Aryna Sabalenka continues Wuhan dominance — More from the week in women’s tennis

With her three-set tussle over Zheng Qinwen in the final, Sabalenka became the first player to capture three consecutive titles in Wuhan. The Belarussian captured her 17th career WTA singles title and fifth in China — the most in the Open Era. While she improves to 17-0 in Wuhan and 54-12 in 2024, Sabalenka still struggled throughout the week needing three sets in three of her five matches. The tennis Sabalenka produced this weekend wasn’t just her normal baseline aggression, but she’s been displaying a lot more of the variety that helped her reach No. 1 in the doubles rankings in 2021. That intangible that I’m noticing more has my gut saying she might wreak even more havoc in 2025.

Another Wuhan storyline that I think might turn into a 2025 gamechanger is Coco Gauff. Sure, the American lost in the semifinals to Sabalenka and the 19 double faults she served could turn alarm bells on. However, giving Sabalenka a breadstick in the opening set and losing 6-4 in the third with that much holding her back shows that she could contend for the No. 1 ranking once she gets her serve under control.

Lastly, it’s nice to see Zheng Qinwen continue her good form in the Asian swing. After reaching the semifinals in Beijing, she did one better in Wuhan and she’s the favorite to take the WTA 500 this week in Ningbo. Her win over Wang Xinyu in the semifinals — the first all-Chinese semifinal at a WTA 100 event — showed how much impact she has and could have even more. Li Na walked so Zheng Qinwen could run and I think we’ve just scratched the surface with how much she could take over the (tennis) world.

While the WTA 1000 events are over, there’s still plenty of points up for grabs with Riyadh berths on the line. With the results in Wuhan, four more players qualified for the WTA Finals Riyadh — Gauff, Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula and Jasmine Paolini. While there’s technically two spots up for grabs, because Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova will likely receive the eighth spot as a wildcard for being a reigning Grand Slam champion in the Top 20. This week, Qinwen can further her lead over Emma Navarro, who withdrew from Ningbo, with a deep run. However, there are a lot of question marks surrounding Elena Rybakina and her health and this race to the finish might just be moot.

On to links!

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Breanna Stewart had 21 points, 5 assists, 7 steals, and 8 rebounds in the Liberty’s Game 2 win. She’s just the second player in WNBA history to have 20-5-5-5 in the Finals.

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This Week in Women’s Tennis

The full decision of Simona Halep’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was finally released last week and you can read the full case here.

UTR Sports announced an expansion to their Pro Tennis Tour and shared their 2025 calendar that will see $11 million invested to professional players.

The Wuhan doubles title was won by Anna Danilina and Irina Khromacheva, who are continuing their strong late-season play and could contend for a spot at the WTA Finals Riyadh.

Former World No. 1 and WTA Finals Riyadh Tournament Director Garbine Muguruza married fiance Arthur Borges last week, three years after meeting on the streets during the 2021 U.S. Open:

Giuliana Olmos was featured by tennis.com as part of their Hispanic Heritage Month coverage, my must-read of the week.

Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff were among the players to send their best wishes to Rafael Nadal, who announced his upcoming retirement at the Davis Cup finals.

In January, Magdalena Frech was considering hanging up her racquet and now, she’s playing the tennis of her life and at a career-high ranking.

Armed with a new coach, Hailey Baptiste is starting to find her footing at the top of the game, scoring her first Top 10 victory in Wuhan over Barbora Krejcikova.

Coco Gauff, who will be joining Taylor Fritz and Team USA for January’s United Cup, shared how A’ja Wilson has been inspiring her in her own sport.

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Tweet of the Week

Two cups of Coco to celebrate Coco Gauff’s WTA Finals qualification: