US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka continues her winning streak at the Wuhan Open, extending it to 19 matches after defeating Liudmila Samsonova with a score of 6-3, 6-2 this Thursday. This victory secures her a place in the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 tournament. Sabalenka’s impressive streak, currently at the top of the rankings, includes titles in Wuhan in 2018, 2019, and 2024. Iga Swiatek, ranked second, also advanced in the tournament, achieving a 7-6 (2), 6-4 victory against Belinda Bencic. Swiatek improves her record against Bencic to 5-1, including a straight-sets win in the Wimbledon semi-finals in July. In the next phase, Sabalenka will face Elena Rybakina, the eighth seed, who secured her place by defeating Linda Noskova with a score of 6-3, 6-4, seeking to secure a spot in the WTA Finals event in Saudi Arabia. Swiatek’s opponent in the quarterfinals will be Jasmine Paolini, who advanced after Clara Tauson retired while down 3-6, 6-1, 3-1. Jessica Pegula also secured a place in the quarterfinals, coming back from an initial break in the third set to defeat Ekaterina Alexandrova with a score of 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. Pegula, the sixth seed, tied the decisive set at 2-2 and then won four of the last five games to secure the victory. This victory over ninth-ranked Alexandrova comes a day after Pegula needed seven match points to overcome 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.
In the last match of the day, Coco Gauff, ranked third and after her defeat in the semifinals against Amanda Anisimova at the China Open last week, defeated Zhang Shuai with a score of 6-3, 6-2.I don’t remember the last time I played two sets. But I’ve been competing very hard and I’ve been playing against a lot of really good players. Today the conditions were different with the roof closed, and I think it took us a while to adapt.
Jessica Pegula
