Tatiana Prozorova left The Kallang in tears on Thursday night, but they were tears of disbelief and triumph. The world No. 180 had just produced the biggest win of her career, fighting back from a set and a break down to defeat No. 18 seed Alexandra Eala 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in a match that stretched beyond three hours at the Singapore Tennis Open presented by BNP Paribas.
It was the kind of contest that made the unpredictability of tennis feel especially immediate. Eala had led 6-4, 4-2 and appeared within touching distance of the quarterfinals, but Prozorova refused to let the match slip away. The 22-year-old Russian kept attacking, particularly with her forehand, taking the ball early and repeatedly putting Eala under pressure.
The turning point came late in the second set. Eala had chances to close it out, but Prozorova kept finding ways to stay alive. At 5-6, Eala saved a set point with a forehand winner down the line, only for Prozorova to answer with one of her own. When Eala missed on the next set point, the momentum shifted decisively.
The third set was another series of swings. Eala recovered from 2-0 down to level at 3-3 and then earned four break points, but Prozorova held her nerve to escape. From there, she did not surrender another game, closing out the biggest victory of her career with another forehand winner.
“Honestly, I don’t have any words right now to describe my emotions, my feelings. Wow. I just did it!” Prozorova said afterwards. “I just believed in myself until the end.”
The result was particularly significant for a player who had won only three tour-level matches before this week and had never previously defeated a Top 20 opponent. She had already fought back from a set and a break down against Sofia Costoulas in the previous round; now she has another opportunity to extend her remarkable run when she meets Wang Xinyu in the quarterfinals.
“I didn’t feel like I couldn’t win the match,” Prozorova said. “I just had the feeling that I should try to win and believe in myself.”
For Eala, the defeat brought an early end to a tournament in which she had enjoyed strong support from the Singapore crowd. The Filipino, who has family connections in the region and spoke about the significance of competing so close to home, said the atmosphere made the experience particularly meaningful despite the result.
“It’s so heartwarming to see the support that I get,” she said. “I think being in Southeast Asia is extra special. Feeling the support, not just from the Filipinos, but I’ve been coming here ever since I was young, so to be back as a top-level player, and a seed, and being able to experience this city in a professional way, being surrounded by family, it’s a really nice experience to have.”
Eala also reflected on the lessons that come with a match that does not go her way.
“That’s the beauty of tennis. It’s a constant, I guess, constant evolution. You’re always learning,” she said. “You’re going to have days like this where it just doesn’t go your way. I have to learn from it, but also not try to make it bigger than it used to be.”
Prozorova’s next opponent will be Wang Xinyu, who also had to fight her way through a difficult contest on Thursday.
The No. 40-ranked Wang defeated qualifier Joanna Garland 7-5, 6-4 after falling behind 4-1 in the opening set. Garland repeatedly disrupted Wang’s rhythm with changes of pace, heavy forehands and a willingness to come forward, but Wang gradually found ways to take control.
She broke back at 4-3 and then won the final two games of the first set, dropping just one point. The second set remained tight until Wang found another opening at 4-4, breaking on her only break point of the set before serving out the match.
“I’m happy with how I served overall today and how I executed those big points,” Wang said.
She also noted the conditions at The Kallang, describing the court as lower-bouncing than a typical hard court and explaining that she had focused on attacking early.
“It doesn’t matter who the opponent is going to be for me in the next round: I’m going to focus on my game plan and on staying aggressive.”
Garland’s day ended on a more difficult note. She was forced to retire from the doubles semifinals with a left foot injury while playing alongside Su-Wei Hsieh, despite having taken the opening set 6-4.
Elsewhere, Australia’s Talia Gibson earned her first WTA 500 quarterfinal appearance after overcoming Slovakian lucky loser Viktoria Morvayova in a contest decided by two tight tiebreaks.
Morvayova, ranked No. 296, had entered the main draw after Amanda Anisimova withdrew with a left wrist injury and pushed Gibson hard throughout. But Gibson held her nerve when the pressure rose, particularly in the deciding stages.
The 22-year-old has been steadily climbing since breaking into the Top 100 this year, and her run in Singapore adds another significant milestone to a season that has already included a Sunshine Double qualifying campaign and a quarterfinal appearance at Indian Wells.
“I was really proud of myself and how I played in those two tiebreaks,” Gibson said. “I played some of my best tennis in those two. So yeah, I think just really happy with the fight today.”
Gibson will next face seventh seed Maria Sakkari, who avoided another upset by defeating Japanese qualifier Nao Hibino 7-5, 6-1.
Sakkari had led 4-2 in the opening set before Hibino fought back to level at 4-4. The Greek eventually found a way through at the crucial moment, taking the set at her second opportunity before taking control in the second.
“I knew that if I got the first set, things would start to get better for me, and that’s how it happened,” Sakkari said.
She was also enjoying her first experience of the tournament and Singapore itself.
“It’s an amazing tournament. It’s an incredible country and city. It’s my first time here. I’m so amazed by the people and everything that has to do with Singapore.”
The singles quarterfinal picture was not the only part of the draw to change dramatically on Thursday.
After the second seeds were eliminated on Wednesday, the top seeds followed them out of the doubles competition. Storm Hunter and Desirae Krawczyk were beaten 6-3, 6-1 by China’s Tang Qianhui and Xu Yifan, sending the Chinese pair into the semifinals.
Gibson also remains alive in the doubles draw alongside Belgium’s Sofia Costoulas. The pair defeated fourth seeds Kristina Mladenovic and Alexandra Panova 6-3, 7-6(4) to book their semifinal place.
With the singles quarterfinal line-up now taking shape, Friday brings another day of opportunities at The Kallang.
Maja Chwalinska and Elise Mertens open the day, while top seed Mirra Andreeva takes on Leylah Fernandez in the night session. Fernandez arrives with a recent victory over Andreeva in Toronto, adding another layer of intrigue to a tournament that has already produced its share of unexpected turns.
For Prozorova, however, Thursday will be remembered for a long time.
She arrived at the Singapore Tennis Open having never beaten a Top 20 player. She leaves Thursday having done exactly that — and with another opportunity ahead.
“I will just focus on my next match, and I hope it is going to be also a good battle,” she said.
For now, the biggest lesson from The Kallang is one tennis has always known well: the match is not over while there is still another ball to hit.
Image 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.
