Simona Waltert surprises at the start of the WTA 500 tournament in Abu Dhabi. The player from Graubünden defeated the former top ten player Daria Kasatkina 7:6 (7:5), 3:6, 6:4.
02.02.2026, 12:56
SDA
After surviving qualifying, Waltert not only played excellent tennis against the Russian, who plays for Australia and was ranked No. 8 in the world three years ago and 62nd in the latest world rankings, but also showed her fighting qualities. She won the first round, although Kasatkina was able to serve for the set and led 4:1 in the tie-break. After that, she didn't let the five consecutive games she lost in the second set or Kasatkina's service break to make it 3:2 in the third set get in her way. After 2 hours and 45 minutes, the number 94 in the rankings had wrapped up one of her most valuable victories to date.
The first duel between Waltert and Kasatkina was a comparison between two first-round losers at the Australian Open. Waltert's defeat to world number four Amanda Anisimova from the USA was predictable, whereas Kasatkina's elimination against qualifier Nikola Bartunkova was unexpected. The young Czech, who is now ranked 108th, then caused an even bigger surprise with her victory over Belinda Bencic.
Willett's next opponent is set to be an even bigger test. Denmark's Clara Tauson is ranked number 16 in the world. The two have played each other once before, a long time ago. Five years ago, Tauson came out on top after three sets in the final of the ITF tournament in Altenkirchen in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Bencic, who moved up one place to ninth in the latest edition of the world rankings, will also be competing in Abu Dhabi. As the top seed, she will enter the action after a walk-through in the second round. Her opponent is the British qualifier Sonay Kartal, the world number 61.
