Yushan Shao vs Anastasia Zakharova Preview & Prediction | 2026 China Open | First Round

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Anastasia Zakharova takes on Yushan Shao in round one of the China Open. 

Ranking points: WTA 1000

Start date/time: 1 October 2026 at 6:20 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 Yushan Shao vs Anastasia Zakharova ticket information

Yushan Shao vs Anastasia Zakharova prediction

Yushan Shao receives a main draw wildcard in Beijing. She is currently ranked 752 in the world, having reached a career high of 740 earlier this month. Shao will hope to produce a strong showing in front of a home crowd at a WTA 1000 event.

Her first-round opponent is Anastasia Zakharova, who is ranked just outside the top 100. Her best tour-level result of the campaign was a quarter-final appearance in Memphis, while she also advanced to the final of a lower-level event in Landisville. Zakharova is currently on a three-match losing run, as she lost in Philadelphia and then suffered a first-round loss to Naomi Osaka at the US Open. Her Asian swing began with another defeat to Jelena Ostapenko in Seoul. She did achieve her best career ranking of 65 in April this year.

Zakharova is not in strong form, but this is an ideal opportunity to return to winning ways against the teenager.

Yushan Shao vs Anastasia Zakharova tip: Anastasia Zakharova to win 2-0