Russian qualifier Alexandra Shubladze extended her run from qualifying in Hong Kong as she beat top seed Sorana Cirstea of Romania 6-2, 6-3 in 1 hour 27 minutes on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the WTA 250 event.

The 21-year-old, ranked 136th, will face Claire Liu, who beat Zeynep Sonmez 6-1, 6-4.

The 36-year-old Romanian, ranked 15th, won the Cluj-Napoca title in February, beating Emma Raducanu 6-0, 6-2 in the final.

Shubladze broke in the opening game and again for 3-0, saving both break points she faced in between. Serving at 5-2, she saved two more break points and needed four set points to close out the first set.

After Shubladze broke for 2-1 in the second set, Cirstea levelled at 3-3, but the qualifier broke straight back for 4-3. Shubladze broke again at 5-3 and converted her second match point. She saved seven of the eight break points she faced and broke serve five times. Cirstea won 4 of her 18 second-serve points, against 14 of 19 for Shubladze.

Shubladze came through qualifying with wins over Ying Zhang of China 6-4, 6-3 and Emerson Jones of Australia 6-4, 6-2. In the main draw, she beat fellow Russian Liudmila Samsonova 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 in 2 hours 50 minutes in the first round. She then came from a set down to beat another Russian, Elena Pridankina, 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-3. She has never faced Liu on tour.

Cirstea opened her week with a 7-6 (6), 1-6, 7-5 win over Maria Timofeeva of Uzbekistan in 3 hours 11 minutes. She then beat Mary Stoiana of the United States 7-5, 6-1 before running into the qualifier.

Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open 2026 quarter-final results

Alexandra Shubladze (Q) d. Sorana Cirstea (1) 6-2, 6-3
Claire Liu d. Zeynep Sonmez 6-1, 6-4
Aliaksandra Sasnovich (Q) vs Maria Sakkari (4)
Antonia Ruzic vs Alexandra Eala (2)