Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner are the big winners in China
By Lee Vowell
Aryna Sabalenka knew heading into her final against Zheng Qinwen at the Wuhan Open that she would be reclaiming the WTA No. 1 ranking on October 21 when the new rankings are released. This did not make her match against Zheng any easier, however. The Chinese player playing on home soil and having her best year so far forced Sabalenka to a deciding third set.
To be fair, the Belarusian is the one who truly loves to play in China. With her 6-3 5-7 6-3 victory over Zheng, she became the first woman to win three straight Wuhan Open titles, and she has won her last 17 matches at the event. (The Wuhan Open was not held between 2020 and 2023, but Sabalenka won the tournament in 2018 and 2019 as well as this year.
Zheng decidedly lost the first set when she was struggling to land her first serve. In the second set, though, she was able to break Sabalenka three times. The Chinese player also held a break point at 2-3 in the third set, but Sabalenka was able to hold for a 4-2 lead, and any last-minute drama was gone.
Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner both win their respective tournaments in China on Sunday
The victory marked Sabalenka's second Masters 1000 win in 2024 - she also won the Cincinnati Open - and her fourth title. She will overtake Iga Swiatek in the WTA rankings, though the year-end No. 1 ranking will probably be decided at the WTA Finals in early November. Even with the loss, Zheng will move up to No. 7.
Coco Gauff and Matt Daly seem like a perfect match. Coco Gauff and Matt Daly seem like a perfect match. dark. Next
Jannik Sinner has clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking on the ATP side, but he clearly is not satisfied. Possibly looking to prove himself even more after he has been dogged by accusations of a cover-up due to two failed drug tests in March, Sinner is making runs at almost every tournament he enters. He swept through the Shanghai Masters by only dropping one set in the tournament before the final.
On Sunday, he played an inspired Novak Djokovic, but as has happened in three of their last four meetings, Sinner was the better player. He defeated the Serb in straight sets 7-6(4) 6-3. The Italian was never broken and played cleaner tennis than Djokovic. Sinner finished with 22 winners and 23 unforced errors, while the Serb was 12 and 23, respectively.
More tennis news and analysis:
manual