Thursday’s Summary
TOP SEEDS WIN THREE-SET MATCHES TO ADVANCE TO SINGLES
QUARTERFINALS AT 2026 BETTER BUZZ COFFEE SAN DIEGO OPEN
Friday’s Order of Play to Begin at 10 a.m. (PST) at Barnes Tennis Center
SAN DIEGO – (January 29, 2026) – The men’s and women’s top seeds each won hard-fought three-set matches to advance to the singles quarterfinals of the 2026 Better Buzz Coffee San Diego Open at Barnes Tennis.
American Louisa Chirico, the top-seed in the women’s singles draw, overcame Ella McDonald of Great Britain 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in two-hours and 10 minutes on Court 1 to advance to the quarterfinals. She will meet fellow American and fifth seed Elvina Kalieva on Friday.
After dropping the second set, Chirico made a strong comeback in the third set as she capitalized on two double faults and broke McDonald in the fifth game. Chirico maintained her advantage and in the tenth game, she confidently served out the match at love.
“It was a tricky match. It went back and forth. I had a tough opponent today. It could have gone either way, but I was happy how I regrouped in the third set,” Chirico said following her second-round victory.
When asked how she felt coming into this week’s ITF W100 tournament as the top-seed, Chirico responded, “You always go into a tournament looking forward to playing. Obviously, everyone hopefully wants to win the title. I’m just taking it day by day and using this week to get a bunch of matches. I have another one coming up tomorrow and I’m looking forward to it.”
The 29-year-old Chirico enjoys playing at Barnes Tennis Center. In 2014, she captured the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s doubles championship and she also competed in the two WTA 500 tournaments hosted at the venue in 2022 and 2023. Chirico came through very tough qualifying draws to advance to the main draw in both WTA events.
“I have great memories from juniors here. I like this club and I like the courts. They suit my game. I really like playing here and I get a lot of support from the crowd. I love it,” said Chirico who is currently ranked No. 178 in the WTA singles rankings.
In other women’s singles second-round action, Jennifer Brady won an All-American encounter as she got past eighth-seeded Kayla Day 6-4, 6-2 in one-hour and 33 minutes. Brady will meet third-seeded Cadence Brace of Canada in Friday’s quarterfinals.
Top-seeded Sebastian Korda moved into the men’s singles quarterfinals after avoiding elimination in his second-round match as he staged a spirited third-set comeback to get past compatriot Andre Ilagan 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in two-hours and one minute.
After winning the second set, Ilagan took a 3-1 lead in the third set, but Korda then reeled off five straight games to close out the match. Korda will face sixth-seeded Canadian Liam Draxl in the quarterfinals.
Earlier in the day, the Stadium Court crowd was treated to an entertaining second-round men’s match featuring two San Diego-based tennis touring professionals. Fourth-seeded Zachary Svajda edged Keegan Smith 7-6 (2), 6-4 in 82 minutes. Svajda, who has won six career ATP Challenger singles titles, will take on fellow American Mitchell Krueger in Friday's quarterfinals.
Matches will begin at 10 a.m., Friday, January 30, and at noon, Saturday, January 31 and Sunday, February 1. Gates at Barnes Tennis Center will open one hour before the first match each day.
Tickets are now on sale at: https://barnessdopen.com/tickets. Ticket prices range from $25 for General Admission to early-round matches to $45 for Reserved Seating on the final weekend.
All Youth 17 & under will receive free General Admission Grounds Access from Tuesday, January 27 through Saturday, January 31 with a ticketed adult.
About Barnes Tennis Center – Barnes Tennis Center is a three-time award-winning multi-racquet sports facility in San Diego. It was constructed between 1995 and 1997 and named after its lead donor family, the "George E. Barnes Family Junior Tennis Center." The capital campaign was led by Dr. Homer Peabody Jr., who spearheaded the project and is greatly appreciated by Youth Tennis San Diego. The Center is dedicated to serving the youth of San Diego, and children aged 18 and under have court priority and play for free. The facility offers 7 Padel courts and 19 Pickleball courts. Barnes Tennis Center is a premier racquet facility dedicated to growing the game through professional events, youth development, and community engagement. For additional information, go to: https://www.barnestenniscenter.com/.
About Youth Tennis San Diego – Youth Tennis San Diego, owner and operator of Barnes Tennis Center, has brought the game of tennis right to the backyards of thousands of children and adults across San Diego County–eliminating long-standing financial barriers and dramatically increasing the accessibility of the sport. At the head of tennis organizations, YTSD has developed outreach programs, with its signature Kathy Chabot Willette After School Tennis at the forefront, in a central location at Barnes Tennis Center in the heart of San Diego. For additional information, go to: https://www.ytsd.org/.
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MEDIA CONTACT — J. Fred Sidhu — 619.507.6943 (m) — jfscommunications@gmail.com
