Maya Joint turned her qualifying run into a place in the second round of the Tokyo WTA 500. On Tuesday, the Australian defeated sixth seed Sorana Cirstea 6-3, 7-6(4) in the opening round of the main draw on outdoor hard courts.
Joint controlled the first set 6-3. The second was tighter and reached a tie-break, but the qualifier took the breaker 7-4 to complete the match without dropping a set.
Another victory over Cirstea
The result repeated a recent meeting between the pair. In August, in the second round of the Toronto WTA 1000, Joint had already beaten Cirstea 6-4, 6-4. Both of the Australian's victories over the Romanian in 2026 have therefore come in straight sets on hard courts.
The official tournament notes recorded that Joint arrived in Tokyo with four career wins over Top 20 opponents, all on hard courts and all in straight sets. The most recent was against Cirstea, then ranked No.18, in Toronto. In Tokyo, her opponent was listed at No.16, and Joint maintained the same pattern.
Through at Ariake Coliseum
The Tokyo tournament features a 28-player draw from 26 October to 1 November. By removing one of the eight seeds in the opening round, Joint extended the run she began in qualifying and secured a place in the last 16.
Official WTA highlights show the key points from the contest. The video is from the Joint vs. Cirstea first-round match in Tokyo in 2026 and was published by the WTA's official channel.
