The 2026 China Open delivered historic victories across singles and doubles in Beijing, as Chinese tennis player Qinwen Zheng and Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic captured the women’s singles titles, respectively.
The doubles finals also had notable achievements, with Canadian Brazilian pair Gabriela Drabrowski and Luisa Stefani winning the women’s title and British duo Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool took home the men’s championship.
Entering the tournament as a wildcard ranked at No. 54 and working her way back from an elbow injury, Zheng made headlines by defeating fourth seed Mirra Andreeva in straight sets in the final.
Andreeva started off strong, taking a 2-0 lead in the opening set. However, Zheng fought back and saved three set points before taking control of the match, winning the first set 7-5.
She carried that momentum into the second set and closed out the match 6-4 with an ace.
“The feeling was incredible. To win here in Beijing in front of my home crowd is one of my dreams,” she said. “I’ve been through a very, very tough year.”
This victory made Zheng the first Chinese woman to win the China’s Open WTA 1000 title and her first tournament win since 2024. Her win represented a significant milestone in her return to competition after an injury-disrupted season.
“I felt like I just forgot how to compete after coming back from injury,” she told reporters. “Finally, after so many losses, I [found] my fire again.”
On the men’s side, Djokovic returned to the tournament for the first time in 11 years and continued his remarkable track record of 34-0 in Beijing. He captured his seventh China Open championship, marking the 102nd title of his career.
The Serbian defeated Australia’s Alex de Minaur in the final 7-6 (7-3) in the opening set and was trailing 1-0 in the second set when the match ended. De Minaur retired early in the second set due to an adductor injury.
“It’s a bit of a strange feeling, to be honest,” Djokovic told ATP Media. “I want to celebrate, because I’ve played one of the best weeks in the last couple of years. At the same time, he [De Minaur] retired at the beginning of the second, so it doesn’t feel right to jump around and be joyful. But deep inside, I’m very proud of this achievement.”
Djokovic experienced another shortened game in the semifinals. Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev was disqualified for hitting a spectator in the face with a ball, while Djokovic led 7-5 and 5-3.
In women’s doubles, Dabrowski and Stefani defeated top seeded Shuai Zhang and Katerina Siniakova with a decisive 6-1 and 6-2. The Canadian-Brazilian duo won their fifth title together.
“Obviously today’s performance was a really great culmination of the entire week, which was awesome for us,” Dabrowski said. “We brought a really high level. Our opponents forced us to do that with their reputation, the number of times we’ve played them.”
In men’s doubles, Cash and Glasspool defeated Dutch pair Sander Arends and David Pel 6-3, 3-6 and 10-6. This victory made them the first all-British duo to win the men’s doubles title in Beijing. This also marked their 11th title together and the third of the 2026 season.
Cash and Glasspool dominated in the first set, however the Dutch responded in the second, fending off the British in two break points to win the set. Cash and Glasspool regained control with an 8-4 lead in the tie breaking set, and closed out 10-6.
