The draw is set, the first rounds are underway, and the defending champion is ready to begin her title run. With the qualifiers now placed in the main draw, let’s take a quick look back at what unfolded yesterday in main draw action.
Mary Stoiana, Mai Hontama, and the doubles pairing of Alana Smith and Victoria Osuigwe all advanced with straight-sets victories, while Anastasia Gasanova came through a hard-fought three-set battle against Vivian Wolff to reach the second round.
One of the tournament’s first upsets came in doubles, where Savannah Broadus and Sonja Zhiyenbayeva defeated the fourth-seeded team of Fiona Crawley and Madison Sieg. Broadus, who graduated from Pepperdine University this year, was the 2024 NCAA Doubles Runner-Up, and her partner Zhiyenbayeva, also from Pepperdine, is a freshman beginning her collegiate journey in Malibu.
Defending champion Malaika Rapolu opens her title defense against Polish qualifier Gina Feistel, while Mary Lewis faces Fiona Crawley in one of the day’s most anticipated first-round encounters.
Lewis enters the tournament on a high — and with a wildcard — after a fairytale run at last week’s inaugural AUSTIN125. Today, she faces a formidable opponent in Crawley, who continues to build momentum during one of the most successful stretches of her young career. Currently at her highest ranking to date, Crawley remains a strong contender for a place in the Australian Open qualifying draw. A final appearance this week would all but secure her entry to Melbourne.
A native of San Antonio, Crawley has compiled an outstanding collegiate record, highlighted by a series of major accolades: member of the 2023 NCAA National Championship team, 2023 ITA National Player of the Year, 2023 ACC Player of the Year, and 2023 Honda Award winner for women’s tennis. She also captured the 2022 Women’s All-American Championship and the 2022 ITA Fall Championships.
Crawley finished the 2023 season ranked No. 1 in NCAA singles and earned a wildcard into the US Open qualifying draw, where she won three matches to secure her place in the US Open main draw.
It’s shaping up to be an exciting day of tennis as the tournament action continues in Austin.