Sun advances, Qu impresses: China's next gen make their mark in Beijing

National heroine Zheng Qinwen was the headline attraction on Day 2 of the China Open, but it was also a day highlighted by the performances of China's next generation.

Four teenagers received wild cards to make their WTA main-draw debuts, and two in particular impressed. Junior No. 1 Sun Xinran, 16, entered the tournament on a wave of heightened attention, having collected her first junior Grand Slam crown last month at the US Open. She lived up to the chatter, thrilling the Diamond Court crowd with her range before Eva Lys retired trailing 6-1, 3-0, citing a foot injury.

Sun's 43-minute show-court experience was over in a flash, but out on Court 3, junior No. 19 Qu Yihan was involved in the second-longest match of the tournament so far against Harriet Dart. The 17-year-old didn't manage to pull off the upset, but both her grit and her game stood out as she battled against the British qualifier for 3 hours and 3 minutes, eventually falling 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5.

In her press conference, Sun admitted that she had been "really nervous" ahead of the match. Despite her junior accolades -- she also made the girls' finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year -- her professional highlights before this week consisted of a pair of W15 titles in Sharm el Sheikh at the end of 2025, and her first Top 200 win over Lina Gjorcheska in May's Istanbul WTA 125.

Those nerves only showed briefly. Sun dropped her serve in the first game of the match -- and then ran rampant through the next nine games, belying the rankings gulf between her No. 582 and Lys's No. 102. A succession of high-octane baseline battles with Lys, a quarterfinalist in Beijing last year, followed -- and more often than not, it was Sun who was able to find something special to end them. At 2-1, she switched up a full-power exchange on the 22nd shot with a drop shot winner; at 5-1, she hammered a backhand into the corner on the 23rd shot.

To the crowd's delight, there was no hint of a let-up. Another backhand winner sealed the set, and elicited another vocal exhortation from the teenager. Lys -- who was let down by seven double faults -- was unable to keep up, and pulled the plug three games later.

"Honestly I feel good on the court," said Sun. "I'm just making my tactic and just following what I need to do. Match go really well, like my way."

Sun will next face No. 27 seed Cristina Bucsa in the second round.

Qu comes close against Dart, but leaves an impression in defeat

For just over a set, Qu -- who is yet to defeat a player ranked in the Top 600 -- was unable to gain a foothold in the match as the experienced Dart advanced to a set and a break. But the 30-year-old was unable to convert four points to lead 6-2, 3-1, and from that point on, there was barely anything to choose between the pair as they treated the outside court fans to a classic. Dart's counterpunching and footspeed proved a tremendous foil to Qu's aggressive game style, and both players racked up the hot shots -- a stretch volley from Qu, a scampering counterdrop from Dart.

Qu showed tremendous resilience to level the match -- she led the second set 4-2 and held her first two set points at 5-4, but steadied herself to play a nerveless tiebreak. The decider seemed as though it was heading towards the same conclusion -- neither player faced a break point through the first 11 games -- until Qu's inexperience showed in the very last game.

Up 30-0, a brief lapse in concentration enabled Dart to snatch the last four points in a row to escape with victory. The World No. 116 advances to face No. 10 seed Iva Jovic in the second round.

Elsewhere, the two other teenage wild cards offered glimpses of their talent, but were ultimately outmatched. Anastasia Zakharova sped past 17-year-old Shao Yushan 6-0, 6-2 in 59 minutes, and qualifier Storm Hunter dismissed 16-year-old Lin Yu-Jun 6-2, 6-1 in 66 minutes.