Jasmine Paolini stuns Iga Swiatek to reach Wuhan Open semis

Iga Swiatek was knocked out of the Wuhan Open on Friday in a straight-set defeat to Jasmine Paolini — a player the Wimbledon champion had never previously lost against.

Paolini powered her way to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over the second-ranked Swiatek in a quarterfinal that was over in 65 minutes.

It was the Italian’s first victory over Swiatek in their seventh meeting — with Paolini having previously won only one set — and secured her a semifinal spot against the third-ranked Coco Gauff.


“Finally I won a match,” the seventh-seeded Paolini said. “I’m super happy about my level.”

Paolini has a much better record against Gauff, having triumphed over the American in their past three meetings. Gauff cruised into a second straight semifinal with a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Laura Siegemund.

Sabalenka beats Rybakina

Aryna Sabalenka extended her winning streak at Wuhan to 20 matches with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over eighth-seeded Elena Rybakina on Friday to reach the semifinals.

The US Open champion won the Wuhan Open title in 2018, 2019, and again last year on her return to the Chinese city. She’ll next play sixth-seeded Jessica Pegula, who earlier Friday beat Katerina Siniakova 2-6, 6-0, 6-3.