Australian Open Qualifiers: Wu Yibing Secures First Adult-Level Victory, Yuan Yue, Ma Yexin, and Bai Zhuoxuan Advance to Second Round

On January 13th, 2026, Beijing time, the Australian Open qualifying rounds entered their second day, continuing the first round of men’s and women’s singles qualifiers. Alongside Hong Kong’s Wong Chak Lam, eight Chinese players debuted today.

Wu Yibing

Wu Yibing’s opponent in the first qualifying round was American Krueger. They previously clashed at last year’s ATP Washington tournament, battling to a deciding-set tiebreak where Wu edged out a win. In the opening set, Wu broke serve in the 12th game to take it 7-5; in the second set, he broke again in the 8th game but squandered two match points on his own serve before ultimately seizing the chance on his opponent’s serve to close the match 7-5, 6-4.

Notably, this marks Wu Yibing’s first career victory in the adult Australian Open main draw; he had previously exited in the first round in 2023. As a junior, he reached the men’s singles semifinals in 2017. In the second qualifying round, Wu will face Colombia’s Mejia, who upset 12th seed Värtanen in the first round.

Wong Chak Lam

Competing in the Australian Open qualifiers for the second consecutive year, Hong Kong’s Wong Chak Lam also secured a win today. Facing 31st seed Frenchman Blanchier, he saved two set points in the second set tiebreak to narrowly win 6-3, 7-6(6). In the next round, he will play against Spain’s Liamas. Last year, Wong lost in the second qualifying round to Brazilian rising star Fonseca, who went on to defeat 9th seed Rublev in the main draw first round.

Yuan Yue

Returning to Grand Slam qualifiers since 2023, Yuan Yue faced a strong American opponent, Chirico. After a slow start losing the first set 3-6, she steadied herself and won the next two sets 6-1, 6-2 to complete a comeback. Since Wimbledon 2023, Yuan has failed to pass the first round in ten consecutive Grand Slam main draws; starting from the qualifiers this time, she aims to break that streak.

Bai Zhuoxuan

Bai Zhuoxuan returned to competition late last year, facing 2023 Australian Open junior girls’ singles champion Korneeva in the first round. Bai took the first set 6-4 by breaking early; the second set saw multiple breaks of serve, but she held on to win 6-3. In the second round, Bai will meet French late replacement Paquet, who took the top seed’s spot and defeated compatriot Meladnovic 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-3 in round one.

Ma Yexin

Returning to the Australian Open qualifiers after two years, Ma Yexin was dominant in the first round, dispatching American veteran Lepchenko in just 65 minutes with a 6-1, 6-3 victory, maintaining her unbeaten record in Australian Open qualifier first rounds. In the second round, Ma will face Kelleeva, who eliminated Veselka in the first round. The two have met twice before, with Ma conceding only one game in last year’s match.

Gao Xinyu

Gao Xinyu’s first-round opponent was Austrian young talent Tagger, born in 2008, who was runner-up at last year’s WTA Jiujiang tournament. Gao led the first two sets 6-3, 4-2, but after Tagger broke back, a fierce battle ensued. After 2 hours and 54 minutes, Gao was overturned 6-3, 5-7, 3-6, missing out on a winning start.

Veselka

Guo Hanyu

Veselka suffered an injury while trailing 6-4, 2-6, 2-3 against American Kelleeva and was unable to finish the match, exiting in the first round. Last year, Veselka won three qualifying matches to reach her first Grand Slam main draw at the Australian Open; without those points, her ranking has dropped to No. 283. Making her Grand Slam qualifier debut, Guo Hanyu lost 5-7, 1-6 to 31st seed Shalkova, also missing advancement.

On January 14th, all second-round men’s and women’s singles qualifying matches will take place, with remaining Chinese players aiming to reach the final qualifying round, The detailed schedule is as follows:

ANZ Stadium, Match 3: Wong Chak Lam vs Liamas

Court 12, Match 3: Zhu Lin vs Kasintseva [9]

Court 13, Match 1: Ma Yexin vs Kelleeva

Court 13, Match 3: Wu Yibing vs Mejia

Court 14, Match 4: Bai Zhuoxuan vs Paquet [A]

Court 17, Match 4: [25] Yuan Yue vs Calle

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(Text and Editing: Dato)