Talia Gibson of Perth, Australia is in her very first WTA Final. At the 2026 Singapore Tennis Open, Gibson will play the winner of Leylah Annie Fernandez of Canada and Maja Chwalinska of Poland, who will play in the only semifinal on Saturday.
You may wonder why Gibson is in the finals so soon. It is because she did not have to play her semifinal match Tatiana Prozorova of Russia.
Prozorova had to withdraw from the semifinal because of an alleged concussion she suffered during a doubles match. This is where the controversy lies. Prozorova claims she did not have a concussion. She was hit in the cheek by a tennis ball and was told she needed to be tested by a physiotherapist. Prozorova failed the test when she struggled to stand on one leg with her eyes closed. Despite stating she was feeling fine, the physiotherapist disagreed, and Gibson was forced to withdraw.
Gibson is 63rd in the world, and has a record of 30 wins and 23 losses. Her most significant win came in the fourth round of Indian Wells, as she beat the seventh seed Jasmine Paolini of Italy, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1. Paolini reached the finals of Wimbledon and the French Open in 2024.
In Singapore this week, Gibson’s most notable win was over the seventh seed Maria Sakkari of Greece in the quarterfinals, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2. Gibson broke Sakkari six times en route to the win.
In Sunday’s final in Singapore, Gibson will face a grand slam finalist. Chwalinska made the final of the 2026 French Open and Fernandez made the final of the 2022 United States Open. Gibson has beaten Chwalinska once before. It was a 7-5, 6-1 win in the second round of the 2026 National Bank Open in Toronto. Gibson has never faced Fernandez.
