Top seed Aryna Sabalenka secured her third title in just four tournaments, defeating home favorite and fifth seed Zheng Qinwen in an electrifying final at the Wuhan Open.
Adding to her already impressive season, Sabalenka’s victory builds on her recent titles in Cincinnati and the US Open, further solidifying her dominance on the Hologic WTA Tour. Her legacy in Wuhan now stands unparalleled, as she remains unbeaten at this prestigious WTA 1000 event, previously winning the title in 2018 and 2019 before the tournament’s five-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the final, Sabalenka extended her winning streak to 17 consecutive matches in Wuhan. She controlled the first set with ease, securing a pivotal break of serve in the sixth game and converting her first set point to take it 6-3.
The second set proved more intense, with both players exchanging breaks twice. Sabalenka’s resilience shone through in the long sixth game, where she held serve to maintain pressure. Serving for the second set at 5-3, Zheng dropped serve in what was the second exchange of breaks and allowed Sabalenka to stay in the set, however, the Chinese player finished the job later on the Belarusian’s serve, converting her first set point.
The final set saw Sabalenka assert her dominance once again. She stormed ahead to a 3-0 double-break lead, eventually serving for the match at 5-3. After fending off Zheng’s resistance, she converted her third match point to close out the thrilling contest 6-3 5-7 6-3.
On her way to the final, Sabalenka enjoyed a first-round bye before dispatching doubles world No. 1 Katerina Siniakova, Yulia Putintseva, Magdalena Frech, and US Open champion Coco Gauff in the semifinals.
With this triumph, Sabalenka claimed her third Wuhan Open title and her 17th career singles title. The world No. 2 is now just 69 points behind Iga Swiatek in the quest for the season-ending world No. 1 WTA ranking. Throughout the tournament, she sported the Nike Fall Slam Dress and wielded her Wilson Blade 98 18×20 v9 racquet.
