Russian Alexandrova has arguably been the most improved woman on tour this year, broadening her reach before the confines of hardcourt success. She has reached the semifinal stage in seven events this year (on all three surfaces).
2025 WTA Tour
WTA 1000
China Open
National Tennis Centre, Beijing, China (Outdoor Hardcourts)
Selected Round of 64 Matches- 26th September
Ekaterina Alexandrova (9) 0.64 vs Barbora Krejcikova 1.22
She reached back-to-back clay-court semifinals in Charleston and Stuttgart, highlighting the impact that Igor Andreev has had on her play. But she has unsurprisingly reserved her best tennis for hardcourts, reaching the semifinals in Qatar while winning another title in Linz. She has been in sparkling hardcourt form or late, reaching the 4th round of the US Open while finishing runner-up in Monterrey and at last week’s Korea Open. She was exceptional in sluggish conditions in Seoul, pushing the legendary Swiatek in a pulsating three-set final. The flat-hitting Russian has some positive experience playing in China, winning her maiden WTA Tour title at the 2020 Shenzhen Open. Currently sitting at 41-20 for the season, Alexandrova will look to maintain her form as she pursues a maiden WTA Finals berth.
Barbora Krejcikova will be looking to bounce back after a somewhat chastening 6-0, 6-3 quarterfinal defeat to Swiatek at last week’s Korea Open. The two-time Grand Slam singles champ appeared to brush off the defeat easily, going on to win the doubles title playing compatriot Katerina Siniakova. Krejcikova is building momentum after missing the first four months of the season due to a back issue. She suffered a thigh injury during the grass-court swing but turned on the heat during the latter portion of the North American hardcourt swing, reaching the final 16 in Cincy before a typically feisty quarterfinal run at the US Open. She looked solid in Seoul, taking down Radacanu before running into that demented Swiatek performance. The versatile Czech should thrive in these relatively sluggish conditions, using her resilience and defensive prowess to keep rallies alive.
The Verdict: Krejcikova to win in three at 4.2– Alexandrova leads the head-to-head 3-2, winning both of their previous hardcourt meetings. Curiously, these two haven’t met since the 2021 French Open. I have a feeling that Alexandrova could struggle this week. She has played a gargantuan amount of tennis this year and Krejcikova arrives here relatively fresh. Alexandrova won’t get too many cheap service points on these slowish surfaces, and her groundstrokes won’t have quite the same bite. This should give the bustling Czech the chance to prolong rallies.
Amanda Anisimova (3) 0.24 vs Katie Boulter 2.95
Aggressive baseliner Amanda Anisimova will be making her first appearance since her herculean runner-up finish at Flushing Meadows. The 24-year-old American has endured her struggles, battling inconsistency before taking a sabbatical to focus on mental health issues. The mental reset seemed to work, as Anisimova slowly edged her way back up the rankings last year. But she has truly exploded this season, winning a maiden WTA 1000 event in Qatar. She reached a maiden grass-court final in Queen’s before reaching her first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon. Her run at SW19 was bittersweet, as she faced the ignominy of being double-bageled by Swiatek in the championship match. She got her revenge over the Pole at Flushing Meadows, triumphing in their semifinal clash before falling to Sabalenka in a much tighter final. Anisimova has improved in virtually every department, rising to a career-high ranking of 4th in the world. She is serving accurately and that forehand has become more compact. That double-handed backhand is arguably the biggest weapon on tour (she had the fastest average backhand speed- man or woman- at the US Open).
Phew, Katie Boulter needed that. This year has been a massive comedown for the Brit, who reached three finals in a terrific 2024 campaign (two of which she won). Boulter refined her game last year, with Andy Murray’s former fitness trainer, Andy Little, improving her overall durability. But she got off to a bad start on the physical front this season, missing Qatar and Dubai due to a foot issue. She has just looked drastically behind the pace since then, reaching just one quarterfinal (Nottingham) all year. She endured a nightmarish 1-5 North American hardcourt stretch and seemed destined to end 2025 with a whimper. But she showed some gumption at last week’s Billie Jean King Cup, thrashing Moyuka Uchijima before pushing Jessica Pegula in a tight three-set defeat. She managed to carry over some of that form into her Beijing opener, scraping past American World No.51 Hailey Baptiste 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. It was an error-strewn affair, but Boulter won’t care: a result is a result at this point. Boulter has previously demonstrated a fondness for Asian hardcourt tennis, finishing runner-up at last November’s Hong Kong Open.
The Verdict: Anisimova to win in straight sets at 0.64– This will be their first career meeting. I honestly can’t mount any real argument in Boulter’s defence. Anisimova serves, moves and hits the ball better than Boulter. The American is far more mentally resilient and should be able to swat Boulter away with minimal fuss (as boring as that sounds).
