Wednesday at the Singapore Tennis Open presented by BNP Paribas brought statement wins, a quarterfinal showdown between two of the tournament’s biggest names, and yet more evidence that Alexandra Eala has become one of the event’s biggest attractions.
Top seed Mirra Andreeva and fifth seed Maja Chwalinska both moved into the quarterfinals in contrasting but equally convincing fashion, while Leylah Fernandez set up a meeting with Andreeva. Elsewhere, the doubles draw produced an upset, and the excitement around Eala continued to build ahead of her tournament debut.
Mirra Andreeva made a composed start to her Singapore campaign, defeating Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals.
The scoreline does not quite tell the full story. Sasnovich had already shown what she could do in Singapore, coming through a tough opening match against Daria Kasatkina, and her flat hitting and aggressive style could have made the indoor conditions challenging for Andreeva.
Instead, the 19-year-old found ways to absorb the pressure and change the pace when needed. She raced to a double-break lead at 4-1 in the opening set before Sasnovich pulled one break back, but Andreeva stayed aggressive and eventually closed out the set. She repeated the pattern in the second, recovering immediately after dropping serve and finishing the match with an ace.
For Andreeva, the win also offered some encouragement around a part of her game she has been working on.
“I’ve been having some great days in practice, and I’ve been working on my serve and my game. So, yeah, I’m super happy that I was able to implement some of it during the match today,” she said.
The top seed also spoke about a calmer mindset on court, describing the day as one where she was able to support herself internally and simply accept what happened from one point to the next.
“I guess that’s just how I felt. It was kind of the vibe today, you know. Just be a little bit calmer and accept no matter what happens, and just carry on.”
That approach will be tested in the quarterfinals when she faces Leylah Fernandez. The pair are tied 2-2 in their head-to-head record, with Fernandez winning their most recent meeting in Toronto.
Maja Chwalinska was even more ruthless, dropping just one game against Olexandra Oliynykova in a 6-0, 6-1 victory.
The fifth seed’s game is built around variety rather than brute force, with drop shots, slices and changes of pace helping her construct points and unsettle opponents. Against Oliynykova, that creativity was on full display, including a perfectly timed drop shot and a lob that helped her close out the match.
Despite the one-sided scoreline, there was plenty of craft in the rallies, with both players repeatedly mixing up their shots.
“I’m not the tallest or the strongest, so I definitely had to develop different weapons, but the variety has always been in me,” Chwalinska said. “For as long as I can remember, I loved playing drop shots, slices, so it’s kind of a natural game for me.”
Her next challenge is Elise Mertens, who advanced to the quarterfinals without playing after Barbora Krejcikova withdrew with a lower back injury.
There is already some history between Chwalinska and Mertens. They met in Paris earlier this year during Chwalinska’s run from qualifying, when the Polish player defeated Mertens 6-4, 6-0.
For Chwalinska, however, the focus remains on what she can control rather than rankings or results.
“For me, it doesn’t help at all to focus on points, or even on winning. I want to play my best tennis, and I want to fight. I know what I want to do on the court, so I can give myself the best chance to win.”
Leylah Fernandez also booked her place in the last eight with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Alycia Parks.
The Canadian left-hander put pressure on Parks throughout the match, particularly as Parks struggled to find her serve. The American landed just 45 per cent of her first serves and hit nine double faults, while still carrying heavy tape around her right shoulder.
Fernandez nearly let the opening set slip after building a 5-1 lead, but held at 5-4 to take it. She then recovered immediately after dropping serve early in the second set before pulling away.
“The most important thing was my mental strength,” Fernandez said. “That was definitely more solid today than the other day.”
She will now face Andreeva, knowing she has already beaten the Russian this year.
Still, Fernandez is treating the quarterfinal as a fresh challenge.
“It’s gonna be tough. She’s not gonna give it to me easily, so I’m just gonna try to focus on one point at a time, one ball at a time and execute the game plan.”
The doubles competition also produced a notable result, with second seeds Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls knocked out by Su-Wei Hsieh and Joanna Garland.
The Taiwanese pairing won 6-2, 7-6(5), recovering from 3-1 down in the second set to close out the victory in straight sets.
With the second seeds now gone, the doubles draw has opened up further as the tournament heads into its final stages.
If there was one sight that summed up the atmosphere around the tournament on Wednesday, it was the crowd gathered for Alexandra Eala’s public Q&A.
The Filipino star has yet to play her opening match in Singapore, but her popularity was already obvious as fans turned up in force to see her at The Kallang.
Eala will finally begin her singles campaign on Thursday evening against Tatiana Prozorova, with Maria Sakkari taking on Nao Hibino later in the night.
With the quarterfinal line-up taking shape, the Singapore Tennis Open is entering the business end of the tournament — and Wednesday made clear that there is plenty still to play for, both on court and in the stands.
Photo Credit: WTA, Ashok Kumar
Singapore Tennis Open 2026 runs from 19th to 27th September at The Kallang. Tickets, including ACES Club hospitality packages, are available through The Kallang, with limited weekday tickets remaining.
