Zheng Qinwen swings the racket at the 2026 Wuhan Tennis Open in his hometown

China News Service, Wuhan, October 10th (Reporter Zhang Qin) The 2026 Dongfeng Lantu Automobile Wuhan Tennis Open (hereinafter referred to as the "Wuhan Open") was held at the Optics Valley International Tennis Center on the 10th. As the final battle of the WTA1000 event, this year's Wuhan Open brought together about 120 of the world's top female tennis players. The total prize money for the event was increased to US$4.08 million, a record high.

This year's Wuhan Open has singles and doubles events. The qualifying rounds will be held from October 10th to 11th. The main draw will start on the 12th. The champions will be decided on the 18th. A total of 106 matches will be played in 9 days. There are a total of 32 lottery spots in the qualifying round. After two rounds of competition, 8 players will advance to the main draw.

On October 10, in the first round of the 2026 Wuhan Open qualifying tournament, wild card player Shi Han reversed the top-seeded American player Stearns and reached the final round of the qualifying tournament. (Photo provided by Wuhan Open Organizing Committee)

On the first day of the tournament, Chinese player Shi Han defeated American player Stearns, the top seed in the qualifying round, 2:6, 7:5, 6:4, and entered the final round of the qualifying round. Yuan Yue lost to American player McNally in the first round, and another Chinese player Zhu Lin retired.

This year's Wuhan Open has a high-quality lineup of players. Wuhan Open "triple crown" Sabalenka is the top seed, second-seeded American player Pegula leads the bottom half, Wimbledon champion Czech player Noskova, six-time Grand Slam champion Poland's Swiatek and other famous players are all on the list.

As for Chinese players, Hubei girl and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen leads China Golden Flower in the home game. In 2024, Zheng Qinwen reached the finals at the Wuhan Open, creating the best record among Chinese players in this event. This time she just reached the semi-finals at the China Open in Beijing and is in good condition.

According to the draw results of the main draw that afternoon, Zheng Qinwen faced American player Li Jini in the first round. If he wins the second round, he will meet top seed Sabalenka; Zhang Shuai challenges No. 9 seed Swiss player Bencic; wild card players Wang Xiyu and Wang Xinyu staged the "Chinese Derby"; Guo Hanyu will face No. 12 seed Romanian Costia. Wang Xiyu will also join hands with Jiang Xinyuan to appear in the women's doubles.