2026 Australian Open: Wang Xinyu falls to world No. 4 Anisimova, missing out on quarterfinals

On January 26, 2026, the Australian Open proceeded with the fourth round of singles competition. On John Cain Arena, Wang Xinyu lost to the fourth seed Anisimova 6-7(4), 4-6, exiting the women's singles at the round of 16. This result means that all Chinese contenders have finished their singles journeys at this edition of the Australian Open.

Wang Xinyu

This was the first professional encounter between Wang Xinyu and Anisimova. At the start, both players were cautious, feeling each other out, and as the match progressed, longer rallies became more frequent. Although Anisimova is known for her flat and fast shots, Wang matched her pace, creating a balanced contest on court. Despite committing a double fault in the tenth game, Wang showed resilience by saving break points to hold serve. The first set went to a tiebreak, where Anisimova unleashed a series of winners after 3-3, eventually taking the set 7-4 in the breaker.

Anisimova

In the second set, both players broke serve in each of the first three games. Wang then requested a medical timeout to have her right thigh treated. After Anisimova held serve at love to lead 3-1, Wang, despite some physical discomfort, remained steady on her service games and kept close on the scoreboard. At Anisimova’s match point service game, the American showed some signs of wavering but managed to hold serve and close out the set 6-4 to secure the victory.

Anisimova had advanced through the first three rounds of this Australian Open without dropping a set and losing only five games per match on average. Against this strong American, Wang not only pushed the first set to a tiebreak but also consistently posed threats, demonstrating considerable skill and tenacity. Continuing her strong form from the start of the season, Wang reached the second week of a Grand Slam for the third time (after the 2023 US Open and 2024 Wimbledon), achieving her best singles performance at Melbourne Park. Notably, her straight-sets win over Noskova in the third round was particularly impressive, delivering an inspiring victory for Chinese fans.

Wang Xinyu

Thanks to her solid performances this season, Wang Xinyu’s current ranking has climbed to No. 33 (with a career-high of No. 32). Her coach Tosic said in an interview that the goal for the new season is to break into the top 30. Considering she faces little ranking pressure in the near future, maintaining her current form makes this target very achievable.

Pegula

Anisimova will face the No. 6 seed Pegula in the quarterfinals. Pegula won the “American derby” by defeating the defending champion and No. 9 seed Keys in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. This victory leveled their head-to-head record at 2-2 and marked Pegula’s fourth career appearance in the Australian Open quarterfinals. Keys is expected to drop out of the top ten in the world rankings after this tournament.

(Written and edited by Wang Fei)