After spending 6 hours and 5 minutes on court across 3 rounds, including consecutive 3-set comebacks in the Round of 16 and quarterfinals, 3rd-seeded Indian Vaidehi Chaudhari (IND, 423) bowed out in Saturday’s singles semifinals at the USD 30,000 Sydney Olympic Park International #1, falling 4-6, 2-6 in 1 hour and 22 minutes to Chinese Taipei’s I-Wen Wan (TPE, 828) on Court 1.
Returning to the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre less than 24 hours after saving 3 match points at 4-5, 15-40 in Set 2 and rallying from 2-5 down in the tiebreak to defeat 6th seed Tahlia Kokkinis (AUS, 473) in 2 hours and 42 minutes, the 26-year-old Indian No. 3 converted 100% of her break points (2 of 2) and saved 5 of 10 break chances on her own delivery, but saw 3 separate service games slip away from 40-30 game point up.
Chaudhari holds game point at 0-1 and 4-5 in Set 1, and at 1-2 in Set 2
Across the 82-minute semifinal, Chaudhari held a 40-30 game point in 3 of the 5 service games she dropped. In the 46-minute opening set, she led 40-30 on serve in Game 2 (at 0-1) and again in Game 10 while serving at 4-5 to level the set at 5-5, only for Wan to rattle off 3 straight points each time. In the 2nd set, immediately after breaking Wan to love for 1-2, Chaudhari led 40-30 on serve in a 10-point 4th game and 30-0 on return in Game 5 before Wan swept both games to pull away to 4-1.
Chaudhari saves 3 break points across back-to-back deuce holds before late Set 1 break
Unseeded 20-year-old I-Wen Wan (TPE, 828), who entered the semifinal without dropping a set all week, opened Saturday morning’s match on Court 1 with a love service hold and overturned Chaudhari’s 40-30 lead in an 8-point 2nd game to break for 2-0. Chaudhari answered immediately in a 10-point 3rd game, erasing a 15-40 deficit and an advantage point on Wan’s delivery before converting her 1st break point at deuce to get back on serve at 1-2, then consolidated to love for 2-2.
The middle stretch of the 46-minute opener turned into a test of resilience on Chaudhari’s serve. Trailing 30-40 at 2-3 in Game 6, the Indian 3rd seed reeled off 3 straight points in an 8-point game to level at 3-3, and then fended off 2 more break points at 30-40 and 40-Ad across a 10-point 8th game to hold for 4-4. After Wan registered her 2nd love hold of the set for 5-4, Chaudhari recovered from 0-30 down in Game 10 to reach game point at 40-30, but Wan strung together 3 consecutive points from deuce to claim the opening set 6-4, edging the Set 1 point count 37 to 30.
- 113 Total Points Played: Wan finished ahead 64 to 49 in total points across 18 regulation games (37-30 across 67 points in Set 1; 27-19 across 46 points in Set 2).
- 100% Break-Point Conversion on Return: Chaudhari converted 2 of 2 break points generated across the match—breaking in a 10-point 3rd game of Set 1 and breaking to love in the 3rd game of Set 2.
- 5 Break Points (& 1 Match Point) Saved: Chaudhari saved 5 of 10 break points on her own serve (3 of 5 in Set 1 and 2 of 5 in Set 2), including 1 match point at 15-40 in the final game.
- 3 Missed 40-30 Service Game Points: Chaudhari led 40-30 in 3 of the 5 service games she lost (Game 2 and Game 10 of Set 1, and Game 4 of Set 2) while winning 32 of 64 total service points (50.0%).
Love break in Game 3 gives Chaudhari an opening before 2-game swing
After Wan broke from 15-0 down in the 2nd game of Set 2 for a 2-0 lead, Chaudhari produced her sharpest return game of the morning in Game 3, winning 4 consecutive points on Wan’s serve to break to love for 1-2. Stepping to the line in Game 4 with a chance to draw even at 2-2, Chaudhari rallied from 15-30 down to reach game point at 40-30 and saved a break point at deuce, before Wan converted her 2nd break chance of the 10-point game to restore a 3-1 cushion.
Chaudhari immediately threatened again in Game 5 by jumping ahead 30-0 on Wan’s serve, but the 20-year-old from Chinese Taipei won 4 points in a row to hold for 4-1. Chaudhari held to 15 in Game 6 for 2-4, and while serving to stay in the match at 2-5 in Game 8, she saved 1 match point at 15-40 before Wan converted her 2nd match point at 30-40 to close out a 6-4, 6-2 result after 1 hour and 22 minutes.
| Round | Match | Score | Match Breakdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| SF | I-Wen Wan TPE · 828 def. [3] Vaidehi Chaudhari IND · 423 | 6-4, 6-2 | Chaudhari converted 2 of 2 break points (100%) but dropped 3 service games from 40-30 up in an 82-minute semifinal |
| QF | [3] Vaidehi Chaudhari IND · 423 def. [6] Tahlia Kokkinis AUS · 473 | 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 | Saved 3 match points at 4-5, 15-40 in Set 2 and won 5 straight points from 2-5 down in the tiebreak in 2 hours and 42 minutes |
| R16 | [3] Vaidehi Chaudhari IND · 423 def. [Q] Sera Nishimoto JPN · 968 | 4-6, 6-2, 3-0 ret. | Won 9 of the final 11 games and converted 5 of 8 break points (62.5%) across 2 hours and 20 minutes |
| R32 | [3] Vaidehi Chaudhari IND · 423 def. Elyse Tse NZL · 851 | 6-3, 6-4 | Held 9 of 10 service games and saved 4 of 5 break points in 1 hour and 32 minutes |
Chaudhari earns 14 ranking points ahead of back-to-back W35 Sydney #2 event
Across 4 days of main-draw competition at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre, Chaudhari logged 7 hours and 27 minutes across 10 sets—opening with a 6-3, 6-4 Round of 32 victory over New Zealand’s Elyse Tse (NZL, 851) before staging back-to-back 3-set comebacks against qualifier Sera Nishimoto (JPN, 968) and Australian 6th seed Tahlia Kokkinis (AUS, 473).
Her run to the last 4 earns 14 WTA singles ranking points and builds valuable match rhythm on the outdoor hard courts at Sydney Olympic Park, which hosts a 2nd consecutive USD 30,000 tournament—the Sydney Olympic Park International #2 (ITF W35 Sydney #2)—from October 26 to November 1, 2026.
| Round | Match | Court | Scheduled Start Time (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| R32 | Vaidehi Chaudhari IND · 423 vs Main Draw Opponent (TBA) | Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre | October 27–28, 2026 (ITF W35 Sydney #2 Main Draw) |