THREE of the four Round of 16 matches in Beijing produced a trio of massive upsets overnight, with the only one not following suit being a mid-match retirement to former number one Naomi Osaka. The Japanese star was a set and a break up on young gun and fellow Grand Slam winner Coco Gauff, before a tight back she sustained in practice “locked up” and forced her to retire at a set apiece.

It was the centrepiece match of the day with the two powerful hitters going toe-for-toe, but ended in a 3-6 6-4 result with Osaka stepping aside at the end of the second set once it was clear she was unable to compete at the level. Gauff moves through to the quarter finals while she wished Osaka well.

“I wasn’t sure if it was her hip or back, I just knew that towards the end she could barely jump on her serve,” Gauff said post-match. “So I knew that it was something that, in the moment, was probably bad but hopefully it’s something that’s not a long-term thing.”

While Gauff was the “expected” winner from the day’s play, literally none of the other three Round of 16 matches ran to script. Her compatriot and world number three – second seed in the event – Jessica Pegula was bundled out meekly by Spanish star Paula Badosa.

Badosa – now ranked 19th in the world after tumbling outside the Top 100 following injuries over the last 18 months – is hitting her best form coming into the end of the year, having already won the Citi Open back in August, while falling narrowly short at the Cincinnati Masters semi-final stage.

Funnily enough that was a three-set loss to Pegula, so the former world number three was able to turn the ables on her 30-year-old opponent and book her place in the last eight with a mindblowing 6-4 6-0 win in just 64 minutes.

In the clash, Badosa won 18 of a possible 19 first serve points (95 per cent), while Pegula struggled on her serve with just 11 of 25 off her first (44 per cent) and six of 16 off her second (38 per cent), all while failing to save any one of her five break points. She only broke once in the game and could only watch on as the Spanish star lit up the court.

While Badosa has the talent to beat the big names, the huge upset of Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtsewa over 14th seed Anna Kalinskaya was one for the history books. The 24-year-old lost to a qualifier ranked outside the Top 150 in her last tournament in Tunisia three weeks ago, but is now beaten Laura Siegemund, Barbora Krejcikova, Elina Avanesyan and Kalinskaya, the latest being 7-5 6-0.

Her second set bagel had to be seen to be believed as she won 14 of 21 points off her serve, saved both break points she faced and broke the highly touted Russian three times from five chances. It was an incredible end to a tight first set, closing out the match in 95 minutes to face Gauff in the quarter finals.

In the other match, Chinese wildcard Shuai Zhang defied all odds during the tournament to feed off the home crowd vibes to somehow string together four consecutive victories in Beijing. The 35-year-old veteran who is now ranked 595th in the world, had not won a main draw match all season from eight chances.

Mostly a doubles player these days, the former world number 22 – who does have three singles titles to her name across her illustrious career – reached the quarter finals thanks to an incredible 6-4 6-2 victory over the in-form Magdalena Frech.

The 31st ranked Polish player won in Guadalajara on September 16 and freshened up for the WTA 1000 Beijing Open. after reaching the Round of 16 following wins over talented opponents Alycia Parks and Diana Shnaider, the 23rd seed hit a roadblock in the form of the surprise packet, Zhang.

Zhang has some big scalps in the tournament – namely sixth seed Emma Navarro – and is now just three wins away from a remarkable title win having not won a single match in 2024 leading into the event. From winning her matches, Zhang has shot up to 249th in the world on the live rankings, a rise of 346 places. If she beats Badosa in the last eight, she can rise as high as 162nd in the world.

The players all get a day;’s rest as the remaining Round of 16 matches take place today, highlighted by top seed Aryna Sabalenka taking on American Madison Keys. Chinese top ranked player Qinwen Zheng and Amanda Anisimova face off on the centre court in the night session, while over on Court Lotus, two unseded players in Cristina Bucsa and Karolina Muchova battle it out ahead of the all-seeded contest between Mirra Andreeva and Magda Linette.