What’s Happening at the 2026 China Open: Rybakina, Sabalenka and Zverev Fall as Djokovic Advances

Elena Rybakina, the newly crowned World No. 1 and 2026 US Open women’s singles champion, made her return to the WTA Tour, which unfortunately ended in a second-round defeat at the China Open. On the other hand, Alexander Zverev, the 2026 US Open men’s singles champion, powered past Shang Juncheng in the Round of 16 before being defeated by Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.

Rybakina played her first match against World No. 118 Alina Charaeva on Saturday, 3rd October 2026, and was beaten 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Charaeva recovered from a set down to produce one of the biggest upsets of the tournament so far, completing the victory in two hours and eleven minutes. This defeat was particularly unexpected given Rybakina’s world ranking and her stellar win at the US Open against Aryna Sabalenka in September. However, she struggled to maintain control against Charaeva, committing seven double faults.

Additionally, World No. 2 Sabalenka also suffered an early exit from the China Open, adding to the surprise results in the women’s draw. Despite making a strong start in the Round of 64 on Friday, 2nd October, against Renata Zarazua (6-1, 6-3), Sabalenka was stunned by Nikola Bartunkova in the Round of 32. This defeat signals that both finalists from the 2026 US Open have now seen their Beijing campaigns come to an end, with neither Rybakina nor Sabalenka able to carry their Grand Slam momentum into the tournament.

On the men’s side, Zverev required just 55 minutes to defeat the Chinese wildcard entry Shang, 6-0, 6-3, on the Diamond Court. Zverev established his authority and took the opening set without dropping a game. Shang, who was backed by an enthusiastic home crowd, showed great resistance. However, Zverev went on to close out the contest in straight sets. This victory set up one of the marquee matches of the 2026 China Open, with Zverev facing the six-time China Open champion Djokovic in the quarterfinals.

However, the German’s run in the tournament came to an end as Djokovic produced another trademark comeback, continuing to lead their head-to-head rivalry. Zverev took the opening set 6-4, but Djokovic responded strongly by levelling the match with another 6-4 set. Djokovic continued to break Zverev’s resistance and won the game 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 within two hours and 34 minutes.

Djokovic’s win sends him into the China Open semi-finals, where he will keep his bid for a seventh title in Beijing alive as he will now face Daniil Medvedev on 5th October at the Diamond Court. For Zverev, this defeat brings an end to his 2026 China Open campaign, despite making an extremely strong start against the six-time champion.

With Rybakina and Sabalenka already eliminated from the women’s draw and Djokovic continuing his remarkable campaign in Beijing, the China Open has already delivered several major talking points as the tournament now moves towards its final stage.

Follow RevSportz for more such updates.

The post What’s Happening at the 2026 China Open: Rybakina, Sabalenka and Zverev Fall as Djokovic Advances appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.