Tennis Stadium from 2 to 8 November 2026. The tournament is proud of being an “M” Mark event that helps enhance the image of Hong Kong as Asia’s sports event capital. The “M” Mark is awarded by the Major Sports Events Committee, symbolising intense, spectacular and signature events in the territory sports calendar.
Tickets are available via Ticketflap (https://www.tickets.tennishk.org/hkts-wta250-2026) with prices ranging from HK$180 to HK$1,070. A 50% discount is available on Cat 2 tickets for persons aged 18 or below, full-time students, and seniors aged 60 or above.
For the latest tournament updates, please visit the tournament website at https://www.hktennisopen.hk/en/
ENDS