We're about to enter the quarterfinals of the Dongfeng Woya Wuhan Open, a shorter-than-usual WTA 1000 event (hasn't it just begun?) and the final 1000-level event of 2025.
There's a lot in store for us heading into the weekend: the final three spots at the WTA Finals are still up for grabs, the last chance to reclaim the iconic title (barring the final) and earn 1,000 ranking points.
There are a lot of familiar faces in the quarterfinals, including six players who have already won WTA 1000 titles. But as always, there are some surprises out there who have the potential to cause some chaos as we enter the final stages of the tournament.
Here are the details of the Wuhan Open quarter-finalists and who they need to get past to advance to the semi-finals.
The top 8 matches were held in Wuhan
Alina Sabalenka [1]
Might as well call her the Queen of Wuhan.
It was a fitting match for the world number one as she returns to the Horoki WTA Tour after the US Open, as she dominates here in a way we've never seen before.
The three-time defending champion comes to Wuhan with a 17-0 record, and this week, the tournament favorite looks to be getting his wish. She defeated Rebecca Slamkova here (she literally needed three sets to win that one) and 16th-seeded Lyudmila Samsonova to improve her record to 19-0, and appears to be in form after some much-needed rest and recovery in Greece.
Elena Rybakina [8]
Rybakina needs a victory at the WTA Finals in Riyadh and has had a productive week after an early exit in Beijing. After defeating Jacqueline Christian in her opening match, the world number nine had a rather relaxed time with Linda Noskova, who is about to advance to the final at the China Open.
Rybakina currently trails Jasmine Paolini by a narrow margin in the WTA Finals rankings.
Katerina Siniakova
The top seed needs just two wins to reach that point.
Siniakova, on the other hand, has gotten five.
The player ranked No. 1 in doubles and No. 62 in singles advanced to the quarterfinals through qualifying. After defeating American Katie McNally and China's Wang Yafan to reach the main draw, the 29-year-old defeated 15th seed Diana Schneider before defeating Maya United and Eva Jovic.
She has yet to drop a set in Wuhan and is in the WTA 1000 quarterfinals for the first time since 2018.
Jessica Pegula [6]
“I can't remember the last time we played two sets.”
We love Pegula's self-awareness as he is constantly tested and pushed to his limits during his Asian swing.
As for her last direct pass, we can help: It was on September 27, when she beat Ajla Tomljanovic 6-0, 6-3 in Beijing. Since then, the Americans have played six ridiculous three-and-two games and won five of them. (The only loss to Noskova in the China Open semifinals ended in a heartbreaking 8-6 tiebreak.)
She came close in her first match against compatriot Hailey Baptiste, saving six match points and narrowly winning the decider 8-6. Her second game, while less harrowing, was definitely no walk in the park. She came back from down 5-2 in the first set, dropped the next set, and then won the third set.
The world's fifth-ranked player has entered the Wuhan quarterfinals for the first time. If she wins, she will become the sixth player to qualify for the WTA year-end finals.
Laura Sigmund
For the 37-year-old German veteran, it's a week into the quarter-finals of a WTA 1000 event for the first time in his career. (Hard to believe, considering she's already a quarter-finalist at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.)
After defeating Dayana Yastremska in the first round, who retired 4-1 in the third set, world No. 57 Mira Andreeva defeated world No. 5 Mira Andreeva for her third top-10 finish of 2025. Sigmund struggled twice against Magdalena Fretch on Thursday. She came back from 1-4 down in both the first and second sets to win 6-4, 7-6 (2).
Sigmund also reached the doubles quarter-finals with Fanny Stola. (The two defeated Andreeva and Schneider in the third round, which was a double blow for Sigmund against Andreeva.)
Coco Gough [3]
The American reached the WTA 1000 quarterfinals for the second time in as many weeks and eased into the quarterfinals in Wuhan. She only lost one game against Uchijima Mo Yuxiang, and then defeated the immortal miracle Zhang Shuai in a routine manner.
The 21-year-old has already qualified for the WTA Finals and, admittedly, with the pressure off at the end of the Grand Slam season, she should take it easy in the quarter-finals.
Jasmine Paolini [7]
The Italian, who is firmly in eighth place in the WTA year-end finals rankings, defeated Yuan Yue and No. 10 seed Clara Toussaint in three sets this week, who retired after trailing 3-1 in the third set. (Hats off to Paolini, who was always compassionate and caring and was outstanding after the game.)
A year after reaching two Grand Slam finals, the 29-year-old has equaled her career-high win total of 40 last year. She also needs more to secure her position in Riyadh. (It’s worth mentioning that she has already booked her ticket to the WTA Finals doubles event with partner and compatriot Sara Errani.)
Iga Swiatek [2]
Swiatek just won her 125th match at the WTA 1000 event. 125! We have to double-check — and then triple-check — this statistic because it’s so ridiculous. (Yes, she is 24…). But alas, it's true, and it's a testament to how incredibly dominant she has been in her relatively young career.
But back to Wuhan… The six-time Grand Slam champion, playing here for the first time, dropped just two games in her first-round win over Marie Bouzkova, and although she also won in straight sets on Thursday, it wasn't easy. She needed a tiebreak to win the first set, beating Belinda Bencic 5-4 before winning 7-6(2), 6-4 in 2 hours and 8 minutes.
She has now reached her 25th career WTA 1000 quarterfinal.
Contest
Alina Sabalenka [1] against Elena Rybakina [8]
These two have a history. This is the 13th round match between a Grand Slam champion and a perennial top 10 player.
Sabalenka leads the match 7-5, and the last six meetings between the two sides have ended in draws. Rybakina had the most wins in a previous match, a 6-1, 6-4 upset in Cincinnati this summer. Can she defeat the greatest player in the tournament's history again?
Katarina Siniakova VS Jessica Pegula [6]
Both players have played a lot of Tennis lately. Siniakova came here through the qualifying round, and Pegula has played 50 consecutive games of hard three passes. Who has more left in the tank?
Pegula is ranked sixth in the PIF WTA rankings and is the clear favorite, especially considering she has won four of her previous five matches. They met once this year on the grass in Bad Homburg, defeating Pegula with a score of 6-2, 6-3.
Laura Sigmund vs Coco Gauff [3]
Gauff defeated Shuai, who was 15 years older than her, in the third round. Now she will play an older player in the 37-year-old Sigmund. It's an interesting observation – one that speaks to the incredible longevity we're seeing on tour right now – but it doesn't tell the full story of this particular match, especially considering Sigmund came from behind to beat 18-year-old Andreeva earlier this week.
Importantly, though, Gauff hasn't seen much time on the court this week, dropping just six games in two games, and no woman has won more games in China over the past three years.
They have split two career meetings, most recently at the U.S. Open two years ago. Gauff won the first round match in three sets. (Their other 2020 game in Oakland also resulted in a win.)
Jasmine Paolini [7] vs. Iga Swiatek [2]
Needing a win to keep pace with the WTA Finals rankings, it's probably the last player Paolini wants to see on the other side of the net. Swiatek has completely dominated the Italian throughout her career, winning all six matches and dropping just one set in the process. Two of those wins came this year, the most recent a 7-5, 6-4 victory for Swiatek in this summer's finals in Cincinnati.