Zhibek Kulambayeva may face Venus Williams in Guangzhou Open

Kazakhstan’s Zhibek Kulambayeva (World No. 102 in doubles) and the Netherlands’ Isabelle Haverlag (World No. 65) defeated the top-seeded pair of Russia’s Maria Kozyreva (World No. 48) and British Maia Lumsden (World No. 35) in the 2026 Guangzhou Open quarterfinals, 3-6, 6-3, 10-8. Venus Williams is also competing in the doubles draw.

At the start of the tournament, Kulambayeva and Haverlag defeated the Chinese pair of Qu Yihan (World No. 1,015) and Zhang Ruien (World No. 515), 6-3, 4-6, 10-5.

In the first set, both pairs held serve in the opening games before Kulambayeva and Haverlag were broken in the sixth game. The Russian-British pair went on to win the set 6-3. In the second set, Kulambayeva and Haverlag were broken twice before breaking their opponents’ serve at a crucial moment in the eighth game to take the set 6-3.

The match was decided by a super tiebreak, where the Kazakh-Dutch pair came out on top, winning 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 in 1 hour and 20 minutes. Both pairs won 59 points.

This is Kulambayeva’s second similar result this year. In July, the 26-year-old Kazakhstani partnered with Latvia’s Darja Semenistaja to reach the semifinals of the WTA 250 tournament in Hamburg.

The Guangzhou Open is a WTA 250 hard-court tournament first held in 2004. The reigning champion is American Ann Li, who defeated New Zealand’s Lulu Sun 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 in last year’s final.

In 2018, Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva lost to China’s Wang Qiang in the final, 1-6, 2-6.

The biggest star at the 2026 Guangzhou Open, which offers $283,300 in prize money, is American Venus Williams. The 46-year-old lost 2-6, 2-6 to 18-year-old Austrian Lilli Tagger in the first round of singles. Williams still advanced to the second round of doubles, partnering with Indonesia’s Janice Tjen.

The draw means Kulambayeva and Haverlag can meet Williams and Tjen only in the final, if both pairs reach it.