1st-rounds completed in Colombia and South Carolina, USA—
I think [Dolehide] started playing some of her best tennis at the end, and, I think, I got a little bit passive, and then, all of a sudden, seven match points later… The drama is escalating, and everyone just kinda wants to go home, but I got it done, and I get to come back out and play another match here. Madison Keys
Bogotá | WTA 250 Copa Colsanitas presentado par VISA
After an almost full day of rain on Monday, 1st-round play began in Bogotá on Tuesday, when Britain’s Fran Jones was forced to withdraw after collapsing in the middle of her opening match.
The World No 129 collapsed on court in the third set against Argentina’s Julia Riera at 6-2 5-7, 5-3, and was unable to return to play before being taken off the court in a wheelchair.
In footage of the incident posted on social media, the 24-year-old appeared to stagger after failing to return a serve from Riera, and fell to the ground.
Jones’ retirement from the tournament was confirmed in an online statement: “Due to a physical issue, Francesca Jones has withdrawn from her match against Julia Riera at 6-2 5-7, 5-3, in favor of the Argentinian,” the Colsanitas Cup’s official account said. “We wish the British tennis player a speedy recovery.”
Riera next will face America’s Iva Jovic, after the 17-year old upset 3rd-seeded Alycia Parks, 6-1 6-4, in an all-American 1st-round encounter.
Three other seeds also fell at the first hurdle, with lucky loser Patricia Maria Tig from Romania upsetting home hope and 4th seed Emiliana Arango, 6-3 6-3, while Brazil’s Laura Pigossi, the 2022 runner-up, came from behind to outlast Laura Siegemund, the 5th seed from Germany, 4-6 6-1 6-1, and Selena Janicijevic from France downed the 7th seed, Sara Sorribes Tormo from Spain, 6-1 6-2.
Top seed Marie Bouzkova from Czechia, last year’s Bogotá runner-up, held off Serbian qualifier Aleksandra Krunic, 6-0 3-6 6-3, to move into round 2 and a meeting with another qualifier, Raluka Serban, who became the first player from Cyprus to win a singles match in a WTA main draw, battling past Spain’s Nuria Parrizas Diaz, 2-6 6-4 6-1.
Defending champion and No 2 seed Camila Osorio chased every ball down en route to defeating her Colombian compatriot Mariana Isabel Higuita Barraza, 6-0 6-1, to open her campaign, and she will take on American Emina Bektas, who was a 6-0 6-3 winner over local wild-card Maria Camila Torres Murcia.
Two-time Copa Colsanitas Zurich champion Tatjana Maria, though, needed 3 hours and 25 minutes to defeat Chloe Paquet from France, 6-7(5) 7-5 6-4, and the 6th-seeded German moves on to American Hanna Chang, who, on her WTA main-draw debut, came from a set down to defeat Varvara Lepchenko, 4-6 6-1 6-2, in an all-American contest.
In Tuesday’s nightcap, No 8 seed Cristina Bucsa from Spain topped Leonie Kung of Switzerland, 6-1 6-7(2) 6-1, to set up a meeting with Croatia’s Lea Boskovic, who beat fellow qualifier Irina Barra from Romania, 6-4 6-4.
In a 1st-round showdown between 16-year-olds, making their WTA main-draw debut, American qualifier Julieta Pareja defeated another Colombian wild-card, Maria Jose Sanchez Uribe, 6-1 6-1, to become the first woman born in 2009 to win a main-draw match on the Hologic WTA Tour.
Other winners in the rain-delayed 1st-round included Katarzyna Kawa of Poland, France’s Leolia Jeanjean, and American Julieta Pareja.
Wild-card Heather Watson lost her opener in 2 tight sets to qualifier Iryna Shymanovich at the Credit One Charleston Open at Credit One Stadium on Tuesday.
© Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Charleston | WTA 500 Credit One Charleston Open
British No 7 Heather Watson, who received a wild-card into the main draw in Charleston, suffered a straight-sets defeat in the 1st-round on Tuesday, when the 32-year-old was beaten 7-6(8) 6-4 by Belarusian World No 215, Iryna Shymanovich.
