US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka continues her impressive winning streak at the Wuhan Open, extending it to 19 matches after defeating Liudmila Samsonova with a score of 6-3, 6-2. This victory secures her a place in the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 tournament.
Sabalenka’s streak, currently at the top of the ranking, includes titles won in Wuhan in the years 2018, 2019, and 2024.
Iga Swiatek, world number two, also advanced to the next phase, achieving a 7-6 (2), 6-4 victory against Belinda Bencic. Swiatek improves her personal record against Bencic to 5-1, including a straight-sets victory in the Wimbledon semifinals in July.
In the quarterfinals, Sabalenka will face Elena Rybakina, who, seeded eighth, secured her spot with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Linda Noskova.
For her part, Swiatek will face Jasmine Paolini, who advanced after Clara Tauson retired when the score was 3-6, 6-1, 3-1 in favor of Paolini.
Jessica Pegula also secured her place in the quarterfinals after recovering from an initial service break in the third set, defeating Ekaterina Alexandrova with a score of 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.
Pegula, the sixth seed, tied the final set at 2-2 and then won four of the last five games to secure the victory. This triumph came a day after Pegula needed seven match points to beat her American compatriot Hailey Baptiste in the second round.
This was Pegula’s sixth consecutive match that went to three sets, and the fifth time she emerged victorious.
Coco Gauff, ranked number 3, also managed to advance. Gauff, after her semi-final defeat against Amanda Anisimova at the China Open, defeated Zhang Shuai with a score of 6-3, 6-2.
