Vicky Jiménez Kasintseva Falls in First Round of WTA Linz Qualifying to Iryna Shymanovich

Andorran tennis player Vicky Jiménez Kasintseva suffered an early exit from the WTA 500 Upper Austria Linz qualifying rounds, losing 5-7, 3-6 to Belarusian Iryna Shymanovich in the first round on clay courts in Linz, Austria.

The world No. 107, seeded second in qualifying, lasted 1 hour and 47 minutes in her season debut on the surface. She took an early lead in the first set, breaking Shymanovich—the world No. 166—in the fourth game to go up 4-1 and serving for the set. But momentum shifted as Jiménez dropped serve twice in a row, enabling Shymanovich to break back at 5-5 and secure the set.

One account described the set progressing evenly to 5-5 before Shymanovich's decisive break, while another noted Jiménez's initial 3-1 edge before the Belarusian leveled it. The second set began with traded breaks, but Shymanovich struck again at 2-2—or earlier at 0-1, per varying reports—pulling ahead to 4-2. Jiménez mounted resistance and created break opportunities but failed to convert, losing her final service game for the 6-3 finish.

The loss extends a tough run for the 19-year-old, who had exited qualifying in the first round at the WTA 1000 Miami Masters—a result that pushed her outside the top 100—despite prior promise in Mérida and Indian Wells. Now out of Linz's main draw, she turns to the rest of the clay swing to regain form and climb the rankings.