Sonay Kartal Wins Debut Match at WTA 1000 China Open

BEIJING, China — British tennis player Sonay Kartal made a strong debut at the WTA 1000 China Open, winning against American Alycia Parks in straight sets on Thursday. Kartal, the British No. 3, dominated the match, finishing with a score of 6-3, 6-2.

With this victory, Kartal joins fellow Brit Katie Boulter in the second round of the tournament. Kartal is now set to face Daria Kasatkina, the No. 14 seed from Australia, as she looks to build momentum during her Asian swing.

“Yeah, I guess the focus is really just building for next year, and treating this part of the swing, kind of, as a pre-season almost, which I did that last year. Ended up being successful, so we’ll see,” Kartal stated.

Meanwhile, Coco Gauff, the defending champion and No. 2 seed, is treating the tournament as a pre-season warm-up ahead of 2026. She expressed her thoughts during a press conference, saying, “Although, technically, I’m the defending champion [in Beijing], it doesn’t feel like that at all.”

In other matches, Emma Raducanu, seeded No. 30, learned she will play Cristina Bucsa, a qualifier from Spain. Raducanu withdrew from last year’s tournament due to injury and is looking to make a strong comeback.

Chinese wild-card Yuan Yue achieved her first victory in Beijing since 2014, defeating Yulia Putintseva to advance to the second round against top seed Iga Swiatek.

The first-round matches wrapped up on Thursday as players prepared for the top 32 seeds, who begin their campaigns on Friday. Several notable upsets included German qualifier Ella Seidel’s victory over Magdalena Frech, and Australian Ajla Tomljanovic who came back from 0-4 down to defeat Yuliia Starodubtseva.

As the tournament continues, the excitement builds with more matches lined up, showcasing both seasoned champions and rising stars in women’s tennis.