BEIJING — Coco Gauff advanced to the quarterfinals of the China Open as Naomi Osaka retired 3-6, 6-4 due to a back injury.
Osaka, a four-time major champion, was ahead 4-3 in the second set before Gauff won her third straight match.
Gauff, ranked 6th, helped carry Osaka’s bag off the court.
Gauff hit six aces compared to Osaka’s ace in WTA tournaments and improved to 3-2 over her opponent.
She will next meet No. 115 Yuliia Starodubtseva, who defeated No. 14 Anna Kalinskaya 7-5, 6-0.
Paula Badosa advanced to her eighth career quarterfinal at a WTA 1000 level event after winning 11 of her last 12 games with a 6-4, 6-0 win over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula.
“She’s one of the players I would never want to face,” said Badosa, who previously lost 0-3 against Pegula. “She’s very solid, hits very flat and changes direction very well.” . “I was prepared for a battle, but I think everything went pretty well today.”
Badosa will next face 35-year-old Chinese player Zhang Shuai. Zhang Shuai continued her revival with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Poland’s Magdalena Frech.
Zhang enters the China Open on a losing streak of 24 matches, ranked 595th, but has yet to drop a set in four matches this week.
Zhang has now reached the women’s tour quarterfinals for the first time since Tokyo 2022 and her first WTA 1000 tournament since Cincinnati the same year.
“Everyone is ranked higher than me in this draw,” Zhang said. “I just have to get on the court and play. So there’s not much to prepare or think about. I’ll just focus on myself.”
