Victoria Mboko
Leylah Fernandez powered into an all-Canadian semifinal at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, setting up a showdown with 19-year-old rising star Victoria Mboko, while injuries forced top seed Belinda Bencic and another contender out of the quarterfinals on a dramatic day at Victoria Park.
The 2023 champion needed every bit of home-crowd energy on Centre Court to fend off a resilient Sorana Cirstea, eventually sealing a hard-fought 6-4, 6-4 victory. Mboko, the tournament’s youngest player, advanced when Anna Kalinskaya retired early in their second set after struggling visibly from the start.
Bencic’s thigh injury handed Cristina Bucsa a walkover into the last four, where the Spaniard will face Australia’s Maya Joint.
The fifth-seeded Joint earned her spot with a roller-coaster 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 win over Japan’s Himeno Sakatsume, marking her second Asian semifinal of the season after the Korea Open.
In doubles, the Hong Kong-China pair Eudice Chong and Cody Wong thrilled local fans on Court 1 before falling 7-6, 6-4 to experienced Chinese duo Jiang Xinyu and Wang Yafan.
The Asian partnership of Japan’s Momoko Kobori and Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech later edged Kamilla Rakhimova and Aliaksandra Sasnovich in a Centre Court tiebreak decider, 6-2, 4-6, 10-8, to reach Saturday’s final.
With the withdrawals shifting the schedule, the stage is now set for an electrifying weekend featuring the highly anticipated Canadian matchup and a fresh mix of semifinalists ready to battle for the title.
