Four Advance to Finals Weekend

A pair of Americans who are responsible for a pair of ATX Open firsts have reached the semifinals of Austin’s inaugural WTA Tour event. 

Danielle Collins, the first player to commit to play in Austin, and Katie Volynets, who won the tournament’s first-ever match on Monday, advanced to the final four with wins Friday.

The fourth-seeded Collins will face the eighth-seeded Marta Kostyuk for a spot in the final while Volynets will take on Varvara Gracheva. 

Collins, the 2022 Australian Open finalist, rallied to win after dropping the opening set for the second time this week, defeating Anna Kalinskaya 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. The highest-ranked player remaining in the draw, she has reached her 12th career semifinal.

Not only did Volynets take part in an ATX Open first this week, the 21-year-old’s tournament has included several personal firsts. Friday she was contesting her first WTA quarterfinal, and her 7-5, 6-3 win over Peyton Stearns puts her into her first-ever semifinal. 

Stearns, who is also 21, was playing in her first WTA quarterfinal after recording her first WTA match win earlier this week. The former Texas Longhorn turned pro last summer after helping UT win back-to-back NCAA teams titles while also claiming the 2022 singles championship. 

Kostyuk was playing her third quarterfinal of the young season and reached her first semifinal of the year with a 7-6(6) 6-2 win over Anna-Lena Friedsam. The 20-year-old has already won 12 matches this season, something she did not do until late August in 2022. 

Gracheva took out her second seed of the week when she defeated fifth seed Sloane Stephens 7-6(4), 6-3. It was the first straight sets win in Austin for the 22-year-old who upset top seed Magda Linette in the opening round. 

Both semifinals will be first-time meetings between the opponents.