The 24-year-old Pole, champion in the Chinese capital in 2023, needed just 75 minutes to dispatch the wildcard entry and extend her record streak of opening-match wins at WTA tournaments to 67. Swiatek has not lost a first-round match since August 2021 in Cincinnati.
Yuan, ranked 110th, managed only nine points in the first set before briefly breaking Swiatek’s serve at the start of the second. But the four-time Grand Slam winner quickly regained control, maintaining her momentum after lifting the WTA 500 title in Seoul last week.
Swiatek improved her season record to 58-13 and will face Colombia’s Camila Osorio, ranked 83rd, in the third round. The pair last met at the 2023 Australian Open, where Swiatek prevailed 6-2 6-3.
With world number one Aryna Sabalenka sidelined due to health issues, Swiatek is the top seed in Beijing and has a chance to close the ranking gap on the Belarusian. Defending champion Coco Gauff and former winners Agnieszka Radwanska (2011, 2016) are among the event’s recent titleholders.
Poland’s other representatives, Magdalena Frech and Magda Linette, were knocked out earlier in the competition.
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Source: PAP