The Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova scored the first upset of the Wuhan Open on Monday with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over 15th-seeded Diana Shnaider of Russia.
Siniakova, who entered the tournament as a qualifier, converted four of five break chances to advance to the second round of the final WTA 1000 tournament of 2025.
Siniakova will face Australia’s Maya Joint, who held off China’s Lin Zhu 7-5, 7-6 (10). Joint fought off a set point trailing 10-9 in the tiebreak before finishing the match in just over two hours.
Only two other matches featured seeded players Monday. No. 9 Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia beat Victoria Mboko of Canada 6-3, 6-2 and No. 10 Clara Tauson of Denmark ousted Olga Danilovic of Serbia 6-3, 7-5.
Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro defeated France’s Varvara Gracheva 7-6 (0), 6-2 to set up a second-round match with American Iva Jovic.
Hailey Baptiste rallied to beat fellow American Ashlyn Krueger 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. Awaiting her in the second round is another compatriot, No. 6 seed Jessica Pegula.
Croatia’s Antonio Ruzic was a 6-2, 6-3 winner against Poland’s Magda Linette. China’s Yuan Yue edged Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti 7-6 (2), 7-6 (1). Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima eliminated China’s Xinyu Wang 6-4, 7-6 (3). Belgium’s Elise Mertens won 7-6 (5), 6-3 over Russia’s Polina Kudermetova. Czech Marie Bouzkova took down Colombia’s Camila Osorio 6-3, 6-4.
Germany’s Laura Siegemund was leading 7-5, 4-6, 4-1 when Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska was forced to retire.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus is the No. 1 seed, Poland’s Iga Swiatek is No. 2 and Coco Gauff is No. 3. Amanda Anisimova, the No. 4 seed and China Open winner, pulled out of the event with a left calf injury.
Swiatek will face Bouzkova and Gauff will meet Uchijima in the second round. Sabalenka awaits the winner between Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova and Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya.
The tournament is the final chance for players to make a push for the year-end tournament in Riyadh. Five of the eight spots have already been claimed by Sabalenka, Swiatek, Gauff, Anisimova and Madison Keys, with three up for grabs in Wuhan.
Sabalenka has been idle since last month’s U.S. Open triumph. She is nursing a “minor injury” that forced her to withdraw from the China Open in Beijing.
“I feel good,” she told reporters on Sunday in Wuhan. “I just didn’t want to rush my body into the tournament. So I think we made the right decision to take extra time for recovery and for the preparation. Physically, I feel ready to go.”
–Field Level Media
