Belgian Elise Mertens stunned Poland’s Iga Swiatek 7-6 (0), 6-3 in the China Open 2026 quarterfinal on Friday.
The 30-year-old, ranked 19th in the world, took one hour and 50 minutes to beat the six-time Grand Slam winner and reach her third WTA 1000 semifinal of her career and her first since 2021.
Swiatek is the third Grand Slam winner Mertens has defeated in this tournament, earlier seeing off Jelena Ostapenko and Coco Gauff.
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“Sometimes you just grow into a tournament,” said Mertens after the match.
Mertens will now take on home favourite Zheng Qinwen for a spot in the final after she beat Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-6 (6) earlier in the day.
Published on Oct 09, 2026
