4th seed Vaidehi Chaudhari (IND, 413) saw her singles run at the 2026 ITF W35 Sydney come to a close in the quarterfinals on Friday, falling 1-6, 2-6 to Japan’s Funa Kozaki (JPN, UNR) in 58 minutes on the outdoor hard courts in Sydney.
2 Missed Opening-Game Break Points Spark 8-Game Run by Kozaki
Chaudhari created immediate pressure in a 10-point opening game on Kozaki’s serve, earning 2 break points at 40-30 and advantage, but the Japanese player fended off both chances to hold for 1-0 and broke Chaudhari to love in the 2nd game. After Chaudhari held to 15 for 1-3 in the 26-minute opening set, Kozaki reeled off 8 consecutive games—saving a break point in a 10-point 3rd game of Set 2—to build a 6-1, 5-0 advantage before Chaudhari broke back once at 1-5 and held for 2-5 prior to Kozaki closing out the 6-1, 6-2 win in 58 minutes.
| Round | Match | Score | Match Breakdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| QF | Funa Kozaki (JPN, UNR) def. [4] Vaidehi Chaudhari (IND, 413) | 6-1, 6-2 | Kozaki saved 3 of 4 break points faced and won 56 of 85 total points (65.9%) in 58m. |
| R16 | [4] Vaidehi Chaudhari (IND, 413) def. [Q] Lucia Gale (NZL, UNR) | 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 | Won 10 straight games from 1-1 in Set 2 and broke serve 9 times in 13 return games across 1h 53m. |
| R32 | [4] Vaidehi Chaudhari (IND, 413) def. Chia Yi Tsao (TPE, 727) | 6-4, 7-5 | Saved 10 of 12 (83.3%) break points and won 83 of 157 total points across 2h 22m. |
After letting 2 break points slip away in a 10-point opening return game at 0-0 in Set 1, Chaudhari was broken to love in Game 2 and later saw Kozaki string together 8 straight games from 3-1 in Set 1 to 5-0 in Set 2.
- 5 of 8 (62.5%) break points converted by Kozaki across 7 return games, compared to 1 of 4 (25.0%) for Chaudhari.
- 32 of 48 (66.7%) service points won by Kozaki while holding 7 of 8 service games across 58 minutes (26m Set 1, 32m Set 2).
- 2 consecutive singles quarterfinal appearances in Sydney for 4th seed Chaudhari following her semifinal run at last week’s W35 stop.
Chaudhari & Hoedt Bow Out in Doubles Semifinals
In the doubles draw, 3rd seeds Vaidehi Chaudhari (IND, 402) and Merel Hoedt (NED, 232) concluded their campaign in the semifinals later on Friday, falling 2-6, 2-6 in 1 hour and 3 minutes to 2nd seeds Hikaru Sato (JPN, 280) and Elyse Tse (NZL, 330) after earlier recording wins in the Round of 16 and quarterfinals.
| Round | Match | Score | Match Breakdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| SF | [2] Hikaru Sato (JPN, 280) / Elyse Tse (NZL, 330) def. [3] Vaidehi Chaudhari (IND, 402) / Merel Hoedt (NED, 232) | 6-2, 6-2 | 2nd seeds converted 5 of 7 break points across 1h 03m to advance in straight sets. |
| QF | [3] Vaidehi Chaudhari (IND, 402) / Merel Hoedt (NED, 232) def. Laquisa Khan (AUS, 1139) / Naomi McKenzie (AUS, 813) | 6-2, 7-5 | Converted 5 of 11 break points in 1h 30m to clinch a semifinal berth. |
| R16 | [3] Vaidehi Chaudhari (IND, 402) / Merel Hoedt (NED, 232) def. Catherine Aulia (AUS, 1599) / Leyla Fiorella Britez Risso (PAR, 1019) | 4-6, 7-6(7), [12-10] | Edged a 12-10 match tiebreak after a 7-6(7) 2nd-set tiebreak in 1h 41m. |