Qinwen Zheng ground through yet another three-set marathon at the 2026 China Open, edging Marie Bouzková 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-5 in a nearly three-hour battle in Beijing. The Chinese star has now gone the distance in three consecutive matches, logging over eight hours on court — more than anyone else in this year's draw.
Qinwen Zheng Advances in Beijing
After splitting the first two sets, Zheng leaned on her serve to pull away in the decider.
She fired 11 aces and won 81% of her first-serve points, converting her second match point to close out the win. Bouzková, the 18th seed, had built a 3-0 lead in the second set to level the match, but she couldn't sustain that momentum in the third.
"I just think I believe here everybody wants to take me down" Zheng said. "They really show up [with] their best tennis."
Thirteen of Zheng's 21 tour wins this season have come in deciding sets, so tight matches on home soil are nothing new for the No. 3 seed. Now, these latest WTA scores send Zheng into a round-of-16 meeting with Alina Charaeva.
The unseeded Armenian knocked off world No. 1 Elena Rybakina earlier in the draw, and promises another tough test for Zheng.
Xinran Sun needed just 43 minutes to score her first WTA main-draw match win in Beijing on Thursday. The 16-year-old topped Eva Lys 6-1, 3-0 before the German was forced to retire on Diamond Court at the 2026 China Open.
Xinran Sun Level Up to WTA Win in Beijing
Before Lys bowed out, Sun seemed fully in command of the match, reeling off nine consecutive games after dropping her opening service game. Lys, ranked No. 102, committed seven double faults before retiring early in the second set with a foot injury.
Meanwhile, Sun played with poise well beyond her No. 582 ranking. With the win, the reigning junior world No. 1, who also claimed the US Open junior title just last month, is one of the youngest WTA tour-winners.
"Honestly I feel good on the court," Sun said. "I'm just making my tactic and just following what I need to do."
Teenagers Lead Next Wave of Chinese Tennis
Beyond Sun's straight-sets win, fellow Chinese teenager Qu Yihan nearly pulled off an upset of her own. The 17-year-old pushed world No. 116 Harriet Dart to three sets before falling 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5 in a three-hour battle. It was the second-longest match of the Asian swing tournament.
Both earned wildcards into the main draw, part of a four-player teen contingent whose early WTA scores suggest China's tennis game has a promising next generation on the rise.
Polish qualifier Maja Chwalińska upset Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen 6-4, 6-0 at the 2026 French Open on Monday, marking Zheng's earliest-career Roland Garros exit.
Zheng entered the Paris Grand Slam as a contender after winning clay-court gold at the 2024 Olympics before reaching the 2025 French Open quarterfinals. However, Chwalińska easily disrupted the world No. 56's momentum, breaking through her defense with deep, consistent baseline shots.
Initially, Zheng battled back from an early deficit to level the opening set at 4-4 before her rhythm collapsed. She lost the next eight consecutive points to drop the first set.
From there, Chwalińska commanded the remainder of the match. The qualifier swept through six straight games in the second set to secure the win in 90 minutes.
Unforced errors also heavily impacted the final score, with Zheng committing 32 to Chwalińska's five.
Elise Mertens Falls to Maja Chwalińska in 2nd-Round Sweep
Chwalińska has yet to drop a single set since starting the Roland Garros qualifiers, going on to dispatch No. 21 Elise Mertens 6-4, 6-0 in Thursday's second round.
Mertens reached the second-round battle with Chwalińska after the Belgian made short work of Germany's Tatjana Maria.
Despite Mertens's experience and proficient serve, Chwalińska breezed through the match, relying on her return game and converting 66% of her break points. Mertens was additionally plagued by unforced errors throughout the contest, committing an uncharacteristic five double faults.
The rising Polish star will next face Greece's Maria Sakkari in Saturday's third round slate at Roland Garros.
The grass court chaos of Wimbledon didn't disappoint this week, as the unpredictable surface claimed more than one surprise victim in the 2025 Grand Slam's first round.
A full 10 of the London tournament's 32 seeded players fell in the competition's first round, including four of the WTA's Top 10: World No. 2 Coco Gauff, No. 3 Jessica Pegula, No. 6 Qinwen Zheng, and No. 9 Paula Badosa.
"I should just play no tournaments, get no wins, then roll into Wimbledon, and maybe I'll have better results," US star Pegula joked after her two-set Tuesday loss to Italy's No. 116 Elisabetta Cocciaretto, referencing her recent wins.
