Beijing Circuit: Qinwen claims her first title at the 1000-point event

Chinese player Zheng Qinwen, ranked 54th in the world, captured her first WTA 1000 title by defeating young Russian Mira Andreeva, the fifth seed, 7-5, 6-4 in the Beijing Open final. The 24-year-old Olympic champion in Paris won the match in 1 hour and 43 minutes against Andreeva, who was playing in her first final since winning the Roland Garros title in early June.

Zheng Qinwen became the first Chinese player to win a 1000-point title at the Beijing Open, a tournament that began in 2004, and reaffirmed her return to top form by claiming her sixth career WTA title.

The Hubei province native had reached a career-high ranking of fourth in the world 16 months ago but fell outside the top 100 following elbow surgery in the summer of 2025 and inconsistent results during the first half of the 2026 season. In early September, Zheng Qinwen reached the quarterfinals of the US Open after navigating through the qualifying draw.

The runner-up at both the 2024 Australian Open and the 2024 WTA Finals was making her second appearance in a WTA 1000 final. In 2024, she lost the 1000-point Wuhan Open final to world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka. According to the draw, the Belarusian will face Zheng again in the second round of this year’s Wuhan Open (October 12–18).

Zheng Qinwen benefited from a wildcard entry granted by the Beijing Open organizers, allowing her direct entry into the main draw. She became the fourth player to win a 1000-point title as a wildcard, joining Russian Maria Sharapova (Cincinnati 2011) and Canadians Bianca Andreescu (Indian Wells 2019) and Victoria Mboko (Montreal 2025).

Meanwhile, Andreeva suffered her second loss in a 1000-point final this season, after being defeated in the Madrid Open final in early May. The Russian player had won her first two 1000-point titles in 2025, at the Dubai and Indian Wells tournaments. Andreeva will rise to world No. 3, the highest ranking of her career.