WUHAN, China (AP) — U.S. Open champion Aryna Sabalenka's winning streak at the Wuhan Open rolled on to 19 matches when she beat Liudmila Samsonova 6-3, 6-2 Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000-level tournament.
Top-ranked Sabalenka's streak includes winning titles at Wuhan in 2018, ‘19 and ’24.
No. 2-ranked Iga Swiatek also advanced, winning 7-6 (2), 6-4 against Belinda Bencic, the former Olympic champion.
Swiatek improved to a 5-1 career record over Bencic, including a straight-set win in the Wimbledon semifinals in July.
In the late match, No. 3 Coco Gauff, coming off a semifinal loss to eventual champion Amanda Anisimova at the China Open last week, eased past Zhang Shuai 6-3, 6-2.
Sabalenka will next play eighth-seeded Elena Rybakina, who won 6-3, 6-4 over Linda Noskova and is seeking to earn an entry to the WTA Finals event in Saudi Arabia.
Swiatek's quarterfinals opponent is Jasmine Paolini, who advanced through the round of 16 when Clara Tauson retired when trailing 3-6, 6-1, 3-1. Gauff next plays Laura Siegemund.
Earlier, Jessica Pegula recovered from an early service break in the third set to beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 and also advance to the final eight. Sixth-seeded Pegula, who lost in the China Open semifinals last week, leveled the deciding set at 2-2, then won four of the last five games for victory.
The win over No. 9 Alexandrova came a day after Pegula needed seven match points to beat fellow American Hailey Baptiste in the second round.
It was Pegula's sixth straight three-set match, and for the fifth time, she won.
“I can’t remember the last time I played two sets,” Pegula said. “But I’ve been competing really hard and I’ve been playing a lot of really good players. It was different conditions today with the roof closed and I think it took us a little while to get adjusted.”
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Coco Gauff of the United States returns a shot from compatriot Amanda Anisimova in a women's singles semifinal match of the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, China, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025.(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Jessica Pegula, of the United States returns a backhand shot from Linda Noskova, of the Czech Republic during the women's singles semifinals match of the China Open tennis tournament, at the National Tennis Center, in Beijing, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
PRAGUE (AP) — A new Czech coalition government led by populist billionaire Andrej Babiš took office on Monday with an agenda to steer the country away from supporting Ukraine and reject some key European Union policies.
President Petr Pavel swore in the Cabinet at the Prague Castle, ending a pro-Western coalition under former Prime Minister Petr Fiala that made the country a staunch supporter of Ukraine and a haven for hundreds of thousands Ukrainian refugees.
Babiš, previously prime minister in two governments from 2017-2021, and his ANO, or YES, movement, won big in the country's October election and agreed to form a majority coalition government with two small political groups, the Freedom and Direct Democracy anti-migrant party and the right-wing Motorists for Themselves.
The parties, which share admiration for U.S. President Donald Trump, created a 16-member Cabinet. ANO holds eight posts and the prime minister’s office. The Motorists have four and the Freedom party three.
The political comeback by Babiš and his new alliance with two small government newcomers are expected to significantly redefine the nation's foreign and domestic policies.
Babiš is set to join the ranks of Viktor Orbán of Hungary and Robert Fico of Slovakia, whose countries have refused to provide military aid to Ukraine and which oppose EU sanctions on Russia.
Babiš has rejected any financial aid by his country for Ukraine and guarantees for EU loans to the country fighting the Russian invasion.
He already joined forces with his friend Orbán last year to create a new alliance in the European Parliament, the “Patriots for Europe,” to represent hard-right groups. Previously, he was a member of the liberal Renew group.
Babiš suggested his government would abandon a Czech initiative that has managed to acquire some 1.8 million much-needed artillery shells for Ukraine only this year on markets outside the EU.
The Freedom party sees no future for the Czechs in the EU and NATO and wants to expel most of 380,000 Ukrainian refugees in the country. The group does not consider Russia a threat and its members repeat its propaganda.
The Motorists, who are close to former euro-skeptic President Václav Klaus, rejected the EU Green Deal and proposed revivals of coal and relations with Slovakia, Hungary and Poland in an informal group known as V4 whose activities has been stalled over different views of the Russian war against Ukraine.
The Motorists, whose head Petr Macinka became the foreign minister, blamed the former government of damaging relations with Slovakia and Hungary.
The new government promised to present a plan to reduce electricity prices, revoke a pension reform and change the financing of the public radio and television that critics say would would bring the broadcasters under government control.
Leader of ANO political movement Andrej Babis addresses the media after being sworn in as the country's new prime minister at the Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
