Aryna Sabalenka beats Qinwen Zheng to win the Wuhan Open

WUHAN, China – Top seed Aryna Sabalenka shook off a second-set slip to win the Wuhan Open title for the third straight time after beating home favorite Qinwen Zheng 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 in the final Sunday.

Sabalenka, who eliminated former US Open champion Coco Gauff in the semifinals on Saturday, had seven aces and 32 winners and didn’t face a single break point in the opening set.

The 26-year-old Belarusian now has the most aces in the WTA 1000 season, surpassing world number 5 Elena Rybakina.

After winning all three of their past meetings in straight sets, including the Australian Open final, world No. 2 Sabalenka lost some control in the second set against Paris Olympics gold medalist Qinwen.

Sabalenka built a 3-0 double break lead in the deciding set and eventually converted her third championship point to secure her fourth title of the year and take her total WTA singles title haul to 17.

Zheng was attempting to become the second Chinese player to win a WTA 1000 title (Li Na, Cincinnati, 2012).

“That sounds crazy,” Sabalenka said of becoming the first person to win the event three times in a row. “This place definitely feels like home.”

Sabalenka also won in 2018 and 2019. The event did not take place from 2020 to 2023 due to COVID.

Sabalenka is aiming to reclaim the top spot in the final weeks of the season, having already qualified for the season-ending WTA Finals alongside world No. 1 Iga Swiatek.

Reuters contributed to this report.