Iga Swiatek delivered a dominant performance to win the China Open, crowning a resurgent run of form with a straight-sets win over Liudmila Samsonova in Beijing.

The world No. 2 triumphed 6-2, 6-2 to take the first tournament since 2019, after Beijing lifted its isolationist zero-Covid policy. The victory capped a strong showing for four-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek, who was deposed as the world’s top-ranked player by Aryna Sabalenka last month.

The 22-year-old broke Samsonova’s serve in the sixth game and sealed the opening set when the unseeded Russian slammed a forehand into the net. Swiatek looked assured and quickly notched another break in set two against her error-prone opponent, ranked No. 22 in the world, fired another forehand wide.

And when Samsonova sent an ill-advised drop-shot into the net to hand her the victory, the Pole doubled over with emotion before a delighted crowd. Swiatek was the favourite to win the final after handing US Open champion Coco Gauff her first defeat in 17 matches in the final four on Saturday.