Sabalenka extends Wuhan win streak to 20 matches

Sabalenka won the Wuhan Open in 2018, 2019 and again in 2024 following the tournament taking a four-year hiatus because of the Covid-19 pandemic

Aryna Sabalenka extended her winning streak at the Wuhan Open to 20 matches with a straight-set victory over Elena Rybakina in the quarter-finals on Friday.

The world number one, who is the three-time defending champion in Wuhan, beat eighth seed Rybakina 6-3 6-3 and said the Kazakhstan player "always pushes me to the limit to get the win".

The 27-year-old Belarusian, who is the top seed, will face Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals on Saturday after the American needed three sets to beat Katerina Siniakova 2-6 6-0 6-3.

In the other last-eight ties, Jasmine Paolini dominated world number two Iga Swiatek 6-1 6-2, while Coco Gauff comfortably defeated Laura Siegemund in straight sets 6-3 6-0.

According to statisticians Opta, Sabalenka is the fourth female player to win their first 20 main draw matches in a single WTA level event since 1990 after Monica Seles at the Australian Open (33-0), Steffi Graf in Leipzig (25-0) and Caroline Wozniacki in New Haven (20-0).

Sabalenka, who retained her US Open title in September, controlled the match against Rybakina, sealing the first set with a hold before breaking the Kazakh's serve in the first game of the second.

Despite a few service wobbles in the closing stages, Sabalenka took a comfortable win to set up the match with Pegula - a player against whom she has won eight of her 10 meetings.

Asked about her consecutive wins at the tournament, four-time major winner Sabalenka said she feels a "really great connection" with the fans in China.

"I feel at home every time playing here. Honestly, that's just crazy," she said.

Sixth seed Pegula was a set down against Siniakova before fighting back to take the second set unchallenged. She then clinched the third set for her 50th win of the season, boosting her chances of qualifying for next month's season-ending WTA Finals.

Pegula's last seven matches have all gone to three sets, with the world number six losing just one of them. "I guess I'm in really good shape," she said.

American Gauff, seeded third, converted five of eight break points against German Siegemund, and has only dropped nine games across three rounds in Wuhan so far.

The French Open champion and world number three, who was defeated by Amanda Anisimova in the China Open semi-finals last week, faces seventh seed Paolini next.

Italian Paolini, ranked eighth in the world, had lost her previous six matches against Poland's Swiatek, but the 29-year-old took just 26 minutes to secure the opening set against the second seed on her way to a memorable victory.

Rinderknech joins cousin Vacherot in Shanghai semis

Arthur Rinderknech is ranked 54th in the world

In the Shanghai Masters quarter-finals, Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech caused an upset by sealing a 6-3 6-4 victory over Canadian 12th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.

The 30-year-old is the cousin of qualifier and world number 204 Valentin Vacherot from Monaco, who beat Danish 10th seed Holger Rune on Thursday to become the second lowest-ranked player to reach an ATP Masters 1,000 semi-final. Vacherot faces 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic next.

Rinderknech, ranked 54th, said his family WhatsApp group was "burning".

"Everybody is just living the little dream we are in, Val and I, so it's really enjoyable," he said.

Rinderknech's last-four opponent will be 16th seed Daniil Medvedev, who beat seventh seed Alex de Minaur in a physical last-eight encounter.

Medvedev, 29, closed out the match with an ace after breaking Australian De Minaur to go 5-4 ahead in the second set. The result means he has reached a 50th ATP hard court semi-final.

The Russian, ranked 18th in the world, said he was "super tired" after facing 26-year-old De Minaur, but added he was "really happy" with his overall performance.