Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik (357) and China's Shang Juncheng (587) lost 4:6, 4:6 to Dutchmen Sander Arends (47) and David Pel (49) in the semifinal of the ATP-500 tournament in Beijing. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
A surprise run to the semifinal
The very fact that the Kazakh-Chinese duo reached the semifinal is already a sensation. By ranking, they did not make the entry list for the China Open. However, after receiving a wild card from the organizers, they came close to reaching the final.
How the match unfolded
In the first set, the decisive moment was the Dutch pair's break in the fifth game – 6:4. Arends and Pel began the second set by again taking their opponents' serve. Bublik and his partner returned to the match by making a break in the eighth game. However, they could not confirm it. After 62 minutes, the Dutch pair stopped the match – 6:4, 6:4. The winners' advantage in total points won was telling – 64:42.
Women's draw: Rybakina and Sabalenka fall
Elena Rybakina exited the women's draw of China Open-2026 the day before. In the second round, the world No. 1 lost to the 118th-ranked player. Alina Charaeva, a native of Samara who has been playing under the flag of Armenia since July, won – 3:6, 6:4, 6:3.
Today in Beijing, the world No. 2 also lost. Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka fell in the third round to Nikola Bartunkova (34) – 4:6, 3:6. Throughout the entire match, Aryna never once broke the Czech player's serve.
About the tournament
The China Open tennis tournament is being held this year for the 25th time among men (ATP-500) and for the 27th time among women (WTA-1000). The total prize fund is $9.4 million.
In various years, the prestigious hard-court tournament in the Chinese capital has been won by Michael Chang, Jim Courier, Marat Safin, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Serena Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Maria Sharapova, Caroline Wozniacki, Iga Swiatek and other stars.
The 2025 Beijing champions – Italy's Jannik Sinner (1) and American Amanda Anisimova (11) – are not taking part in this year's tournament.