On June 17th, local time, the first round of the WTA 250 Birmingham singles tournament began. Chinese player Zhu Lin defeated tournament No. 3 seed Costanza Kostis 7-6(2), 6-2, securing her first singles victory on the tour in three months. After the match, Zhu Lin jokingly commented, “I can’t even remember when I last won a singles match.” Hopefully, this win marks a turning point for her return to form and leads to stronger performances in the second half of the season.
As a quarterfinalist at last year’s event, Zhu Lin has some ranking points to defend in Birmingham. In the second round, she will face Australian player Ajla Tomljanović, marking their first encounter on grass.
Yuan Ye
Also competing in Birmingham, Yuan Ye lost in the first round to wildcard entrant and former US Open champion Sloane Stephens 3-6, 3-6. This was their third meeting of the season, with Yuan Ye triumphing in a tough three-setter at the WTA 250 Hobart (hard court) earlier this year, followed by a straight-sets defeat at the WTA 250 Rouen (clay). Ahead of Wimbledon, next week’s WTA 500 Eastbourne will be Yuan Ye’s final grass tune-up tournament of the year.
Wang Xinyu / Zheng Saisai
Photo: Li Jianyi
Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai reunited after their collaboration in Rome earlier this year, defeating Brazilian duo Beatriz Haddad Maia / Luisa Stefani 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 10-5 in a thrilling first-round doubles match at the WTA 500 Berlin, advancing to the quarterfinals. It marked their first doubles victory of the grass season this year.
(Written and edited by Wang Fei)