After U.S. surge in October titles, Madison Keys and Ann Li suffer surprise early exits

This wasn’t how Madison Keys wanted to follow up her recent title run in Guangzhou. The former Australian Open finalist is still searching for consistency since returning from injury earlier this year. While she did pick up two wins for Team USA during that spell and reached a quarterfinal at another tournament, those results have been mixed.

The draw won’t get any easier either. She faces Ekaterina Alexandrova next – an opponent who’s beaten her twice already this year, including once just last month.

Ann Li falls to Bai Zhouxuan in Jiangxi Open first round

Ann Li, who recently picked up her second WTA title at the Guangzhou Open, followed that success with an unexpected early exit in her next tournament.

The world number 33 lost in the opening round of the Jiangxi Open, falling to Bai Zhouxuan. According to the ITF website, Bai is currently ranked outside the top 1,800 players in the world.

Li had gone into the tournament as the top seed and had been receiving praise from figures like Andy Roddick, who said: “She’s a story that we haven’t talked about enough.”

Bai took control early and never let up, finishing with a 6-3, 6-1 victory. Though she’s now well outside the top rankings due to injury setbacks, Bai reached a career-high of No.83 earlier this year.

Bai will go on to play compatriot Hanyu Guo in the second round. Guo made it through after beating young Rafa Nadal Academy prospect Alina Korneeva.

Who else could make a run in Jiangxi?

Ann Li’s early exit has opened the door for several players to make a run in Jiujiang. Alycia Parks, ranked fifth in the world, are now the top seed remaining in the upper half of the draw. The American got past Lin Zhu in her opener and will next take on Slovakia’s Kaja Juvan, who is 24 years old.

On the other side of the bracket, Viktorija Golubic, seeded second, will also see this as a real chance to go deep into the tournament following Li’s departure.

One name not as well known yet still worth watching is Lilli Tagger. Already drawing comparisons to Carlos Alcaraz and Ashleigh Barty, she has reached the third round with wins over Chenting Zhu and Elisabetta Cocciaretto.

Tagger recently claimed her first major junior title at Roland Garros back in June, beating Britain’s Hannah Klugman in straight sets.