Elise Mertens pulled off another shock victory at the China Open, downing Iga Swiatek to reach the semi-finals for the first time.

The Belgian is through to the final four at a WTA 1000 event for the first time since 2021, following her 7-6 (7-0) 6-3 win in one hour and 50 minutes.

Mertens forced a break point in the opening game, but Swiatek defended it and had to do the same in her second service game to hold her opponent at bay.

There was little to split the players after that with both serving strongly, until Mertens found her edge in the tie-break, winning seven straight unanswered points to take the first set.

Mertens took an aggressive approach on her return again in the second, seeing another break point pass her by before eventually getting the better of Swiatek's serve in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead.

That break was enough for Mertens, who only dropped 10 points in the five games thereafter.

Mertens will now face home favourite Zheng Qinwen for a place in the showpiece, after her 6-3 7-6 (8-6) victory over Elina Svitolina.

ANOTHER BIG WIN IN BEIJING! @elise_mertens defeats Swiatek in straight sets! #ChinaOpen https://t.co/iypSchMkip

— wta (@WTA) October 9, 2026

Meanwhile, Swiatek's loss means that Mirra Andreeva and Linda Noskova have secured their places in the season-ending WTA Finals, with the former also through to the last four in Beijing.

Andreeva bested Ekaterina Alexandrova in straight sets 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-3) to reach the semi-finals.

She will face Nikola Bartunkova, who stunned Karolina Muchova with a 6-3 6-0 victory on Thursday.

Mertens enjoys another giant killing

It has been far from an easy run for Mertens in Beijing, but she has overcome everyone put in her path so far.

She has knocked out three grand slam champions in Jelena Ostapenko, Coco Gauff and Swiatek in consecutive matches – she had never beaten three major champions at a single WTA event before.

This was her first victory against Swiatek in three WTA Tour meetings, and it booked her third semi-final berth at WTA 1000 level.

In fact, Mertens is just the second player not to face a single break point against Swiatek in a WTA Tour main-draw match, after Gauff (Madrid 2025) – excluding grand slams, team events and the Olympics.

Her final-four opponent Zheng, meanwhile, became the fourth player to reach her first three Tier I/WTA-1000 hard-court semi-finals on home soil, after Lindsay Davenport, Mary Joe Fernandez and Patty Schnyder.