(Sports Correspondent: Imran Sohail)
Raducanu and Kartal Advance to China Open Third Round
Beijing, Sept 27, 2025 — Britain enjoyed a strong day at the China Open as Emma Raducanu and Sonay Kartal both secured straight-set wins to reach the third round.
Raducanu Battles Past Bucsa
British No.1 Raducanu overcame Spain’s Cristina Bucsa 6-3, 6-3 in a competitive match. Despite hitting fewer winners, Raducanu stayed solid in key moments, saving six break points in the opening set and finishing strongly to seal victory.
The 30th seed will now face American No.5 seed Jessica Pegula in the last 32. Speaking after the win, Raducanu impressed the Beijing crowd by addressing them in Mandarin, saying:
“I’m very happy to bounce back after a tough loss last week. Being half-Chinese, it feels special to play here.”
Kartal Stuns Kasatkina
British No.3 Sonay Kartal delivered one of the best performances of her career, defeating 14th seed Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 6-0 in under an hour. Kartal converted six of 11 break points and earned her third top-20 victory of the season.
Next, she will face 19-year-old Maya Joint, ranked 45 places above her, for a spot in the fourth round.
Other Highlights
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Iga Swiatek, the top seed, cruised past China’s Yue Yuan 6-0, 6-3.
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Naomi Osaka suffered a surprise defeat, losing 1-6, 6-4, 2-6 to Belarusian qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
