Wuhan, China: World’s number one Aryna Sabalenka stormed into her fourth consecutive Wuhan Open quarter-final on Thursday, continuing her flawless run at the tournament. The Belarusian star, who has now won 19 straight matches in Wuhan, defeated Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova 6-3, 6-2 in just 75 minutes.
Her dominant victory came shortly after revealing an interesting detail from her post–US Open break — she spent her vacation training with tennis legend Novak Djokovic in Greece.
“We went for dinner. We practised a couple of times,” Sabalenka told reporters with a smile.
“I hope I was a great hitting partner. So far, he’s winning in Shanghai, so I guess I was.”
Sabalenka, who clinched her fourth Grand Slam title at the US Open in September, looked sharp from the very first game. Unlike her rusty performance against Rebecca Sramkova the day before, she came out firing against Samsonova, not facing a single break point throughout the match. She was particularly impressive on her second serve, conceding just three points.
With her sights set on a fourth straight Wuhan Open title, Sabalenka will now face former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in what promises to be a blockbuster quarter-final clash.
Swiatek Battles Past Bencic in Two Gruelling Sets
World No. 2 Iga Swiatek also advanced to the last eight, earning a hard-fought 7-6(7/2), 6-4 win over Belinda Bencic to mark her 25th WTA 1000 quarter-final appearance.
“I wanted to play with confidence and make great decisions because against Belinda, you can’t let her dictate,” Swiatek said after the match.
“It was super hard and every game was tough. I’m happy I was there in the deciding moments.”
Bencic had initially erased a 0–3 deficit and even served for the first set at 5–4 before Swiatek wrestled back control and clinched it in a 72-minute tiebreaker. The second set followed a similar back-and-forth pattern, but Swiatek’s consistency eventually saw her through.
Swiatek will next face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini for a spot in the semi-finals.
Rybakina, Paolini, and Pegula Complete the Quarter-Final Line-Up
Elena Rybakina, who is chasing a berth in the WTA Finals, defeated Linda Noskova 6-3, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, seventh seed Jasmine Paolini survived an early scare against Denmark’s Clara Tauson. Tauson took the first set 6-3 but was forced to retire in the third due to a right thigh injury, handing Paolini a 3-6, 6-1, 3-1 win. However, Paolini later withdrew from her doubles match, citing a gastrointestinal illness.
In another hard-fought battle, Jessica Pegula also advanced after overcoming Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. The American sixth seed spent over two hours on court for the second consecutive day and will next meet Czech qualifier Katerina Siniakova in the last eight.
Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek Cruise Into Wuhan Open Quarters
