Zheng Qinwen faced criticism immediately after her withdrawal, Fritz squandered three championship points and lost the final set, Wu Yibing was eliminated, while Wong Chun-ting advanced.

Spend three minutes each day to stay informed about global tennis events. Greetings to all tennis enthusiasts, today is Monday, February 16, 2026. Welcome to the news midday report presented by "Tennis Home."

Yesterday afternoon Beijing time, China’s leading female player Zheng Qinwen, who was set to play in the first round of the WTA1000 Dubai tournament, withdrew before the match citing "illness." This outcome disappointed many Chinese fans eager to watch the match. Comments included, "Could we stop being teased and then dashed with bad news?" and "No longer Zheng the Runner, now Zheng the Vanisher!" However, the vast majority of fans expressed understanding and wished Zheng a speedy recovery and a healthy return to the court.

In fact, it is quite common for players to withdraw before or during matches for various reasons. But since Zheng’s elbow surgery last year, she has frequently withdrawn after confirming participation, which has led to some fans’ doubts and even sarcastic remarks, making the situation quite intriguing.

On the first day of the WTA1000 Dubai event, besides the 13th seed Samsonova being upset by Canadian Fernandez, most of the higher-ranked players won and advanced. Notably, 10th seed Noskova defeated American Gauff 6-3, 5-7, 6-4; former champion and Czech star Krejcikova beat Russian Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-4; and American Stearns comfortably defeated Poland’s Fletcher, who replaced Zheng Qinwen, 6-4, 6-2.

Players like Burel, Burel, Mertens, Järryd, Rinnet, Schneider, Seidel, and Zeng Limi also secured victories to move forward. In doubles first round, the Chinese pair Xu Yifan/Yang Zhaoxuan lost 2-6, 1-6 to Perez/Shuls, failing to advance.

Let’s turn to other courts. Last night Beijing time, the ATP500 Rotterdam tournament concluded its singles final, where top seed Deminall took only 78 minutes to defeat second seed Alcaraz 6-3, 6-2. After reaching the final three consecutive years, he finally claimed his first title at this event. This marked the 11th career title for the "Little Wild Rabbit" and his 4th ATP 500 title.

At the ATP500 Dallas Open, top seed Fritz wasted three championship points in the tenth game of the deciding set and was ultimately overturned 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 by second seed and compatriot Shelton, narrowly missing out on the title. Shelton claimed his fourth career singles title and second ATP 500 championship.

At the ATP250 Argentina Open, local top seed F. Cerundolo played excellently in the singles final, defeating second seed Italian Darderi 6-4, 6-2 to lift the trophy. This was his fourth career title.

In the ATP250 Delray Beach Tennis Open singles qualifying final round, Chinese player Wu Yibing performed below expectations, losing 3-6, 4-6 to fourth seed Schweida and missing the main draw. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Wong Tsz-lam defeated third seed Skurket 6-4, 6-4 to successfully qualify for the main event.

Additionally, at the ATP Challenger 75 Brisbane final, Chinese player Zhang Zhizhen defeated fourth seed Bolt 6-2, 6-4 to win his fourth ATP Challenger title. Although Zhang held a plate, it was indeed a champion’s trophy.

Finally, let’s play a guessing game. The photo below shows a player during training. Without any hints, can you identify who she is?

In the previous guessing game, some fans gave the correct answer. Yes, the person in the photo is China’s second-ranked player Wang Xinyu.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Lone Maverick)