WTA Cluj-Napoca: Wang Xinyu Falls to Olijnikova, Missing Out on Semifinals

On February 5th, 2026, the WTA250 Cluj-Napoca event featured the women's singles quarterfinals. China's Wang Xinyu, seeded 4th, lost 4-6, 4-6 to Ukraine’s Olijnikova, missing the chance to advance to the last four.

Wang Xinyu

Olijnikova, Wang Xinyu’s opponent, rose to fame during the first round of this year’s Australian Open, almost toppling defending champion Keys. Her extensive tattoos and facial paint reflect her unique and versatile playing style, but behind this image lies a difficult story. Due to lack of training funds, in 2021 Olijnikova auctioned the rights to tattoo various parts of her body on the blockchain platform OpenSea. Winners could decide the tattoo designs for each area, with each spot sold for 3 Ethereum (about $1200-$3300).

In this match, the start was intense. Although Wang Xinyu broke serve first to lead 2-0, she soon suffered from too many unforced errors, allowing Olijnikova to take a 3-2 lead. At this point, Wang requested a medical timeout to have her right thigh re-bandaged. In a crucial service game where Wang needed to hold, Olijnikova broke at the first set point and took the set 6-4.

In the second set, both players exchanged service games initially, but Wang’s errors persisted. After prolonged struggles, she was broken decisively in the 10th game, losing the set 4-6. Throughout the match, Wang committed 60 unforced errors and converted only 2 out of 23 break point opportunities (an 8% success rate). She earned 54 ranking points and $7,025 in prize money, maintaining a career-high ranking of No. 32. Next, she will compete in the WTA1000 Doha event in the Middle East next week but has withdrawn from the WTA1000 Dubai tournament.

According to the original schedule, Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai were also set to play the women's doubles semifinals. Another Chinese player, Yuan Yue, will compete in the last women's singles quarterfinal on the center court against qualifier Snigur for a spot in the semifinals. Additionally, top seed Raducanu, 3rd seed Kostyuk, and defending champion and 5th seed Potapova are scheduled to play later.

(Text and editing by Dato; Photos by Huang Shangyue)