IGA Swiatek continued her bid for a spot in the season-ending WTA Finals with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over American Ashlyn Krueger on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, to move into the quarterfinals of the Wuhan Open, the Associated Press reported.
Krueger mounted a challenge in the second set but struggled with her consistency, committing 44 unforced errors against 27 by the
Polish star.
Swiatek will next face another American, Ann Li, who advanced after beating Indonesia’s Janice Tjen, 6-1, 7-6 (1).
A Wuhan title would strengthen Swiatek’s bid to overtake Karolina Muchova in the WTA Finals race ahead of next month’s season-ending tournament in Indian Wells, California. Swiatek, a finalist at the event every year since 2021, is currently 10th in the standings, with the top
eight qualifying.
Muchova, the sixth seed and a Wimbledon finalist, bowed out after losing to 11th-seeded Diana Shnaider, 7-5, 6-3. Shnaider will face former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in
the quarterfinals.
Ostapenko advanced after a three-set battle, defeating Canada’s Leylah Fernandez 6-1, 1-6, 6-4.
Fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina also advanced, beating Chinese wild-card entry Guo Hanyu, 6-1, 6-4, after breaking her opponent’s serve in the opening and closing games.
Guo had enjoyed a breakthrough tournament, earning her first career victory over a top-20 opponent by defeating Sorana Cirstea in the opening round despite being ranked No. 240.
Svitolina, who lost to eventual champion Zheng Qinwen in the China Open quarterfinals last week, will take on Britain’s Sonay Kartal. Kartal delivered a dominant 6-2, 6-0 victory over Jasmine Paolini in barely an hour.
Meanwhile, 10th-seeded American teenager Iva Jovic suffered an upset loss to Maja Chwalinska, 6-4, 6-1.
Chwalinska will next face Greece’s Maria Sakkari, who defeated Slovak wild card Mia Pohankova 6-1, 6-4.
The Wuhan tournament had already seen two major upsets on Wednesday, when top seed Aryna Sabalenka and second seed Jessica Pegula both lost their
second-round matches.
Sabalenka suffered her second consecutive defeat after losing to Nikola Bartunkova in the third round of the China Open last week. She had received a first-round bye in Wuhan. / LBG