Canada’s Bianca Andreescu and China’s Yue Yuan progressed to the women’s doubles quarterfinals at the Wuhan Open on Thursday without even hitting a ball. The top-seeded Italians Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani withdrew before their match, granting Andreescu and Yuan a walkover victory. Paolini later advanced to the singles quarterfinals after her opponent, Denmark’s Clara Tauson, retired while trailing 3-6, 6-1, 3-1. Mississauga’s Andreescu and Yuan are set to face the No. 8 seeds, Anna Danilina from Kazakhstan and Aleksandra Krunic from Serbia, in the next round.
In a separate match, Leylah Fernandez from Laval, Quebec, and her partner Erin Routliffe from New Zealand were eliminated in the round of 16 after losing 4-6, 6-4, 10-4 to Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic and Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia. Routliffe, residing in Montreal, often partners with another Canadian, Gabriela Dabrowski from Ottawa, with whom she clinched the U.S. Open women’s doubles title last month.
The U.S. Open champion Aryna Sabalenka extended her winning streak at the Wuhan Open to 19 matches by defeating Liudmila Samsonova 6-3, 6-2 to secure a spot in the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000-level tournament. Sabalenka, the top-ranked player, has a remarkable streak that includes winning titles at Wuhan in 2018, 2019, and 2024. Additionally, the second-ranked Iga Swiatek advanced by beating former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic 7-6 (2), 6-4, and the third-ranked Coco Gauff defeated Zhang Shuai 6-3, 6-2.
Sabalenka is scheduled to face eighth-seeded Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals, while Swiatek will take on Jasmine Paolini, and Gauff will play against Laura Siegemund. Jessica Pegula also secured a spot in the final eight by overcoming Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 after recovering from an early service break in the third set. Pegula has been on a winning streak, winning five out of her last six three-set matches, including this latest victory over Alexandrova.
