From Tour Events to Grand Slams! In 2026, Two Southeast Asian Stars Achieve Three Major Career Milestones

Last season, two female tennis players from Southeast Asia caught the attention of many netizens. In early March, Filipino player Iera won five consecutive matches at the Miami Open, reaching the semifinals of her first-ever WTA1000 event. Moreover, later that year, she also advanced to her first career tour final at the WTA250 event in Eastbourne at the end of June.

Compared to Iera, Indonesian player Zeng Limei is undoubtedly less well-known. From early May to late June 2025, she won six consecutive titles in ITF tournaments. Subsequently, she claimed the championship at the Jinan Challenger in mid-October and then secured her first career tour title at the WTA250 Chennai event at the end of October.

Since the start of the 2026 season, Iera and Zeng Limei have continued to make progress, both achieving new career breakthroughs. So, what exactly are these milestones? Today, this article will take you through them.

In mid-January, Zeng Limei directly qualified for the 2026 Australian Open main draw based on her world ranking. Notably, this marked her first appearance in the Australian Open main draw in her career. Similarly, Filipino player Iera also made her career debut in the Australian Open main draw.

Unfortunately, after losing the first set without winning a game, Iera, who had initially taken the lead, was overturned by American player Parks with scores of 6–3, 6–2 and had to exit the tournament early. Zeng Limei faced a tough opponent in Canadian Fernandez, who had previously reached a Grand Slam final. Given her much lower ranking, few expected her to advance.

However, Zeng Limei surprised everyone by taking the first set 6–2. Although Fernandez improved her play in the second set, Zeng clinched the match in a tiebreak, earning her first-ever main draw victory at the Australian Open.

Last week, Iera competed at the WTA500 Abu Dhabi tournament. In the first round, having recently lost in front of her home crowd, she gave her opponent, Turkish player Senmez, little chance, winning comfortably 6–4, 6–3 to advance. In the second round, Iera came from behind to defeat lucky loser, Belarusian Sasnovich, reaching the quarterfinals of a WTA500 event for the first time in her career.

This week, both Iera and Zeng Limei participated in the WTA1000 Qatar Open in Doha. In the first round, Iera could not withstand the challenge from Czech player Valentova and was defeated in straight sets, ending her run early. Zeng Limei faced lucky loser, Brazilian Maia, who had previously reached a WTA1000 final and a Grand Slam semifinal, demonstrating considerable strength.

An incredible scene unfolded as Zeng Limei played exceptionally well, allowing Maia to win only one game throughout the match, securing her first WTA1000 event victory. According to the latest updates, Zeng Limei then swept past Ukrainian Yastremska, a former Grand Slam semifinalist, in the first round of the WTA1000 Dubai tournament today, earning her second win at this level.

From the Australian Open main draw to the WTA1000 stage, Iera and Zeng Limei have written a new chapter for Southeast Asian women's tennis with their successive victories. Starting quietly and rising steadily, the story of these two Southeast Asian stars has only just begun. That’s today’s tennis story; more to come tomorrow.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Yixin Jushi)