Overview
- On Wednesday, Oct. 14, top seed Aryna Sabalenka lost 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) to Ann Li and second seed Jessica Pegula fell 2-6, 7-6(7), 6-3 to Jelena Ostapenko, producing a wave of high-profile upsets.
- Iga Swiatek and Elina Svitolina advanced to the quarterfinals on Thursday as the highest seeds remaining, with Swiatek recording her 150th WTA 1000 match win in the process.
- Returners and lower-ranked players seized the opening: Britain's Sonay Kartal beat Jasmine Paolini to reach the last eight and 16th seed Maja Chwalinska upset world No. 11 Iva Jovic for her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal.
- Chinese wild‑card Guo Hanyu reached the round of 16 before losing to Svitolina and said she has been playing under emotional strain because her father is very seriously ill, a factor that highlighted the personal toll on players late in the season.
- Beijing results and late withdrawals, including Qinwen Zheng and Mirra Andreeva pulling out of Wuhan, combined with these shocks to increase volatility in the Race to the WTA Finals and could shift who secures the remaining qualification spots.