Beijing’s China Open is ready to move from the red carpet to the hard court, with first-round play beginning Wednesday at the penultimate WTA 1000 event of the season. The player party brought together a field featuring former champions, returning contenders and several debutants, while the draw has already set out a series of notable opening-week routes.
Former champions return to the Beijing hard courts
Coco Gauff arrives as the reigning China Open champion and carries a 14-2 career record at the tournament. Naomi Osaka, the 12th seed, also knows the Beijing title well: she lifted the trophy in 2019 after recovering from a set down against Ashleigh Barty in the final.
Elina Svitolina is back in the tournament for an eighth time, ending an absence that dates to her last appearance in 2019. Mirra Andreeva will contest the event for a fourth time; her 2024 campaign ended in the last 16 against Sonay Kartal.
Donna Vekic, seeded 30th, is still looking to break new ground in Beijing. Across seven previous appearances, she has not advanced beyond the round of 16. She will open her campaign against either Alycia Parks or Zhu Lin.
Seeds await their opening opponents
The draw gives a number of seeded players a second-round start. Tenth seed Iva Jovic has received a bye, while Eva Lys begins against 16-year-old Chinese player Sun Xinran. Lys made a strong run in Beijing last season, defeating both Jovic and Elena Rybakina before reaching the quarterfinals.
Marie Bouzkova? No, the 20th seed is Czech teenager Sara Bejlek, who is making her first China Open appearance. She will face either Zeynep Sonmez or Maddison Inglis in round two.
Twenty-first seed Ann Li, who lost to Camila Osorio in her Beijing main-draw debut last year, will meet either Ashlyn Krueger or Sofia Kenin. Maria Sakkari, whose best result here was a 2023 quarterfinal, has been drawn against either Storm Hunter or Lin Yu Jun.
Ninth seed Belinda Bencic has played the event six times since 2014 without getting past the last 16. Her opening match will be against Anastasia Zakharova or Shao Yushan. Diana Shnaider, appearing in Beijing for the third time, will take on either Janice Tjen or Anhelina Kalinina.
Samsonova seeks another deep Beijing run
Liudmila Samsonova’s Beijing record contains one of the tournament’s most striking recent runs. On her debut in 2023, she beat Parks, Petra Kvitova, Marta Kostyuk, Jelena Ostapenko and Rybakina to reach the final, where Iga Swiatek stopped her. Samsonova then lost her first match in each of the following two editions.
Seeded 29th this time, Samsonova will start against either Bai Zhuoxuan or Linda Fruhvirtova. Clara Tauson, the 32nd seed, has drawn Mayar Sherif or Polina Kudermetova after her 2024 Beijing campaign ended in the opening round against Sonmez.
Doubles leaders and a withdrawal
Katerina Siniakova and Zhang Shuai lead the doubles field as the top-seeded pair. In singles, Siniakova will meet Magda Linette in the first round.
Alina Korneeva had been due to make her China Open debut, but has withdrawn because of a thigh injury.
