Badosa shocks second seed Pegula at China Open

US Open finalist Jessica Pegula is out of the China Open after a round of 16 loss to Spain’s Paula Badosa.

The world number three American, seeded second in Beijing, lost 6-4, 6-0 in just over an hour.

An early break saw Badosa trail 3-1 in the first set, but the Spaniard won 11 of the next 12 games, including eight in a row, to secure her first victory over a top-five player since 2022.

“She’s one of the players I never want to face,” said Badosa, world number 19.

“She’s very solid, hits very flat and changes direction very well, so I knew it was going to be difficult.

“Yesterday I prepared for a battle, but I think everything worked out pretty well today.”

She will face Zhang Shuai in the quarter-finals after the world number 595 continued her remarkable run in the tournament with a 6-4 6-2 victory over Poland’s Magdalena Frech.

Zhang came into her home event on the back of 24 consecutive losses spanning more than 600 days, the second-longest streak on the WTA Tour in the open era, which began in 1968 when professionals were finally allowed to play in Grand Slam tournaments.

The two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist, whose career has been plagued by injuries, is also the lowest-ranked player to ever compete in the main draw of the China Open, a WTA 1000 event.

But the 35-year-old has won four matches in Beijing without dropping a set, including a second-round victory over US Open semi-finalist Emma Navarro.