Noskova, Andreeva stay in control, dodge Beijing upsets
The upset bug has hit the China Open in a big way this weekend, with No. 1 seed Elena Rybakina and No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka exiting the tournament within 24 hours of each other.
The two newest and youngest Grand Slam champions on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz have proved immune, though. No. 5 seed and last year’s runner-up Linda Noskova needed just 55 minutes to dismiss Viktorija Golubic 6-2, 6-1 to return to the fourth round. She followed No. 4 seed Mirra Andreeva, who came from 4-2 down in the first set against Polina Kudermetova to wrap up a 6-4, 6-1 win in 68 minutes.
Tactically, Noskova and Andreeva couldn’t have been more contrasting — but what they had in common was a complete command of their respective game styles. Wimbledon champion Noskova dominated with front-foot, first-strike tennis, firing 31 winners in total past Golubic and never allowing the Swiss player to build points on her own terms.
The foundation of Noskova’s win was, once again, her serve — a shot that’s becoming one of the most formidable weapons on tour. She landed 77% of her first serves, and conceded only five points behind it — all in the second set. She suffered only one blip on serve, going down triple break point in the first game of the second set with three cheap unforced errors — but even that game turned into a showcase of her ability. Three unreturned serves and two winners later, Noskova had reeled off five straight points for the hold.
“It was a different match than the first one, especially with the conditions,” Noskova said to press. “It was a lot colder and much more windy. Once the match started, I had gotten into my rhythm and didn’t really notice it.”
The Czech player’s creativity was also on show. The quality of Noskova’s serve frequently means she has options on her plus-one shot, and she kept Golubic guessing by constantly mixing up her choices: a delicate drop shot here, taking it out of the air on a drive volley there, or simply a routine power groundstroke into the open court. In the second set, the 21-year-old began to flex her variety on return as well, at one point rushing the net to pull off an exquisite angled backhand volley winner.
By contrast, Andreeva often found herself on the back foot against the offensively-minded Kudermetova. The Roland Garros champion only struck three winners off the ground — six aces took her total to nine — compared to Kudermetova’s 25 (plus two aces). The No. 104-ranked Uzbek’s best points showcased all-court ability as well as baseline power — while her backhand was her most reliable weapon, Kudermetova’s highlights also included impressive touch on the drop shot and at net.
However, Andreeva was able to tighten up her game in blustery conditions, while still elevating it in key moments. From 4-2 down in the first set, the 19-year-old won 10 of the next 11 games, reducing her unforced error count from 12 in the first set to just six in the second. She also saved all five break points against her in the second set, finding a signature backhand winner down the line and two of her aces on three of those occasions.
Kudermetova proved increasingly unable to find winning shots with any consistency, racking up 48 unforced errors in total.
“I think today I felt more comfortable being more, like, a little bit further away from the baseline,” explained Andreeva afterwards. “Defending a lot, putting a lot of balls back in the court. I think that’s what I’ve been doing not bad. I feel like that’s also what she had trouble with. I knew no matter what I would just have to run for every ball and put as many balls back in the court as I can. I don’t know, however I want to put them, slice, I don’t know, drop shots. Whatever worked. That’s kind of the tactics that I had for today.”
Noskova will next face No. 19 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, who came from a set and 2-0 down to defeat No. 11 seed Diana Shnaider 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 — her third win in four meetings with the Roland Garros semifinalist. An unusual shot selection enabled Alexandrova to turn the match in her favor: down 2-1 in the second set, she broke up a big-hitting baseline battle with a casually flicked angled slice winner out of nowhere. It took Shnaider completely by surprise, and Alexandrova went on to capture the key break back in that game.
The 31-year-old advanced to the last 16 at WTA 1000 level or above for the second time in 2026 (following Cincinnati), and for the first time in her career in Beijing. Her record against Noskova is tied at 1-1 — Alexandrova won their only hard-court encounter 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-2 in the 2025 Monterrey quarterfinals, but Noskova avenged that loss 6-1, 6-1 on the clay of Stuttgart this year.
Andreeva will face the surging Daria Snigur for the first time in the last 16. The Ukrainian needed just 47 minutes to rout Taylah Preston 6-1, 6-0, conceding just eight points in the second set to advance to the fourth round at a WTA 1000 tournament for the first time. It was a stark contrast to the World No. 46’s first two matches in Beijing, in which she had to battle back from a set down to defeat both qualifier Katarzyna Kawa and No. 14 seed Jasmine Paolini.