Zheng Qinwen defeated the young American and will face Leylah Fernandez, Gauff exited in the first round while Zhang Shuai was forced to withdraw, and Cilic reached his 600th win.

Three minutes daily to keep up with global tennis news. Hello tennis fans, today is Wednesday, February 11, 2026. Welcome to the midday news update brought to you by "Tennis Home."

Last night Beijing time, the third day of matches at the WTA1000 Doha event wrapped up. In a key second-round singles match, China’s top player Zheng Qinwen battled for 2 hours and 48 minutes to defeat American qualifier Parks 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-2, securing her second consecutive win since returning from injury and advancing smoothly to the round of 16.

During the match, Zheng faced 16 break points but bravely saved 13 of them, which proved crucial for her victory. Although Parks led in several statistics, her numerous unforced errors ultimately cost her the match. In the latter stages, the young American grew frustrated, smashing her racket in anger as she saw the win slip away to Zheng.

In the next round, Zheng Qinwen will face the second seed and new Australian Open champion Leylah Fernandez, who defeated China’s Wang Xinyu 6-2, 6-4. This match is scheduled to start around 11 PM Beijing time tonight.

Other matches: Three-time champion and top seed Swiatek opened the Middle East season with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Indonesia’s Zeng Limi. She will next face Australian Kasatkina, who eliminated Belgium’s Mertens 6-4, 6-0.

Fourth seed Gauff had a disappointing start, losing 6-4, 6-2 to Italian lucky loser Cocciaretto. This marks Gauff’s third consecutive year exiting in the first round at Doha, suggesting she just can’t seem to find luck in Qatar!

Russian Kalinskaya defeated American Navarro 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 to reach the third round, where she will battle Ukrainian Svitolina for a spot in the quarterfinals. Svitolina won convincingly 6-1, 6-4 against compatriot Yastremska. Other winners advancing include Sakkari, Muchova, Mboko, Gracheva, Ostapenko, Osorio, and Li Jinyu.

In doubles, during the second round, Jiang Xinyu and Akria lost 3-6, 1-6 to defending champions and top seeds Errani and Paolini, missing out on the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, the pair Zhang Shuai and Mertens had to withdraw due to Mertens’ injury, with the slot taken over by Zhan Haoqing and Tauson.

Turning to the men’s tour: Last night Beijing time, the ATP500 Rotterdam tournament in the Netherlands continued. In a highlight match, top seed and Australian rising star De Minaur played superbly to beat young Frenchman Fils 7-6(3), 6-2, advancing comfortably. Struff, Griekspoor, Alcaraz, and Majchrzak also won their matches to move forward.

At the ATP500 Dallas event in the USA, former US Open champion and Croatian veteran Cilic defeated local rising star Liner-Chen 7-5, 7-6(4) in a first-round singles match to reach round two. This victory marked Cilic’s 600th career tour win, making him the second active player after Djokovic to reach this milestone. Fellow Americans Korda and Tiafoe also won their matches to advance.

The ATP250 Argentina Open also completed its first day of competition, with players like Dhillon, Etcheverry, Martinez, and Copilva winning their opening matches to start strong.

Finally, let’s play a guessing game. The picture below shows a player leaving the court after losing at the US Open. He has retired. Can you identify who he is?

Last time’s guess was answered correctly by fans. Yes, the person in the photo is the British player Bolt.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Independent Thinker)