On Saturday, Aryna Sabalenka stormed past Anett Kontaveit 6-3, 6-3 in Wuhan to win her biggest career title. In the pair’s first career matchup, the world No. 20 proved too strong. Her aggression, shot placement and serve helped her to overpower the Estonian.
Sabalenka, who won her first WTA title just last month in New Haven, becomes the youngest Wuhan champion and WTA Premier 5 title holder since an 18-year-old Belinda Bencic won the Rogers Cup in 2015.
The Belarusian defeated Carla Suarez Navarro, No. 6 Elina Svitolina and American qualifier Sofia Kenin in her first three match-ups. In the quarterfinals, the 20-year-old was the underdog against the sole remaining seed No. 16 Ashleigh Barty. Undeterred, Sabalenka remained steady in a 7-6 (2), 6-4 win.