Sinner clinches his second title, matching the two legends; Zhang Zhizhen reflects on his loss, with the top two wealthy players meeting again

Three minutes daily to catch up on global tennis news. Hello tennis fans, today is Thursday, October 2, 2025. Welcome to the midday news update brought to you by "Tennis Home."

Yesterday afternoon Beijing time, the thrilling ATP 500 China Open wrapped up. In the men’s singles final, top seed and world number two Sinner dominated effortlessly, defeating American young talent Learner Chen 6-2, 6-2. After two years, Sinner reclaimed the China Open title, marking his third singles trophy this season and the 21st career ATP singles title. This victory makes Sinner the third male player, after Djokovic and Nadal, to win the China Open singles championship at least twice.

In doubles action: In the final, two-time Grand Slam champions Heliovaara and Paten overcame the Russian pair Kachanov and Rublev with a 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 comeback, securing their sixth men’s doubles title as a team.

Turning our attention to Shanghai: Yesterday noon Beijing time, the ATP 1000 Shanghai Masters kicked off. On the first day, Chinese player Zhang Zhizhen, despite leading by a set, was overturned by Argentina’s Baez, ranked 170th, losing in three sets 6-2, 3-6, 4-6, resulting in a first-round exit.

After the match, Zhang Zhizhen said his defeat was due to a lack of patience. "Patience isn't just about one match; it’s something that needs to be cultivated over a whole cycle. You can’t rush any step. Losing this match is unfortunate, but the effort we put in was evident."

Other matches: Belgian star Goffin came back from a 6-7 (6) first-set loss to defeat Frenchman A. Muller 6-1, 6-1; Japanese playerYoshihito Nishioka defeated Kazakhstan’s Shevchenko convincingly 6-1, 6-2; FrenchmanManarino narrowly beat Italian star Berrettini 7-5, 7-6(5).

Berghes, Munar, Hanfmann, Cilic, Nardi, Thompson, Berrettini, Altmaier, and others also won to advance. Meanwhile, Swiss wildcard Stan Wawrinka was eliminated in the first round by Hungary’s Marosan 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.

Let’s shift focus to the women’s event. Last night Beijing time, the WTA 1000 China Open concluded the fourth round in the top half of the singles draw, producing all eight quarterfinalists. In a midnight thriller, 5th seed Pegula defeated 23rd seed Ukrainian Kostyuk 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-1, reaching the China Open quarterfinals for the first time in her career, marking her 20th appearance in a WTA 1000 quarterfinal. She will next face compatriot Navarro for a spot in the semifinals.

In an earlier match, Navarro played outstandingly, delivering a bagel in the final set to beat top seed and world number two Swiatek 6-4, 4-6, 6-0. This was Navarro’s third career win over a top 2 player and her third time reaching a WTA 1000 quarterfinal. Both Pegula and Navarro come from wealthy American families and are nicknamed "Big Rich" and "Second Rich" by fans, making this quarterfinal clash a battle of the rich girls.

In another match, British player Qatar fought through three sets, winning 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 against 4th seed Russian rising star Mira Andreeva, earning her first career victory over a top 10 player and her first entry into a WTA 1000 singles quarterfinal. Next, she will compete against 26th seed Noskova, whodefeated Russian Potapova 6-2, 6-4 with a solid performance.

Additionally, last night the WTA officially announced that American star Gauff has qualified for this year’s year-end championships, becoming the third player after Sabalenka and Swiatek to secure a singles spot. The Russian duo Mira Andreeva and Schneider have also officially qualified for the year-end doubles championships, becoming the fifth pair to lock in a spot.

Moving on to other news: Last night Beijing time, the International Tennis Hall of Fame revealed the 2026 nominees. Swiss legend Federer, Argentine great Del Potro, and Russian star Kuznetsova were all shortlisted.To be inducted, nominees must receive at least 75% approval votes from experts andfans alike.The final results and induction ceremony schedule will be announced before the end of this year.

Finally, let’s play a guessing game. The image below shows a player training on a treadmill. Without any hints, can you identify who she is?

In the last guessing game, fans gave the correct answer. That’s right, the person in the picture is American star Gauff.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Independent Thinker)