Wu Yibing and three others advance in Australian Open qualifiers; WTA renews streaming deal with Chinese platforms; Zhang Shuai reaches quarterfinals

In just three minutes daily, stay updated on global tennis news. Hello tennis fans, today is Tuesday, January 13, 2026. Welcome to the midday news report brought to you by "Tennis Home."

Let's begin with the 2026 Australian Open singles qualifiers. In a highlighted men's singles first-round match held this morning Beijing time, Chinese player Wu Yibing played excellently, beating American Krueger 7-5, 6-4 to reach the next round. Hong Kong's Wong Chak Lam also performed well, winning 6-3, 7-6 against French player Blanchier, advancing to round two.

On the women's singles court: Chinese player Ma Yexin dominated American Lepchenko with a 6-1, 6-3 victory to advance strongly; meanwhile, Wei Sijia retired due to a recurring back injury while trailing 6-4, 2-6, 2-3. Another Chinese star, Bai Zhuoxuan, secured a 6-4, 6-3 win over Russian Kornieva, moving on to round two. Matches involving Yuan Yue and Guo Hanyu are still underway at the time of reporting. Gao Xinyu’s match is scheduled to start around 3 PM Beijing time. Best wishes to the Chinese players!

Next, let's look at the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Last night Beijing time, the WTA officially announced the renewal of its broadcast partnership with Chinese streaming platforms Migu and Tencent to ensure comprehensive coverage of the 2026 WTA Tour in China. According to the agreement, Migu and Tencent’s digital platforms will provide coverage of the 2026 WTA Tour events, excluding tournaments held in mainland China, including all WTA 250, 500, and 1000 level events plus the WTA Finals.

Moving on to match updates. Last night Beijing time, the ATP250 Adelaide tournament concluded its first day of competition. Shanghai Masters champion, Monaco’s Vacherot, performed well, defeating Serbian Kecmanovic 7-6(5), 6-4 to claim his first win of the season; American giant Opelka also started strong with a 6-3, 7-6(6) victory over local favorite Popyrin; Kokkinakis, Humbert, and Munar also won their opening matches. This morning Beijing time, Czech player Machac defeated local player Duckworth 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the second round.

ATP250 Auckland: On the first day of competition, Baez, Norrie, and Spizzirri each won their matches to reach round two. In this morning’s remaining first-round matches Beijing time, American youngster Mickelson came back from behind to beat Argentina’s Navone 2-6, 6-2, 7-5; French player Pericard eliminated Spanish star Agut 6-3, 7-6.

WTA500 Adelaide: In the first round of singles, Czech player Buzkova came from behind to defeat Spanish star Badosa 3-6, 6-3, 6-4; local player Kasatkina won 7-6(2), 6-4 against Greece’s top player Sakari; Romanian Cristian beat Russian Alexandrov 6-4, 6-4; Russian rising star Schneider defeated Canadian Fernandez 7-5, 6-3.

In doubles: In a key first-round match, second seeds Zhang Shuai and Siniakova defeated the local pair Burel and Chouette 6-4, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals.

WTA250 Hobart: In the first-round singles match, Serbian Danilovic came from behind to upset second seed American Kessler 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, ending the latter’s title defense; Kochareto, Li Jini, Rudic, Shera, Slamkova, Bondar, and others also won to advance. In doubles, the China-Japan team Tang Qianhui and Aoyama Shuko lost 4-6, 2-6 to Malekova and Skoc, exiting in the first round. China’s second-ranked player Wang Xinyu is scheduled to play around noon Beijing time today against wildcard Gibson.

Finally, a guessing game. The picture below shows two players embracing after a match. Without any hints, can you identify who they are?

In the last guessing game, some fans gave the correct answer. Yes, the young lady in the photo is the Polish star Swiatek.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Lone Ranger)