Canada’s Bianca Andreescu and China’s Yue Yuan progressed to the women’s doubles quarterfinals at the Wuhan Open on Thursday without having to play a match. The top-seeded Italians Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani withdrew from their match, granting Andreescu and Yuan a walkover victory.
Paolini later advanced to the singles quarterfinals when her opponent, Denmark’s Clara Tauson, retired while trailing 3-6, 6-1, 3-1. Andreescu and Yuan, set to face Kazakhstan’s Anna Danilina and Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic, the No. 8 seeds in the next round.
Meanwhile, Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., and her partner Erin Routliffe from New Zealand were ousted in the round of 16 after a defeat to Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic and Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia with a score of 4-6, 6-4, 10-4. Routliffe, based in Montreal, often plays alongside another Canadian, Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa, who recently clinched the U.S. Open women’s doubles title.
At the Wuhan Open, U.S. Open champion Aryna Sabalenka continued her winning streak, making it 19 matches after a victory over Liudmila Samsonova. Sabalenka, the top-ranked player, has previously won titles at Wuhan in 2018, 2019, and 2024.
Second-ranked Iga Swiatek also advanced by defeating Belinda Bencic 7-6 (2), 6-4. Swiatek now holds a 5-1 career record against Bencic, including a win in the Wimbledon semifinals in July.
In another match, Coco Gauff, ranked third, defeated Zhang Shuai 6-3, 6-2. Sabalenka is scheduled to face eighth-seeded Elena Rybakina next, while Swiatek will play against Jasmine Paolini, and Gauff will meet Laura Siegemund in the quarterfinals.
Jessica Pegula also secured a spot in the final eight after overcoming Ekaterina Alexandrova with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 victory. Pegula, seeded sixth, managed to level the deciding set at 2-2 before winning four of the last five games for the win, marking her sixth consecutive three-set match victory.
