Congratulations! Sun Xiran Reaches US Open Junior Singles Semifinals for the First Time, Defeating No. 7 Seed 6-1

Trailing 2-5 in the first set, with her opponent holding six set points in the ninth game, Sun Xiran refused to back down. She first held serve and then broke back, saving the set points one by one. She leveled the set at 6-6 and won the tiebreak 7-2; then she took the second set 6-1, putting her name into the US Open junior girls' singles semifinals for the first time.

The match took place in the early hours of September 11. Her opponent Makarova was the No. 7 seed and also her doubles partner at this event. Sun Xiran opened with a 2-0 lead before losing five straight games. At 2-5, when many junior players might lose composure, she extended rallies, used less force, hit deeper balls, and waited for her opponent to become impatient.

Soon after the singles match ended, the two played doubles together again. In the quarterfinals, Sun Xiran/Makarova defeated Ishii Kokona/Natalie K 6-4, 6-3 to reach the women's doubles semifinals. After the singles match, Makarova left directly without the usual net handshake; several hours later, they partnered as scheduled in doubles and the situation did not escalate further.

Looking back one round, she defeated Pielichikova 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 in the third round. Her opponent was the No. 14 American seed and a former junior world No. 1. After falling behind 1-4 in the first set, she adjusted her serve-and-return rhythm, reduced straight-line attacks, and played more deep balls through the middle to turn it around 7-5; she dropped the second set 2-6, then won the decider 6-1 by avoiding direct battles on key points.

Her 2026 junior Grand Slam results have become increasingly clear. She reached the Australian Open quarterfinals; in June, she made the French Open clay-court final, losing 2-6, 1-6 to Russia's Oktyabrieva and finishing runner-up. After the tournament, she became the ITF junior women's singles No. 1, becoming the fifth Chinese player to reach the junior world No. 1 ranking after Xu Shilin, Wu Yibing, Wang Xiyu and Shang Juncheng. Three days after the French Open, the rankings update showed she reached the top at 15 years and 11 months old, younger than Wang Xiyu was when she became No. 1 in 2018.

(No additional match information.)

She reached another final at Wimbledon. She won the first set 7-5 against Pushkareva, but was overturned after losing the second set 3-6 and the deciding set 4-6. In that match, she suffered thigh cramps and shoulder discomfort, received brief treatment and continued playing, with the match lasting 2 hours and 17 minutes. She lost both Grand Slam finals, one due to a power gap and the other because faster pace turned rallies against her. She did not attribute the losses to luck, instead focusing in interviews on key points and rally control.

At this US Open, she applied the lessons from the previous two finals. Against Makarova, she did not lead in winners during the first set, but made fewer unforced errors; before the tiebreak, the more her opponent tried to finish points with first serves, the more Sun Xiran stayed ready to handle the return and the next shot.

Her semifinal opponent has not yet been decided. Current information points to either American Clark or Brazil's Da Silva; Clark is ranked around No. 38 in the junior rankings, while Da Silva is around No. 9. Against lower-ranked players with strong serves, Sun Xiran's deep-ball pressure is more reliable; against higher-ranked all-around players, the key will be whether she can reduce their speed early with her first serve, returns and first three shots in tiebreaks.

She comes from Longhua, Shenzhen, and studies at Hongshan Middle School. Fans call her the "Little Butterfly." Before the French Open, her cross-event winning streak reached 15 matches; during Wimbledon, she posted about 29 wins and 2 losses in junior events for the season, and before the US Open she was around 30-3. All three losses came in Grand Slam finals. The numbers show she was not simply a one-event surprise, but has handled strong competition throughout the year.

After Zheng Qinwen exited the US Open women's singles quarterfinals, Sun Xiran continued carrying the junior side forward. She has said she wants to become a professional player like Zheng Qinwen, and has also said junior rankings are only a step toward earning adult wild cards. From two French Open and Wimbledon runner-up finishes to reaching the US Open semifinals, her path is no longer just about talent; she has broken down losses into technical improvements: adding more rallies on clay, improving serve and return on grass, and strengthening tiebreak performance on hard courts.

Reaching the semifinals in both singles and doubles in the same week is a physical challenge for a 16-year-old player. She is chasing her first junior Grand Slam final in singles while continuing to partner in doubles with the player she just defeated in singles. Scheduling, recovery and draw depth will all determine whether she can maintain the same rhythm she showed when trailing 2-5 in the next matches.