Keaton Hance has advanced to the semifinals of the boys’ singles at the Australian Open with a 7-6(9) 6-4 victory over Chinese Taipei’s Kuan-Shou Chen.
The American fourth seed imposed his physicality throughout the contest, striking 29 winners and landing all his 23 forehand return points in play.
“[Chen] is a really tricky guy to play; he hits a lot of interesting shots and is super spinny on the serve,” Hance said.
“I made a good amount of unforced errors, but I’m happy that I was more aggressive than I usually am. My game is normally more neutral to defensive, but I went into the match with the mindset of hitting bigger, hitting flatter and going for my shots, and it definitely paid off.”
Competing in his fifth boys’ singles Grand Slam draw, Hance’s previous best result was a third-round appearance at Wimbledon in 2025.
He will next face Kazakhstani teenager Zangar Nurlanuly, who defeated Kai Thompson 3-6 7-6(4) 6-4 earlier in the day.
“I played him at the junior worlds when I was 14. I’ve seen him around,” Hance said.
“He’s a good player — everyone in this tournament is. I’ve just got to focus on one match at a time and start preparing.”
The 17-year-old has claimed two titles in his junior career and is currently ranked at a career-high No.7 in the world. After reassessing his commitment to the University of Texas, his future pathway remains unclear.
“I decided I wanted a little bit more time to see if I wanted to go to college or not,” Hance said. “I’m talking to different colleges, and I’ll take a couple of visits when I get back home.
“There are a lot more guys now coming out of college and succeeding than there was a while ago. I also feel the level of tennis in men’s college is really high. There are a lot of players stepping away from the tour to go to college, and the level of the top guys on the big teams is close to the professional level.”
Meanwhile, Japan’s Ryo Tabata survived three match points against fifth-seeded German Jamie Mackenzie, winning 6-7(3) 6-4 7-6(7).
Despite hitting 14 fewer winners, the third seed managed to absorb Mackenzie’s power with an impressive display of athleticism, winning with 25 fewer unforced errors.
Tabata is set for a tough challenge in the semifinal, where he will face Slovenian seventh seed Ziga Sesko, who upset second seed Brazil's Luis Miguel in his quarterfinal 6-2 7-6(5).
American eighth seed Thea Frodin advanced to her first junior semifinal with a commanding 6-3 6-0 victory over Mariia Makarova.
Competing in her ninth girls’ singles draw at a Grand Slam, Frodin — who trains with Keaton Hance in Los Angeles — was in control throughout, winning 79 per cent of first-serve points, converting five of six break opportunities and striking twice as many winners as her opponent.
“I felt like I was in control for most of the points,” Frodin said. “It was my goal to be in control and stay aggressive with height and heaviness.”
The 17-year-old will next face unseeded Ekaterina Tupitsyna, who upset Chinese sixth seed Xinran San 3-6 7-5 7-5 in the quarterfinals.
“I kind of like playing somebody that I don’t know,” Frodin said of her upcoming match with the 16-year-old Tupitsyna. “Sometimes I get in my head if I have past results against someone. I’ll try to do as much research as possible to get myself ready.”
In more girls’ singles action, French third seed Ksenia Efremova defeated Japan’s Kanon Sawashiro 6-3 7-5 to reach the semifinals, where she will face 17-year-old Rada Zolotareva.
A quarterfinalist at the Australian Open girls’ singles in 2024, Efremova is embracing the chance to go one step further.
“My goal is to win the tournament, to win the title,” Efremova said. “It’s pretty exciting because you are playing a match for the final, with a trophy ceremony, it would mean a lot, but I will just try my best.”
Australian wildcards Ymerali Ibraimi and Cooper Kose have completed a remarkable run to the boys’ doubles final, overcoming Japanese duo Hyu Kawanishi and Kanta Watanabe 7-6(4) 4-6 10-6.
Ibraimi and Kose will face South Africa’s Connor Doig and Dimitar Kisimov in the final.
The girls’ doubles final will be an all-Czech affair.
One year after their semifinal run, Alena and Jana Kovackova advanced 6-4 6-4 over the pairing of Mariia Makarova and Rada Zolotareva, while Tereza Hermanova and Denisa Zoldakova reached their first Grand Slam final with a 6-4 7-6(6) victory.