Ahead of WTA debut in Beijing, get to know 16-year-old junior No. 1 Sun Xinran
BEIJING -- The China Open will offer an early look at one of the junior game’s leading young players on Thursday, when 16-year-old Sun Xinran makes her tour-level debut.
The Chinese junior World No. 1, who recently won the US Open junior Grand Slam title, received a main-draw wild card and will face Eva Lys in the first round in Beijing.
“I'm just really happy that I have this chance to play my first WTA 1000, especially in main draw,” Sun said to wtatennis.com. “Here, all players are really so hard to play, and I just want to play my tennis and fight for every point.”
Sun is expected to play more professional events over the next several years. Ahead of her first match on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, get to know the Chinese teenager.
Third time's the charm
Sun’s US Open junior title was the biggest result of her career to date. She defeated Anna Pushkareva 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 in the final after reaching the championship matches at Roland Garros and Wimbledon earlier in the season.
At Roland Garros, Sun lost to Alisa Oktiabreva. Pushkareva then defeated her 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 in the Wimbledon final, making their rematch in New York a particularly satisfying one.
Xinran Sun is the 2026 Junior Girls' Singles champion! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/hLHyuRVVUB
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 12, 2026
"Losing finals at French Open and Wimbledon was really tough for me, and I was really sad after that," Sun said. "After, I talked with my coach and we were talking about what happened in the final, and what we need to change with US Open coming up.
"Again, I got into the final. That was really a surprise for me, and this time we just prepared good, we focused on our tactic and just didn't think about losing now. We really did it, and I'm so happy."
From Shenzhen to Serbia
Born in Shenzhen, China, Sun was introduced to tennis by a familiar face.
Her mother did not play professionally but enjoyed the sport recreationally, and Sun quickly took to it after joining her on the court.
"I was so young, and I just went to the tennis courts so many times, and I start to play a little bit," Sun said. "I saw I have talent and I also liked it, so I just start to play. After I have some [good] results, and I decided to go to Serbia and then tried to play professional."
Sun, at the help of her family, relocated to Belgrade, Serbia's capital, and has been residing there since she was 10 years old. She trains at Tennis Park Belgrade and has been coached by Goran Zivotic and Goran Krivokuca for the past five years.
She's played several professional events at the ITF/World Tennis circuit and WTA 125 level already, amassing a 23-10 career record and won two W15 titles in Sharm El Sheikh in October and November of 2025.
At the junior level, she became the first Chinese player to win two J500 titles, emerging victorious at the Orange Bowl at Fort Lauderdale (December 2025) and in Milan (May 2026). In June 2026, she became the third female player from China to reach the No. 1 junior ranking alongside Wang Xiyu (2018) and Xu Shilin (2014).
"It's really good I can be World No. 1 in the juniors, but it's a really big difference to professional tennis because players are much stronger and everything is better, their technique," Sun said. "I think I need to improve more of my power, and I also can learn a lot from this tournament."
One of her idols is also a wild card in Beijing
When asked who some of her biggest idols are in the sport, Sun quickly glanced to a nearby television screen that showcased a graphic of some of the top stars competing in Beijing.
Front and center on that screen was former World No. 4 Zheng Qinwen, who also received a main-draw wild card for the China Open. Sun remembers watching Zheng win the gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, and pinpointed to a Round of 16 match where Zheng trailed a set and 5-3 down against Emma Navarro.
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5,638 | |
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3,566 | |
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3,035 | |
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3,018 | |
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2,917 | |
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2,898 |
Zheng, eventually, broke Navarro's serve to stay in the match and won the second-set tiebreak before clinching the win in the deciding set after 3 hours and 12 minutes -- 6-7(7), 7-6(4), 6-1. The next round, Zheng won in another comeback thriller -- 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(6) over Angelique Kerber -- and that amazed Sun even more.
"She was down in the score, and she just fought, and she won that match," Sun said. "[The next] match, she did the same. I just think her mentality is so good, and I want to be that player to fight, even if I have 0-5 down or set for the opponent."
Sun is part of the next generation of Chinese tennis, but at the moment, she's just grateful to have the chance to compete in Beijing and be at the same tournament as one of her idols, who congratulated her on her accomplishments.
"When I was talking to her, I congratulated her on her championship," Zheng said during her pre-tournament press conference. "And of course the championship last year, because these are really great achievements for the Chinese juniors. When I was a junior, I wasn't able to do that. I congratulated her on that.
"The second thing is I told her after one or two years that I will see you more often on the tour. She is very talented. I hope that in China we can see more similar players to elevate Chinese tennis to a higher level."
