Wuhan Open: Sabalenka controls Rybakina

Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, the top seed, advanced to the last 4 of the Wuhan Open by winning against Kazakh Elena Rybakina, the No 8 seed, 6-3, 6-3 at the Optics Valley International Tennis Center on Friday night.

Winner of the Chinese tournament in 2018, 2019, and 2024, Aryna Sabalenka now boasts 20 wins and no losses in Wuhan. The Belarusian becomes the fourth player since 1990 to win her first 20 main-draw matches at a WTA event, following Seles at the Australian Open (33–0), Graf in Leipzig (25–0), and Wozniacki in New Haven (20–0).

Aryna Sabalenka now leads Elena Rybakina 8–5 in their head-to-head meetings, including 2–1 in 2025. “We have a long history against each other,” Sabalenka said in her on-court interview. “They’re always great battles that push me to give my best in order to win.”

Sabalenka, ranked No 1, will face American Jessica Pegula, the No 6 seed, next.

The Belarusian beat Russian Liudmila Samsonova, the No 16 seed (6-3, 6-2) and Slovak Rebecca Sramkova (4-6, 6-3, 6-1) in the previous rounds of the Wuhan tournament.

Earlier in the tournament, Rybakina, ranked No 9, won against Czech Linda Noskova (6-3, 6-4) and Romanian Jaqueline Cristian (6-4, 6-3).

Wuhan WTA 1000, other quarter-finals results (Optics Valley International Tennis Center, hard, USD 3.654.963, most recent results first):

• Jasmine Paolini vs. Iga Swiatek
• Laura Siegemund vs. Coco Gauff
• Jessica Pegula beat Katerina Siniakova (Q): 2-6, 6-0, 6-3