The first edition of the China Open was first held in 1993.
Michael Chang won the men’s singles event, defeating Greg Rusedski 7–6, 6–7, 6–4 in the final.
A year later, the China Open Women’s Singles event was established as a WTA Tier Four competition.
Who won the first-ever edition of the tournament?
Meet Yayuk Basuki
Basuki, who achieved a career-high ranking of 19, became the first champion of the China Open Women’s Singles event in 1994.
Who do you think will win the women’s singles title at the China Open this year?
The former Wimbledon quarter-finalist, who hails from Yogyakarta in Indonesia, was seeded second at the event.
Basuki produced some excellent performances en route to the final in Beijing, beating Mariaan de Swardt, Maja Živec-Škulj, Misumi Miyauchi and third seed Pam Shriver.
Basuki clinched the title by defeating Japanese player Kyōko Nagatsuka, 6-4, 6-2.
The triumph occurred three years on from Basuki’s first WTA Tour singles title in Pattaya, Thailand.
Basuki defeated Japan’s Naoko Sawamatsu 6-2, 6-2 to win the 1991 Volvo Women’s Open.
Yayuk Basuki’s best Grand Slam results
Basuki achieved her best-ever Grand Slam singles result at the 1997 Wimbledon Championships.
The Indonesian player defeated Ai Sugiyama, Inés Gorrochategui, Naoko Kijimuta and Patricia Hy-Boulais before losing to eventual finalist Jana Novotna.
While Basuki was successful in singles, the Indonesian star has a greater standing within doubles circles.
Basuki reached the quarter-finals in women’s doubles at all four Grand Slam events – reaching the US Open semi-finals in 1993.
The Asian star also enjoyed success in mixed doubles, qualifying for the quarter-finals at Roland Garros [1995] and Wimbledon [1997].
Basuki ended her singles career in 2000 having won six WTA titles and five ITF titles.
She continued to compete on the doubles tour until 2013, winning nine WTA events and 25 ITF tournaments.
Basuki achieved a career-high doubles ranking of nine on July 6, 1998.
The Indonesian native launched a career in politics following her 2013 retirement.
Basuki represented Central Java in the parliament between 2014 and 2019 and served a four-year term as a chair of the Indonesian Olympian Association.
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