‘I knew exactly what I had to do’: Sakkari sweeps Sasnovich to set up Eala semi
Fourth seed Maria Sakkari beat qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2, 6-3 in Hong Kong after quarter-final exits in Singapore and Wuhan. The Greek meets second seed Alexandra Eala for the first time on Saturday.
Maria Sakkari, Hong Kong 2026 | © Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open 2026
Maria Sakkari of Greece arrived with a plan and never let qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich into the match on Friday, winning 6-2, 6-3 in 1 hour 27 minutes to reach the semi-finals of the Hong Kong WTA 250. The fourth seed will face second seed Alexandra Eala of the Philippines, who beat Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic 7-6 (7), 7-5, in their first meeting.
Sakkari, ranked No. 30, had been stopped in the quarter-finals in Singapore (WTA 500) and Wuhan (WTA 1000). In Hong Kong, she is now one win from a final. She also made it two wins from two meetings with the Belarusian, after a 6-2, 6-1 win in Berlin in 2023.
“I was more confident going into that match. I knew exactly what I had to do,” Sakkari said after the match. “I was very clear with the tactic, and I think I executed it really well.”
How Sakkari beat Sasnovich in Hong Kong
Sakkari broke in the second game on her fourth break point and held to love twice to lead 5-2. She broke again to take the set on her third set point.
She led 4-2 in the second set before Sasnovich broke back for 3-4 on her third break point. Sakkari broke straight back for 5-3 and served out the match to love.
Sakkari did not hit a double fault and won 65 percent of her second-serve points, against 37 percent for Sasnovich, who faced 10 break points.
“She’s a very dangerous player. She’s always been,” Sakkari said. “I’m just very happy that early on in the match, I managed to find the right way to play against her and execute the strategy really well.”
Sakkari faces Eala next in Hong Kong
Sakkari came back from a set down to beat Australia’s Maya Joint 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the last 16. She said the week has already gone beyond what she expected.
“It’s already been more than I expected because everybody is tired and everybody wants to have a break,” she said. “But finishing the year strong gives you a lot of confidence going into the new season and also having a good off-season and pre-season. (…) I’m just going to focus on myself and see what I can do best.”
Sasnovich, ranked No. 101, won two qualifying matches, then beat Katie Volynets of the United States 6-3, 6-2 and Australia’s Talia Gibson 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (7) in 3 hours 5 minutes.
Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open 2026 quarter-final results
Alexandra Shubladze (Q) d. Sorana Cirstea (1) 6-2, 6-3
Claire Liu d. Zeynep Sonmez 6-1, 6-4
Maria Sakkari (4) d. Aliaksandra Sasnovich (Q) 6-2, 6-3
Alexandra Eala (2) d. Antonia Ruzic 7-6 (7), 7-5
