In an exciting day of tennis at the WTA 1000 China Open in Beijing, British players Emma Raducanu and Sonay Kartal advanced to the round-of-32 following impressive victories. Raducanu, the 30th seed, defeated Spain’s Cristina Bucsa with a score of 6-3, 6-3, while Kartal achieved a significant upset over Australia’s Daria Kasatkina, ranked 14th, with a commanding 6-3, 6-0 win.
Raducanu’s triumph marked her first victory at the China Open after receiving a first-round bye. The former US Open champion looked sharp, needing just 98 minutes to secure her place in the next round. She engaged in her third match of the season against Bucsa, having previously lost a close encounter in Singapore, only to turn the tables on the grass at The Queen’s Club with a decisive win.
The opening set showcased a high level of play from both competitors. Raducanu demonstrated resilience on her serve, fending off six break points—four of which came during the first game—with the help of her powerful serving that included four aces. The breakthrough came in the eighth game when Bucsa committed a critical double fault on break point, allowing Raducanu to take the first set and gain an early lead in the second.
Despite being outgunned in terms of winners (16 to Bucsa’s 28), Raducanu maintained control during crucial moments of the match. At one point, she allowed Bucsa to come back and level the score after initially leading 2-0 in the second set. However, Raducanu quickly regained her advantage, breaking back and winning four out of the last five games to seal her victory.
The success also served emotional significance for Raducanu, whose mother is Chinese. Post-match, she expressed her elation and determination to perform well in Beijing, stating, “Super difficult, Cristina was playing amazing. I’m very happy to have gotten over it, and I’m half-Chinese so it’s great to come back here.”
Meanwhile, Sonay Kartal displayed remarkable form in her match against Kasatkina, wrapping up her victory in just 64 minutes. Kartal, currently ranked 81st, recorded an impressive third win against a top-20 player this season. After decisively winning her first-round match against Alycia Parks, she showed exceptional skill by converting six of her eleven break points against Kasatkina.
Kartal’s next challenge will be against Australia’s Maya Joint, who is significantly higher in the rankings but whom Kartal hopes to defeat to advance further in the tournament.
In other matches on the day, top-seeded Iga Swiatek handily defeated local wild-card Yuan Yue, 6-0, 6-3, becoming the first player to achieve 25 or more wins at WTA 1000 events for three consecutive seasons. The Polish star, who is one of the sport’s most prominent figures after winning multiple Grand Slam titles and recently securing the Korea Open, will face Camila Osorio in her next match.
Notable surprises included Naomi Osaka suffering an unexpected defeat to Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich, while home favorite Zheng Qinwen returned from elbow surgery with a solid win over Emiliana Arango.
Overall, the China Open is shaping up to be a competitive tournament, with both Raducanu and Kartal showing promise as they aim to make further progress.
