Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff could meet in the China Open quarterfinals after the draw placed the former Beijing champions at opposite ends of the same quarter. Swiatek leads their head-to-head 11-5, but Gauff won their only meeting this year in straight sets at the United Cup, according to the WTA. A Beijing meeting would take place on Oct. 8 or 9.
Gauff, the third seed and 2024 champion, will open against Lanlana Tararudee or Camila Osorio, while eighth-seeded Swiatek, who won the title in 2023, faces Panna Udvardy or wild card Gao Xinyu. Both receive first-round byes, as do all 32 seeds in the 96-player field. Their quarter also includes Iva Jovic (10), Elise Mertens (13), Leylah Fernandez (23), Jelena Ostapenko (24), Cristina Bucsa (27) and Donna Vekic (30).
Paula Badosa and Daria Kasatkina will meet in the first round of the same quarter, renewing a matchup that took two days to complete at the US Open. Badosa needed nine match points to win that rain-interrupted contest, the WTA reported. The winner in Beijing advances to face Ostapenko.
The top quarter. World No. 1 Elena Rybakina returns to competition for the first time since winning the US Open, opening against Yuliia Starodubtseva or Alina Charaeva. Wang Xinyu (31) is her first potential seeded opponent, while Marie Bouzkova (18), Anna Kalinskaya (15) and wild card Zheng Qinwen are possible fourth-round opponents. Zheng opens Thursday against qualifier Shi Han after a run from qualifying to the US Open quarterfinals that lifted her from outside the top 120 to No. 52, according to the WTA. She described competing in China as “playing the 5th Grand Slam.” Sixth seed Elina Svitolina anchors the other side of the quarter, alongside Belinda Bencic (9), Ann Li (21) and Maria Sakkari (25). Bencic holds a 2-1 record against Rybakina, according to the WTA.
The bottom half. Roland Garros champion Mirra Andreeva (4) and Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova (5) lead the third quarter. Noskova, last year’s Beijing runner-up, begins against Elena-Gabriela Ruse or Lilli Tagger. Andreeva leads their head-to-head 4-2, having won their most recent meeting 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 in Brisbane in January, according to the WTA. The quarter’s other seeds are Diana Shnaider (11), Jasmine Paolini (14), Ekaterina Alexandrova (19), Diane Parry (22), Peyton Stearns (28) and Clara Tauson (32).
Second seed Aryna Sabalenka begins against Anna Bondar or Renata Zarazua. Seventh seed Karolina Muchova, who finished runner-up to Noskova at Wimbledon, anchors the other side of the fourth quarter. They are joined by Naomi Osaka (12), Anastasia Potapova (16), Maja Chwalinska (17), Sara Bejlek (20), Nikola Bartunkova (26) and Liudmila Samsonova (29). Sabalenka leads Osaka 3-2 in their meetings, although Osaka won their most recent encounter at Wimbledon, according to the WTA.
What changed Tuesday. Alina Korneeva and Petra Marcinko withdrew from the main draw, according to the WTA’s updated draw sheet released Tuesday evening in Beijing. Korneeva was listed with a thigh injury and Marcinko with a low back injury. Lucky losers Elvina Kalieva and Linda Fruhvirtova replaced them. Jessica Pegula, Amanda Anisimova, Marta Kostyuk and Sorana Cirstea had withdrawn before the draw.
What it means. Beijing opens the final stretch of the race to the WTA Finals, with Wuhan, starting Oct. 12, the only remaining WTA 1000 event after this week. Rybakina and Sabalenka have already qualified for the Finals in Indian Wells, according to the WTA, leaving six singles places available to Gauff, Andreeva, Svitolina and the other contenders. Pegula sits third on the Race leaderboard but will not add points in Beijing. Under the WTA’s Race rules, a player’s best six results count from the seven-event group comprising Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Rome, Canada, Cincinnati and Beijing.
The schedule. First-round play continues through Thursday, Oct. 1, before the seeds begin their campaigns in the second round on Oct. 2-3. The third round is scheduled for Oct. 4-5 and the fourth round for Oct. 6-7, followed by the quarterfinals on Oct. 8-9, semifinals on Oct. 10 and final on Sunday, Oct. 11, according to the WTA. The champion will earn 1,000 ranking points and $1,151,380 from a total prize pool of $9,415,725.
For the format, history and how to watch, see our China Open guide. Our earlier report covers the pre-draw withdrawals, and the Wuhan Open guide covers the next 1000-level stop.
