Week in review: Linette, Liu finish seasons on high notes

The WTA 250 season concluded this past week with a pair of tournaments in Chennai and Hong Kong.

Players in both draws had spirited efforts to finish their WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz seasons on a high note, and they concluded with a first-time champion and a first-time-in-a-long-time champion.

Here's everything that went down on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz last week.

Co-Stars of the Week

Magda Linette

Coming into Chennai, Linette had won just three of her last 15 matches. She was desperate for a huge result to end her campaign, and she got one. And boy, did she have to work for it. 

Her opening match was a 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-2 win over qualifier Aliona Falei, the longest WTA main-draw match of the season (3 hours and 33 minutes). After beating Moyuka Uchijima in straight sets in the second round, she came from a set down in her final three matches against Mai Hontama, Anastasia Zakharova and top-seeded Janice Tjen.

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The match against Hontama was the closest call, as she trailed 5-3 in the second and 4-2 in the decider. In her five matches she spent 12 hours and 28 minutes on court.

The Chennai title is the fourth of Linette's career, and her first since 2024.

Claire Liu

It was the week of Liu's career. The 26-year-old won five matches without dropping a set to claim her first career WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz title. The American didn't even face a tiebreak in wins over Tatiana Prozorova, Katie Boulter, Zeynep Sonmez, Alexandra Shubladze and Alexandra Eala.

In the final against Eala, they split the first six games. But Liu took total control from there, winning nine consecutive games for the stunning 6-3, 6-0 win.

The title propelled Liu 33 spots in the PIF WTA Rankings, from No. 102 to No. 69, her highest ranking since September 2023.

The Best Match of the Week

Sorana Cirstea d. Maria Timofeeva, Hong Kong first round

Linette's win over Falei in three and a half hours certainly has a case, as does Robin Montgomery's 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 win over Jeline Vandromme in Hong Kong.

But we'll go with Cirstea's 7-6 (6), 1-6, 7-5 victory over Timofeeva in 3 hours and 10 minutes. Cirstea saved a set point in the first and came back from 2-0 in the decider.

The Best Comeback of the Week

Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi d. Katarzyna Kawa, Chennai first round

Can a first career WTA win get any better? Perhaps, but this is up there. The 17-year-old Revathi, a wild card, came from 5-2 down in the third set to beat Kawa 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (5).

She followed that up with a second win, this one in straight sets over Weronika Falkowska, before losing to Montgomery in the quarterfinals (more on that below).

The Best Shot of the Week

Valentova saves match point with running forehand

Facing her third match point against Eala, Tereza Valentova stayed alive in the match with a running forehand that Eala couldn't handle. 

The Biggest Upset of the Week

Alexandra Shubladze d. Sorana Cirstea, Hong Kong quarterfinals

It was a tremendous week for the 21-year-old qualifier, who was making her WTA Tour debut. The then-No. 136 won four consecutive matches, including an upset of seventh-seeded Liudmila Samsonova, before knocking off Cirstea 6-2, 6-3.

It was Shubladze's first career Top 20 win. She lost her next match to eventual champion Liu in the semifinals.

As for top-seeded Cirstea, this was her last match of the season, in a year which she said would be her last on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz. If this is indeed it for Cirstea, we commend her on a wonderful career, one that included 614 singles wins and 11 titles (four in singles and seven in doubles).

The First of the Week

Revathi's run to the quarters

Revathi won her first career main-draw WTA match, then followed it up by accomplishing something that an Indian player hadn't in over a decade. 

With her victories over Kawa and Falkowska, Revathi became the first Indian player in 14 years to reach a WTA quarterfinal. The last time it had happened was 2012, when Sania Mirza made the quarters in Pattaya. 

The Social Moment of the Week

Osaka's custom couture

Naomi Osaka showed off her fashion innovation and creativity yet again this past week at the 2026 CFDA Fashion Awards in New York. 

Osaka donned a striking custom white gown by New York-based designer Miss Claire Sullivan, featuring oversized black polka dots, an asymmetric neckline, a dramatic puffed sleeve and a statement black sash at the waist. She completed the look with diamond jewelry by Rahaminov.