Iga Swiatek rallied from the brink of defeat to a stunning three-set victory over Donna Vekic in the third round at the China Open.

The Pole trailed 6-4 5-2 at one stage, but she avoided becoming the latest high-profile exit from the tournament after securing a 4-6 7-6 (7-0) 6-2 victory in two hours and 40 minutes.

The top two seeds, Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka, had already been knocked out over the weekend, and Vekic looked set to mount an upset after a strong first set.

However, from 5-2 up, Vekic was unable to force a match point, with Swiatek reeling off four straight games to take the lead.

While she was taken to a tie-break, Swiatek won seven unanswered points, though the deciding set started with the pair trading breaks.

Swiatek regained her edge, though, winning the final five games, including a love-hold in the last one to book her place in the last 16.

"For sure, I was in a bad position score-wise, didn't really know after the first set what to change to play better," Swiatek told the media after the win.

"Later on in the second set, I was playing more brave and more aggressive, changing more down the line. At the end, I think it's what changed the rhythm of the match."

NEVER GIVE UP Iga Swiatek pulls off a remarkable comeback against Donna Vekic to move on into the Round of 16 in Beijing! #ChinaOpen https://t.co/wVgtE1nHJZ

— wta (@WTA) October 5, 2026

Swiatek will face number 10 seed Iva Jovic next after the American defeated Kamilla Rakhimova 6-1 7-5 on Monday.

Meanwhile, on Sunday in Beijing, Naomi Osaka is also through to the next round after battling to a 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 win over Sara Bejlek.

And Karolina Muchova, like Swiatek, had to do things the hard way, coming from behind to defeat Liudmila Samsonova 4-6 6-4 6-2.

Swiatek keeps up WTA-1000 dominance

Since 1990, only four players have reached 40 Tier I/WTA-1000 rounds of 16 in fewer main draws than Swiatek (49) – Martina Hingis (43), Lindsay Davenport (45), Conchita Martinez and Serena Williams (46 each).

It was also the Pole's 147th win at WTA-1000 events, with only Williams (148) and Sabalenka (156) having more.

Swiatek is bidding for her 13th title at this level – and her second in Beijing after triumphing in 2023 – showing she showed gritty determination to keep herself in the tournament.

She had won each of the previous four meetings with Vekic before this one by dropping just one set, and certainly had to weather the storm to get herself out of trouble.

As for the Croatian, this marked her third defeat to a top-10 player in 2026, having previously lost to Mirra Andreeva at the Australian Open and Jessica Pegula at Indian Wells.