Unrest in Mexico is raising concerns about the staging of the WTA 500 Mérida Open Akron, but action got underway anyway on Monday with Britain’s Katie Boulter scoring an impressive opening win, while in Austin, Texas two seeds fell in round 1 and another withdrew, injured…
I just tried to keep believing in what I had done. It’s obviously very different conditions to what I’ve been playing in lately, and I just had to adapt and keep fighting. I had a lot of fights with Bea, and she’s a great player, and she never gives you anything, so it was a long match… I’m glad I got through that. Katie Boulter
Mérida, Mexico – WTA 500 Mérida Open Akron 2026
Several notable names have withdrawn from the WTA 500 Mérida Open in Mexico, where security concerns are escalating following the killing of a powerful cartel leader known as ‘El Mencho’ by federal forces, prompting retaliatory attacks by armed groups, sparking unrest in several regions.
However, the withdrawals do not appear to be related to the unrest, but rather are a result of the grueling schedule that is already taking its toll on the players, and will be reviewed by the newly appointed WTA Tour Architecture Council, aimed at addressing issues with the calendar, player commitments and other core elements of the tour framework.
However, just days after confirming the end of her four-year marriage, 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens withdrew due to personal reasons and was replaced by lucky loser, Priscilla Hon.
The decision comes at a delicate time in her career, as the American continues her comeback after an injury-marred period that derailed much of her 2025 season.
Spain’s Paula Badosa confirmed her withdrawal ahead of the draw on social media, writing: “I’m really sorry to announce that I won’t be able to be in Mérida this year. I was really looking forward to playing. I now have to recover well and come back as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, Maria Sakkari has not yet fully recovered from her illness and will also miss the tournament, as will Liudmila Samsonova, Diana Shnaider, Daria Kasatkina, Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Jaqueline Cristian, all of whom were originally scheduled to appear but are absent from the event.
The action got underway on Monday when Britain’s Katie Boulter, a wildcard into the main draw, recorded her sixth straight win this month with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia to advance to Round 2 in Mérida.
Boulter recently won the title at the WTA 250 Ostrava Open and rises to number 66 in the live rankings after this week’s victory.
The British No. 3 overcame her serve issues to get past the Brazilian, landing just 36% of her first serve against her out-of-form opponent, who has now lost six of her seven matches in 2026.
Boulter also looked a bit strange as she made 38 unforced errors and had her serve broken five times in a match that lasted almost two hours.
The first four games of the match went against serve before Haddad Maia finally held, although it was Boulter who held in the 6th and 10th games to take the opening set.
The 29-year-old broke twice more to race to a 3-0 lead in the second, but encountered more problems with her serve and eventually grabbed a 2nd match point after hitting a 9th double fault in the first.
“I just tried to keep believing in what I had done,” Boulter said. “It’s obviously very different conditions to what I’ve been playing in recently, and I just had to adapt and keep fighting.
“I’ve had a lot of battles with Bea, and she’s an incredible player, and she never gives you anything, so it was a long match… I’m glad I got through that.”
Another wildcard, Marina Stakusic, a 21-year-old Canadian ranked 142nd in the world, upset fifth-seeded Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine 6-4 6-3, helped by her opponent’s six double faults.
The result was the first tour-level victory for Stakusic this year, after falling in the first round in Canberra and then qualifying for the Australian Open before losing her opening match in the main draw in Melbourne.
Her upset over Yastremska marks the fifth career Top 50 win for the Canadian, three of which have come on Mexican soil.
Colombia’s Emiliana Arango, last year’s finalist, was a 7-6(0) 6-2 winner over Austria’s Anastasia Potapova, while Andorra’s Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva recorded a 6-4 1-6 6-4 victory over Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva.
WTAtennis.com
Austin, Texas | WTA 250 ATX Open Austin
Swiss qualifier Rebeka Masarova defeated Wang Xinyu, the No. 3 seed from China, 6-3 6-2, in the first round of the WTA 250 ATX Open on Monday in Austin, Texas.
Masarova won 85.7% of her first-serve points, 30 of 35 played, and saved 4 of the 5 break points she faced as she avenged her loss to Wang three weeks ago in the second round of the Transylvania Open in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
The Swiss will meet Whitney Osuigwe in Round 2, who came through a match of American qualifiers to edge past Elizabeth Mandlik, 2-6 6-3 6-1, after 2 hours and 5 minutes.
The only other seeded player in action on Monday was seventh seed Anna Bondar of Hungary, who lost 6-3 7-5 to Kamilla Rakhimova of Uzbekistan.
Russian-born Rakhimova will meet her former compatriot Oksana Selekhmeteva, who defeated American Alycia Parks 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 after a match lasting 2 hours and 4 minutes.
Another American, Taylor Townsend, a wildcard in the draw, saved a match point before edging out lucky loser Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic 4-6 7-6(3) 7-5 in a marathon match that lasted just under 3 hours.
Fruhvirtova had replaced Varvara Gracheva, the Russian-born Frenchwoman ranked fifth, who withdrew from the draw due to a neck injury.
After her first main draw singles win since the US Open, Townsend moves on to face another Czech qualifier Nikola Bartunkova, after seeing off American wildcard compatriot Katie Volynets 19th 6-4 7-5 in 2 tight sets, converting her 4th set point in each set to advance.
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