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Russia’s Khachanov beats Molcan from Slovakia to reach quarters of 2026 China Open

The unseeded Russian, who is playing under a neutral status at the tournament, outplayed his opponent in straight sets 7-5; 6-3

BEIJING, October 2. /TASS/. Russian tennis player Karen Khachanov advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2026 ATP China Open tournament after defeating Alex Molcan from Slovakia on Friday.

The unseeded Russian, who is playing under a neutral status at the tournament, outplayed his Slovakian opponent in straight sets 7-5; 6-3. In the quarterfinals, he will face the winner of the match between Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz and Arthur Gea from France.

Khachanov, 30, is currently ranked 27th in the ATP Rankings and he is a seven-time ATP champion. His best performances in the Grand Slam series were semifinals berths at the 2022 US Open, the 2023 Australian Open and the 2026 US Open. The Russian player also took home the silver medal in men’s singles at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. He also won the 2021 Davis Cup as part of the Russian national team.

The 2026 China Open is an ATP 500 professional tennis tournament. Played on outdoor hard courts at the National Tennis Center in Beijing between September 30 and October 6, this year’s tourney offers over $4 million in prize money. Italy’s Jannik Sinner is the tournament’s reigning champion, but he is skipping this season due to an earlier sustained injury.

Russian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments

On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.

Following the IOC's recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations moved to exclude athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1, 2022, to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations while also canceling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.

On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition on the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from participating in the 2022 Davis Cup and the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.

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