Top seed Aryna Sabalenka won her third consecutive Wuhan Open title by beating home favorite Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 on Sunday.
Sabalenka, 26, who beat 2023 U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff in Saturday’s semifinals, had seven aces and 32 winners and did not face a single break point in the opening set.
The Belarusian now has the most aces in the WTA 1000 this season, surpassing world number five Elena Rybakina.
World No. 2 Sabalenka, who had won all three of her previous matches in straight sets, including the Australian Open final, lost some control in the second set against Paris Olympic gold medalist Zheng.
Sabalenka built a 3-0 double break lead in the deciding set and eventually converted her third championship point to clinch her fourth title of the year and raise her overall WTA singles title tally to 17.
“It sounds crazy,” Sabalenka said of becoming the first player to win the event three times in a row. “This place definitely feels like home.”
Sabalenka also won in 2018 and 2019. The competition was not held from 2020 to 2023 due to COVID-19.
Zheng was trying to become the second Chinese player to win a WTA 1000 title (Li Na, Cincinnati, 2012).
Sabalenka is aiming to reclaim her top ranking in the final week of the season, having already qualified for the season-ending WTA Finals alongside world No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
Reuters contributed to this report.
