Swiatek Beats Li to Reach Wuhan Semifinals
Swiatek plays Chwalinska in an all-Polish semifinal
Iga Swiatek of Poland beat Ann Li of the United States 6–4, 6–1 in 1 hour 33 minutes to reach the semifinals of the Wuhan Open in China.
The first set took 56 minutes, and Swiatek saved three break points in its last game before winning seven of the final eight games of the match. Li, who beat the top seed, Aryna Sabalenka, earlier in the week, did not convert any of her three break points and made 49 unforced errors.
It is Swiatek's first semifinal in Wuhan, which gives her a semifinal at all 10 of the women's tour's current events at Wuhan's level. She is the fourth player to do so since 2009 and the only active one. She has not lost a set this week.
Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion and a former world No. 1, plays Maja Chwalinska of Poland, her former junior doubles partner, next. It will be the first all-Polish semifinal at a women's tour event since the start of the Open Era in 1968.
Sonay Kartal of Britain and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia met in the other semifinal.
Iga Swiatek of Poland beat Ann Li of the United States 6–4, 6–1 in 1 hour 33 minutes to reach the semifinals of the Wuhan Open in China.
The first set took 56 minutes. Swiatek played service games of 14 and 10 points in it and saved three break points in its last game to take it. She then won seven of the final eight games of the match.
Li, who beat the top seed, Aryna Sabalenka, earlier in the week, did not convert any of her three break points and made 49 unforced errors. Swiatek won 74 percent of the points on her first serve and 60 percent on her second.
"We're playing really good tennis," Swiatek said. "We [both] have a lot of top spin. I'm happy with how I adjusted to the change of rhythm. We already played this year, and I know she's not an easy opponent. She's playing really great tennis and I like her style, so I knew I needed to be at the top of my game, loosen up my hand and play fast and brave."
It is Swiatek's first semifinal in Wuhan, and she has now reached the semifinals of all 10 current events of this size on the women's tour, the fourth player to do so since 2009 and the only active one. She has not lost a set this week, after beating Magdalena Frech and Ashlyn Krueger in her first two matches. It is the seventh of those 10 events at which she has reached the semifinals without losing a set, and the first time she has done so since she won Cincinnati last year.
Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion and a former world No. 1, plays Maja Chwalinska of Poland, her former junior doubles partner, next. It will be their first meeting on the women's tour and their second as professionals. Swiatek won the first, 6–2, 6–3, at an ITF event in Stockholm in 2016, when both were 15. A few months later the two were runners-up in the girls' doubles at the 2017 Australian Open.
It will be the first all-Polish semifinal at a women's tour event since the start of the Open Era in 1968. Magda Linette and Magdalena Frech played an all-Polish final in Prague in 2024. It will also be the second time two players from the same country have met in the Wuhan semifinals, after Zheng Qinwen and Wang Xinyu in 2024.
"It's great that we have two Polish players in the semifinals. I think it means a lot to Polish tennis," Swiatek said. "So hopefully it's going to be a nice match. I'm really happy for Maja. She for sure improved her game this year."
A win would give her a final at all 10.
It was Li's first quarterfinal at one of those 10 events, and she is projected to reach a career-high ranking next week.
Sonay Kartal of Britain and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia met in the other semifinal.