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Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina is guaranteed to climb in the WTA rankings after reaching the quarterfinals of the China Open, a WTA 1000 tournament in Beijing. The 32-year-old has enjoyed a consistent season and is closing in on her career-best ranking.
Svitolina set to return to the top six
Svitolina reached the quarterfinals in Beijing after defeating American player Ann Li in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3. It is the fifth time in 2026 that the Ukrainian has reached this stage of a tournament.
The result guarantees Svitolina at least sixth place in the live rankings, regardless of her next match. She began the tournament ranked seventh in the world with 4,809 points and has since moved to 5,024 points in the live standings.
Karolina Muchova can no longer overtake Svitolina after losing her match and being eliminated in Beijing. Iga Swiatek also cannot catch the Ukrainian, even if the Polish player wins the tournament, according to the current points projections.
Svitolina last held sixth place in the world on October 25, 2021. Her career-high ranking remains No. 3, which she first achieved in September 2017. She also spent time among the world's top three in 2018 and 2019.
A successful 2026 season
Svitolina’s performance in Beijing adds to an impressive season in which she has already won two titles: the WTA 250 tournament in Auckland and the prestigious WTA 1000 event in Rome.
Her Rome title run was particularly notable. Along the way, she defeated Elena Rybakina, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff. She also reached the final of the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai.
At Grand Slam events, Svitolina reached the Australian Open semifinals for the first time in her career and made the French Open quarterfinals for the sixth time. She also reached the semifinals at WTA 1000 events in Indian Wells and Toronto, as well as the WTA 500 tournament in Stuttgart.
By reaching the Beijing quarterfinals, Svitolina has matched her second-best result at the China Open.
When Svitolina plays her next match
Svitolina is scheduled to face China’s Zheng Qinwen in the Beijing quarterfinals on Friday, October 9. The match is scheduled to start no earlier than 10 a.m. Kyiv time.
It will be their first meeting on the WTA Tour. Zheng reached the last eight after defeating Alina Charaeva in three sets, while Svitolina advanced with a straight-sets win over Li.
