The China Open has played host to some of the biggest moments of players’ careers over the years.
Former women’s singles champions at the China Open include Serena Williams, Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek, all of whom have achieved multiple Grand Slam successes.
However, for other players, winning the China Open has been the biggest achievement of their entire careers.
That was certainly the case for Hungarian WTA player Agnes Szavay, who had a breakthrough victory at the China Open in 2007.
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Agnes Szavay won the biggest title of her career at the China Open in 2007
Szavay was just 18 years old in 2007, but had already shown signs of her talent after winning her first WTA title in Palermo and reaching the US Open quarter-finals.
The Hungarian teenager continued this into the Asian swing, as the sixth seed at the then WTA 500 level tournament in Beijing.
Szavay did not drop a single set en route to the final, where she would face second seed and at the time two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist, Jelena Jankovic.
Jankovic appeared to be too much of a step up in level of opponent, with the Serbian leading Szavay by a set and 5-1, being just one game away from the China Open title. However, Szavay produced an astonishing comeback, winning 12 of the next 14 games to clinch the biggest title of her career in Beijing.
| China Open 2007 | Agnes Szavay’s results |
| First Round | Beat Marina Erakovic (Q), 7-5 6-3 |
| Second Round | Beat Dominika Cibulkova, 7-6(4) 6-4 |
| Quarter-final | Beat Maria Emilia Salerni (LL), 6-2 6-4 |
| Semi-final | Beat Peng Shuai, 6-1 6-2 |
| Final | Beat Jelena Jankovic (2), 6(7)-7 7-5 6-2 |
Szavay was subsequently named the Newcomer of the Year in the 2007 WTA Awards and reached a career-high ranking of world number 13 the following year, but her career did not quite pan out as many had anticipated it would have.
Why did Agnes Szavay retire from tennis at 24 years old?
Szavay would go on to win three more titles in her career after winning the China Open, all of which were at the lower WTA 250 level.
She also reached the quarter-finals of three WTA 1000 tournaments and the fourth round of both the US Open and Roland Garros, but it was in the following years where problems started to appear for Szavay.
Szavay would be heavily hampered by back issues in the latter years of her career, which ultimately forced her to retire from tennis at just 24 years old, with the Hungarian calling it ‘shocking’ in a statement at the time.
“It’s a shocking moment, as my life has revolved around tennis for the past 10 years,” Szavay said in 2013. “It was hard, but I owe a lot to this sport.
“I learned that I cannot hope for a full recovery from surgery, so I had to realize that, unfortunately, there is no other way. I know this will be a big change in my life, but I have plans and I will get it done.”
One of these big plans for Szavay was to have her own tennis academy, and this is something she was able to achieve before it was officially closed in 2023.
