American tennis player who was called ‘really good’ suffers shock defeat to world number 141

Peyton Stearns loses to world number 141 in her first match of the 2026 season

Peyton Stearns has been ranked as high as world number 28, and has won one WTA title in her career so far.

The 24-year-old also produced some impressive results in 2025, with Stearns beating the likes of Madison Keys, Naomi Osaka and Elina Svitolina to reach her first WTA 1000 semifinal at the Italian Open.

These performances saw Stearns receive high praise from some of her fellow players including three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur, who called her ‘very good’ after their match in Dubai last year.

However, after reaching the last-four in Rome, Stearns was only able to win three of her next 13 matches and as a result ended the 2025 season outside the top 60.

Looking to start her 2026 season in a positive way, Stearns was making her debut at the ASB Classic in Auckland as the eighth seed.

This is where she would play 19-year-old Kaitlin Quevedo, who was making her main draw WTA debut after coming through qualifying.

Despite having significantly more experience at this level than her opponent, Stearns was beaten by world number 141 Quevedo, 6-2 7-5, in a disappointing opener to her 2026 season.

Who is Kaitlin Quevedo?

Born in Florida, Quevedo is a Spanish tennis player who now resides and trains in Barcelona.

Quevedo showed great talent from a young age, having won the USTA Girls’ 16 National Clay Court Championships singles title in 2021.

Just two years later, Quevedo was a top five ranked junior player and she has since been able to start transitioning her game to the senior tour.

Last year, Quevedo won the biggest title of her career at the ITF 100k event in Maspalomas, Spain, where she beat veteran Arantxa Rus in the final.

These results enable Quevedo to climb from outside the top 300, all the way to a year-end ranking of world number 145.

After coming through qualifying to make her WTA Tour debut, Quevedo is set to climb into the top 130 and could go even higher.

Next for Quevedo is fellow qualifier Sofia Costoulas, with a big opportunity for both players to reach their first WTA quarterfinal.