Beijing’s China Open will bring the WTA’s late-season race back into focus from September 30 to October 11, with World No. 1 and newly crowned three-time major winner Elena Rybakina heading a 96-player field. The tournament is the penultimate WTA 1000 stop of 2026 and the last event at this level to use a draw of this size.
Rybakina returns for her first tournament since the US Open alongside fellow New York semifinalists Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula. Sabalenka is seeded second, Pegula third and 2024 Beijing champion Gauff fourth.
Quick facts
- Main-draw singles begins September 30; the championship matches are set for October 11.
- The singles field has 96 players, with all 32 seeds exempt from the opening round.
- The singles final is scheduled for not before 7 p.m. local time, following the 4:30 p.m. doubles final.
- China Standard Time is 12 p.m. BST, 1 p.m. CEST and 7 a.m. EST when Beijing is at 7 p.m.
- Total prize money is $9,415,725, with 1,000 WTA ranking points for each title.
The opening round will be played across September 30 and October 1, followed by the second round on October 2-3 and the third round on October 4-5. Fourth-round matches are allotted October 6-7, with the quarterfinals on October 8-9, semifinals on October 10 and the final on October 11.
The doubles draw starts later, with first-round matches on October 4-5. The second round follows on October 6-7, the quarterfinals on October 8-9, the semifinals on October 10 and the final on October 11.
Four former Beijing singles champions are in the initial field. Gauff returns as the 2024 winner, Amanda Anisimova arrives as defending champion, Iga Swiatek owns the 2023 crown and Naomi Osaka won the title in 2019.
Linda Noskova, beaten in last year’s final, is back in the draw, as are 2024 runner-up Karolina Muchova and 2023 finalist Liudmila Samsonova. Alexandra Eala has changed her schedule, while Victoria Mboko is sidelined by a continuing knee problem and Hailey Baptiste remains out injured.
Seeded field
Behind Rybakina, the 32 seeds are Sabalenka, Pegula, Gauff, Mirra Andreeva, Noskova, Elina Svitolina, Muchova, Swiatek, Marta Kostyuk, Anisimova, Belinda Bencic, Iva Jovic, Diana Shnaider, Sorana Cirstea, Osaka, Elise Mertens, Jasmine Paolini, Anna Kalinskaya, Emma Navarro, Anastasia Potapova, Maja Chwalinska, Marie Bouzkova, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Sara Bejlek, Ann Li, Diane Parry, Leylah Fernandez, Jelena Ostapenko, Maria Sakkari, Nikola Bartunkova and Cristina Bucsa.
China’s Zheng Qinwen headlines the wild-card group, joined by Sun Xinran, Yuan Yue, Zhu Lin, Gao Xinyu, Shao Yushan, Lin Yujun and Qu Yihan. The entry list remains subject to alteration.
Madison Keys has withdrawn with an abdominal injury, McCartney Kessler with a hip problem and Karolina Pliskova because of a back issue. Zhang Shuai has altered her schedule, while Emma Raducanu is also out of the event.
Hanne Vandewinkel, Magda Linette, Maria Timofeeva, Paula Badosa and Aoi Ito have moved into the field. The next alternates are Jil Teichmann, Sinja Kraus, Kamilla Rakhimova, Polina Kudermetova, Eva Lys, Taylah Preston, Anastasia Zakharova and Alina Charaeva.
A listed singles draw ceremony is set for Monday, October 28, at 1 p.m. local time.
Anisimova returns as champion
Anisimova captured the 2025 title by defeating Noskova 6-0, 2-6, 6-2 in one hour and 46 minutes. It was her second WTA 1000 trophy and her first in Beijing.
The American defeated Katie Boulter, Zhang, Muchova, Paolini and Gauff during that run, collecting three victories over Top 15 opposition. She joined Serena Williams, champion in 2004 and 2013, and Gauff as American women to lift the Beijing singles trophy.
Paolini and Sara Errani won last year’s doubles title, overcoming Miyu Kato and Fanny Stollar 6-7(1), 6-3, [10-2] in the final.
Ranking points and prize money
| Singles round | Points | Prize money |
|---|---|---|
| First round | 10 | $24,335 |
| Second round | 35 | $36,110 |
| Third round | 65 | $61,865 |
| Fourth round | 120 | $105,720 |
| Quarterfinal | 215 | $193,645 |
| Semifinal | 390 | $340,190 |
| Finalist | 650 | $612,340 |
| Champion | 1000 | $1,151,380 |
| Doubles round | Points | Prize money |
|---|---|---|
| First round | 10 | $19,510 |
| Second round | 120 | $35,700 |
| Quarterfinal | 215 | $66,570 |
| Semifinal | 390 | $133,110 |
| Finalist | 650 | $247,870 |
| Champion | 1000 | $468,200 |
Players’ ranking movement will depend on their Beijing performance compared with the points they are defending from the corresponding week a year ago. The season then moves toward the WTA Finals in Indian Wells, scheduled for November 8-15.
