Coco Gauff enters the latest WTA tour stop in Beijing as the No. 3 seed and reigning 2024 champion, but she's treating the tournament as more of a training ground. The 2026 China Open is one of the final tennis events of the year, scheduled for September 30th through October 11th. Gauff moved up in the seedings after Jessica Pegula withdrew from the 96-player field, but she doesn't necessarily have her eye on the title.
Gauff Using 2026 China Open Tennis Schedule to Perfect Her Game
With all four Grand Slams now behind her, the US star views the fall swing as development time. Specifically, she wants to take bigger cuts at the ball and tighten her first-serve numbers before the 2027 season.
"I feel like a lot of the pressure is off," Gauff said. "I don't know why I always do well here, but I always enter this tournament with zero expectations."
Her results in Beijing support that confidence. Across three China Open appearances, she has either won the crown or reached the semifinals. This time around, her draw in Beijing puts her on a second-round collision course with either Camila Osorio or Lanlana Tararudee.
How the Rest of the China Open Draw Shapes Up
Elsewhere in the China Open draw, Gauff and 2023 champion Iga Świątek landed in the same quarter. Meanwhile, top seed Elena Rybakina and No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka anchor the opposite halves of the bracket.
Beyond the tournament, Gauff is also chasing a bigger target. She currently sits No. 5 in the WTA Finals race, making the next two weeks in Beijing a key runway into the end of the season.
Alex Eala won her first WTA title on Monday, beating top seed Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the DC Open final. At 21, she became the first player from the Philippines to capture a singles championship on the WTA Tour.
To get there, Eala ran through the draw's toughest names. She ousted No. 7 seed Leylah Fernandez in the second round, then took down No. 2 seed Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals. A semifinal win over No. 3 seed Naomi Osaka set up the title match.
Alex Eala Completes Comeback Over Jessica Pegula in DC Open Final
The final started Sunday but was suspended by rain with Pegula leading a set and holding serve in the second. After the overnight delay, though, Eala came back sharp. She rattled off four straight games to steal the second set, then cruised through the third without dropping a game.
"Thank you to all my supporters, especially the Filipino community here in DC and back home," Eala said in an emotional on-court speech. "Wherever you are in the world, I really feel all the love."
The title pushes Eala's projected WTA ranking to No. 20. She'll next compete in the National Bank Open in Toronto later this week.
The WTA DC Open is losing some of its star power before the event even begins. Four high-ranking players have withdrawn from the WTA 500 event ahead of its July 27th main draw, a sign of the toll a packed WTA calendar is taking on the sport's top competitors.
Who Withdrew From the 2026 Mubadala Citi DC Open?
Jasmine Paolini is the most notable absence. The Italian pulled out due to a lingering foot injury that has sidelined her for much of the 2026 season.
Her doubles partner Sara Errani will still compete, teaming up with Nicole Melichar-Martinez as the top seed. Marta Kostyuk, Victoria Mboko, and Karolina Muchova round out the list of notable withdrawals.
Still, the field is filled with plenty of tough competitors.
Leylah Fernandez, Jessica Pegula Headline Remaining WTA DC Open Field
Defending champion Leylah Fernandez returns with a shot at going back-to-back in both singles and doubles. Jessica Pegula, the 2019 champion, is also entered. Meanwhile, Alexandra Eala will team up with Venus Williams for a doubles run.
The tournament kicks off the hardcourt season and ends August 2nd. From there, the WTA calendar only intensifies as the National Bank Open in Toronto begins that same day, followed by the Cincinnati Open and then the US Open starting August 30th.
Karolína Muchová will miss the opening stretch of the WTA hard-court swing after undergoing what she called a "small surgery." The world No. 6 shared the news on social media, days after her runner-up finish at Wimbledon.
Muchová offered few details about the surgery itself or when she plans to return. Still, she struck an optimistic tone.
"Everything went well, and I'm already working on my recovery," she wrote. "I'll be back soon."
The 29-year-old had just reached the final at the All England Club, where fellow Czech Linda Noskova beat her in three sets to claim her first Grand Slam title. That result pushed Muchová to No. 6 in the WTA rankings, her highest position this season.
Now, though, she faces a gap in the WTA calendar.
Surgery Interrupts Karolína Muchová's Summer WTA Calendar Season
Several WTA tournaments are on the near horizon, including the Mubadala Citi DC Open on July 27th and the National Bank Open in Toronto starting August 2nd. Muchová already confirmed she won't be making her debut in Toronto via a separate social media post.
Her absence from both events could stall the ranking momentum she built through Wimbledon and into the summer swing.
For now, the WTA tour timeline remains open, but Muchová hopes to be back on the court within weeks.
Naomi Osaka punched her ticket to the first grass-court final of her career on Friday. The four-time Grand Slam champion beat No. 52 Wang Xinyu in straight sets at the WTA 500 event in Bad Homburg, leaning on her serve and heavy baseline game to control the match from the opening games.
Osaka broke Wang's serve in the sixth game of the first set and held steady from there.
A brief serving lapse early in the second set threatened to shift the momentum. But the world No. 15 quickly settled back in, hitting eight aces and winning 79% of her first-serve points.
Osaka also converted four of her seven break-point chances, leaving Wang little room to compete. She eventually broke Wang three more times to close out the comfortable win.
Naomi Osaka Finds Her Footing on Grass at Bad Homburg
The result caps a sharp week on grass for Osaka, who has won every match in straight sets. After Thursday's quarterfinal, she credited coach Tomas Högstedt for helping her adapt to the surface.
"Obviously I can't say that I've had much experience on grass, but I feel really good right now," Osaka said after her win. "Tomas is helping me understand grass a lot more, so I feel pretty comfortable at this point."
