Elise Mertens beat Coco Gauff for the first time in six meetings, 6–3, 6–3, in Beijing’s fourth round on October 7, 2026. She won ten of her last eleven service points and finished with her second ace.
Earlier defeats had included substantial missed opportunities: a 6–0, 3–1 lead at Eastbourne in 2021 and three match points in Dubai in 2026. In Beijing, Mertens navigated two deuces in the service game that put her ahead 4–1 in the second set.
Gauff committed 34 unforced errors, eight of them double faults. Four double faults came in the service game that ended the first set. Mertens then protected her late service points to complete a finish that had escaped her in previous meetings.
The 13th seed reached her first Beijing quarterfinal in her seventh appearance. Next came Iga Swiatek, who had beaten Iva Jovic. Mertens entered that matchup with an 0–2 record, giving her another difficult head-to-head history to challenge.
