BEIJING, China, October 4, 2026: Aryna Sabalenka is out, Naomi Osaka had to fight through a tense first set, Ekaterina Alexandrova escaped from a set and a break down, and two of the youngest Grand Slam champions in the field refused to follow Beijing’s growing upset trend.
The China Open women’s draw changed again on Sunday as Nikola Bartunkova produced the day’s biggest shock with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over second seed Sabalenka, while Osaka, Mirra Andreeva, Linda Noskova, Alexandrova, Daria Snigur and Sinja Kraus all secured places in the last 16.
For a tournament that had already lost new world No. 1 Elena Rybakina, Sabalenka’s exit removed another major title favorite within 24 hours. Beijing now has a draw in which established champions, newly crowned major winners and players experiencing the biggest week of their careers are converging before the quarterfinals have even begun.
That volatility follows an opening phase in which Zheng Qinwen, Paula Badosa and China’s emerging players gave the women’s draw an unpredictable start.
China Open 2026 Women’s Round of 32 Results on October 4
| Winner | Opponent | Score | Why It Mattered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nikola Bartunkova | Aryna Sabalenka (2) | 6-4, 6-3 | First career Top 3 victory |
| Naomi Osaka (12) | Sara Bejlek (20) | 7-6(4), 6-4 | Former Beijing champion survives dangerous Czech |
| Linda Noskova (5) | Viktorija Golubic | 6-2, 6-1 | Won in 55 minutes |
| Ekaterina Alexandrova (19) | Diana Shnaider (11) | 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 | Recovered from a set and a break down |
| Mirra Andreeva (4) | Polina Kudermetova | 6-4, 6-1 | Won 10 of 11 games after trailing 4-2 |
| Daria Snigur | Taylah Preston | 6-1, 6-0 | First WTA 1000 Round of 16 |
| Sinja Kraus | Dayana Yastremska | 6-1, 6-4 | Breakthrough Beijing run continues |
This table reflects the completed Sunday Round of 32 matches verified at publication cutoff. Later matches on the October 4 schedule are not treated here as completed results.
Nikola Bartunkova Gives Beijing Its Second Major Shock in 24 Hours
Sabalenka entered Sunday as the highest remaining seed after Rybakina’s earlier defeat.
Bartunkova removed her in 1 hour and 35 minutes.
The 20-year-old Czech won 6-4, 6-3 and recorded the first Top 3 victory of her career. Sabalenka had five opportunities to break and converted none of them, while Bartunkova broke early in the second set and never gave the former world No. 1 a route back into the match.
The WTA’s official statistical review of the upset confirmed the scale of the result.
There is also a broader consequence. Rybakina and Sabalenka, the top two seeds, have both disappeared before the fourth round. According to the WTA, this is the first China Open since 2015 in which the top two women’s seeds have both failed to reach the last 16.
Sabalenka had already experienced the danger of the emerging Czech generation this summer. Sara Bejlek defeated her at Cincinnati, a result TSE examined in its report on the day Bejlek shocked Sabalenka and transformed the Cincinnati draw.
Beijing supplied another warning, this time from Bartunkova.
Naomi Osaka Survives the Player Who Already Knows How to Beat the Best
Bejlek’s Cincinnati breakthrough made her a particularly dangerous opponent for Osaka.
The Czech pushed Sunday’s opening set all the way into a tiebreak before Osaka took it 7-6(4). There was less separation than the straight-sets result might suggest, but the four-time Grand Slam champion handled the decisive phases better and completed the match 6-4 in the second.
For Osaka, the importance goes beyond advancing one round.
She won the China Open in 2019 and arrived in Beijing having already demonstrated during the US Open that her hard-court ceiling remains high. TSE followed that New York run through her early-round recovery against Katerina Siniakova and later her Round of 16 defeat to Elena Rybakina.
Bejlek represented a different challenge. She is younger, left-handed and increasingly comfortable against elite opposition.
Osaka did not need a spectacular scoreline. She needed to prevent a dangerous match from turning into another Beijing upset.
She did.
Alexandrova Changes the Match After Shnaider Takes Control
Diana Shnaider looked positioned to join Sunday’s list of advancing seeds after winning the first set 6-3 and breaking early in the second.
Alexandrova reversed the direction of the match.
The No. 19 seed recovered to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in 1 hour and 54 minutes, reaching the Beijing last 16 after several difficult recent visits to the tournament.
The comeback matters because it was built after Shnaider had already established scoreboard control. Alexandrova had to improve the quality of her first strike without allowing the match to become an exchange of rushed winners.
By the deciding set, she had created enough separation to finish the recovery.
Her reward is one of the most attractive fourth-round matches already confirmed: Alexandrova against Linda Noskova.
The WTA confirmed both Alexandrova-Noskova and Andreeva-Snigur for Tuesday’s Round of 16.
Mirra Andreeva Turns 4-2 Down Into 10 Wins From 11 Games
The most revealing part of Andreeva’s 6-4, 6-1 victory over Polina Kudermetova happened after she fell 4-2 behind.
She responded by winning 10 of the next 11 games.
That sequence transformed a potentially uncomfortable third-round match into a 68-minute victory and showed why the fourth seed has been increasingly difficult to dislodge when she finds control of rally length and court position.
Kudermetova committed 48 unforced errors, according to the WTA, while Andreeva kept asking her to produce another clean attacking ball.
