Elyse Tse, Vivian Yang reach ASB Classic wildcard final

Elyse Tse and Vivian Yang have made it through to the final of the ASB Classic wildcard playoffs at Manuka Doctor Arena, in Stanley Street, Auckland.

his tournament offers New Zealand players the chance to earn wildcards into the WTA main or qualifying draws, presenting a rare opportunity to compete against stars like Lulu Sun, Naomi Osaka, or Madison Keys.

Because of persistent showers, the quarterfinals were moved indoors, using the two available courts.

The first pair of matches were both long battles, with No 3 seed Jade Otway defeating Katie Oliver 5-7 6-4 10-7.

On the other court, Yang, who is at Pepperdine University, beat second seed Valentina Ivanov 7-5 4-6 10-3.

The next two matches were completed in straight sets, with top seed Monique Barry beating Maria Galatescu 6-3 6-0 and Elyse Tse, who is at Washington State University, defeating Renee Zhang 6-2 6-1.

As the weather had improved in the afternoon, the semifinals were played on outdoor courts.

On Court No 2 Yang and Otway played out an epic match. After going up 2-0 in the opening set, Yang lost the next five games and despite getting a break back, conceded the opening set. 

She got a crucial break at the end of the second set and then kept her nerve in the super tiebreak, to record a 4-6 7-5 10-4 victory.

In the other semifinal, played on Court No 5, Tse defeated Barry 7-6(7) 7-6(1) in a result which was a reversal of last year’s wildcard final.

On Boxing Day 2023, Barry beat Tse 3-6 6-1 6-2, and like then, this was another gripping battle, but on this occasion with Tse coming out on top.

The final between Tse and Yang will be played at 11am on Christmas Eve at Manuka Doctor Arena, with the winner securing a main draw wildcard and the runner-up earning a wildcard for the qualifying draw.