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China Open 2026 Day 10

Zheng Reaches China Open Semifinals as Mertens Stuns Swiatek

By: Jun Pasion |
 October 9, 2026

After four consecutive three-set battles, Zheng Qinwen finally found a shorter route to victory. Meanwhile, Elise Mertens eliminated her third consecutive Grand Slam champion to complete the China Open semifinal lineup.

Opening Story — The Three-Set Queen Finds Another Way

For four matches, Zheng Qinwen had made winning in Beijing look like an endurance test.

Four opponents. Four deciding sets. Four victories that demanded another round of fighting.

The home favorite was advancing, but nothing was coming easily.

On Friday, she finally changed the pattern.

Zheng defeated sixth seed Elina Svitolina 6–3, 7–6(6) in 1 hour and 47 minutes, reaching the China Open semifinals with her first straight-set victory of the tournament.

And she did it with authority.

The Chinese star struck 48 winners, bringing an attacking edge to a match that still demanded composure when the finish line approached.

The opening set belonged to Zheng, 6–3.

The second was considerably tighter. Svitolina pushed her into a tiebreak, refusing to let the match end without another contest of nerves.

For a player who had already spent so much time battling through deciding sets, this was a familiar kind of pressure.

But Zheng wasn’t going to play a third set this time.

She took the tiebreak 8–6, closing out the match and sending the home crowd into another celebration.

The Three-Set Queen had finally won in two.

It was a small change in the scoreline, but a meaningful development in her tournament.

Zheng had already shown she could survive difficult matches. Against Svitolina, she demonstrated that she could also finish the job without a deciding set.

And with China’s other singles contenders eliminated, she remains the nation’s last representative in the singles draw.

That gives her semifinal appearance an added dimension.

Zheng is no longer simply trying to extend her own campaign.

She is carrying the home crowd’s hopes into the final weekend.

Four three-set victories brought her this far.

A straight-set victory has taken her one step closer to the final.

Watch Zheng vs Svitolina highlights

Major Match — Elise Mertens Is No Longer a Quiet Threat

While Zheng was changing her own pattern, Elise Mertens was extending one of the most remarkable sequences in Beijing.

Jelena Ostapenko.

Coco Gauff.

And now Iga Swiatek.

Three Grand Slam champions. Three consecutive victories.

Mertens defeated eighth seed Swiatek 7–6(0), 6–3 in 1 hour and 50 minutes, reaching her first China Open semifinal.

The opening set was competitive enough to require a tiebreak, but the tiebreak itself told a different story.

Mertens won all seven points.

Seven points to zero against a six-time Grand Slam singles champion.

It was a decisive statement at the end of a tightly contested set.

From there, the Belgian maintained her advantage, taking the second set 6–3 and completing another major victory.

Her run had already become notable when she eliminated Gauff. Beating Swiatek elevated it further.

This was no longer an isolated upset.

It was a sequence against some of the most accomplished players in women’s tennis.

Mertens arrived in Beijing as the No. 13 seed, outside the group that initially dominated discussions about the championship.

Yet she has continued to remove bigger names from the draw.

First Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion.

Then Gauff, a multiple Grand Slam champion.

Now Swiatek, whose six major singles titles make her one of the defining players of her generation.

Each victory has added weight to Mertens’ campaign.

And the reward is her first semifinal in Beijing.

The quiet giant-killer has become impossible to ignore.

But her next opponent presents a different challenge.

Zheng Qinwen will have the home crowd behind her.

Mertens will arrive with the confidence of someone who has already beaten three Grand Slam champions in succession.

One has been finding ways to survive.

The other has been finding ways to eliminate champions.

On Saturday, only one can advance.

Watch Mertens vs Swiatek highlights

Developing Storylines — The Final Four Take Shape

1. Fire & Ice: One Shockwave Still Survives

The China Open’s original top-two showdown disappeared when Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka were eliminated.

But the consequences of those defeats have continued to shape the tournament.

Rybakina’s conqueror, Alina Charaeva, extended her campaign before Zheng Qinwen stopped her in the fourth round.

That branch of the original upset story has now closed.

Sabalenka’s conqueror, however, remains alive.

Nikola Bartunkova followed her stunning victory over the World No. 2 by defeating Sinja Kraus and Karolina Muchova.

The 20-year-old Czech has reached her first WTA 1000 semifinal and secured a Top-30 ranking debut.

Now she faces Mirra Andreeva.

If Bartunkova wins, the player who eliminated Sabalenka will have carried that breakthrough all the way to the China Open final.

And waiting there will be either Zheng Qinwen or Elise Mertens.

The projected Fire & Ice final is gone. But one of its biggest shockwaves is still moving through Beijing.

2. Four Semifinalists, Four Different Stories

The final four bring together remarkably different campaigns.

Zheng Qinwen has survived four three-set matches before finally winning in straight sets. She carries China’s remaining singles hopes.

Elise Mertens has defeated three consecutive Grand Slam champions, turning a difficult draw into her first Beijing semifinal.

Nikola Bartunkova has transformed a stunning victory over Sabalenka into the biggest WTA 1000 run of her career.

Mirra Andreeva recovered from a 3–5 deficit against Ekaterina Alexandrova and won two tiebreaks to reach her first China Open semifinal.

There is no single route to this stage.

Some players have survived repeated battles. Others have overturned expectations. And one has spent the week defeating champions.

But all four now stand two victories away from the title.

3. The Dragon Slayer and the Peking Duck Chaser

Saturday’s other semifinal has a lighter subplot.

After her two-tiebreak victory over Alexandrova, Andreeva revealed during her on-court interview that Peking duck was one of her favorite dishes in China.

She hoped to enjoy some in the players’ dining area.

The interviewer then told her it was scheduled for October 10—the day of the semifinals.

But before Andreeva can think about the championship match, she must face Bartunkova.

The Czech has already eliminated Sabalenka and Muchova. Andreeva, meanwhile, has finally defeated an opponent who had beaten her in their two previous meetings.

The Dragon Slayer meets the Peking Duck Chaser.

The nickname may be playful, but the stakes are serious.

One place in the China Open final awaits.

What’s Next — Saturday’s Semifinals

SEMIFINAL 1 · OCTOBER 10

Mirra Andreeva (4) vs. Nikola Bartunkova (26)

SEMIFINAL 2 · OCTOBER 10

Zheng Qinwen (WC) vs. Elise Mertens (13)

Saturday will decide whether Bartunkova’s extraordinary campaign reaches the final and whether Zheng can keep the home crowd dreaming of a Chinese champion.

For Mertens, the question is whether she can defeat another major contender. For Andreeva, it is whether her hard-earned quarterfinal breakthrough can become a championship opportunity.

Complete Results — Friday, October 9

China Open 2026 · Women’s Singles · Quarterfinals

Winner Defeated Score
Zheng Qinwen (WC) Elina Svitolina (6) 6–3, 7–6(6)
Elise Mertens (13) Iga Swiatek (8) 7–6(0), 6–3

Both scheduled singles quarterfinals were completed without retirement, walkover or withdrawal.

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