CHINA OPEN

September 27, 2025

Yuan Yue

Press Conference

I. SWIATEK/Yuan Yue

6-0, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: We'll start with questions in English.

Q. Can you talk about the match, your experience playing it, and what is it that makes Iga so difficult as an opponent?

YUAN YUE: I thought today when I got on court first set, even I tell myself I need to be positive, I need to have a lot of confidence, the first set I still a little bit nervous.

Also I cannot really focus. There's a lot of things in my mind. I feel like a little bit too loud in my mind. I was focused on my wrist because I felt little bit pain. This is not the problem.

Like sometimes in your mental part, it make you feeling worse than what it actually is. I mean, my wrist is not that bad. I'm okay. I mean, she's very good player. I cannot focus maybe because I'm nervous. I don't know.

But start from second set, I feel much better. I push myself to don't give myself reason, like, don't try to thinking about, for example, if you miss a ball, just miss a ball, not because of your wrist, not because of she's No. 1 in the world, not because of she's play too well. Just focus on what it actually is.

I think these things make me to feeling better.

Q. In the second set when your mind got quieter, what did you see that you could do that was working against her? Where did you find maybe if you make certain adjustments, the gap was closer?

YUAN YUE: I thought she had really good backhand. She can change direction. Also her footwork, it's very well. But I feel I have also very good forehand. Second set I play many very good forehand winner. I think this is the best shot for me in second set.

Also I feel like during a long rally, I feel I also have very good chance to win the point. But I feel like, for example, if she can play 20 points in a row, that quality. For me, maybe only like three, five, and I need five- or ten- minutes break and start again.

I think this is the difference between me and top player. Her physical level is much higher. I think even she play third set, she don't feel any tired. She can stay in the same footwork, same physically-wise.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in Chinese.

Q. After the US Open, you've been playing well this year, which hasn't converted to success. You were looking forward to better results in the China season. Were the two matches here meeting your expectations?

YUAN YUE: I was saying that I was playing better and better since the start of the U.S. season. I did very well in the first match here. I did not play that bad today. Just a little bit slow for me to get into today.

I wasn't able to focus at the very beginning maybe because she's the best player in the world or maybe because of other factors. I think this is part of experience.

If you are really into this match, you can really feel what it feels like to play her. No matter how many times you've imagined the meetings with her, no matter how many times you've watched her on TV, it will be entirely different when you play her on court.

It took me one set to get used to it. But this is a really good experience for me.

Q. The China season just started. We had the BJK Cup and then the China Open. Coming into the China season, can you talk about the overall feeling, your performance?

YUAN YUE: Yes, I can be more focused, focused on what actually happened on court. Like today, even if I lost in the first set, I was able to quickly adjust myself to make changes.

In the first set I was feeling there was some pain in my wrist, but it wasn't as painful as I imagined. I was always trying to look for reasons. But the actual pain was actually less than how I felt.

In the second set I told myself I need to focus on the match itself. Even if she plays a winner or even if I miss a ball, I do not find excuses. I would actually look for the causes for these mistakes and errors. I would not just try to say she's the best player, not to blame it on my wrist, I will look at the actual facts here.

I'm really happy in the second set I was able to make a turnaround in my mentality. There was a change in the second set. At least I did not drop that many games in the second set. I was really learning from it. If I played really bad in the two sets, then I wouldn't know what I can learn from in this match.

Q. Looking ahead, what about other tournaments coming up?

YUAN YUE: First of all, this afternoon or tomorrow I will go to the hospital to look at my wrist. Then my fitness trainer will come over to train with me. I will focus on my physicality, my health.

If I play a player like Iga, I think body-wise, physicality-wise, there's a big gap. First of all, I need to be healthy, then step by step I need to maintain a good mentality. I will focus on my work and training. That's the most important thing.

Q. You talked about mentality. How big of an impact does it have on your performance on court?

YUAN YUE: I think it's pretty big. If you play a really good opponent and you think she's really good, but if you're really trying to lift that burden, like what I did in the second set, then almost instantly your level rises.

Within one set, I don't think you can improve that much. So mentality is interacting with the physicality. In the first set, I was focusing on my pain. In the second set, I was persuading myself not to be distracted. I did not feel any pain in the second set. I thought that mentality was a very big factor.

I believe that mentality training, it takes a long time. It cannot be built within one day. It's a long process. I have to train day by day. It's a mental buildup. All of a sudden one day you see yourself different. I will allow myself more time to do that.