Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka keeps pushing, as the world No. 16 tennis star followed up her blockbuster comeback run at the 2025 US Open with a first-round win at the Wuhan Open this week.
The Japanese fan favorite battled back from a first-set loss to defeat 2021 US Open finalist and current world No. 27 Leylah Fernandez 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 late Monday night, just weeks after suffering an unexpected exit in the first-round of the 2025 China Open.
Monday's Round of 64 win marked Osaka's seventh come-from-behind victory this year, tying her own single-season comeback record.
Osaka still has hills to climb against other top players in Wuhan, including the likes of No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who will return to action early Wednesday morning in her first competitive match since her successful US Open title defense last month.
Also in the mix at the 2025 Wuhan Open are No. 2 Iga Świątek, No. 3 Coco Gauff, and No. 6 Jessica Pegula, with Świątek already cruising through her Round of 32 hurdle in straight sets early Tuesday morning.
Notably, after powering through a lingering calf injury to win the 2025 China Open on Sunday, US star No. 4 Amanda Anisimova withdrew from the Wuhan tournament to recover and gear up for her first-ever WTA Finals next month.
How to watch the 2025 Wuhan Open
The 2025 Wuhan Open resumes at 11 PM ET on Tuesday, with Pegula, Gauff, Sabalenka, and Osaka all facing their Round of 32 opponents before dawn on Wednesday.
Live coverage of the WTA 1000 tournament airs on the Tennis Channel.
World No. 3 tennis star Coco Gauff is through to the semifinals in Beijing, downing Germany's No. 66 Eva Lys in straight sets on Thursday to continue her title defense at the 2025 China Open.
With the quarterfinal win, Gauff booked her first WTA semifinals spot in nearly four months, last appearing the late rounds during her 2025 French Open championship run in June.
The 21-year-old overcame several obstacles in her current quest to become the first-ever back-to-back women's champion at the China Open, including a pair of heated three-set battles against Canada's No. 25 Leylah Fernandez and Switzerland's No. 16 Belinda Bencic in the Round of 32 and 16, respectively.
Not all top-ranked WTA stars were as lucky, however, as No. 2 Iga Świątek exited the Round of 16 after ceding a final-set bagel to No. 17 Emma Navarro on Wednesday.
Gauff and Navarro aren't the only US stars showing out on the 2025 China Open court, as No. 4 Amanda Anisimova punched her semis ticket by ousting Italy's No. 8 Jasmine Paolini on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Navarro will meet No. 7 Jessica Pegula in an all-US quarterfinal battle on Friday — guaranteeing that three of the four tournament semifinalists will hail from the US.
Along with her China Open success, Gauff also secured her spot in the 2025 WTA Finals this week, marking her return as the end-of-season tournament's reigning champion while also becoming the youngest player to qualify for the event in four straight years since Maria Sharapova in 2007.
Considered the most prestigious tennis event except for the four Grand Slams, the eight-player 2025 WTA Finals will kick off in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on November 1st, with Świątek and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka also taking part.
How to watch the 2025 China Open
The 2025 China Open quarterfinals will wrap early Friday morning, with England's No. 81 Sonay Kartal facing Czechia's No. 27 Linda Noskova at 3 AM ET before Navarro takes on Pegula at 6 AM ET.
Friday's winners will contend with each other alongside Gauff and Anisimova in Saturday's semifinals.
All tournament matches will stream live on the Tennis Channel.
As the 2025 tennis calendar hits the home stretch, the WTA's finest will hit the hardcourt at the 1000-level China Open this week — with invites to November's WTA Finals on the line.
Top US players including world No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, and No. 7 Jessica Pegula will begin their 2025 China Open campaigns when the tournament's Round of 64 starts late Thursday night.
Also aiming for the lion's share of the competition's nearly $9 million prize pool — including a winner's check over $1.1 million — are 2023 China Open champ No. 2 Iga Świątek, 19-year-old rising star No. 23 Victoria Mboko, and recent US Open semifinalist and fan favorite No. 14 Naomi Osaka.
The world No. 1, however, will miss this edition of the tournament, as back-to-back US Open champ Aryna Sabalenka withdrew due to "a minor injury" earlier this month.
As for the competition's reigning champion, Gauff will kick off both her title defense and the Round of 64 on Thursday, following up her 2024 success by winning her second career Grand Slam at the 2025 French Open in June.
"I think winning the French Open helped me take that weight off," Gauff told reporters about the pressure of defending her 2024 trophy. "I definitely feel a lot lighter. It feels like a practice tournament."
How to watch the 2025 China Open
The Round of 64 at the 2025 China Open kicks off with Gauff taking on No. 89 Kamilla Rakhimova at 11 PM ET on Thursday.
All tournament matches will stream live on the Tennis Channel.