On the hard courts of the Canberra challenger in Australia, Taiwanese player Joanna Garland won her duel against French player Diane Parry, prevailing in three sets. A match to quickly put aside with only ten days to go before the start of the Australian Open qualifiers.
After Fiona Ferro at the end of last week, it was the turn of Niçoise player Diane Parry to make her return to the courts. A two-month break following a defeat in the second round of the Chennai tournament did not bear fruit for this first match of 2026. The player from the French Riviera faced a competitor from Taiwan, Joanna Garland (24 years old, ranked 129th worldwide). A match that was within Diane Parry’s reach but did not end as hoped…
Despite her 12 aces, Diane Parry was penalized by 11 double faults and an irregular first serve. Joanna Garland, more consistent (66% first serves), was able to capitalize on her service games with 60% of points won compared to 50% for her opponent.
Joanna Garland excelled in returning second serves (69% against 42%) and converted half of her break points (7/14). Not far behind in this sector with nearly 80% but fewer opportunities, Diane Parry still showed promising signs at the beginning of the first set that she won (7-5) before things started to unravel. More dominant from the baseline, the Taiwanese also controlled the exchanges as the match progressed.
Joanna Garland gradually gained the upper hand after an hour of play, imposing her rhythm and consistency against Diane Parry, who was not yet in top form. She closed out the match by taking the last two sets (6-4/6-2), sealing a well-deserved victory against a Diane Parry lacking consistency.
Now, it is crucial to fine-tune the final details before a key early-season event for the player from Nice: the Australian Open qualifiers. Currently ranked 122nd in the WTA, Diane Parry will need to play two rounds of qualifiers to hope to enter the main draw and climb the rankings to return to major tournaments. Injured last year, she has few points to lose, but a lot to gain.
