Swiatek stunned by Paolini at Wuhan Open. Sabalenka, Gauff advance to
semifinals
[October 11, 2025]
WUHAN, China (AP) — Iga Swiatek was knocked out of the Wuhan Open on
Friday in a straight-set defeat to Jasmine Paolini — a player the
Wimbledon champion had never previously lost against.
Paolini powered her way to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over the second-ranked
Swiatek in a quarterfinal that was over in 65 minutes. |
Iga Swiatek, of Poland reacts during the women's singles match against
Emma Navarro, of the United States, in the China Open tennis tournament,
at the National Tennis Center, in Beijing, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP
Photo/Andy Wong) |
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It was the Italian’s first victory over Swiatek in their seventh
meeting — with Paolini having previously won only one set — and
secured her a semifinal spot against the third-ranked Coco Gauff.
“Finally I won a match,” the seventh-seeded Paolini said. “I’m
super happy about my level. Just feels amazing.”
Paolini has a much better record against Gauff, having triumphed
over the American in their past three meetings.
Gauff cruised into a second straight semifinal with a 6-3, 6-0
victory over Laura Siegemund. She lost to eventual champion
Amanda Anisimova in the final four at the China Open last week.
The top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka will face Jessica Pegula in the
other semifinal.
Sabalenka extended her winning streak at Wuhan to 20 matches
with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over eighth-seeded Elena Rybakina.
The U.S. Open champion won the WTA 1000-level tournament in
2018, ’19 and again last year on her return to the Chinese city.
Sabalenka broke Rybakina's serve three times in the 1-hour,
25-minute match to advance into the semifinals for the 11th time
this season, and then waved and blew kisses to the crowd.
Earlier Friday, Pegula went to a third set for a seventh
consecutive match. The sixth seed dropped the first set against
Katerina Siniakova before reeling through the next two for a
2-6, 6-0, 6-3 victory.
Pegula is coming off wins over No. 9 Ekaterina Alexandrova and
fellow American Hailey Baptiste, when she needed seven match
points to clinch the win.
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