PREVIEW WTA Wuhan Open Semi-Finals: Sabalenka looks to extend streak against Pegula, Coco Gauff faces Paolini test

The stage is set for the Wuhan Open semifinals, with no major surprises among the four remaining players. The day will be highlighted by the night session match in the top half of the draw between the 3-time defending champion, Aryna Sabalenka—the main favorite for the title—and the 6th seed, Jessica Pegula.

Earlier, Coco Gauff (3rd seed) will face Jasmine Paolini (7th seed)—the latter having surprised Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals, perhaps the most 'surprising' result of that round.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is undoubtedly the favorite to advance to the final. With a 20-0 record in Wuhan and as the defending champion of the last three editions of the tournament, the Belarusian continues to shine in Wuhan. She just defeated Elena Rybakina (8th seed) 6-3, 6-3 and secured her 10th consecutive victory—after winning the US Open title a month ago. "We have a really huge history against each other," said Sabalenka after beating Rybakina. "Always great battles, always push me to the limit to get the win."

She will face a reunion with Jessica Pegula, World No. 7, who overcame another three-set battle in the quarterfinals, this time against Kateřina Siniaková. The American has played 7 consecutive matches that have gone to a third set, across both Beijing and this week in Wuhan. The American will be seeking to reach a WTA 1000 final for the 7th time in her career, although given the conditions in Wuhan, Sabalenka arrives as the heavy favorite.

In their head-to-head, the Belarusian is dominant at 8-2, with victories in their last four consecutive meetings. Their last encounter was a month ago in the US Open semifinals, where Sabalenka recovered from a set down to claim her 4th major title.

World No. 3 Coco Gauff has—at the very least—managed to equal her 2024 campaign by reaching the Wuhan semifinals for the second consecutive year. The American has had a great Asia Swing—also reaching the semifinals in Beijing—and this time in Wuhan she has advanced with relatively little effort, with straight-sets wins against Moyuka Uchijima (6-1, 6-0), Shuai Zhang (6-3, 6-2), and Laura Siegemund (6-3, 6-0). She has accumulated just over three hours of total court time across the three matches, though all against rivals outside the Top 50.

This time she will face the 7th seed Jasmine Paolini, who arrives with maximum confidence after a notable 6-1, 6-2 victory over Swiatek. The Italian managed to beat the Pole for the first time after 6 consecutive losses in their previous meetings. This time, it took her just over an hour to secure a simple victory that puts her in the semifinals.

Paolini can also take advantage of the elimination of Elena Rybakina to gain ground in the race for a spot in the WTA Finals. Only two spots remain to be filled, and Paolini gained an advantage of over 200 points over Rybakina in the last WTA 1000 of the year. A victory would be key to practically securing her position in Riyadh.

Paolini and Gauff have already had several interesting matches, with the Italian leading the head-to-head 3-2, with the last three victories being consecutive wins for Paolini this year, including the memorable Rome Open final and the recent Cincinnati Open quarterfinals.