Iga Świątek faces Elise Mertens in Beijing quarter-final after Gauff upset

Gauff's exit reshuffles the bracket

Elise Mertens beat Coco Gauff 6:3, 6:3 on Thursday, which left Iga Świątek facing Mertens rather than Gauff in the quarter-final. Gauff, the favourite, spoke afterwards about health problems that bothered her during the match. Mertens had a 0-5 record against Gauff before this win, and Gauff had not lost a match in two sets for several months. Mertens described her own approach in the match.

I played consistently and my serve worked, although I felt she was lacking some energy.

Mertens also combined singles and doubles across her career, and said she knows how to manage her energy. She reached the doubles semi-final with Diana Sznajder, and the pair will play on Saturday.

Świątek's record against Mertens

Świątek has beaten Mertens in both of their previous meetings, a year and two years ago, without dropping a set. Mertens is a former ranking leader and a strong doubles player, but she is currently 19th in singles. She has never reached the final of a 1000-level tournament. She reached the singles quarter-final of a 1000 event for the first time in 5.5 years, after her last such run in Madrid in 2021.

Asked about the match, Mertens said the following.

It will be hard, but there are no easy matches here anymore. Yes, I played her several times and it did not go my way, but anything can happen.

Bartosz Ignacik of Canal+Sport said several factors favour Świątek. He noted that she plays Mertens rather than Gauff, and that her win over Iva Jović, 6:1, 6:3 in the fourth round, showed a clear improvement.

Form and ranking stakes

Świątek won the Toronto title earlier this season, but her spring was weak, with her weakest clay season in years and a fourth-round exit at the US Open. Francisco Roig was named her coach in April, and Ignacik argues that mental strength has mattered more than coaching changes. Ignacik said Świątek has reduced the speed of her serve, and that she is looking for a more reliable first serve.

In the WTA Finals race Świątek is 10th, and a win over Mertens would add 175 points and move her to ninth. Reaching the tournament final would take her to eighth. She needs to gain more than 800 points on Karolina Muchova and more than 1200 on Elina Switolina to catch them. Marta Kostiuk is also in contention, but she did not enter Beijing and plans to play in Wuhan.

Schedule and what comes next

Świątek and Mertens are scheduled to meet on Friday at 13:00 Warsaw time, which is 19:00 in Beijing. Qinwen Zheng plays Switolina in the same evening session, not before 9:00 Polish time.

The semi-finals are on Saturday. Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Wuhan Open, which starts on Monday, 12 October, and runs until Sunday, 18 October. Qinwen Zheng entered the main draw in Osaka's place, and the Wuhan tournament is the final WTA 1000 event of the 2026 season.