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, securing her place in the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 tournament. Sabalenka’s outstanding streak includes titles in Wuhan in 2018, 2019, and 2024. Iga Swiatek, ranked second, also advanced, defeating former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic with a score of 7-6 (2), 6-4. Swiatek improves her record against Bencic to 5-1, including a straight-sets victory in the Wimbledon semifinals in July. In their next match, Sabalenka will face Elena Rybakina, the eighth seed, who achieved a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Linda Noskova, seeking to secure her participation in the WTA Finals event in Saudi Arabia. Swiatek’s opponent in the quarterfinals will be Jasmine Paolini, who advanced after Clara Tauson retired when she was losing 3-6, 6-1, 3-1.
Previously, Jessica Pegula rallied from an initial service break in the third set to beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, securing her place in the final eight. Pegula, the sixth seed, who lost in the semifinals of the China Open last week, tied the deciding set at 2-2 and then won four of the last five games to get the victory.
This victory over ninth-ranked Alexandrova comes a day after Pegula needed seven match points to defeat fellow American 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 closing match, Coco Gauff, after her semi-final defeat 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 really hard, and I’ve played against a lot of really good players. The conditions were different today with the roof closed, and I think it took us a while to adapt.
Pegula
