Leylah Fernandez Exits Singles at Wuhan Open, Advances in Doubles

Canada’s Leylah Fernandez was eliminated from singles play in the third round of the Wuhan Open after suffering a 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 defeat against China’s Zheng Qinwen on Thursday. Despite the singles setback, Fernandez found success in the doubles competition. Teaming with Indonesia’s Aldila Sutjiadi, she secured a decisive 6-1, 6-0 victory over Shuai Zhang of China and Belgium’s Elise Mertens in second-round doubles action.

Elsewhere in the tournament, Coco Gauff reached the singles quarterfinals with a commanding 6-4, 6-1 win against 17th-ranked Marta Kostyuk. This marks Gauff’s eighth consecutive victory on the WTA Tour’s Asian swing, following her triumph at the China Open the previous week. The American noted, “She’s [Magda Linette] a tough opponent, and I expect it to be a tough match. She’s not easy to play,” as she anticipated her next match against Linette.

In a surprising turn of events, Wang Xinyu from China defeated the third-seed Jessica Pegula in a 6-3, 7-5 win, thereby making her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal appearance. Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka rallied to defeat Yulia Putintseva with scores of 1-6, 6-4, 6-0, advancing her into the quarterfinals and allowing her to reclaim the top spot in the WTA rankings.

In men’s tennis, top-ranked Jannik Sinner progressed to his fifth ATP Masters semifinal of the season at the Shanghai Masters, overcoming Daniil Medvedev in a solid 6-1, 6-4 performance. Reflecting on the match, Sinner commented, “It felt like he [Medvedev] had a bit of shoulder pain and couldn’t hit his forehand as well as he wished to.”

Another notable match saw Tomas Machac break Carlos Alcaraz‘s 12-match winning streak, winning 7-6 (5), 7-5. Machac expressed confidence by stating, “I knew that the level of my tennis would be great because I am playing the best right now, for sure.”

The Wuhan Open and Shanghai Masters continue to deliver thrilling matches as top players vie for championship titles and rankings advancement in the late stages of the tournaments.