China Open: Gauff books spot in last eight after Osaka retirement

American Coco Gauff, the No 4 seed, advanced to the quarter-finals of the China Open when Japanese Naomi Osaka retired with a lower back injury at the National Tennis Center in Beijing on Tuesday.

The 20-year-old American will face Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva next.

Coco Gauff defeated Frenchwoman Clara Burel (7-5, 6-3) and No 26 seed Katie Boulter (7-5, 6-2) ahead of her victory.

Osaka was the only former champion in the draw, having won the title in her last appearance – back in 2019.

In the previous rounds of the Beijing tournament, the Japanese won against Italian Lucia Bronzetti (6-3, 6-2), Kazakh Yulia Putintseva, the No 21 seed (3-6, 6-4, 6-2) and American Katie Volynets (6-3, 6-2).

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Beijing WTA 1000, other last 16 results (National Tennis Center, hard, USD 8.955.610, most recent results first):

• Amanda Anisimova vs. Qinwen Zheng
• Magda Linette vs. Mirra Andreeva
• Cristina Bucsa vs. Karolina Muchova
• Aryna Sabalenka vs. Madison Keys
• Yuliia Starodubtseva beat Anna Kalinskaya (10): 7-5, 6-0
• Shuai Zhang (WC) beat Magdalena Frech (23): 6-4, 6-2
• Paula Badosa (15) beat Jessica Pegula (2): 6-4, 6-0