Elizabeth Kule picture by USTA
The highest seeds continued their excessive stage of play on Wednesday underneath vibrant, sunny skies on the La Jolla Seashore & Tennis Membership as they superior to the semifinals of the 2026 USTA Nationwide Ladies’s Senior Exhausting Court docket Championships.
The event is open free to followers.
Prime-seed and defending 50 and over singles champion Julie Thu of Austin, Texas, used her robust baseline recreation to dispatch fifth-seeded Joanna Stewart of Bellevue, Wash., 6-2, 6-3 in 80 minutes on Court docket No. 2.
Thu can have a tricky semifinal take a look at on Thursday when she performs fourth-seeded Dina McBride of Thousand Oaks, Calif., at 11 a.m. McBride gained the 50 and over singles title in 2022.
Within the lower-half of the 50 and over singles draw, second-seed and former two-time champion Amanda Parson Siegel of Santa Ana, Calif., eradicated fifth-seeded Joanne Worth of Pasadena, Calif., 6-2, 6-2 in her quarterfinal match. Parson Siegel will go up in opposition to third-seeded Kathryn Settles of Claremont, Calif., on Thursday at 11 a.m.
There might be a brand new 60 and over singles champion. Fifth-seeded Marianne Dundon of Martinez, Calif., who captured final 12 months’s title, fell to second-seeded Kathy Archibald of Dana Level, Calif., 6-1, 6-3 in a quarterfinal match.
Within the top-half of the draw, top-seeded Vicki Buholz of Dallas prevented elimination as she staged a dramatic quarterfinal comeback to get previous fifth-seeded Lindsay Montero of Redwood Metropolis, Calif., 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.
Thursday’s 60 and over singles semifinals are scheduled to start at 11:30 a.m. Buholz will play third-seeded Jennifer Rens of La Jolla, Calif., whereas Archibald will face unseeded Judy Newman of Felton, Calif.
Enjoying on Court docket No. 1, top-seed Elizabeth Kuhle of Rancho Mirage, Calif., scored a formidable win within the 70 and over quarterfinals as she eased previous fifth-seeded Donna Drosner of Satellite tv for pc Seashore, Fla., 6-1, 6-2 in 46 minutes. Kuhle will play fifth-seed and defending 70 and over champion Andrea Barnes of Palo Alto, Calif., in Thursday’s semifinals at 9:30 a.m.
“I’m completely satisfied to have a few matches underneath my belt on the laborious courts. There are such a lot of good gamers on this event. I’ve performed numerous the gamers many instances. We’ve crushed one another. Each day is a brand new battle,” Kuhle stated after her straight-set victory. “You simply come out and see in the event you can play in addition to you’ll be able to play. I often simply give myself the chance to play and if I can play properly, it’s a bonus. At this stage in life, enjoying tennis is the win.”
The 72-year-old Kuhle is ranked No. 40 within the present Worldwide Tennis Federation Singles 70+ Rankings. She achieved a profession excessive No. 12 in June 2024.
Second-round motion occurred within the 80 and over singles division. Prime-seeded Susan Kimball of Oak Bluffs, Mass., superior with a walkover as San Diego’s Claire Babbitt withdrew previous to their match with an damage. Within the lower-half of the draw, second-seeded Betty Wachob of Panama Metropolis, Fla., defeated unseeded Diane Hyperlink of Los Angeles 6-0, 6-2.
Kimball will meet unseeded Charleen Hillebrand of Lengthy Seashore, Calif., and Wachob will tackle unseeded Brenda Winstead of Virginia Seashore, Va., in Thursday’s 80 and over singles quarterfinals that are slated to start at 9:30 a.m.
To view up to date event attracts of every division, click on right here.
The beginning instances for every day of the event are: Thursday Could 7 and Friday, Could 8 — 8 a.m., and Saturday, Could 9 and Sunday, Could 10 — 9 a.m. (All instances PDT)
The La Jolla Seashore & Tennis Membership welcomes tennis lovers to view the event and can supply free admission to spectators every day of the occasion. Event attendees and spectators might dine on-site within the Membership Eating Room in addition to the Membership’s Snack Bar in the course of the event. On-site parking is out there for a nominal charge.
Event matches on Court docket No. 1 and Court docket No. 2 at La Jolla Seashore & Tennis Membership are live-streamed in the course of the USTA Nationwide Ladies’s Senior Exhausting Court docket Championships. To entry the reside stream, click on right here.
