Sloane Stephens secured her place in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Guadalajara Open after a closely contested match against Janice Tjen on Tuesday. The former US Open champion from 2017 triumphed in straight sets, both decided by tiebreaks, with a final score of 7-6(4), 7-6(3) in the WTA 500 event held in Mexico.
The encounter, which lasted just under two hours, marked the first meeting between Stephens and Tjen on the WTA Tour. Despite Tjen’s strong serving performance, including 11 aces compared to just two from Stephens, neither player was able to break serve during the opening set, leading to a tiebreak that Stephens took decisively 7-4.
Resilience in the Second Set Decides the Match
Janice Tjen entered the round of 16 with confidence following her first-round victory over Czech player Darja Vidmanova, where she won 7-6(5), 6-2. She carried that momentum into her match against Stephens, quickly establishing a 5-2 lead in the second set and earning two opportunities to close it out. However, the 33-year-old American veteran demonstrated resilience, winning three consecutive games to level the score at 5-5.
The second set also went to a tiebreak, where Stephens maintained her composure to claim it 7-3, sealing her progression in the tournament. Despite the significant difference in aces, Stephens outpointed Tjen overall, winning 80 points to 74.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the draw, Peyton Stearns caused an upset by defeating fourth seed Diane Parry 6-2, 7-5, setting up a potential meeting with Stephens in the next round.