Sun Xinyan Reaches Guangzhou Open Semifinals and Sets Record

Sixteen-year-old Chinese tennis player Sun Xinyan reached the semifinals of the Guangzhou International Women’s Open on October 30, defeating American player Liu Jingwen in straight sets, 7-5, 7-6(2), at the Nansha International Tennis Center. At 16 years and 99 days old, Sun became the youngest singles semifinalist in tour history for Chinese tennis. Her world ranking climbed from 405th to 302nd, a new career high.

A Clash of Two Generations of Junior Grand Slam Champions

The quarterfinal match brought together two contrasting generations of junior major winners. Sun, who reached three junior Grand Slam finals this season—finishing as runner-up at Wimbledon and the French Open before winning the US Open junior title—faced Liu, the 2017 Wimbledon junior girls’ singles champion. Sun secured the opening set 7-5 by converting key opportunities against the American player, who reached the tournament semifinals through the qualifying rounds last year.

Saving Six Set Points in a Dramatic Second Set

The second set tested both players through a series of service breaks and extended rallies. Trailing late in the set, Sun saved six set points before forcing a tiebreak, which she won 7-2 to claim her third victory at the Guangzhou tournament. In post-match remarks, Sun acknowledged the pressure of the moment: 那时候我其实很紧张，也很自责。但是我听到现场很多观众的鼓励。现场有很多支持我的人，给了我很大的力量。很感谢你们在那个时候一直支持我，所以我才能一直加油，不想放弃。 (I was actually very nervous and hard on myself at that time. But I heard the encouragement from many spectators on-site. There were many people supporting me on-site, which gave me a lot of strength. I am very grateful that you supported me all along at that moment, so I could keep going and didn’t want to give up.) She also noted in her press conference that Zhang Shuai serves as her role model after Zhang previously triumphed at the same venue in 2013.

Shi Han’s Quarterfinal Battle

In the evening session, fellow Chinese competitor Shi Han faced Austria’s 4th seed Lily Tagger in a grueling quarterfinal that lasted 2 hours and 38 minutes. Tagger, who advanced through her previous two matches in a combined 2 hours and 19 minutes, won the opening set 6-4. Shi responded in the second set with a 6-3 victory, forcing a deciding third set. Both players traded games to 5-5 before Tagger secured a late break and closed out the match 7-5. Despite the defeat, Shi finished an impressive tournament run that included wins over Alevtina Ibragimova and Dayana Yastremska to reach her first tour-level quarterfinals.

Upcoming Semifinal Schedule at Nansha International Tennis Center

Tournament action continues on October 31 with the singles and doubles semifinals on the center court in Guangzhou. Venus Williams and Tseng Li-Mei will face the pairing of Polina Kudermetova and Maria Timofeeva in the doubles draw. In the singles semifinals, Sun Xinyan will face British player Harriet Dart, who eliminated 5th seed Paula Badosa. The second semifinal features Spain’s Caitlyn Querido against Austria’s Lily Tagger.