SAN JOSÉ, CA (August 5, 2021) – On a day when all four seeds advanced in matches that went all three sets, it was No. 7 seed Danielle Collins that stole the show with a thrilling comeback against fellow American Sloane Stephens.
After dropping the night’s first set, Collins rallied and ultimately advanced with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory. Making her third appearance at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic, Collins is now one win away from matching her 2018 trip to the semifinals.
One of the tournament’s hottest entrants coming into the match, Collins won her first career WTA title last month at the Palermo Ladies Open. She has now won seven straight matches, dropping just one set (against Stephens tonight) in that stretch.
“That was a really hard fight,” said Collins after the competitive match. “I really had to lock in to what I was doing. It was hard at times both mentally and physically but I just took it point by point.”
Collins will face No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina in Friday’s first quarterfinal. Playing in her first match of the week after receiving a first-round bye, Rybakina won a wild contest over American Claire Liu 2-6, 6-0, 6-2.
It was eighth-seeded Yulia Putintseva who won Thursday’s first match, outlasting Australian star Ajla Tomljanovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. No. 1 seed Elise Mertens also punched her ticket to the quarters on Thursday, taking down France’s Kristina Mladenovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
In doubles action, the third-seeded pair of Ellen Perez and Kvetoslava Peschke downed Zhang Shuai and Eri Hozumi in a quick 57 minutes. The No. 3 seed won five of the match’s first six games, ultimately cruising to a 6-3, 6-1 win to become the first team to make the semifinals.
The American team of Catherine McNally and CoCo Vandeweghe are also through to the semifinals, advancing with a victory over Valeria Savinykh and Dayana Yastremska.
The Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic continues Friday at 11 am when No. 4 seed Daria Kasatkina meets Polish star Magda Linette. The featured match of the day session will be a battle between top-seeded Mertens and the No. 8 seed Putintseva.
The evening session features another seeded showdown as the second-seeded Rybakina is set to face No. 7 Collins at 7 pm.
Individual session tickets are on-sale now. Get your tickets today for this historic Bay Area event as it celebrates its 50th Anniversary, August 2-8, at San José State University.
Co-founded by the legendary sportswoman, visionary, and activist Billie Jean King, the tournament was the first event of the historic 1971 women's professional tennis tour, a precursor to the WTA. Its list of past champions reads like a who's who of women's tennis, including Serena Williams, Lindsay Davenport, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Andrea Jaeger, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Venus Williams, and Kim Clijsters.
Tickets can be purchased at www.MubadalaSVC.com, or you can call the tournament ticket office at 1-833-94-MATCH (1-833-946-2824).
Owned and operated by IMG, the tournament features a 28-player singles draw and 16-team doubles draw and serves as the opening women's event of the US Open Series.
ABOUT THE MUBADALA SILICON VALLEY CLASSIC: Co-founded by Billie Jean King in 1971, the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic celebrates its 50th Anniversary and is the longest-running women-only professional tennis tournament in the world. Owned and operated by IMG, the WTA 1000 level event is the first women's stop on the US Open Series and features a 28-player singles draw and 16-team doubles draw with total prize money of $565,530.
ABOUT MUBADALA: Mubadala Investment Company is a sovereign investor managing a global portfolio, aimed at generating sustainable financial returns for the Government of Abu Dhabi. Mubadala's $243.4 billion (AED 894 billion) portfolio spans six continents with interests in multiple sectors and asset classes. We leverage our deep sectoral expertise and long-standing partnerships to drive sustainable growth and profit while supporting the continued diversification and global integration of the economy of the United Arab Emirates. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, Mubadala has offices in London, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, New York, San Francisco and Beijing. For more information about Mubadala Investment Company, please visit: www.mubadala.com
ABOUT THE US OPEN SERIES: The US Open Series serves as a true "regular season" of summer tennis in North America, linking nine summer WTA and ATP Tour tournaments to the US Open. Featuring a cohesive weekly schedule, the Series centralizes the way tennis is viewed in North America, across multiple television and digital platforms. Fans will see today's top champions go head-to-head with tomorrow's emerging stars, as storylines develop throughout the summer season. Each tournament also engages its local community with a variety of outreach initiatives, including grass-roots youth tennis clinics and activities.
ABOUT IMG: IMG is a global leader in sport, events, fashion, and media. The company manages some of the world's greatest athletes and fashion icons; owns and operates hundreds of live events annually; and is a leading independent producer and distributor of sports and entertainment media. IMG also specializes in licensing, sports training and league development. IMG is a subsidiary of Endeavor, a global entertainment, sports and content company.
ABOUT SAN JOSÉ STATE UNIVERSITY: The founding campus of the 23-campus California State University system, San José State provides a comprehensive university education, granting bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in 250 areas of study – offered through its eight colleges. With more than 33,000 students and nearly 4,370 employees, San José State University continues to be an essential partner in the economic, cultural and social development of Silicon Valley and the state, annually contributing 10,000 graduates to the workforce. The university is immensely proud of the accomplishments of its more than 260,000 alumni, 60 percent of whom live and work in the Bay Area.