Naomi Osaka advanced at the 2026 China Open on Friday, fighting past Maria Timofeeva 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in her opening match at the WTA Beijing tour stop. The 12th seed needed three sets to reach the third round after surviving a rough patch in the second.
A Mid-Match Scare in Beijing
Osaka broke Timofeeva in the first frame and built a 3-0 cushion before closing it out 6-3. Then the wheels came off. Even after breaking serve to go up 1-0 in the second, Osaka dropped five consecutive games as Timofeeva found her range and leveled things at a set apiece.
But the decider brought Osaka's sharpest tennis of the afternoon. She broke early again, stretched her lead to 5-0, and held firm despite a late break back from the 21-year-old Russian. A 6-3 final set punched her ticket to the next round.
Osaka Looks to Reclaim China Open Crown
It was the first career meeting between the two on tour, and the win adds to a solid stretch of WTA scores for Osaka this fall. The four-time Grand Slam champion returns to Beijing, where she claimed the title in 2019, with a third-round matchup against Sara Bejlek up next.
