Yulia Putintseva, Kazakhstan's No. 2 player, became the first Kazakh tennis player to reach the semifinals of the Asian Games tennis tournament in Japan, defeating Thailand's Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-3, 6-0 in the quarterfinals, infohub.kz reports.

Putintseva gave her opponent no time to settle, overwhelming her with powerful, precise baseline shots mixed with crafty drop shots. After 1 hour and 14 minutes, the Thai player conceded defeat.

The men continued the Kazakhstan–Thailand theme. Alexander Shevchenko beat Maximus Jones 6-1, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals. Timofey Skatov lost to Kasidit Samrej 2-6, 6-7 (6-8).

Zhibek Kulambayeva and Sonya Zhiyenbayeva overcame a strong Japanese pair, Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara, 6-4, 6-4. The Kazakh women also advanced to the quarterfinals.

2026 ASIAN GAMES

Tennis. September 30

Women's singles. Quarterfinals

🎾 Yulia PUTINTSEVA (Kazakhstan, 82) – Mananchaya SAWANGKAEW (Thailand, 90) 6-3, 6-0

Men's singles. Round of 16

🎾 Timofey SKATOV (Kazakhstan, 204) – Kasidit SAMREJ (Thailand, 389) 2-6, 6-7 (6-8)

🎾 Alexander SHEVCHENKO (Kazakhstan, 109) – Maximus JONES (Thailand, 487) 6-1, 6-4

Women's doubles. Round of 16

🎾 Zhibek KULAMBAYEVA (105)/Sonya ZHIYENBAYEVA (384) (Kazakhstan) – Shuko AOYAMA (23)/Ena SHIBAHARA (76) (Japan) 6-4, 6-4

Four more matches featuring Kazakh players will take place at the Asian Games tennis tournament today.

The XX Summer Asian Games officially opened on September 19 and will close on October 4. Athletes from 45 countries are competing for 460 sets of medals. Kazakhstan's team at the 2026 Asian Games includes 558 athletes in 35 sports.

On the first day of the Games, Kazakhstan won four gold medals. Cyclists Rinata Sultanova and Alexey Lutsenko, as well as karateka Zholaman Bigabyl and Sofia Berultseva, became champions. MMA fighter Yerkingali Burkutalin added a fifth gold to the team's tally. The sixth came from his fellow mixed martial arts teammate Kadyrbek Shynbayev. On September 23, Lutsenko became a two-time champion of the 2026 Asian Games. The eighth gold medal was won on September 24 by rowers Vladislav Yakovlev and Ivan Chernukhin in the men's coxless pairs. The ninth gold medal was claimed by Kazakhstan's epee fencing team.

After ten days of the Games, Kazakhstan was in eighth place in the unofficial medal standings.