A day after world No. 1 Elena Rybakina was knocked out of the China Open, world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka followed suit in Beijing on Sunday.
Czech 20-year-old Nikola Bartunkova defeated the four-time Grand Slam champion 6-4 6-3, leaving the tournament without two major titles in the opening week.
Rybakina was eliminated on Saturday, and Sabalenka has now joined her in an early exit from the WTA 1000 event in Beijing.
Sabalenka, who was denied a US Open three-peat by Rybakina last month, lost five break points in the opening set as her struggles in Beijing continued.
The 28-year-old Belarusian has never progressed beyond the quarter-finals at the tournament.
Bartunkova, the 26th seed, will next face 24-year-old Sinja Kraus of Austria, who beat Dayana Yastremska 6-1 6-4 earlier on Sunday.
Fifth seed Mirra Andreeva advanced to the fourth round with a 6-4 6-1 win over Polina Kudermetova.
The French Open champion fired six aces and converted five of seven break opportunities to defeat her Uzbek opponent in just 68 minutes.
Alcaraz in the semi-finals of Tokyo
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the semi-finals of the Japan Open after Denis Shapovalov was forced to withdraw with a thigh injury, extending the Spaniard’s strong comeback from a four-month layoff with a wrist injury.
The defending champion was trailing 7-6 (7-4) 2-1 when the Canadian called it a day.
“It was a little disappointing with my serve. I couldn’t find a good way to serve: I was struggling almost every game on serve,” Alcaraz said after breaking serve three times in the opening set.
“But I’m just happy with how I came back after each break. It was a great first set: great points, great rallies.”
The Spaniard said he was disappointed to progress in such circumstances.
“It’s a shame he had to withdraw. To get to a semi-final like this is not what I wanted, but sometimes sports are tough. You have to accept it. Hopefully he’ll be able to play in Shanghai healthy.”
Alcaraz will face compatriot Jaume Munar in the semi-finals after the qualifier beat France’s Kyrian Jacquet 6-4 6-2.
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