Poland's Magda Linette falls in first round at WTA Athens, upset by world No. 202 Mai Hontama

Match opening

Magda Linette opened her first-round match at the WTA 250 tournament in Athens with a 2-0 lead after a tight opening that included games decided on advantage points. The 31-year-old from Poznan, seeded eighth, was competing on hard court in the Greek capital after an early Wimbledon exit to world No. 5 Mirra Andreeva in the first round.

Hontama, ranked 202nd by the WTA, fought back aggressively, chasing down balls and masking her weaker backhand with forceful forehand strokes. Linette struggled to exploit that weakness and began piling up unforced errors as she tried to spread the Japanese player wide across the court. The match was their first head-to-head meeting.

First-set momentum shift

The pivotal moment of the first set arrived in the eighth game, with Linette leading 4-3 and holding a 40-0 advantage. Hontama saved three break points, seized back the initiative, and went on to win the set 6-4. The Japanese player adapted far better to gusts of wind that troubled Linette's shot control.

Hontama saved three break points, regained the initiative and won the set 6-4.

Both players struggled with their serves throughout the contest. Linette lost six games on her own serve across the match, while Hontama dropped four.

Second set and match close

Linette began the second set as she had the first, building a 3-1 lead. Once again the advantage did not hold. Hontama levelled at 3-3, and after ten games the scoreline stood at 5-5. In the closing moments of both sets, the lower-ranked player accelerated at the critical juncture. Hontama converted her first match point to seal a 7-5 second set and close out the contest in straight sets.

From 5-5 everything started over. As in the first set, Hontama kept a cooler head.

Hontama's season and career context

The victory marks Hontama's first win of the year. Over her entire career she had previously beaten higher-ranked opponents only twice: Shelby Rogers and Dayana Yastremska. Her best-known performance was a gruelling two-hour battle against Iga Swiatek in Tokyo in autumn 2023, played shortly after Swiatek lost the world No. 1 ranking to Aryna Sabalenka following the US Open.

What happens next

Hontama will face the winner of the match between American Alycia Parks and Greece's Valentini Grammatikopoulou in the second round. The tournament in Athens replaces the Jiangxi Open in Nanchang, China, on the women's calendar.

In doubles action on Monday, Poland's Katarzyna Piter partners with Eudice Chong of Hong Kong in the last 16 against Maria Timofeeva (Uzbekistan) and Ekaterina Yashina (Russia).