Aryna Sabalenka emulates stunning Serena Williams feat as she makes history with Wuhan Open triumph
Aryna Sabalenka overcame Zheng Qinwen in an enthralling three-set final at the 2024 Wuhan Open to win the event for the third time.
The world No 2 earned a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 triumph against Zheng in a championship match lasting two hours and 40 minutes.
Sabalenka secured the only break of the opening set to go 4-2 ahead, before Zheng broke three times en route to taking the second set to level the contest.
The Belarusian star broke her 22-year-old Chinese opponent four times in the decider as she sealed a hard-fought victory.
The three-time Grand Slam champion now holds a 4-0 record against Zheng, having defeated the world No 7 three times this season.
Sabalenka is unbeaten at the Wuhan Open and is now on a 17-match winning streak at the WTA 1000 tournament, having also triumphed the previous two times it was held in 2019 and 2018.
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By securing her third successive Wuhan Open crown, Sabalenka has become only the second player after Serena Williams to win a WTA 1000 tournament in three consecutive editions.
Williams accomplished this by winning the Miami Open three years in a row between 2013 and 2015.
Sabalenka has made history by becoming the first player to win the Wuhan Open three times, having previously been tied on two titles with Petra Kvitova. She has also surpassed Kvitova to become the outright leader for the most matches won in Wuhan with 17.
The 26-year-old’s victory has seen her become the player with the most WTA titles won in China in the Open Era with five. She has eclipsed former world No 2 Agnieszka Radwanska, who won four titles in China.
In her press conference, Sabalenka was asked what she felt had made this match more competitive than her first three meetings with Zheng, which she won in straight sets.
“Well, I mean, first of all I would say the conditions are probably a little bit better for her here,” Sabalenka said. “It’s much slower and the ball’s getting heavier. She has more – I don’t know – things to do on the court when it’s slower.
“Honestly, I felt like I just lost little bit focus and I let her come back in the match. I got a little bit frustrated there. It became a three-set match. Balls are getting heavier, it’s third set, a bit emotional.
“I wouldn’t say that she did something differently. I would say that I just played kind of like against myself. But I’m really happy I was able to put everything together in the third set and get this win.”
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