Watson saved 3 set points during the tight opener but could not capitalize on her one chance to seize the initiative during the tiebreak.
The World No 182 was broken 4 times in set two, including in her final two service games, as Shymanovich, a qualifier, progressed to a Last 32 meeting with top seed Jessica Pegula, the beaten finalist at last year’s US Open.
Three Americans advanced to the Last 16, as No 2 seed Madison Keys pushed past compatriot Caroline Dolehide, 6-3 7-6(4), defending champion Danielle Collins, the 7th seed, defeated fellow countrywoman, Robin Montgomery, 6-3 6-1, and 8th-seeded Amanda Anisimova dispatched the 2021 Charleston champion, Veronika Kudermetova from Russia, 6-2 6-2.
Dolehide saved 7 match points against Keys, 4 in the 9th game of the second set and 2 more in the 10th to force a 5-5 tiebreak, before seeing off one more in the breaker, before Keys, the 2019 Charleston champion, put the match away.
The reigning Australian Open champion nailed the 8th to earn her 20th match-win of the year.
“I think [Dolehide] started playing some of her best tennis at the end, and, I think, I got a little bit passive, and then, all of a sudden, seven match points later…” Keys trailed off, shaking her head in her on-court interview. “The drama is escalating, and everyone just kinda wants to go home, but I got it done, and I get to come back out and play another match here.”
Defending champion Danielle Collins opened her account with a straight sets win over Robin Montgomery to reach the Last 16 in Charleston.
© Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Collins struck 26 winners and 5 aces against Montgomery, collecting her 7th straight win in Charleston.
Her title run last year was the middle of a 15-match winning streak on tour, which pushed her back into the Top 10 before the year was through.
“I’m most happy with my mindset, and just being relentless,” Collins said on court, after her win. “Going after my shots, not getting too down on myself after mistakes, and just giving myself room to breathe.”
Anisimova trailed 0-2 against Kudermetova but, in the night session, she got her first win over the former Top 10 player.
“It’s always nice to be back, the first clay tournament of the year,” Anisimova said on court after her win. “Veronika’s a tough opponent, so I’m happy to be into the next round.”
Anisimova reached the semi-finals here in 2022, which is her best showing at any WTA 500 event, and is hoping to better that this week, having won her biggest career title at WTA 1000 Doha in February, and reaching a new career-high ranking of No 16 on Monday.
Two former Top 10 players got their clay-court seasons off on the right foot on Tuesday as Maria Sakkari and Sofia Kenin both won their opening matches in straight sets to advance to round 2.
Sakkari kicked off the day’s slate of play inside Credit One Stadium with a 6-3 6-2 win over 19-year old Canadian wild-card Marina Stakusic, before Kenin followed her with a 6-3 6-4 win over fellow American Bernarda Pera, setting the two up for intriguing 2nd-round matches against in-form seeded opponents.
Appearing in Charleston for a 4th time, the Greek is looking for momentum as the clay-court season begins, having been seeded 3 here last year, making it into the semi-finals before losing to Collins.
Now ranked 64 after a shoulder injury ended her 2024 season after the US Open, and with a 6-11 match record this season, Sakkari is hoping her return to Charleston serves as a springboard for the rest of 2025.
Sakkari did find a spark against the teenager, despite beginning trailing 3-0, 0-30, as she won 7 straight games en route to setting a 2nd-round showdown with World No 7 Qinwen Zheng from China.
Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, followed Sakkari on court, and finished what she started to pick up her first win in Charleston since 2023.
The American needed an extra day to officially punch her ticket into the 2nd-round, as she was leading Pera 4-2 when the match was called off on Monday night due to yet more rain.
On resumption, she was pushed hard by her left-handed compatriot, saving a break point immediately in the 7th game, and another before serving out the set.
From 0-4 down, Pera pushed set two to 4-3 before Kenin eventually served out the match from 0-30.
Kenin will next face No 17 seed Belinda Bencic from Switzerland, who was bumped up to a seeded position following the withdrawal of Poland’s expected No 12 seed Magdalena Frech after the draw was made.
