Canada’s Bianca Andreescu and China’s Yue Yuan advanced to the quarterfinals of the women’s doubles at the Wuhan Open on Thursday without having to play. The top-seeded Italian pair of Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani withdrew from their match, granting Andreescu and Yuan a walkover victory. Paolini later reached the singles quarterfinals when her opponent, Denmark’s Clara Tauson, retired while trailing 3-6, 6-1, 3-1.
Mississauga’s Bianca Andreescu and Yuan will now face the No. 8 seeded pair of Anna Danilina from Kazakhstan and Aleksandra Krunic from Serbia in the upcoming 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 a 4-6, 6-4, 10-4 defeat to Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic and Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia. Routliffe, who resides in Montreal, often partners with another Canadian player, Gabriela Dabrowski from Ottawa, with whom she won the U.S. Open women’s doubles title last month.
Aryna Sabalenka, the U.S. Open champion, extended her winning streak to 19 matches at the Wuhan Open 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 previously won titles at Wuhan in 2018, 2019, and 2024.
Second-ranked Iga Swiatek also advanced by defeating former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic 7-6 (2), 6-4. Swiatek now holds a 5-1 career record over Bencic, including a victory in the Wimbledon semifinals earlier in the year. Coco Gauff, ranked third, breezed past Zhang Shuai 6-3, 6-2 after her semifinal loss at the China Open last week.
Sabalenka is scheduled to face eighth-seeded Elena Rybakina in the next round, while Swiatek will play against Jasmine Paolini and Gauff will go up against Laura Siegemund. Jessica Pegula also secured a spot in the quarterfinals by overcoming Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 in a hard-fought match, marking her sixth consecutive three-set victory.
The Wuhan Open continues with top women’s players vying for a spot in the upcoming rounds.
