MELBOURNE, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- China's Yuan Yue, Wu Yibing, Bai Zhuoxuan and Ma Yexin all won their first round qualifying matches for the Australian Open on Tuesday, while Guo Hanyu and Gao Xinyu were beaten and Wei Sijia retired due to injury.
Yuan, the 25th seed in the women's qualifying tournament for the first Grand Slam of 2026, came back from losing the first set to beat Louisa Chirico 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 in one hour and 50 minutes.
Yuan dropped the first four games to Chirico, but won 15 of the next 20 games as she closed out the match.
On the same court at Melbourne Park, Wu Yibing converted his fifth match point to defeat the American Mitchell Krueger 7-5, 6-4.
Wu collected 41 winners compared to 16 for Krueger.
Speaking after the match, Wu told Xinhua that he had caught a cold. "I'm very tired and wanted to get some rest," he said.
Bai Zhuoxuan continued her comeback from injuries that sidelined her for most of 2025 with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Alina Korneeva, and Ma Yexin lost three of the first four games in the second set but beat Varvara Lepchenko 6-1, 6-3.
Ma's second round match on Wednesday will be against the American Elvina Kalieva, who advanced when Wei Sijia was forced to retire from their first round match due to an apparent back injury earlier on Tuesday.
Wei had won the first set, but dropped the second and was trailing 3-2 in the deciding set when she retired shortly after having medical treatment on her lower back.
Playing against the 31st seed Dominika Salkova, Guo Hanyu saved two set points in the opening set and tied it at 5-5, but was ultimately beaten 7-5, 6-1.
Gao Xinyu won the first set against Austrian rising star Lilli Tagger and led the second 4-2 before the 17-year-old fought back and won the match 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in two hours and 54 minutes.
Players in the qualifying tournament must win three consecutive matches to qualify for the main singles draw at the Australian Open, which starts at Melbourne Park on Sunday. ■