Now, the 28-year-old turns her attention to Saturday's 2026 Bad Homburg Open final, marking her first shot at a WTA Tour title since the 2021 Australian Open. She awaits the winner of the other semifinal between No. 4 seed Karolina Muchova and qualifier Elena-Gabriela Ruse.
Emma Navarro survived a tense opening round at the 2026 Bad Homburg Open, beating German wild-card Eva Lys 7-6 (6), 6-3. The win moves her into a round-of-16 meeting with world No. 3 Iga Świątek.
Navarro built a 5-3 lead in the first set but couldn't convert three set points. Lys then pushed ahead 6-3 in the tiebreak with three set points of her own.
However, Navarro stayed resilient, reeling off five straight points to take the opener. From there, she broke early in the second set and closed out the match without much resistance.
Emma Navarro vs Iga Świątek Headlines 2026 Bad Homburg Open
The matchup will mark Navarro's fourth career meeting with the Polish star. Świątek won the first two, before Navarro took the most recent one last year in Beijing.
The US hopeful enters on a strong run despite a slow start to the year following an undisclosed health issue. Now healthy and eyeing a WTA Top 10 comeback, No. 24 Navarro earned 11 wins in her last 14 matches, alongside a title in Strasbourg and a finals appearance in Nottingham.
Świątek, who received a first-round bye, will need to stay sharp as Navarro looks to ride grass-court momentum all the way to next week's Wimbledon Grand Slam.
Serena Williams drew a tough first-round opponent for her Queen's Club doubles comeback.
She and 19-year-old partner Victoria Mboko will open against No. 3 seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe at the HSBC Championships. The match is set for June 9th in London.
Williams & Mboko Gear Up for Queen's Club Doubles Opener
Routliffe holds two Grand Slam doubles titles, while Melichar-Martinez has 19 WTA doubles trophies. But the seeded pair has never played a competitive match together.
Melichar-Martinez had planned to partner with Cristina Bucsa. However, she withdrew late with an injury. Routliffe, meanwhile, has teamed with several partners in 2026, including Jelena Ostapenko. And that late shuffle could work in Williams and Mboko's favor.
For Williams, the match marks a return to competitive play after stepping away from the sport in 2022, and she's chosen a partner already making a name on tour. Mboko has had strong showings at her last few WTA tournaments, including a finals appearance at the 2026 Strasbourg Open.
The pairing blends Williams's Grand Slam experience with the Canadian's recent form on clay and grass.
Still, Melichar-Martinez and Routliffe should give the newly formed duo stiff competition when they meet in the opening round.
How to Watch Serena Williams at the 2026 HSBC Championships
The Queen's Club runs through June 14th, with live coverage on The Tennis Channel.
Emma Raducanu is moving on quickly from her early exit at Roland Garros, entering the grass-court stretch determined to find her rhythm at the HSBC Championships at Queen's Club this week..
Following a tough first-round loss at the 2026 French Open, the 23-year-old British star is ready to reset on home soil.
Emma Raducanu Emerges From a Tough 2026 WTA Season
A recent post-viral illness has disrupted much of Raducanu's 2026 WTA tour schedule so far.
She contracted the virus during a February tournament in Romania, subsequently withdrawing from several WTA events in the months that followed. By the time Raducanu arrived in Paris, match sharpness had become a concern.
She lost in straight sets to Argentina's Solana Sierra, committing 42 errors during the match. But the former US Open winner didn't dwell on the setback.
Raducanu told press she returned to the practice courts shortly after her loss at Roland Garros, determined to prepare for the faster grass surface.
"I found the next day pretty tough, and I knew the best thing for me to do was to try to get back on the court straight away just to nip it in the bud," Raducanu said.
Raducanu faces a qualifier in her opening singles match at Queen's Club, but she's also entered into the HSBC Championships doubles draw. There, she'll reunite with fellow Brit Katie Boulter after the pair enjoyed a successful partnership at the same venue last year.
Raducanu Rehires US Open Coach Andrew Richardson
Raducanu has additionally made changes off the court.
She recently rehired coach Andrew Richardson, the same coach that led her to her 2021 US Open title. The two split after that breakthrough WTA tournament, with Raducanu cycling through several coaches over the following four years.
"I think we just get on really well," Raducanu said of their renewed partnership. "He’s known me since I was young, I trust him. I believe in him and he believes in me."
Together, the two are working on Raducanu's aggressive, serve-and-return style that suits tennis's grass-court swing.
The HSBC Championships run from June 8th through June 21st at Queen's Club in London.
Mercedes-Benz is getting into the women's game, with the luxury car giant becoming the official automotive partner of England's WSL and WSL2 this week.
The deal showcases Mercedes-Benz's growing commitment to women's sports, with the auto giant also signing on as the presenting sponsor of the WTA Tour last month — adding to a resume that includes serving as the official patron of the LPGA Tour's AIG Women's Open.
"The Mercedes-Benz story began 140 years ago with a bold idea," said Mercedes-Benz UK CEO and managing director Olivier Reppert in the WSL's Wednesday press release. "Now, that same spirit of innovation and ambition drives our partnership with WSL Football."
While financial terms of the partnership are not public, Mercedes-Benz is just the latest big-name sponsor to back WSL Football, with some reports saying that the two-league outfit has tripled its commercial revenue since splitting with the FA in 2024.
"Bringing a brand of this calibre…will help us elevate the game, deepen engagement with fans and players, and accelerate long-term growth across both leagues," said WSL Football CRO Zarah Al-Kudcy.
Mercedes-Benz will also present this spring's inaugural interleague playoff, in which the third-place WSL2 club will battle the last-place WSL team for a chance at promotion as a part of the top flight's planned 14-team expansion for 2026/27.