Karolina Muchova converted her ninth match point to beat Naomi Osaka 7–5, 1–6, 7–6(7) in Beijing’s fourth round on October 6, 2026. A backhand volley ended the 2-hour, 52-minute contest.
Muchova recovered from 1–4 in set one and 1–3 in the third. At 5–4 in the decider, however, she missed five match points on Osaka’s serve. Three ended with her own backhand errors; Osaka erased the other two with an ace and a service winner.
Three more match points passed in the tiebreak before the score reached 7–7. With Osaka repeatedly pressing the backhand side, Muchova found a down-the-line winner to create her ninth chance. She finished the next point at the net for a 9–7 breaker.
Muchova improved to 5–3 overall against Osaka and 3–0 in their 2026 meetings. Her quarterfinal opponent was Nikola Bartunkova, who had beaten Sinja Kraus. The two trained at the same club in Prague and practised together, but were set for their first tour meeting.
