Everything you need to know about the Beijing final

BEIJING – A year ago, Coco Gauff defeated Karolina Muchova in the final of the Cincinnati Open final to win the first WTA 1000 title of her career.

Can the 20-year-old American repeat this feat at the China Open on Sunday and win her second WTA 1000 title?

Or will the resurgent Muchova get revenge by knocking out her third Top 10 player of the week and capturing the biggest title of her career?

Here's what you need to know about the penultimate WTA 1000 final of the 2024 Hologic WTA Tour season:

When is the singles final?

The singles and doubles finals will both take place on Sunday, October 6.

Championship Sunday begins with the doubles final at 4:30 p.m., followed by the singles final at 7 p.m.

Beijing uses Chinese Standard Time (GMT +8, Eastern Time +12).

What points and prize money are involved?

Beijing is the ninth of ten WTA 1000 tournaments of the season. By reaching the final, Gauff and Muchova secured themselves 650 ranking points and $585,000 in prize money.

A win on Monday would earn the winner a total of 1,000 points and $1,100,000.

How did Gauff and Muchova get here?

Gauff was a semi-finalist in her tournament debut last year and has gone one step further this year by reaching her first Hologic WTA Tour final since January.

Ranked No. 6 and seeded No. 4 in Beijing, Gauff has defeated Clara Burel, Katie Boulter, Naomi Osaka by retirement, Yuliia Starodubtseva and Paula Badosa in the semifinals. Gauff has come from a set down in her last three matches.

This time last year, Muchova was sidelined with a wrist injury. She underwent surgery in February and returned to Eastbourne this summer. She is 18-5 in her return matches since her return.

Muchova was not seeded in Beijing and advanced to the main draw after world No. 1 Iga Swiatek withdrew. After competing in the US Open semi-finals last month, Muchova was clinical in Beijing to reach her second career WTA 1000 final. She has lost just one set, beating Anna Blinkova, Yuan Yue, Jaqueline Cristian, Cristina Bucsa, top seed Aryna Sabalenka and No. 7 Zheng Qinwen in the semifinals. This is the first time the Czech has defeated two Top 10 players in a tournament since competing in the Cincinnati finals last summer.

How do they stack up?

Sunday will mark the third career meeting between Gauff and Muchova. Gauff has won all four sets the two have contested, all on hard courts.

Their first meeting came in the 2023 Cincinnati Open final, the first WTA 1000 final for both women. Gauff won 6-3, 6-4 to win her first WTA 1000 title.

Their last meeting came weeks later in the semifinals of the 2023 US Open. Gauff won 6-4, 7-5 en route to the title.

What milestones are at stake on Sunday?

The 20-year-old Gauff is in her ninth career final and second at the WTA 1000 level. Last summer she defeated Muchova in the Cincinnati final to win her only WTA 1000 title. She will be looking to win her eighth career title and second of the season after successfully defending her title in Auckland in January.

Gauff is bidding to become Beijing's youngest champion since Caroline Wozniacki in 2010. She is also trying to become the second US champion, following Serena Williams' title runs in 2004 and 2013.

Muchova, 28, is playing her sixth career final and second at WTA 1000 level. Beijing is her second final of the season, after coming second behind Zheng Qinwen on the clay court in Palermo. Muchova aims to win her second career title. She won her first at the WTA 250 in Seoul in 2019.

With wins over No. 2 Sablenka and No. 7 Zheng, Muchova could become the first player in Beijing history to defeat three Top 10 players in one tournament.

Muchova was ranked number 49 at the start of the tournament and is the lowest-ranked finalist in the tournament's history. A win would bring her back into the Top 25.

What do they say?

Muchova: “I tried to build up my form from the first matches here. I've had great matches. I felt good on the field. I'm just happy that I was able to perform well against these big players and put my game forward and see that I can take them on and beat them. I just have to build up during the rankings and all that. I haven't played in a while. It's just nice to see that I can compete against them.”

Great: I'm happy to be in the final. Like I said, I didn't expect it. Was this week my best tennis? In a few moments, yes. I think today I reached some levels where I played my best tennis. Obviously that is not the case for the entire match. That's tennis, that's life.

“It would be cool. But it's so far away. Everyone thinks the final is so close. But it's not. You're so far away.”

Great: “Karolina, I've played against her twice, both on hard courts. She's a tough opponent. I think she's one of the best players on tour. She's just had some unfortunate breaks due to injuries. But it's good to have her To see her healthy again. That's going to be a tough matchup. She's dangerous.”

Current: “When I look back at those games, to be honest, we played in very tough conditions. It was very hot, very humid. It was very physical. She is such a great athlete. She can run left and right. She is like a moving wall.” It's hard to hit some winners and make it shorter. That is certainly a very different challenge than at the US Open and Cincinnati.'