Gauff's short Wimbledon outing also represented a new challenge for the 21-year-old standout, as the top-ranked US tennis player struggled to bounce back after winning the 2025 French Open last month.
"I feel like mentally I was a little bit overwhelmed with everything that came afterwards," Gauff told ESPN. "So I didn’t feel like I had enough time to celebrate and also get back into it."
The upsets continued as Wimbledon entered its second round on Wednesday morning, claiming several more seeded players like world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini and No. 15 Diana Shnaider, though both No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and unseeded fan favorite Naomi Osaka cruised into the Slam's third round on two-set wins.
No. 8 Madison Keys now leads the US contingent, with fellow US contender No. 12 Amanda Anisimova joining the 2025 Australian Open champion in snagging their own two-set, second-round victories on Wednesday.
How to watch the 2025 Wimbledon Championships
Second-round play at the 2025 Wimbledon women's singles tournament continues on Thursday, as seven US players — including No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 28 Sofia Kenin — look to advance to the competition's third round.
Live continuous coverage of the London Grand Slam airs on ESPN.
Tennis's first Grand Slam of 2025 kicks off on Saturday, with the sport's heaviest hitters convening in Melbourne for the Australian Open.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka — the reigning back-to-back Australian Open champion — enters as the tournament's first overall seed for the first time. However, she'll see stiff competition by way of No. 2 Iga Świątek, No. 3 Coco Gauff, and No. 4 Jasmine Paolini.
"For me being the one to chase... I like that feeling," Sabalenka told reporters this morning. "That's what drives me and helps me to stay motivated because I know that I have a target on my back."
Tough roads to the trophy litter Australian Open draw
Each top contender faces a tricky tournament draw, with upset potential lurking in every quadrant.
Sabalenka could meet 2024 Olympic gold medalist and WTA Finals runner-up No. 5 Zheng Qinwen as early as the quarterfinals, as long as she survives a first-round matchup against 2017 US Open winner Sloane Stephens.
Reigning WTA Finals champion Gauff's quadrant is in Sabalenka's half of the field, setting up a possible rematch of last year's semifinal. As for the 20-year-old US star's path, earlier rounds could see Gauff contending with tough competitors like 2021 Australian Open champ Naomi Osaka, 2024 US Open semifinalist Karolína Muchová, and 2024 US Open finalist No. 7 Jessica Pegula.
Świątek and Paolini could also meet in a semifinal, though fellow top competitors No. 8 Emma Navarro and 2020 Australian Open winner Ons Jabeur stand in Świątek's way while No. 10 Danielle Collins and 2022 Wimbledon champion No. 6 Elena Rybakina have been drawn into Paolini's quadrant.
How to watch the 2025 Australian Open
The 2025 Australian Open's first round starts on Saturday at 7 PM ET, with Sabalenka's first-round match set for 3 AM ET on Sunday.
Live coverage for the tournament will air across ESPN platforms.
World No. 3 tennis star Coco Gauff won the 2024 WTA Finals on Saturday, becoming the youngest US player to take the tournament since Serena Williams in 2001.
Gauff's championship came by way of a grueling three-hour 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) final match win over reigning Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen.
The 20-year-old's road to the $4.8 million purse — the largest in women's tennis history — included just her second-ever win over No. 2 Iga Świątek in the group round and a semifinal victory over No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka on Friday.
A winning end to a rollercoaster season
When asked about her 2024 season, Gauff told reporters, "There’s been a lot of ups and downs. At moments, it felt great. At other moments, it felt awful. Basically, a typical year on tour."
Her low point was a disappointing attempt to defend her 2023 US Open title. Gauff stumbled out of the US Grand Slam in the fourth round this fall.
That performance led Gauff to an apparently productive coaching change. She left coach Brad Gilbert, adding Matt Daly to her team to work with Jean-Christophe “JC” Faurel.
Since then, Gauff has gone 13-2, ultimately adding the China Open and WTA Finals titles to her June French Open doubles trophy.
After silencing doubters with Saturday's victory, Gauff took to social media, writing "lol safe to say I beat the bad season allegations."
A double dose of WTA Finals history
Just before Gauff took the court, Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand's Erin Routliffe were crowned the season's doubles champions.
Dabrowski and Routliffe avenged their Wimbledon final loss by defeating US player Taylor Townsend and her Czech partner Kateřina Siniaková 7-5, 6-3 on Saturday. They are now the first athletes from Canada and New Zealand to win the WTA Finals doubles title.