China Open 2025: Emma Raducanu and Sonay Kartal ease into third round in Beijing
• 2 MINUTE READ
Britain’s Emma Raducanu and Sonay Kartal are into the third round of the China Open for the first time in their careers after both players cruised to victory in Beijing.
British No.1 Raducanu knocked out Spain’s Cristina Bucsa 6-3, 6-3 to mark her first win in Beijing. Meanwhile, Kartal continued her excellent run of form by dispatching 14th seed Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 6-0 - marking her third career top 20 win and second over Kasatkina this year.
Raduanu - who had receive a bye in the first round of the China Open - made a fast start to her China Open debut as she brushed aside world No.67 Bucsa in an hour and 38 minutes to set up a blockbuster third round meeting against Jessica Pegula.
“Christina was playing amazing,” Raducanu said in her post-match interview. “I’m very happy to have gotten over it and after a tough one last week (in Seoul) to bounce back. I really want to do well here - I’m half Chinese so it’s great to come back here.”
At 3-3 in the opening set, the former US Open champion managed to wrestle control, winning five consecutive games to place one foot in the third round.
The Briton made another fast start in the second set, opening up a 2-0 lead before Bucsa fought back to draw level. The world No.67’s joy didn’t last for long however, as Raducanu immediately got on the front foot once again before powering to a first victory in the Chinese capital.
Next up, Raducanu will take on world No.7 Pegula for the third time in her career. The American leads the head-to-head 2-1 having edged the Brit 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2 in their most recent meeting at the Miami Open quarter-finals back in March.
Raducanu’s only win over Pegula came in another tight three set battle at the 2024 Lexus Eastbourne Open.
Meanwhile, Kartal backed up her opening round victory against Alycia Parks with another powerful performance against 14th seed Kasatkina.
The British No.3 needed just over an hour to bypass the Australian, with the win signifying her second victory over the former world No.8 this year after she defeated her at the HSBC Championships this summer.
It was a shaky start for both players, with four breaks of serve opening up the second round encounter. However, it was the British star who managed to settle first as she sealed the decisive break before seeing out the set.
It was a devastating second set from Kartal, who lost just one point on serve and won 64% (9/14) of return points on her way to rattling off six games on the bounce to book her spot in the third round.
There, she’ll face another Australian in Maya Joint who knocked out 17th seed Diana Shnaider earlier today, 7-5, 6-1.
Joint is currently embarking on a breakthrough year on the WTA Tour, having picked up two WTA singles titles so far this year in Rabat and Eastbourne.
How to watch Emma Raducanu and Sonay Kartal at the China Open
Both Raducanu and Kartal will contest their third round matches at the China Open on Monday 29 September - timings TBC.
You can watch the matches live exclusively on Sky Sports Tennis and NOW TV.
