China’s Yuan continues steady rise in women’s tennis, but Coco Gauff brings Indian Wells journey to abrupt end
- Yuan Yue goes out of BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in quarter-finals to American star 6-4, 6-3
- The 25-year-old is now world No 49 having started the year outside the top 100
China’s Yuan Yue crashed out of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Friday after losing her quarter-final in straight sets to the United States’ Coco Gauff, 6-4, 6-3.
Despite being convincingly beaten by Gauff, one of the open’s favourites to go all the way, Yuan’s performance marked her best run at a WTA 1000 tournament.
Her road to the last eight included a 6-4, 6-3 victory over compatriot and China’s No 1 and world No 8 Zheng Qinwen in the second round.
The win was also the first time Yuan had beaten someone ranked within the world’s top 10 and also took her record against Chinese athletes for this season to 5-0, earning her the moniker Derby Queen.
On Thursday, the 25-year-old pulled off another upset by beating Russia’s 11th seed Daria Kasatkina, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to make it to the quarter-finals.
“I am extremely happy today, not just because I won but more for believing in myself and hanging in there when I was feeling so tired, physically and mentally,” she told Chinese state media following the win.