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Iga Świątek and Donna Vekić Split First Two Sets in Beijing WTA 1000 Clash

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Iga Swiatek playing tennis
Image credit: Hameltion · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

In brief

Iga Świątek, the No. 8 seed, reached the third round of the Beijing WTA 1000 (China Open) by beating wildcard Xinyu Gao 6-2, 6-3, then met Croatia's Donna Vekić on October 5, 2026. The two split the opening two sets — Vekić took the first 6-4 and Świątek fought back to win a tiebreak 7-6 — before the match moved into a deciding third set. Live trackers from Polish outlets WP SportoweFakty and Super Sport reported differing in-progress scores as play continued, and the final result was not confirmed at the time of this report.

Iga Świątek, the No. 8 seed in Beijing, played a third-round match against Croatia's Donna Vekić, the No. 30 seed, at the China Open on October 5, 2026. According to live match reports from the Polish outlets WP SportoweFakty and Super Sport, the two players split the first two sets before play continued into a deciding third set; the outlets' live trackers showed differing in-progress scores, and the final result was not yet confirmed at the time of this report.

How the Match Unfolded

Vekić won the opening set 6-4, according to both SportoweFakty and Super Sport's live coverage. Świątek then rallied in the second set after falling behind, recovering to force and win a tiebreak, closing out the set 7-6. SportoweFakty's live report said Świątek took a bathroom break between the second and third sets. In the decider, the two outlets' live trackers diverged: SportoweFakty showed the set level at 1-1, while Super Sport reported Świątek had broken serve to lead 3-1 before its live coverage ended, with the match still in progress at the time of this report.

Świątek's Path to the Third Round

Świątek opened her Beijing campaign with a straight-sets win over local wildcard Xinyu Gao, ranked 244th, winning 6-2, 6-3 in one hour and 27 minutes, according to the WTA Tour's official recap. She converted five of eight break points in that match. The WTA site noted Świątek had previously won the title at this tournament in 2023 and entered this year's edition having won 146 WTA 1000 main-draw matches in her career.

For sure, it was a solid match.

— Iga Świątek, quoted by the WTA Tour after her second-round win over Xinyu Gao

Vekić's Run and the Head-to-Head

Vekić advanced to the third round by beating Chinese wildcard Zhu Lin 6-1, 6-2 in the second round, according to the Wikipedia entry for the tournament's women's singles draw. The Croatian player, an Olympic silver medalist and 2024 Wimbledon semifinalist according to the sports site BritWatchSports, entered the Świątek match having lost all four of their previous meetings, the WTA Tour's statistics report said.

Why the Match Matters

A win would help Świątek's push for the WTA Finals, according to Poland's Interia Sport, which reported she was competing with Elina Svitolina and Karolina Muchová for the remaining qualification spots. BritWatchSports similarly described the match as consequential for Świątek's Finals qualification standing, framing her 2026 season to that point as mixed and inconsistent.

Tournament Backdrop

Świątek vs. Vekić in Beijing, before the third-round match
Iga ŚwiątekDonna Vekić
SeedNo. 8
Second-round resultdef. Xinyu Gao 6-2, 6-3
Notable mark2023 Beijing champion (WTA Tour)
Head-to-head entering R34-0

Questions

What was the score between Iga Świątek and Donna Vekić in Beijing?
Vekić won the first set 6-4 and Świątek won the second 7-6 in a tiebreak. Live trackers then diverged on the third-set score — SportoweFakty showed it level at 1-1, while Super Sport reported Świątek leading 3-1 — and the final result was not confirmed at the time of this report.
What round was the Świątek-Vekić match?
It was the third round of the China Open, a WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing, played on October 5, 2026.
What was the head-to-head record between Świątek and Vekić before this match?
Świątek led 4-0 in their career meetings, according to WTA Tour statistics.
Did Iga Świątek win the China Open before?
Yes, she won the tournament's title in 2023, according to the WTA Tour.
Why did this match matter for Świątek beyond the tournament itself?
A win was reported by Interia Sport and BritWatchSports to be important for her position in the race to qualify for the season-ending WTA Finals, where she was competing with players including Elina Svitolina and Karolina Muchová for remaining spots.

How the world is telling it

Sources

  1. WTA Tour — "By the numbers: Swiatek converts five breaks in China Open opener"
  2. WP SportoweFakty — "Donna Vekić – Iga Świątek relacja na żywo"
  3. Super Sport — "Iga Świątek – Donna Vekić NA ŻYWO. Relacja live z WTA Pekin"
  4. Interia Sport — "Godziny do meczu Świątek z Vekić, a tu wieści z Pekinu"
  5. Polsat Sport — "Świątek – Vekić. Wynik meczu"
  6. BritWatchSports — "Tennis WTA Beijing 2026: Iga Swiatek will hope to avoid upset curse against Donna Vekic"
  7. Wikipedia — "2026 China Open – Women's singles"

This piece was prepared with artificial intelligence and passed an automated source check before publication. If you see an error, ask for a correction. Request a correction or reply · How we make this

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