Sabalenka remains unstoppable in Wuhan: 19 consecutive victories!

Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka, current US Open champion, continues unstoppable at the Wuhan Open, extending her winning streak 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 impressive streak includes titles in Wuhan in 2018, 2019, and 2024, solidifying her dominance in this prestigious event. Iga Swiatek, ranked number 2, also advanced to the next phase, after a 7-6 (2), 6-4 victory against Belinda Bencic. Swiatek improves her record against Bencic to 5-1, including a straight-sets victory in the Wimbledon semi-finals in July. In the quarterfinals, Sabalenka will face Elena Rybakina, the eighth seed, who secured her spot by defeating Linda Noskova with a score of 6-3, 6-4, in her quest for a place in the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia. Swiatek’s opponent in the quarterfinals will be Jasmine Paolini, who advanced in the round of sixteen after Clara Tauson retired, when the score was 3-6, 6-1, 3-1.

On the other hand, Jessica Pegula managed to recover from an initial break in the third set to defeat Ekaterina Alexandrova with a score of 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, securing her place among the eight finalists. Pegula, sixth seed and semifinalist at the China Open last week, tied the decisive set at 2-2 and then won four of the last five games to take the victory.

This victory over Alexandrova comes 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 three-set match, and the fifth time she emerged victorious.

I don’t remember the last time I played two sets. But I’ve been competing really hard and I’ve played against a lot of really good players. The conditions today were different with the roof closed, and I think it took us a while to adapt.

Jessica Pegula

In the last match of the day, Coco Gauff, ranked number 3, 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.