Aryna Sabalenka became the next big name to suffer an early exit from the China Open, as the world number two was beaten 6-4 6-3 by Nikola Bartunkova in the round of 32.

Just 24 hours on from Rybakina's defeat to Alina Charaeva, which came in the Kazakhstani's first match as the world number one, Sabalenka suffered a similar fate following another error-strewn display.

Sabalenka's serve was broken in the very first game of the encounter, and a tense sixth game – in which Bartunkova had to save five break points – proved decisive as the 20-year-old took the opening set.

The second followed a very similar pattern, with Sabalenka giving up an early break then failing to hit back despite applying plenty of pressure to Bartunkova's serve, and the Czech finished things off when returning, converting her first match point. 

"I focused on myself, to be calm," Bartunkova said afterwards. "She is a legend, so I'm really happy that I won the match.

"It was the biggest win of my career. It was very difficult conditions today because half of the court was very cold and very windy, and the other side was very hot and the opposite. It was very difficult conditions for both of us."

Sabalenka, meanwhile, was gracious in defeat, saying: "She is very talented and moves well on court.

"She also serves well, so you have to convert your chances against her. She can serve really well and to return from the shade or the sun is tricky. I wasn't good at this today."

3 - Nikola Bartunkova is the third Czech players to defeat a top-2 at the China Open after Barbora Zahlavova Strycova in 2017 and Karolina Muchova 2024. Upset. #ChinaOpen | @ChinaOpen @WTA pic.twitter.com/l0NSY8EI72

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) October 4, 2026

Also on Sunday, Mirra Andreeva and Linda Noskova avoided upsets, with the former overcoming Veronika Kudermetova and the latter beating Viktorija Golubic.

Top two out as Sabalenka's Beijing struggles continue

Sabalenka has never really enjoyed the China Open, never going beyond the quarter-finals on any of her five main-draw appearances at the event. 

But this result will particularly sting for the Belarusian, who has not won a WTA Tour title since completing the Sunshine Double in March but was installed as the favourite following Rybakina's early exit.

For the first time since 2015, neither of the top two seeds will feature in the round of 16 at the Beijing event, with top seed Simona Halep losing to Lara Arruabarrena and second seed Petra Kvitova losing to Sara Errani in that instance. 

And Sabalenka has now lost six straight matches when dropping the first set, not rallying from behind to win since her last matchup with Bartunkova in Berlin – she is now 3-7 for 2026 when falling a set behind. 

Her frustrations were evident when she smashed her racquet after being broken early in the second set, and she failed to convert any of her five opportunities to break the other way, as Bartunkova held firm on serve.