Press releases

15 Jul 2026

Falei reaches WTA 125 quarterfinals in Istanbul

Aliona Falei. Photo courtesy of the NOC

MINSK, 15 July (BelTA) – Belarusian tennis player Aliona Falei has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Enka Open 2026: WTA 125 tournament in Istanbul, Türkiye, with a prize pool of $115,000, BelTA has learned.

In her second-round match on 15 July, Aliona Falei (No. 230) defeated Kristina Penickova (No. 893) of the USA 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. In the opening round, Aliona Falei needed three sets to overcome China’s Yue Yuan (No.120) 5-7, 6-2, 6-2. She will face either Czech player Vendula Valdmannova (No. 206) or China’s Xinyu Gao (No. 239) for a place in the semifinals.

Darya Khamutsianskaya (No.314) beat Indonesia’s Priska Nugroho (No. 379) 6-4, 6-1 in the first round and will take on Russia’s Tatiana Prozorova (No. 163) in the round of 16 on 16 July. Darya Khamutsianskaya reached the main draw through qualifying, defeating India’s Saumya Vig 6-0, 6-0 and China’s Ying Zhang 1-6, 6-4, 7-5.

In the doubles opening round, Aliona Falei and Russia’s Polina Iatcenko defeated the American-Czech duo of Carol Young Suh Lee and Vendula Valdmannova in a tight three-set clash, 6-4, 2-6, 11-9.
Meanwhile, Belarus’ Aliaksandra Sasnovich (No.143) defeated Russia’s Anna Blinkova (No. 102) 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the opening round of the WTA 250 tournament in Athens, with a prize pool of $283,000. Aliaksandra Sasnovich will next face Czech player Tereza Valentova (No. 40) for a place in the quarterfinals.

The tournaments in Greece and Türkiye will wrap up on 19 July.