A fight for the finals

Austin is down to its final four, with a place in the championship on the line as the tournament nears its finish.

Bianca Andreescu brought her trademark grit to the court, defeating Australian teenage phenom Emerson Jones 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Backed by her team, including Coco, her dog and self-proclaimed MVF — Most Valuable Fan — Andreescu battled her way into the semifinals, where she will face fellow wildcard, Spain’s Paula Badosa.

Badosa advanced with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Austria’s Sinja Kraus. Trailing 3-5 and then 4-5, 0-40 in the opening set, she saved five set points to level at 5-5 before going on to win eight of the next nine games. During her interview, Badosa said she has not been feeling her best and has been searching for more match play as she works to put her game back together and return to the level she knows she can reach. She added that she is grateful to have the chance to do that in Austin and rebuild her confidence here.

Australia’s Kimberly Birrell showed incredible mental toughness today. She led 5-1 and held two set points in the opening set, only to see it slip away in a tiebreak. In the second, she went up 4-2 and 5-4, then fell behind 5-6 after losing two straight games. But from there, Birrell responded in emphatic fashion. She broke second seed McCartney Kessler, won the tiebreak 7-3, and then stormed through the final set, taking six straight games to defeat the last American in the draw, 6-7, 7-6, 6-0.

Thailand’s Lanlana Tararudee is through to her second WTA 125 semifinal of the season. After coming through qualifying, she has continued to impress with her resilience, staying positive even when dropping a set or falling behind in a match. Her energy has stood out all week, and during her on-court interview, she said she was simply happy to be traveling and competing.

The doubles second seeds, Hao-Ching Chan and Miyu Kato survived a battle against Americans Ivana Corley and Austin local Catherine Harrison. After trailing 4-1 in the third-set match tiebreak, they stormed back to win it 10-5 and punch their ticket to the semifinals. Next up is a tough test against En Shuo Liang and Eudice Chong. Liang and Chong reached the ATX Open final earlier in February, and with a win here, they would advance to their sixth WTA final together since September 2025. They are undefeated in WTA 125 finals, and a win here would send them into yet another title match.

Play gets underway at 3 PM tomorrow with semifinal action on both Center Court and Court 1. Center Court features the singles semifinals, while Court 1 hosts doubles semifinal matchups as teams battle for a place in the final.