China Open 2024 Semifinal Preview: Paula Badosa challenges Coco Gauff, Muchova faces home favorite Zheng

The China Open semifinals will be decided on Saturday, October 4, with Coco Gauff and Paula Badosa as the protagonists of the first match. The day will close with local star Zheng Qinwen facing an inspired Karolina Muchova.

Gauff and Zheng hold a slight edge as the higher-ranked players who have maintained a high level throughout the season. However, both Badosa and Muchova have shown their credentials to reach this stage, both after long injury breaks over the past year.

Zheng Qinwen reached her first WTA 1000 semifinals and her fourth semifinal of the season. The local hero faced a tough opponent in Mirra Andreeva, pulling off a fantastic comeback with a 5-7, 6-0, 6-4 victory. The Chinese player seems to be in top form in recent months, with 20 wins in her last 22 matches.

The 5th seed will challenge former French Open runner-up Karolina Muchova, who has been highly inspired since her return. The Czech eliminated first seed Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-4, marking the third consecutive time she has defeated the Belarusian in semifinals, following the 2023 Cincinnati Open and Roland Garros. She becomes the second Czech player to reach the semifinals of the China Open after Petra Kvitova (2013, 2014, and 2017).

Zheng and Muchova already faced off less than two months ago in the final of the WTA 250 Palermo Open, which was only Muchova’s third tournament after a nine-month absence between 2023 and 2024. Zheng was the top seed and Muchova the second, and in a three-set match, the 21-year-old Chinese player emerged victorious 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.

However, this time Muchova arrives in better form than in Palermo and has dazzled in Beijing. While the win over Sabalenka was tight, she dropped just 12 games in her previous four matches (an average of only three per match). Zheng could become the first local finalist in history, and defeating Muchova would allow her to surpass Emma Navarro in the Race, temporarily placing her in contention for the WTA Finals.

There is little doubt that Badosa has regained the form that took her to world No. 2 a couple of seasons ago, until a back injury forced her to miss much of the 2023 season in a long six-month absence. The Spaniard hadn't played in a WTA 1000 semifinal in two and a half years, but she has now reached the semis in two consecutive events, Cincinnati Open and this time in China.

The former Indian Wells champion lost to Jessica Pegula in Cincinnati and will once again face an American, seeking revenge to return to a final. This time, her opponent will be Coco Gauff, who didn't have a great hardcourt swing in America and lost quite a few points, but Beijing seems to suit her well, reaching the semifinals for the second consecutive time (with an 8-1 record in the tournament).

At the moment, Paula Badosa leads their head-to-head 3-2 (2-1 on hardcourts). Badosa’s rise has been remarkable, moving from world No. 140 to No. 19 in just five months. Currently, she is 11th in the Race and well-positioned to finish the year inside the top-10.