Unusual Doubles Match in Macau Tennis Masters

An unexpected change at the Macau Tennis Masters turned a scheduled mixed doubles match into an unconventional doubles contest after a late player withdrawal.

Mirra Andreeva was forced to withdraw from her scheduled mixed doubles appearance after falling ill, leaving tournament organizers with limited options. With only two female players entered in the event, her withdrawal made it impossible to proceed with the originally planned mixed doubles format.

Instead of canceling the match, organizers kept Alexandra Eala and Juncheng Shang together as a team and matched them against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Wu Yibing. So the match turned into a doubles match with two male players against a mixed team.

Despite facing two male opponents, Eala and Shang remained competitive throughout the match. The pair pushed their opponents in both sets and even held a set point in the second before ultimately losing 7-5, 7-6(1).

Attention now turns to Sunday, when Andreeva is scheduled to face Eala in singles, pending her recovery and fitness.