Gauff pulls away late to defeat 16-year-old Sun in Beijing

Coco Gauff has typically had her way against younger players, and that trend continued Monday night in Beijing, though not without a fight. The World No. 4 pulled away late, winning nine of the final 10 games to beat 16-year-old Sun Xinran 7-5, 6-1 in 1 hour, 29 minutes and advance to the Round of 16 for the fourth consecutive year.

Beijing: Scores | Order of play | Draws

Gauff has now won 24 of her 28 career matches at the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz level against opponents younger. Her only loss to a teenager during that span came against eventual champion Victoria Mboko in Montreal in 2025.

Despite the result, Gauff had nothing but praise for the young Chinese standout.

"I think she's a little bit more mature than I was at 16," Gauff said in her post-match interview. "I think I got a little bit more frustrated than she did. But she's an incredible player. I knew going in it was going to be a tough match. The junior career that she's had is incredible, and obviously she's going to do great at this level.

"I think this is the first of many matches on this court and many matches that we will play against each other. I'm looking forward to the future matchups we have."

After Gauff and Sun traded six-minute service holds in the opening two games, Gauff struck first with a break at love for a 2-1 lead. Sun immediately answered with a break of her own to level at 2-2, then held for 3-2, helping set the tone for a fiercely contested opener.

A critical moment came with Gauff serving to stay in the first set at 5-4. Sun appeared to hit another winner for 15-30, but the side panels flickered during the rally, forcing the point to be replayed. Gauff took the next three points to hold for 5-all.

A backhand return winner gave Gauff the break for 6-5 in the ensuing game, and she closed out the set after 58 minutes with a love hold. 

Gauff carried that momentum into the second set, winning a fourth consecutive game to seize control of the match. Sun managed to break for 3-1, but Gauff responded by taking the final three games to secure the victory and continue her success on Chinese soil.

Excluding team events, Gauff owns the highest career winning percentage at WTA-level tournaments in China this century, compiling a 24-3 record (88.9%).

And, as has increasingly been the case in recent months, Gauff's net play helped drive her success. She won 17 of 22 points at the net, compared with Sun's 6 of 10 mark. She also posted a positive winners-to-unforced errors ratio, striking 26 winners against 21 unforced errors.

Next up is No. 13 seed Elise Mertens, against whom Gauff owns a 5-0 career record, including a comeback victory in Dubai earlier this year.

Before turning her attention to the next round, Gauff took one final moment to reflect on her latest opponent. She even offered a player comparison for Sun, who entered the week ranked No. 582 and earned her first Top 100 and Top 50 victory against Cristina Bucsa in the second round.

"She doesn't have any major weaknesses," Gauff told reporters. "She can get a lot of balls back and play aggressive. She hits it real flat. Kind of reminds me of Jess [Pegula] a little bit. Her standout shot? I think it depends on the player. Today she was hitting her forehand line really well. Obviously she has a great backhand, too. Killed me on a couple backhand crosses."