• In the 2024 and 2022 editions, Mejía had been eliminated in the first round of qualifying. 
• Mexicans Rafael de Alba, Alex Hernández, and Alan Magadán were unable to advance to the second round of the qualifying tournament.

Acapulco, February 21, 2026. – Colombian tennis player Nicolás Mejía (No. 79 ATP) will seek to enter the main draw of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presented by HSBC for the first time in his career after defeating Australian Bernard Tomic (No. 187), who had to retire in the second set when he was down 6-3, 3-0. 

Mejía had never been able to get past the first round of qualifying and advance to the main draw in Acapulco, as he was eliminated in the first match by American Aleksander Kovacevic in the 2024 edition and was also unable to advance in the 2022 edition, falling on that occasion to South African Kevin Anderson. 

De Alba, Hernández, and Magadán, the Mexicans eliminated from the tournament 

The dream of Alan Magadán (No. 823) from Zacatecas ended at the Telcel Mexican Open presented by HSBC when he lost in two sets to American Rinky Hijikata 7-6, 6-3, despite the Mexican managing to close the gap in the second set, but it was too late.

Alex Hernández (No. 416) also bid farewell to the tournament after being defeated by Hong Kong’s Chak Lam Coleman Wong 6-3, 6-2 in a match that lasted just 1 hour and 8 minutes. It was the same story for Rafael de Alba (No. 656), originally from León, Guanajuato, who lost to Japan’s Sho Shimabukuru 6-2, 6-2. 

Other results from the first day

American Zachary Svajda (No. 106) defeated his compatriot Andrés Martin (No. 270) 6-0, 6-0, while China’s Yibing Wu (No. 146) did the same to Argentina’s Juan Pablo Ficovich (No. 183), defeating him 6-0, 6-2.

Another American, Patrick Kypsonse, defeated his compatriot Stefan Koslov 7-6(3), 6-0.

Meanwhile, Sweden’s Elias Ymer (No. 188) will have the opportunity to secure a spot in the main draw in Acapulco after defeating American Mackenzie McDonald (No. 166) 7-6(7), 4-6, 6-4.

In doubles, Australians Rinky Hijikata and Adam Walton defeated the duo of Venezuelan Juan José Bianchi and American Pranav Kumar 6-3, 7-5 in just one hour and fifteen minutes.