Bai Zhuoxuan Sweeps New Guangwang Champion in Jiujiang, Zhang Shuai Wins Opening Match in Hong Kong

On October 28th Beijing time, the WTA250 Jiujiang event proceeded with the women's singles opening round. Chinese competitor Bai Zhuoxuan shocked the crowd by beating the reigning Guangwang champion and top seed Li Jinyu 6-3, 6-1, securing her first career win against a top 50 opponent and her first tour win since her comeback. She will face Guo Hanyu in the next round.

Profile photo of Bai Zhuoxuan

Photo by: Li Jianyi

After winning a main draw match on tour for the first time in one year and five months, Bai Zhuoxuan said: “I have been through injuries and surgery before, so coming back to compete wasn’t easy. But I’ve always had confidence in my tennis. My body might have needed time, and now it’s time to return. Guo Hanyu and I have known each other since childhood and are good friends. Whoever wins, we want to put on a great match and play our best. We will see the final result.”

Profile photo of Yuan Yue

Photo by: Li Jianyi

In other matches, Yuan Yue lost 2-6, 6-3, 6-7(5) to lucky loser Pridankina, ranked No. 205 in the world, and exited in the first round. Yuan led 6-5 in the final set and had two match points in the twelfth game, but both were saved by her opponent. In the deciding tiebreak, Yuan made several errors and ultimately lost. After deducting last year's Hong Kong semifinal points, her current ranking dropped to No. 128. Pridankina earned another main draw win on tour since last year and will face defending champion Grubusic in round two.

Zhu Lin retired due to injury while trailing 3-6, 1-2 against third seed Parks, ending Parks’ eight-match losing streak. After her Jiujiang run, Zhu Lin’s singles record in this year’s Chinese season stands at 3 wins and 4 losses (1 win at China Open, 2 wins in Ningbo). Additionally, wildcard entrant Zhu Chenting was defeated 2-6, 1-6 by Tagger, exiting in the first round.

Profile photo of Zhang Shuai

Photo by: Visual China Group

At the concurrent WTA250 Hong Kong tournament, Chinese star Zhang Shuai cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Eriawez, completing a double win over the opponent following the Guangwang event and securing a strong start. She will face 6th seed Kalinskaya in the second round. Wang Xiyu lost 1-6, 4-6 to second seed Fernandez and failed to advance.

Top seed Bencic, who won last week in Tokyo, defeated Sasnovich 6-3, 6-4 to extend her singles winning streak to five matches and advance to round two, where she will meet Wang Yafan.