Despite a nearly four-hour rain delay, there was still plenty of action on Day Two of the Philippine Women’s Open, highlighted by a pair of shockers as the tournament’s big guns finally took the court on Tuesday at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.
Top seed and world no. 42 Tatjana Maria of Germany drew a tough opening-round opponent in fellow veteran Léolia Jeanjean of France, with their match getting underway close to 6:00 PM on Center Court of the Felicisimo Ampon Tennis Center.
The two had already faced each other three times in 2025, all of which were won by the German.
The 38-year-old Maria — the oldest player in history to win a WTA 500 title following her triumph at the 2025 Queen’s Club Championships — had to grind for every point before wearing down the 30-year-old Jeanjean for a hard-earned 7-6 (5), 6-4 victory in a two-hour and 23-minute contest.
Maria advances to Wednesday’s second round against her namesake, Tatiana Prozorova of Russia.
(C) PHILTA
The 22-year-old Prozorova ousted UAAP Season 87 MVP Kaye Emana of UST in just 42 minutes, cruising to a 6-1, 6-0 win.
Fourth seed Donna Vekic of Croatia looked right at home on Philippine soil as she rolled to a breezy 6-2, 6-2 victory over Japan’s Kyoka Okamura.
The 29-year-old Vekic, a former world no. 17 and the women’s singles silver medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics, fired five aces and broke the 30-year-old Okamura six times.
Third seed and Argentine no. 1 Solana Sierra was tested early, needing to fend off a stiff challenge from world no. 117 Joanna Garland of Chinese Taipei before pulling through, 6-4, 7-6 (5).
Now at a career-high world ranking of 63, the 21-year-old Sierra is aiming to add another WTA 125 title to her collection after winning two in 2025.
The first unexpected result on a day where most of the higher seeds asserted themselves came when world no. 225 Ma Yexin of China stunned eighth seed and world no. 98 Darja Semenistaja of Latvia, 6-1, 7-6 (6).
In the final match of the day on Center Court, which began at 9:48 PM, sixth seed Lulu Sun of New Zealand — a 2024 Wimbledon quarterfinalist — suffered a 7-5, 6-4 upset by 31-year-old world no. 164 Zhu Lin of China.
