Top seed Sabalenka falls at first hurdle in Wuhan

In the Wuhan Open, top seed Aryna Sabalenka suffered an early exit, being defeated by American Ann Li in the first round. Sabalenka, who had fallen to Nikola Bartunkova in the third round of the China Open last week, had lost her number one ranking to Elena Rybakina last month. She had not won a title since March and was playing with protective taping around her right knee.

Sabalenka was in control of the match until Li shifted the momentum in her favor halfway through the second set. Sabalenka requested her trainer when she was broken early in the deciding set and appeared to struggle with her movement. Despite saving nine match points, Li won the match in two hours and 27 minutes. Meanwhile, Jessica Pegula, the runner-up in Wuhan last year, was also eliminated in the first round by Jelena Ostapenko.

Pegula wasted three match points during her loss. Iga Swiatek, the six-time Grand Slam champion, began her Wuhan Open campaign with a victory over Magdalena Frech, advancing to a round of 16 match against Ashlyn Krueger. Karolina Muchova conquered Caty McNally in a three-hour tiebreak battle, securing her perfect 10-0 record in tiebreaks this season.

She will face Diana Shnaider in the next round. British world number 170 Sonay Kartal upset ninth-seeded Belinda Bencic, setting up a third-round clash with Jasmine Paolini.