Stojsavljevic beats Kenin for first WTA Tour win in Hong Kong

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Mika Stojsavljevic claimed her first WTA Tour main-draw singles victory by beating former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin at the Hong Kong Open on Wednesday. The 17-year-old Briton came through 6–3, 4–6, 6–4 after receiving only an hour’s notice that she would be playing.

Stojsavljevic entered the main draw as a lucky loser following Leylah Fernandez’s withdrawal. Ranked 411th in the world, she overcame an opponent sitting 224 places higher to reach the second round of the WTA 250 tournament.

The teenager initially led by a set and 3–0 before Kenin fought back to force a deciding set. Stojsavljevic then opened a 4–1 advantage in the third. Although the American recovered one break, the Briton served out the match on her second match point.

The contest lasted two hours and 19 minutes and featured 11 breaks of serve. Kenin, who won the Australian Open in 2020, had made Stojsavljevic work for a victory that takes her through to face Turkey’s world No. 67 Zeynep Sonmez on Thursday.

The result adds another milestone to Stojsavljevic’s progress since winning the US Open girls’ singles title in 2024. She was the first British player to lift that trophy since Heather Watson in 2009.

Earlier this season, she reached the quarter-finals of the WTA 125 event in Birmingham and won against Talia Gibson on her Billie Jean King Cup debut for Great Britain against Australia. She has also reached three World Tennis Tour semi-finals during the year.

Elsewhere in Hong Kong, Katie Boulter lost 7–5, 6–4 to American Claire Liu in the second round. Liu will meet the winner of Stojsavljevic’s match against Sonmez in the quarter-finals.