US Open Girls Champion Sun Xinran receives wildcard for China Open debut

On the heels of winning the US Open Girls Championship, 16-year-old Sun Xinran will return home to make her main-draw debut at the China Open. The World Junior No.1 has accepted a wildcard into the prestigious WTA 1000, where she will play the first WTA tour-level match of her young career.

Sun joins a blockbuster women's field that already includes reigning US Open champion and World No. 1 Elena Rybakina, China's Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, and Grand Slam champions and former No. 1s Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, and Naomi Osaka. Beijing's last two champions, Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova, are also set to return.

The Shenzhen-born Sun enjoyed a week to remember in New York, where she became China's second junior girls Grand Slam champion. She follows in the footsteps of Wang Xiyu, champion of the 2018 US Open. Sun also made the finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon earlier this year.

"It was really big pressure because I was in a final a third time and I lost the first two times," Sun said after her New York triumph. "But I think it was such big experience. So I prepared for the third time.

"First, I wanted to sleep well because the last two times I was so nervous. This time I want to just focus on my tactic and not think about the result. I think this was really important."

Sun got her good night of rest and played with remarkable poise and patience to defeat No. 5 seed Anna Pushkareva 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 in Saturday's final. In July, Pushkareva bounced back from a set down to edge Sun in a 2-hour and 23-minute Wimbledon final. The match was the longest girls' final in Wimbledon history, and the loss left Sun heartbroken.

But facing Pushkareva with a title on the line once again, Sun refused to let the 17-year-old mount a similar comeback. Sun dropped the second set, but responded by sweeping the next six games to win her first Grand Slam title.

"It’s already her third [Grand Slam] final and I’m so happy for her," a gracious Pushkareva said. "She really, really deserves this."

After shedding tears of relief and joy, Sun remained steadfast in her desire to keep her head low and feet firmly planted on the ground. She will celebrate with a good meal, and then, just like her idols Li Na and Novak Djokovic, she will get back to work.

"This is just the first step and I don't want to be like, this is so important," Sun said. "I think I just want to enjoy today, and tomorrow we need to start working. Next week, I need to go back to the court and focus on the next tournament."

Founded in 2004, the China Open is Asia's largest and most prestigious tennis event, hosting the world's best on the ATP and WTA Tours for the largest prize purse in Asia. The women's event is a WTA 1000, one of 10 top-tier mandatory tournament for the WTA Tour. Main-draw play begins on September 30.