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Tennis

Gauff beats Sun Xinran 7–5, 6–1 to reach Beijing last 16

Coco Gauff wins nine of the final ten games against the 16-year-old Chinese player and advances to face Elise Mertens.

Coco Gauff raises her fist while holding her racket in Beijing.
Coco Gauff during the 2026 China Open in Beijing. · Credit: Getty Images / WTA

Coco Gauff beat 16-year-old Sun Xinran 7–5, 6–1 at the China Open on October 5, winning nine of the final ten games to reach the last 16. The match lasted one hour and 29 minutes, the WTA reported.

Sun kept the opening set close and led 5–4 before Gauff held serve. Gauff then broke with a backhand return winner and closed out the set with a love hold.

The American carried that run into the second set. Sun recovered one break to make it 3–1, but Gauff won the final three games to finish the match in straight sets.

Gauff won 17 of 22 points at the net and recorded 26 winners against 21 unforced errors. She advances to face No. 13 seed Elise Mertens, against whom she held a 5–0 career record when the WTA published its report.

Sources and notes

  1. WTA match report by Noah Poser, October 5, 2026. https://www.wtatennis.com/news/4587000/gauff-pulls-away-late-to-defeat-rising-sun-in-beijing