Yuliia Starodubtseva vs Alina Charaeva Preview & Prediction | 2026 China Open | First Round

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Yuliia Starodubtseva takes on Alina Charaeva in round one of the China Open. 

Ranking points: WTA 1000

Start date/time: 1 October 2026 at 3:00 am

Venue: National Tennis Center, Beijing, China

Surface: Outdoor hard

How to watch on TV: UK – Sky Sports Tennis / USA – Tennis Channel

How to watch online: UK – Sky Go / USA – Tennis Channel

Tickets: Visit this link for the latest Yuliia Starodubtseva vs Alina Charaeva ticket information

Yuliia Starodubtseva vs Alina Charaeva prediction

Yuliia Starodubtseva is at a career high of 42 in the world, with her biggest breakthrough of the season being a first WTA Tour final at the Charleston Open, where she lost to Jessica Pegula. She has also produced some encouraging results on hard courts, as she reached the quarter-finals in Monterrey and backed that up with a third-round appearance at Flushing Meadows. The Ukrainian beat Ella Seidel and then came from a set down to defeat Maria Sakkari, before a loss to newly crowned world number one and eventual winner Elena Rybakina.

Her first-round opponent is Alina Charaeva. She failed to make it out of US Open qualifying but then competed in a WTA 125 event in Sao Paulo, reaching the quarter-finals before a loss to Anna Bondar. She then immediately began her Asian swing in Seoul, losing in the round-of-16 to Bondar once again.

Charaeva’s recent hard court form makes this potentially competitive, but she has played a lot of matches in a short space of time, compared to the relatively fresh Starodubsteva.

Yuliia Starodubtseva vs Alina Charaeva tip: Yuliia Starodubtseva to win