Poland’s Iga Swiatek reached her second consecutive Wuhan Open quarter-final on Thursday after defeating American Ashlyn Krueger 6-1, 6-4. The six-time Grand Slam champion also recorded her 150th career victory at WTA 1000 events. The seventh seed remains in contention for another major title at this level.
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Swiatek became only the third player to secure 150 wins within her first 50 main-draw appearances at WTA 1000 tournaments. Martina Hingis leads the milestone with 162 victories, followed by Serena Williams with 153. Swiatek said she was pleased with her progress and felt she was playing better than earlier in the season. She will face American Ann Li in the quarter-finals.
The tournament has witnessed several high-profile exits, with top seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula departing earlier. Sixth seed Karolina Muchova also lost to Russia’s Diana Shnaider, who won 7-5, 6-3. Shnaider will next face Jelena Ostapenko for a place in the semi-finals.
Polish player Maja Chwalinska defeated American Iva Jovic 6-4, 6-1, setting up a quarter-final clash with Greece’s Maria Sakkari. British player Sonay Kartal also continued her impressive run by defeating 15th seed Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-0. Kartal had previously eliminated ninth seed Belinda Bencic in the second round.
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Meanwhile, world number six Elina Svitolina advanced after beating Chinese wildcard Guo Hanyu 6-1, 6-4. The Ukrainian will meet Kartal in the next round. Swiatek, meanwhile, needs to win the Wuhan title to strengthen her chances of qualifying for the WTA Finals, scheduled for next month in Indian Wells.