Zhang Shuai/Katerina Siniakova finish runners-up in China Open women's doubles

BEIJING, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese veteran Zhang Shuai and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic finished runners-up in the women's doubles at the 2026 China Open on Sunday, falling to Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski and Brazil's Luisa Stefani in straight sets.

Photo: Beijingnews.com.cn

Dabrowski and Stefani needed just 59 minutes to defeat Zhang and Siniakova 6-1, 6-2 and claim their seventh title as a pair. It was their fifth title of the season, following triumphs in Dubai, Strasbourg, Eastbourne and Sao Paulo. The pair also finished runners-up at Wimbledon this year.

"Obviously today's performance was like a really great culmination of the entire week, which was awesome for us," said Dabrowski. "We have had such a fun time in Beijing. We really enjoyed it. Tomorrow we have a day off. We are really excited. Definitely going to celebrate maybe later. Then tomorrow, hopefully, some tourist stuff. It really is well-earned."

The victory marked Dabrowski's 25th career tour-level doubles title and her seventh at a WTA 1000 event. Stefani claimed her 18th career doubles title and fifth at WTA 1000 level. The pair improved their tour-level record as a team to 75-19.

"I have a lot of pride. I'm very grateful for everything that we've been accomplishing and how well we've been playing, and how we've improved together since the beginning of the year," said Stefani.

"I think it's really cool to see that come to light in how we execute and how we perform. Then we get results from it. I think it's kind of cool to be in the middle of this process and living it in real-time. To be healthy and playing well, winning a title here, also means a lot. It's really special to, yeah, just still feel good at this point in the season," she added.

For Siniakova and Zhang, the Beijing final was their sixth tour-level event together. They first partnered at the 2024 Guangzhou Open, where they won the title, and have since added two more championships, in Adelaide and Toronto, both this year.

Their defeat in Beijing marked their first loss as a team this season, ending a 13-match winning streak. They now hold a 19-3 record as a pair.

"I am of course also very happy to be on the same side with Shuai, especially here in Beijing. It was a very tough week for me, but I was really happy to share it with you," Siniakova said to Zhang at the press conference. "Definitely, it's a great tournament, great two weeks. Even if it was not meant to be today, I really enjoyed it. As you said, we did play our best - or we tried. Maybe it wasn't our best today, but our opponent just played amazing."

"I really treasure the time here, every tournament, every event. We see those people, local people, trying their best to try to support these events. That makes me want to stay in the sport," Zhang said.

"I have the motivation to continue to stay on the tour, to continue to try my best in this sport. I feel the urge and passion for it. See you in Wuhan," she added.