Mirra Andreeva recovered from a difficult opening set to dismiss Chinese wildcard Yue Yuan, while Linda Noskova continued her Beijing momentum with a straight-sets victory over Elena-Gabriela Ruse on Friday at the China Open. The fourth and fifth seeds are still projected for a possible quarterfinal meeting, with both chasing places at the season-ending WTA Finals in Charleston.
Key takeaways
- Fourth seed Andreeva beat Yue Yuan 3-6, 6-0, 6-0 in one hour and 52 minutes.
- The Russian collected her 12th and 13th bagel sets of 2026, more than any other WTA player this year.
- Noskova, last year’s Beijing runner-up, defeated Romania’s Ruse 6-4, 6-1.
- Andreeva is third in the WTA Finals Race, while Noskova occupies the eighth qualifying position.
- Both players won their first Grand Slam titles this season and remain in the same quarter of the Beijing draw.
Andreeva turns frustration into a commanding finish
Yuan, ranked No. 135, made an assertive start against Andreeva and took the first set 6-3, repeatedly putting the higher-ranked seed under pressure. But the contest changed sharply from the start of the second set. Andreeva shut out the home player across the final 12 games, producing a 3-6, 6-0, 6-0 turnaround.
“It was frustrating,” Andreeva said of the first-set performance. “I wasn’t happy with how it was going. I felt there were many things I could do on court but wasn’t able to do. In the first set, she was more aggressive and perhaps controlling things more, which made it hard for me to get ahead on the scoreboard.”
The 2026 Grand Slam champion said she found a way to use that irritation constructively rather than allowing it to deepen the problem.
“With that anger at myself, I’m pleased I could put it into the tennis and the match instead of getting even more down on myself,” Andreeva said. “In the second and third sets, I wanted to stop her from being the player in control and take the initiative before she could. I think I did that well.”
The win moved Andreeva to 9-0 this season against opponents ranked outside the Top 100. It was also her 46th main-draw victory of the year, level with Aryna Sabalenka for the third-highest total on the WTA Tour. Jessica Pegula leads with 50 wins, followed by Elena Rybakina on 49.
Andreeva’s third-round opponent will be either 32nd seed Clara Tauson or Polina Kudermetova. She owns a 4-0 record against Tauson and won her sole previous match against Kudermetova.
Noskova handles Ruse after injury interruption
Noskova followed on Centre Court and extended her run in a venue where she reached the final a year ago. The Czech began quickly against world No. 62 Ruse, breaking early for a 3-0 advantage before the Romanian fought back to restore parity in the opening set.
Ruse required a medical timeout for treatment during the match and returned to the court, but Noskova steadily took command. The fifth seed claimed eight of the final nine games for a 6-4, 6-1 win in one hour and 24 minutes.
The result was particularly significant given their only earlier meeting: Ruse defeated Noskova in Bad Homburg earlier this year, shortly before the Czech went on to claim her maiden major title at Wimbledon.
“Last year was an amazing experience, so it is nice to return to a place where I played so well,” Noskova said. “I was excited for this tournament. Coming from the Billie Jean King Cup is not easy because it is a team event, and then you have to reset for singles or doubles. But I feel I played well today, so I’m happy.”
Noskova improved to 18-3 in 2026 against players positioned outside the Top 50. Her next assignment is a first tour-level meeting with Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic, as she seeks to build another deep run in Beijing and protect her top-eight position in the Finals Race.
