Coco Gauff off to strong start in Wuhan, Aryna Sabalenka vows to 'fight for world No. 1' after landmark win

Coco Gauff's strong recent form continued as she opened her Wuhan Open campaign with a dominant victory over Viktoriya Tomova. The American is bidding for a second straight title after her China Open victory, but could face stiff competition from top seed Aryna Sabalenka, who booked her 50th Tour win of the season before targeting a "fight for world No. 1" with Iga Swiatek.

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Coco Gauff began her bid for a second straight title in China with a 6-1 6-2 win over Viktoriya Tomova at the Wuhan Open, while world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka also progressed.

Fourth seed Gauff is looking to continue the strong recent form that saw her claim the China Open title in Beijing last week, and the American made short work of Tomova.

The former US Open champion wrapped up a seventh straight victory in one hour and 15 minutes, landing five aces and breaking the Bulgarian five times.

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She will face 13th seed Marta Kostyuk in the last 16, with the winner facing either Magda Linette or Daria Kasatkina in the quarter-finals.

Gauff is seeded to face top seed and recently-crowned US Open champion Sabalenka in the semi-finals, should they both make it safely through.

Sabalenka, who fell to Karolina Muchova at the quarter-final stage of the China Open, defeated world No. 1 doubles player Katerina Siniakova 6-4 6-4 in her second-round match.

The Belarusian is the top seed in Wuhan and an unbeaten two-time winner of the event.

Her victory over Siniakova saw her become the first player to win their first 13 matches in a single city hosting a WTA event since Maria Sharapova in Stuttgart between 2012 and 2014.

“Happy to be back in Wuhan. Siniakova, who is fighting for every point, it's really good that I was able to finish this match in two sets,” Sabalenka said.

“I missed Wuhan a lot. I just have really good memories of winning, two times, the title here. Wuhan brings me a lot of great memories, good vibes."

Sabalenka’s two victories in Wuhan came in 2018 and 2019, before the tournament took a five-year hiatus.

The victory was Sabalenka’s 50th of the 2024 season, a total second only to world No. 1 Iga Swiatek.

The two players look set to battle for the year-end world No. 1 spot, and Sabalenka said she is looking forward to the challenge.

"I love having this competition and I love seeing [Swiatek] in the draw," Sabalenka said.

"I love to get to the finals and face her in the finals. It's always great battles. I always enjoy fights against her.

"Hopefully we can play against each other there in the [WTA Finals Riyadh], put it into a fight for World No.1. That's ideal.

“I'm trying to focus on myself and make sure that I play my best tennis and make sure I still have this opportunity to become world No.1 at the end of the year."

Next up for Sabalenka is a last 16 tie against Yulia Putintseva, who took out 15th seed Donna Vekic 6-4 3-6 6-4 to go through.

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