China Open quarterfinals: Who's in, how they got here and match breakdowns

We're down to the final eight in Beijing, and the second day of fourth-round action wasn't without its surprises.

After fourth-seeded Mirra Andreeva was knocked off by Sonay Kartal, top seed Iga Swiatek was upset by Emma Navarro, punctuated by a bagel in the decider.

Here's a full breakdown of the China Open quarterfinalists: how they got to this point, who they're playing next and what to keep an eye on in their next matches. 

The Final 8 in Beijing

Eva Lys

Perhaps the story of the tournament thus far, the 23-year-old German had never even advanced past the third round at a WTA 1000 tournament. Now she's into the quarters. 

She also picked up her first career Top 10 win after upsetting eighth-seeded Elena Rybakina in the third round. She followed that up with a come-from-behind win over McCartney Kessler in the fourth round. After that career highlight, she struggled to hold back tears on Lotus Court.

Coco Gauff [2]

Following an earlier-than-expected exit in New York, and an overall down end of summer following her French Open title, Gauff has looked calm, cool and collected in gritty three-set wins over tough opponents in Leylah Fernandez and Belinda Bencic. The defending champ in Beijing admitted before the tournament that she feels very little pressure post-Slam season, and it shows. She looks relaxed and doesn't appear to be pressing, overcoming some tough and uncomfortable moments with poise. 

Her win over Bencic also qualified her for the WTA Finals in Riyadh, a nice boost going into her quarterfinal match. 

Jasmine Paolini [6]

After leading Italy to a defense of its Billie Jean King Cup title last week, Paolini has yet to drop a set this week in Beijing, earning straight-set wins over Anastasija Sevastova, Sofia Kenin and Marie Bouzkova. In fact, in those six sets, only one time did she lose more than three games. (Bouzkova took five games in the second set on Tuesday.)

Currently ranked No. 8, Paolini needs to keep winning to earn a spot in the year-end WTA Finals.

Amanda Anisimova [3]

How tough is Anisimova? The US Open finalist gutted out a wild 13-11 tiebreak -- after blowing five set points and saving four -- in her win over Shuai Zhang, and then recovered after dropping the first set 6-1 to beat 13th seed Karolina Muchova in the fourth round.

More proof that the 24-year-old, coming off yet another disappointing Slam final, is as resilient (and dangerous) as they come. 

Sonay Kartal

Not to be outdone by Lys, the World No. 81 is having a dream week of her own in Beijing. She didn't drop a set in her first three matches -- wins over Alycia Parks, 14th seed Daria Kasatkina and Maya Joint -- before upsetting Andreeva in the fourth round. It was her first-ever Top 10 win, and now she's into her first WTA 1000 quarterfinals. After her fourth-round showing at Wimbledon this summer, this is more evidence that Kartal can play with -- and beat -- anyone. 

Linda Noskova [26]

The 20-year-old Czech eased past Anastasia Potapova in the fourth round after topping two home favorites in her first two matches (Xinyu Wang and Qinwen Zheng, who retired down 3-0 in the third). She's into her second WTA 1000 quarterfinal of the year, after reaching the final eight in Dubai in February.

Emma Navarro [16]

What a statement from the American, who had taken just five games from Swiatek in two previous meetings coming into their fourth-round match. After dropping the second set, the 24-year-old showed serious resolve (and serious game) in handing the six-time Grand Slam champion a bagel in the decider. 

It was Navarro's fourth career Top 3 win -- her first since the 2024 US Open -- and this is the farthest she's advanced at a WTA 1000 tournament or higher since the Australian Open earlier this year.

Prior to upsetting Swiatek, Navarro picked up routine wins over Elena-Gabriela Ruse and Lois Boisson (who retired down 1-0 in the second set) in her first two matches. 

Jessica Pegula [5]

It was after midnight in Beijing when Pegula closed out a challenging three-set win over the ever-difficult and endlessly crafty Marta Kostyuk. It was her second straight taxing match after needing to save three match points, and win an 11-9 tiebreak, against Emma Raducanu. How much gas does she have left in the tank? On the flip side, with momentum on a player's side, those tough wins are often precursors to huge results. 

The Matches

Eva Lys vs. Coco Gauff [2]

Gauff will be the favorite in this one, for obvious reasons, but it would be foolish to discount Lys, who's in the midst of a dream run and will be playing with house money in uncharted territory (for her). This will be their first career matchup, though they do share a pretty sweet Love Island connection. 

Jasmine Paolini [6] vs. Amanda Anisimova [3]

What a fascinating matchup of two Top 10 players with tons of success and goodwill, but still plenty to prove. Paolini got to two Slam finals last year, and Anisimova has gotten to two this year. Neither has gotten over the hump at majors. Paolini has won two WTA 1000 tournaments, and Anisimova is chasing her second after winning the Qatar Open at the start of the year.

Anisimova won their one previous meeting, on clay -- a dominant 6-2, 6-1 beatdown -- but somehow they haven't played each other in over four years. You can throw that result out the window. 

This one has WTA Finals implications, too. If Anisimova win, she's in. If Paolini wins, she moves up to No. 8 on the live leaderboard, in front of Rybakina. 

Sonay Kartal vs. Linda Noskova [26]

This certainly wasn't the quarterfinal match we (anyone?) was expecting, but we're here for it. It's a golden opportunity for both players, and it will be a breakthrough result for whoever wins. They played once before, on clay, last year. Noskova won that match, in Rome, in straight sets. 

Emma Navarro [16] vs. Jessica Pegula [5]

Isn't it ironic that just a week after teaming up to lead the USA to the Billie Jean King Cup final, they're squaring off against each other in the quarterfinals? We love this all-American battle. They've only played twice before, and Pegula has taken both of those matches: earlier this year on grass, in Bad Homburg -- a three-set win -- and last year in Miami, on a hard court.