Day 3 of the H-E-B Women’s Pro Tennis Open is the first full day of main-draw action. Starting play on Court 3 are two Americans, fifth-seeded Jamie Loeb against Kylie Collins, who helped lead the Longhorn women to their second straight NCAA title before transferring to LSU. First up on Court 2, American Ashley Lahey, who on Tuesday received the Women’s Catalyst Award for raising funds for a Ugandan hospital, faces Vanda Vargova, a Baylor freshman from Slovakia who came back from a set down and 0-4 in the second to defeat Alicia Herrero Linana in a championship tiebreak, 3-6, 6-4, (10).
Second on Court 3 is sixth-seeded Peyton Stearns, who won the Longhorn women’s first NCAA singles title in May, against Chieh-Yu Hsu (TPE). That matchup will be followed by third-seeded Catherine Harrison against Madison Sieg.
The top seeds begin their singles play, with second-seeded Yuki Naito (JPN) facing qualifier Jiangxue Han (CHN) in the second match on Court 5. Not before 1 p.m. on the same court, top-seeded Fernanda Contreras Gomez (MEX) goes against American wild card Malaika Rapolu, part of the Longhorn championship team. Both players have suburban Austin roots: Contreras Gomez attended Westlake High School and Rapolu attended Cedar Park. Gomez qualified for this year’s French Open and Wimbledon and last week defeated 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the first round of Tokyo’s Toray Pan Pacific Open.
Court 5 also showcases Liv Hovde and Clervie Ngounoue, two American teenagers who recently won junior Grand Slam titles. Hovde, from McKinney, Texas, turned pro after winning the Wimbledon girls singles title in July. Ngounoue, a Washington D.C. native who trains at the prestigious Mouratoglou Academy in France, won the Australian Open girls double title with Diana Schneider. On Tuesday, the two were winning doubles partners.
Photo by Kayla Thompson