China's "Golden Flower" Derby was staged in the first round of the Wuhan Open, Wang Xiyu advanced to the second round

China News Service, Wuhan, October 12 (Reporter Zhang Qin) The main match of the 2026 Dongfeng Lantu Motors Wuhan Tennis Open (Wuhan Open) will start on the 12th at the Optics Valley International Tennis Center. That night, the Central Court ushered in a much-anticipated "Chinese Derby": Wang Xiyu, who played as a wild card, defeated Wang Xinyu in straight sets and advanced to the second round of the women's singles.

With the same surname and the same age, one holding the racket on the left and the other on the right, the two were called "Wang Zuo" and "Wang You" by fans. In WTA events, they have met three times before, with Wang Xinyu winning the first match and Wang Xiyu winning the last two matches.

On the evening of October 12, China's "Golden Flower" Wang Xinyu (first from left) and Wang Xiyu (first from right) competed at the Wuhan Open Central Court. Young actor Guli Nazha (third from left) was invited to be the side guest. Photo by Zhang Canlong

Both of them have a special attachment to Wuhan. In 2024, Wang Xinyu won four games in a row at the Wuhan Open and broke into the semi-finals of the WTA1000 singles for the first time in her career; Wang Xiyu, who had just won the women's singles gold medal at the Nagoya Asian Games, began her fate with the Wuhan Open in 2018. She participated in the Wuhan Open qualifying rounds with a wild card and broke into the main draw of a WTA1000 level event for the first time in her career.

After the start, Wang Xiyu quickly entered the state and won the first set 6:2 with his stable performance in key points. In the second set, Wang Xinyu made more mistakes. Wang Xiyu took advantage of the situation and won six consecutive games, winning 6-0 and winning the first victory in this tournament. Wang Xinyu, who was stopped in the first round, was eliminated in back-to-back debuts at the China Open and Wuhan Open.

On the evening of October 12th, Wang Xiyu during the game. Photo by Zhang Canlong

On that day, the results of many focus matches have been decided: in the opening match on the Central Court, Canadian player Fernandez defeated his opponent in three fierce sets and got a good start at the station; Greek star Sakkari defeated Croatian player Vekic 6:4, 6:2. In women's doubles, this year's Wimbledon champion pair Guo Hanyu (China) and Mladenovic (France) advanced to the top 16 in straight sets.

On the same day, the WTA confirmed that Chinese player Zheng Qinwen had withdrawn from the Wuhan Open due to injury, and his spot was replaced by Colombian player Osorio. This is also the second consecutive year that Zheng Qinwen has missed his hometown competition.

On October 13, Wang Xiyu will face Slovak rookie Pohankova in the second round. The latter defeated Hungarian player Bondar 6:1, 6:3 and won her first WTA1000 victory.