Elena Rybakina is set to headline her first-ever tournament as the world No 1, with the newly-crowned US Open winner the top seed at the China Open.
The three-time Grand Slam winner overtook Aryna Sabalenka in the WTA Rankings after her title run at the season-ending Grand Slam and the WTA 1000 event in Beijing will be their first event since the New York tournament.
This year’s China Open runs from 30 September until 11 October at the National Tennis Centre, and it is the ninth and penultimate WTA 1000 event on the calendar with the Wuhan Open the final tournament.
Amanda Anisimova is the defending champion after the American defeated Linda Noskova 6-0, 2-6, 6-2 in the 2025 final as she won her second WTA 1000 title.
How Many Players Will Feature In The Main Draw?
The China Open is a 96-player singles main draw tournament with the top 32 players on the entry list will be seeded and they will all enjoy byes into the second round.
Eight players have received wildcards with former world No 4 Zheng Qinwen the highest-profile WTA star.
WTA News
Two players have used their protected ranking to enter; 12 players will come via the qualifying tournament while the rest are made up of direct entries via the WTA Rankings.
About The Seeds…
The seedings are based on WTA Rankings of 21 September 2026 and Rybakina headlines the top half of the draw with world No 2 Sabalenka the first name on the bottom half.
Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Mirra Andreeva, Linda Noskova, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Muchova, Iga Swiatek and Marta Kostyuk complete the top 10.
Three players who were set to be seeded have withdrawn with Victoria Mboko (No 15), Alex Eala (No 18) and Madison Keys (No 22) missing from the WTA 100 line-up.
Maria Sakkari, Nikola Bartunkova and Cristina Bucsa are the last three players on the seeded list with Peyton Stearns, Liudmila Samsonova and Donna Vekic just outside the cutoff list, although they could still be bumped up should others withdraw.
Who Will Miss The China Open?
The list continues to grow as the tally already sits at nine with Mboko (injured), Eala (representing the Philippines at the Asian Games) and Keys (illness) the highest-profile stars missing.
2021 US Open winner Emma Raducanu will also miss the tournament as she is still recovering from a stress fracture in her shin.
But that list is likely to get longer before the WTA 1000 event gets underway with Rybakina struggling with a leg injury and Anisimova battling a wrist problem.
When Is The Draw?
The WTA states that the draw will take place three days before the main draw gets underway, which means the big day will be Sunday, 27 September in Beijing.
WTA China Open Entry List
Seeds
1. Elena Rybakina
2. Aryna Sabalenka
3. Jessica Pegula
4. Coco Gauff
5. Mirra Andreeva
6. Linda Noskova
7. Elina SVitolina
8. Karolina Muchova
9. Iga Swiatek
10. Marta Kostyuk
11. Amanda Anisimova
12. Belinda Bencic
13. Iva Jovic
14. Diana Shnaider
15. Sorana Cirstea
16. Naomi Osaka
17. Elise Mertens
18. Jasmine Paolini
19. Anna Kalinskaya
20. Emma Navarro
21. Anastasia Potapova
22. Maja Chwalinska
23. Marie Bouzkova
24. Ekaterina Alexandrova
25. Sara Bejlek
26. Ann Li
27. Diane Parry
28. Leylah Fernandez
29. Jelena Ostapenko
30. Maria Sakkari
31. Nikola Bartunkova
32. Cristina Bucsa
Peyton Stearns
Liudmila Samsonova
Donna Vekic
Magdalena Frech
Clara Tauson
Barbora Krejcikova
Janice Tjen
Katerina Siniakova
Xinyu Wang
Daria Snigur
Oleksandra Oliynykova
Tamara Korpatsch
Lilli Tagger
Tereze Valentova
Anhelina Kalinina
Mayar Sherif
Zeyneg Sonmez
Shuai Zhang
Viktorija Golubic
Yuliia Starodubtseva
Camila Osorio
Ashlyn Krueger
Daria Kasatkina
Katie Boulter
Talia Giblson
Elena-Gabriela Ruse
Caty McNally
Elisabetta Cocciaretto
Panna Udvardy
Kimberly Birrell
Maya Joint
Anna Bondar
Renata Zarazua
Darja Vidmanova
Lalana Tararudee
Petra Marcinko
Katie Volynets
Alycia Parks
Paula Badosa
Magda Linette
Hanne Vandewinkel
Maria Timofeeva
Wildcards
Gao Xinyu
Lin Yujun
Qu Yihan
Shao Yushan
Sun Xinran
Yuan Yue
Zheng Qinwen
Zhu Lin
Protected Ranking
Aoi Ito
Sonay Kartal
Twelve qualifiers still be determined.
