Andorran Vicky Jiménez loses Australian Open qualifiers second round to China's Lin Zhu

**Andorran tennis player Vicky Jiménez exits Australian Open qualifiers in second round**

Vicky Jiménez's run in the Australian Open qualifiers ended on 14 January 2026 with a straight-sets defeat to China's Lin Zhu in Melbourne.

The Andorran, seeded seventh in the qualifiers and ranked 114 in the WTA standings, lost 1-6, 2-6 to the world number 163. Jiménez started strongly by holding her first service game, but Zhu took control with three consecutive breaks to claim the opening set. In the second, Zhu extended her dominance with two early breaks for a 2-0 lead. Jiménez responded by breaking back to make it 1-2, but Zhu quickly regained the advantage and closed out the match with another break.

The loss means Jiménez will not reach the main draw of a second Grand Slam, following her debut appearance at last year's US Open. She had advanced to the second round on 12 January by battling past Canada's Kayla Cross 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 in a match that lasted nearly two and a half hours. Cross grabbed the first set 6-4 after an exchange of breaks. Jiménez rallied from 1-3 down in the second, breaking to lead 4-3 en route to a 6-4 win. The decider featured multiple ties at 2-2, 3-3, 4-4 and 5-5 before Jiménez held serve and broke to secure victory.

Zhu, who had beaten Brazil's Laura Pigossi 6-4, 6-4 the day before, moves on in the qualifiers. Jiménez heads home without further progress in the tournament.