The top players on the Hologic WTA Tour will return to Beijing next month for the WTA 1000 China Open.
The 96-player field is led by World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, and she’ll be joined by the rest of the top 5: Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek, defending China Open champion Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva.
Making her return to the tour in China, to the delight of fans, will be China’s Qinwen Zheng, who withdrew from the US Open after undergoing surgery for “persistent pain” in her right elbow. Zheng, currently ranked No. 7 in the PIF WTA Rankings, hasn’t played since Wimbledon, where she lost her first-round match to Katerina Siniakova.
Rounding out the top 10 in the field is Australian Open champion Madison Keys, Jasmine Paolini, Wimbledon finalist Amanda Anisimova and Elena Rybakina.
Played on outdoor hard courts, the China Open has been a staple on the Hologic WTA Tour since 2004. With 1,000 rankings points on the line and a nearly $9 million purse, the tournament is the second-to-last 1000-level event before the WTA Finals in Riyadh — the WTA 1000 Dongfeng Voyah · Wuhan Open is the following week — and there will likely be qualification implications at stake.
As the fourth seed in 2024, Gauff defeated Naomi Osaka, Paula Badosa and Karolina Muchova in the final to capture her second career WTA 1000 title. She also became the second American woman to win the tournament, after Serena Williams hoisted the trophy in 2004 and 2013.
Swiatek is also a former champion in Beijing, having won in 2023 — she pulled out of the tournament last year — and Osaka, who is in this field, won in 2019.
Other former Slam champions in this year’s draw are Jelena Ostapenko, Sofia Kenin, Emma Raducanu, Barbora Krejcikova and Bianca Andreescu.
Main draw play will begin on September 24, and the tournament will run through October 5.