Maja Chwalinska and Nikola Bartunkova advance in Beijing doubles with 6:2, 6:2 win

First-round doubles victory in Beijing

Maja Chwalinska and Nikola Bartunkova advanced to the second round of the WTA 1000 doubles tournament in Beijing on Sunday, defeating Caty McNally and Janice Tjen in straight sets with a 6:2, 6:2 scoreline. The American-Indonesian pairing entered the opening-round encounter as the favorites, supported by McNally's extensive prior experience in doubles competition. Despite the expectations surrounding their opponents, Chwalinska and her 20-year-old Czech partner established firm control early in both sets. They combined aggressive return games with consistent serving to prevent McNally and Tjen from generating sustained momentum. The win marked a successful doubles start in the Chinese capital for the newly formed Polish-Czech tandem.

Dominant run across two sets

The opening set began with Tjen holding her opening service game at love, but Chwalinska and Bartunkova responded by taking command of the contest immediately afterward. The Polish-Czech pair earned their first service break in the third game, followed shortly by a second break that extended their advantage to 5:1. During that five-game sequence, the duo conceded no more than a single point per game, denying their opponents any opportunity to build offensive pressure. Chwalinska then served out the set comfortably, securing the 6:2 opener in 29 minutes without facing a single break point against her or Bartunkova's delivery.

Breaking through pressure in the second set

The second set followed a similar trajectory, starting with an immediate service break against Tjen in the first game. Bartunkova served next, and although a double fault created an early 0-30 deficit, the pair recovered without facing a break point to consolidate the lead at 2:0. In the third game, McNally built a 40-0 lead before Chwalinska and Bartunkova pushed the game to a double break point, though McNally eventually closed out the game to keep the score at 2:1. The fourth game tested the Polish-Czech tandem when McNally and Tjen earned two break points on Chwalinska's serve, but Chwalinska and Bartunkova defended both chances to hold for 3:1. They followed by breaking Tjen again on a deciding point in the fifth game, establishing a 4:1 cushion that they carried through to complete the 6:2, 6:2 win.

Previous singles results and next round

The doubles victory followed contrasting singles campaigns for both players earlier in the Beijing tournament. On Friday, Chwalinska competed for a place in the third round of the singles draw against Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska, who controlled the match with an offensive style and limited errors to win 6:3, 6:1 in 70 minutes. Hours after that loss, Chwalinska entered the doubles event with Bartunkova. The Czech player faced a demanding Sunday schedule, having played a singles match against world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka earlier in the day. Bartunkova, seeded 26th, defeated Sabalenka 6:4, 6:3 before returning to the court for doubles. In the second round, Chwalinska and Bartunkova will face either top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Shuai Zhang, or the Chinese pairing of Shuo Feng and Yue Yuan.