Qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva continues China Open hot streak against No. 10 seed Anna Kalinskaya

World No. 115 Yuliia Starodubtseva cruised past World No. 14 Anna Kalinskaya in another big upset. Starodubtseva won 7-5, 6-0 for her first career Top 20 win. She has yet to lose a set (8-0) in four China Open matches.

With the win, Starodubtseva became the first female qualifier to reach a China Open quarter-final since 2018 and the first to do so in a tournament debut since 2011.

In a chilly outdoor match, Starodubtseva wore a jacket and Kalinskaya used her towel as a blanket during a break. Both players made the other run all over the court during many competitive rallies in the first set. Leading 6-5, Starodubtseva broke Kalinskaya’s serve in the final game.

The second set was pure domination from Starodubtseva combined with fading effort from Kalinskaya. As Starodubtseva mounted her lead, Kalinskaya tried less and less, standing and watching an ace go by to go down 5-0. A double-fault from Kalinskaya on the final point of the seventh game summed up her second set.

Starodubtseva will next face World No. 6 Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals.

—Reporting by Ryan Loomer