Paolini, Rybakina Secure Wins in Wuhan to Advance

WUHAN, China — Seventh seed Jasmine Paolini and eighth seed Elena Rybakina advanced to the third round of the Dongfeng Voyah · Wuhan Open on Wednesday, each securing contrasting victories.

Paolini was the first to advance, rallying past local wildcard Yue Yuan with a score of 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 for her fourth consecutive win against the Chinese player. After Paolini’s victory, Rybakina followed with a win over Romania’s Jaqueline Adina Cristian, defeating her 6-4, 6-3 to reach the round of 16.

Both players are competing for spots in the WTA Finals, with three berths still available. Rybakina, currently in eighth place in the standings, must finish at least one round ahead of Paolini this week to maintain her lead in the Race to Riyadh.

Wednesday’s match marked Paolini’s 39th WTA main-draw victory of the year, just one shy of her career-best 40 wins from last season. She will next face Denmark’s Clara Tauson, against whom she holds a 1-0 lead in their head-to-head encounters. The Italian player is on track to set a new personal best for main-draw wins in a single year.

With her latest victory, Paolini also became the fourth Italian to achieve 40 or more WTA 1000 hard-court wins since the format was introduced in 2009, alongside notable players such as Roberta Vinci and Flavia Pennetta. Additionally, she is the oldest player to record 24 or more main-draw wins at WTA 1000 events in a single season since Serena Williams in 2014.

For Rybakina, this match marks her opportunity to secure her 10th quarterfinal of the season. She has already reached nine quarterfinals this year, trailing only Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka. Rybakina’s next opponent is Czech player Linda Noskova, who has been in strong form recently. Rybakina leads their head-to-head matchup 2-0, having previously defeated Noskova at Roland Garros in 2023 and in the Brisbane semifinals in 2024.