The contrast with Andreeva’s recent hard-court difficulties is useful. Leylah Fernandez defeated her 6-2, 7-5 in Singapore, where TSE’s analysis showed how Fernandez repeatedly neutralized Andreeva’s first serve.
At the US Open, Coco Gauff solved a different version of the problem after losing the opening set. TSE’s breakdown of Gauff’s three-set victory over Andreeva showed what happens when opponents successfully disrupt the rhythm of the Roland Garros champion.
Kudermetova did that for six games.
Andreeva then took the match away from her.
Linda Noskova Uses 55 Minutes to Make a Stronger Statement
Noskova did not need a comeback.
The fifth seed overwhelmed Viktorija Golubic 6-2, 6-1 in 55 minutes, striking 31 winners and landing 77 percent of her first serves. She conceded only five points behind that first delivery.
The WTA’s analysis of Noskova and Andreeva’s victories highlighted how differently the two young major champions controlled their matches.
Noskova’s authority came through first-strike tennis. When her serve and first groundstroke created the desired court position, Golubic had too little time to introduce the variety that normally makes her uncomfortable to play.
That level is becoming familiar.
Noskova’s 2026 season already includes a Wimbledon title, where she reached the championship match after helping create an historic all-Czech women’s final with Karolina Muchova.
She then carried that form into national-team competition as Czechia reclaimed the Billie Jean King Cup with Noskova and Muchova winning the singles rubbers.
Beijing now gives her Alexandrova, a far more aggressive baseline test than Golubic.
Daria Snigur Turns 47 Minutes Into a Career Milestone
Snigur produced the cleanest scoreline among the matches in this group.
The Ukrainian defeated Taylah Preston 6-1, 6-0 in only 47 minutes to reach the Round of 16 at a WTA 1000 tournament for the first time.
She did not face sustained scoreboard pressure and refused to let Preston turn any isolated opening into momentum. The WTA confirmed the result as Snigur’s first appearance in the last 16 at this level.
That achievement now comes with an enormous step upward in difficulty.
Snigur will face Andreeva.
The matchup gives Beijing one of the classic fourth-round equations: a player experiencing the deepest WTA 1000 run of her career against a Grand Slam champion who has already shown she can turn an awkward match very quickly.
Sinja Kraus Makes a Breakthrough Week Even Bigger
Sinja Kraus entered Beijing without the profile of the major champions surrounding her in the draw.
She is now in the last 16.
The Austrian defeated Dayana Yastremska 6-1, 6-4, handling a far tighter second set after dominating the first. The victory followed a week in which Kraus has steadily moved beyond the expectations attached to her ranking and experience at this level.
Her next opponent makes the story even more unusual.
Kraus will face Bartunkova.
That guarantees that one of two players who began this tournament far outside its obvious championship conversation will reach the China Open quarterfinals.
What Does the China Open Last 16 Look Like From This Section of the Draw?
Three fourth-round matchups are already confirmed from Sunday’s completed action:
| Round of 16 Match | Central Question |
|---|---|
| Mirra Andreeva vs Daria Snigur | Can Snigur carry her breakthrough run into a match against a reigning major champion? |
| Linda Noskova vs Ekaterina Alexandrova | Can Noskova’s first-strike control survive Alexandrova’s aggressive return game? |
| Nikola Bartunkova vs Sinja Kraus | Which breakthrough run will reach the quarterfinals? |
Osaka is also through, but the full fourth-round picture should not be treated as complete until the remaining third-round matches finish.
Why Sunday’s Results Change the Meaning of the Beijing Draw
Rybakina arrived as the new world No. 1. Sabalenka arrived as the No. 2 seed. Neither will play in the Round of 16.
That does not make the remaining path easy.
Andreeva and Noskova are already Grand Slam champions. Osaka owns four major titles and has won this tournament before. Alexandrova has enough first-strike power to disrupt almost anyone when her timing is clean. Bartunkova has just proved that ranking gaps can disappear once a match begins.
The next WTA 1000 in Wuhan will bring another elite field together, and TSE’s analysis of the confirmed Wuhan field and WTA Finals race explains why every deep Beijing run can matter beyond this tournament.
For now, Beijing has moved into the stage where reputations carry less protection.
Sunday made that clear when Sabalenka left the draw.
The players still standing now have to decide who can make the opening permanent.
China Open 2026 Women’s Singles FAQs
Who beat Aryna Sabalenka at the 2026 China Open?
Nikola Bartunkova defeated No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-3 in the Round of 32. It was Bartunkova’s first career victory over a Top 3 player.
What was the Naomi Osaka vs Sara Bejlek score?
Osaka defeated Bejlek 7-6(4), 6-4 to reach the China Open last 16.
Who will Mirra Andreeva play next in Beijing?
Andreeva will face Daria Snigur in the Round of 16.
Who will Linda Noskova play in the China Open Round of 16?
Noskova will face Ekaterina Alexandrova after both advanced on October 4.
How quickly did Daria Snigur beat Taylah Preston?
Snigur won 6-1, 6-0 in 47 minutes to reach her first WTA 1000 Round of 16.
Who will Nikola Bartunkova play next?
Bartunkova will face Sinja Kraus, guaranteeing that one of the two breakthrough players reaches the Beijing quarterfinals.
What level is the China Open?
The women’s China Open is a WTA 1000 tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Beijing.