Zhang Zhizhen made a name in one match, Wu Yibing exited in the first round, Stephens suffered a bagel defeat, Yuan Yue entered as lucky loser.

Three minutes a day, know all tennis affairs. Hello tennis fans, today is Tuesday, March 31, 2026. Welcome to watch/listen to the News Midday Report provided by "Tennis Home".

This morning Beijing time, the ATP250 Houston tournament commenced. In a key first-round men's singles match, Chinese player Zhang Zhizhen was in fiery form, taking only 63 minutes to sweep British qualifier Pennington-Jones 6-1, 6-3, securing a winning start to the clay season. With this victory, Zhang Zhizhen became the first mainland Chinese male player to win a match on American clay since the Open Era began, etching his name on that list. Next round, he will challenge top seed, local second-ranked Shelton.

In another key match, Chinese top player Wu Yibing, leading 5-3 in the first set, missed his chance to serve out the set, was dragged into a tiebreak. In the tiebreak, Wu again wasted a 5-1 advantage and lost two set points, narrowly losing 6-8. In the second set, his form declined, losing 2-6, thus falling to qualifier Bolt and exiting in the first round.

Defending champion and eighth seed Brooksby also failed to win, defeated by compatriot McDonald 6-4, 6-2, eliminated in his opening match, his title defense journey abruptly ended. In two other matches, Paraguayan Vallejo and Argentine Tirante defeated their respective opponents, securing opening wins.

At the concurrently held ATP250 Morocco Marrakech tournament, in a first-round singles duel, German Hanfmann defeated Dutchman De Jong 7-6, 6-4 to advance; Australian Vukic and Frenchman Arias respectively lost to local wildcard Baadi and K-Benani, exiting in the first round.

Women's tournament: At the WTA500 Charleston first-round singles matches, local American Volynets reversed German beauty Lis 5-7, 6-2, 6-0 with a bagel to secure an opening win. Two other American players successively lost, exiting in the first round. Among them, former US Open champion Stephens suffered a bagel defeat 2-6, 0-6 under Mexican player Zarazua's racket; former Australian Open finalist Brady lost 4-6, 3-6 to Bulgarian Tomova.

Other winners advancing include Parks, Bondar, Urhobo, Kessler, Putintseva, Yastremska, Vekic. Belgian star Mertens announced withdrawal before the match, her spot was taken by local player Stearns, Chinese player Yuan Yue entered as lucky loser, first round against Egyptian Sherif.

WTA250 Bogota tournament: On the first competition day, players like Papamichael, Riera, Udvardy, Pareja, Cavá, Maria etc. defeated their respective opponents and advanced to the second round.

Finally, guess and recognize. Below is a picture of a player practicing serves. Without hints, can you recognize who he is?

Last episode's guess, fans gave correct answer. Indeed, the person in the picture is French rising star Fils.

Source: Tennis Home Author: Independent