Li Na led her team to a runner-up finish as the two exhibition matches concluded!

Last weekend, a few exhibition matches drew the focus of many tennis enthusiasts. The gender showdown between Sabalenka and Kyrgios ended with the latter winning in straight sets. Although Kyrgios faced restrictions both in serving (only one serve per point) and on court size (his playing area was reduced by about 9%), he still comfortably defeated the current women's singles world No.1 with a score of 6-3, 6-3.

Meanwhile, two other exhibitions with more participants and fairly friendly match durations also wrapped up last weekend. At the MGM Macau Tennis Legends event, the team led by Chinese tennis legend Li Na lost to Martinez’s team with an overall score of 5-12. Although Li Na won her “Captain’s Challenge” matches on two consecutive days, several losses by her teammates caused the team to miss out on victory.

In this exhibition held in Macau, China, Li Na’s team fell significantly behind Martinez’s team on the first day. Though they managed to score some points on Sunday, the skill gap between Iera and Andrejeva soon made the competition between the two teams one-sided.

Notably, Wu Yibing won all three matches he played for Martinez’s team, including singles victories over Ambel and Shang Juncheng, as well as a doubles win, earning him the title of “Most Consistent Player.”

Compared to the MGM Macau Tennis Legends, the inaugural WTCC World Tennis Continental Challenge featured stronger overall competition. The World team included Rublev, Rybakina, Zhang Zhizhen, and Wang Xinyu, while the Europe team featured Swiatek, Bencic, Vachero, and Kobori.

Over the three-day event, Wang Xinyu won the first set 6-4 in her opening match but was then reversed by the resilient veteran Bencic, with the final score at 6-4, 2-6, 5-10; Swiatek defeated Rybakina in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.

On the second day, Zhang Zhizhen secured points for the World team by beating Kobori 7-6, 6-3. Then Wang Xinyu caused an upset by defeating Swiatek to narrow the gap. Later, Rublev extended the lead with a 2-6, 7-6, 10-7 win over Vachero. Although Zhang and Wang lost the mixed doubles to the Bencic pairing, the World team was ahead of Europe by the end of day two.

On the final day yesterday, the four key matches ended with the following scores:

Vachero 6-3, 7-6(3) Zhang Zhizhen

Rybakina 6-3, 6-4 Bencic

Rublev/Rybakina 6-4, 6-4 Swiatek/Vachero

Rublev 6-3, 6-4 Kobori

The World team ultimately defeated the Europe team 15-7 to claim the championship of the inaugural challenge. Although it was just an exhibition, the players delivered impressive performances.(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Barbie)