ARYNA SABALENKA BATTLES BACK FOR FIRST WIN SINCE US
Aryna Sabalenka battled back from a set down to beat Rebecca Sramkova at the Wuhan Open, extending her perfect record to 18-0. The defending champion aims for her fourth straight title in Wuhan.
In her first match since winning the US Open, defending champion Aryna Sabalenka defeated Slovakia's Rebecca Sramkova 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 after trailing by one set.
She has a perfect 18-0 win-loss record in Wuhan, where Sabalenka is vying for her fourth straight title.
It was against serve in the first three games. Sramkova took a 3-1 lead in the fourth set after consolidating her second break in the third game with a hold. After 35 minutes, Sramkova won the first set 6-4 by holding on to her service games.
Sabalenka opened up a 5-2 lead in the seventh game after fending off five break points and then broke serve in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. With a hold at 15, the world number one served out the second set.
Before completing the victory with another break of serve on her second match chance, Sabalenka saved four break points at 5-1 and broke twice in the first and fifth games.
Liudmila Samsonova, who defeated former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 after trailing by one set, will be Sabalenka's opponent.
The sixth seed, Hailey Baptiste, was defeated by Jessica Pegula 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6) after she converted her seventh match point.
Jasmine Paolini won her 39th WTA main draw match after rallying from a one-set deficit to defeat Yue Yuan 3-6 6-4 6-3. Clara Tauson will be Paolini's opponent. In their lone prior head-to-head encounter, the Italian player is ahead 1-0. Since the format's inception in 2009, Paolini has become the fourth Italian player to earn 40 or more WTA 1000 hard-court main draw victories.
To advance to the round of 16, Elena Rybakina defeated Jaqueline Adina Cristian of Romania 6-4, 6-3.
Rybakina and Paolini both increased their prospects of making it to the Riyadh WTA Finals.
After making it to the China Open final, Rybakina will take on Linda Noskova, who defeated Naomi Osaka 7-6 (7-2, 6-3), to continue her strong Asian Swing form. Rybakina currently has a 2-0 record against Noskova after defeating her in the Brisbane semifinals (6-3, 6-2) in 2024 and at Roland Garros (6-3, 6-3) in 2023.
In 51 minutes, Coco Gauff easily defeated Moyuka Uchijima 6-1, 6-1.
Seed number twelve, Karolina Muchova, had to leave the game when she was behind Magdalena Frech 7-6 (7-1) 6-1.
THE MIAMI CHAOS: WHY WORLD NO 1 ARYNA SABALENKA WAS SHOCKED BY TOURNAMENT SCHEDULING
Aryna Sabalenka admits she was "really shocked" after being moved off the main court during a chaotic Miami Open opener.
Aryna Sabalenka didn’t hide her surprise about how the Miami Open scheduled her first match this year. She admitted she was “really shocked” by it all.
Sabalenka, ranked No. 1 in the world, beat Ann Li, who’s ranked 39th, 7-6(5), 6-4, in her second-round match at the Hard Rock Stadium. But the start of the Miami Open was a mess; rainstorms washed out all the action on Wednesday, and several Friday matches slid into Saturday because the weather just wouldn’t let up.
Friday got hit with more delays. Sabalenka’s match ended up being moved off the main stadium court to the smaller Butch Buchholz court – definitely not what a top seed expects. At her press conference, Sabalenka explained that tournament organisers actually gave her a choice: play right then on another court or move to Saturday.
“Well, honestly, I was shocked they even thought about cancelling my match just because of the schedule,” Sabalenka said. “And they were giving me a couple stadium options, and I thought, why can’t Alcaraz and Fonseca start a little later? Last night, the night session didn’t even start until nine, and Mirra Andreeva was still playing.”
She kept circling back to how odd it felt. “The idea of cancelling? I just didn’t expect it. But I decided I’d rather play today. If I win, I get a day off to rest and get myself together.”
Sabalenka laughed a little at the whole thing. “Yeah, I was really shocked, but I’m glad I at least got to pick what worked best for me.”
When someone asked why it caught her so off guard, she was straightforward: “I’ve never dealt with anything like this before. I can’t remember anything similar. For me, it’s not a big deal to play and have the night session start a little later, but I guess the tournament has to think about tickets and what works for them.”
As for whether she always expects to play on the main court as the world no. 1, she shrugged it off. “It’s tricky, because Alcaraz was playing too, so you’ve got two No. 1s. What can you do? I’m just glad I had a choice.”
Next up, Sabalenka takes on the world. No 72 Caty McNally in the third round.
JOAO FONSECA REVEALS THE BRUTAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PLAYING CARLOS ALCARAZ AND SINNER
Joao Fonseca labels Jannik Sinner a "robot" and claims Carlos Alcaraz has a "bigger arsenal" after his Miami Open exit.
Joao Fonseca hasn’t exactly had a smooth stretch lately. Just look at his recent opponents, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, two heavyweights at the top of the tennis world. Alcaraz beat Fonseca 6-4, 6-4 in Miami, but Fonseca came away with more than just a loss. He’s got a clearer view now of what separates these two giants.
For tennis fans, watching Fonseca face Sinner and Alcaraz was pretty much a dream matchup. The kid’s got hype; people seriously believe he’s the one who’ll someday challenge those two, who for now seem like they’re playing in their own league, barely threatened.
Fonseca still has a journey ahead before anyone can seriously talk about him joining their ranks. But the early signs are strong. He already snagged two ATP titles and climbed to world number 24 in his rookie year – a wild start. Injuries held him back for a bit at the beginning of 2026, but he seems to be finding his feet again, pushing the world’s best in two solid matches.
In Miami, Fonseca made his first-ever fourth-round showing at a Masters 1000, hoping he could keep his momentum against Sinner. He actually had three set points in the first, but Sinner took control and won two tiebreaks, ending Fonseca’s run, but not before Fonseca pushed him hard. Against Alcaraz, Fonseca tried to bring the same level, but it wasn’t enough. Alcaraz broke his serve once per set just enough to claim the win and finish Fonseca’s Miami campaign for another year.
So what does Fonseca make of the difference between Alcaraz and Sinner? After going toe-to-toe with both, he shared his thoughts: “I think Alcaraz has more arsenal than Sinner,” he said in his press conference. Sinner’s like a robot who just kills the ball and does everything perfectly. Carlos? He can do it all: topspin, power, movement, and net play. He’s got everything. It’s harder to read his game because he can break your rhythm in so many ways.”
When it came to Sinner, Fonseca felt more comfortable. “Jannik’s game let me come in without fear and play my style,” he admitted. “But I didn’t take the chances when I had them, and he played well; he’s world number one for a reason. I’ve got to look at my own mistakes and improve.”
The main thing, according to Fonseca, is that Alcaraz is unpredictable. “He’s got pretty much everything, so you don’t know what’s coming. Serve, serve and volley, serve wide and then blast a plus-one shot. That’s what makes playing him tough. You’ve got to play almost a flawless match.”
This wasn’t their first meeting. Fonseca and Alcaraz had faced off at the Miami Tennis Invitational last December, with Alcaraz edging out a super-tight final-set tiebreak. That match hinted at a rivalry that could get a lot more interesting in the future.
