Wang Xiyu missed three months of play earlier in the season and has not recovered from the disruption ever since, notwithstanding a W100 semifinal in Evansville and a W75 title in Lexington in July-August. The former world No. 49 has not won a main draw match on tour since the Australian Open.
It is no wonder that she has collapsed out of the top-150 rankings and needed a wildcard to make her fourth career appearance at the China Open. It isn’t as if the 24-year-old has a notable track record in Beijing, where she has instead ended up losing all three first-round matches to date.
Guo Hanyu was 0-5 in first-round matches on tour until her exploits in Montreal a few weeks ago. The 27-year-old — who had not played on the main draw level in almost two years — qualified for the WTA 1000 Canadian event and stunned Yulia Putintseva, 6-3, 6-3, for a second-round finish.
This result comes in the backdrop of her rather brisk ITF-level form over the last year or so. Since the start of September 2024, she has surged into five finals — ranging from W35 to W50 level — and converted three of them into titles, which has been more than enough to deserve a wildcard at the China Open.
Head-to-head: 0-0. Wang Xiyu is about to play her first match since her bittersweet campaign at the US Open, which ended with a first-round loss to Jelena Ostapenko. It is about time for the left-hander to end her drought on tour, an occasion which could not come at a better place than home soil.
