"Aryna Sabalenka's draw is so tough";"Iga Swiatek should clinch this easily" - Fans react to 'most unbalanced' Wuhan Open draw ft. Coco Gauff

"Aryna Sabalenka
"Aryna Sabalenka's draw is so tough";"Iga Swiatek should clinch this easily" - Fans react to 'most unbalanced' Wuhan Open draw ft. Coco Gauff. Credit: GETTY

The WTA 1000 event in Wuhan will see Aryna Sabalenka lace up for the first time since winning the 2025 US Open. The Belarusian has won three times in Wuhan, including last year, and she enters this tournament as the top seed, but that doesn't necessarily mean a good thing.

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Her draw has been released, and it involves some tough matchups. She enjoys a first-round bye, following which she will face the winner of Rebecca Sramkova vs Anna Kalinskaya. In her third round match, she could possibly face No. 16 seed Liudmila Samsonova.

A quarterfinal meet with Elena Rybakina could be on the cards. Sabalenka was defeated by Rybakina in Cincinnati earlier. In the semifinal, she might face Amanda Anisimova. She defeated Sabalenka at Wimbledon but went down in the US Open final.

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Tennis Channel uploaded Sabalenka's draw side by side to No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek. The Polish tennis star is in line to potentially face stars like Belinda Bencic, Jasmine Paolini and Coco Gauff before she possibly enters the final.

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Seeing both the draws, fans find it tough for Sabalenka. One fan reacted:

"Aryna’s draw is so tough :sob:"
"Starting to wonder if being the world No.1 is even a good thing for Sabalenka. Rybakina and Anisimova back to back is just a nasty draw," another fan wrote.
"That’s the most unbalanced draw I’ve ever seen in my life. Lined up all the Khias for that weird babe," another fan commented.
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Some fans believe Iga Swiatek has the best chance to win the tournament in Wuhan.

"Iga should clinch this tournament easily. That draw is already filled with bagels from start to finish. She will demolish that line up," one fan said.
"Iga has an easier draw," another wrote.

Some fans even commented on Coco Gauff's draw. The American star could face No. 6 Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinal and No. 1 Sabalenka in the final.

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"I'm genuinely curious to see what Coco does in Wuhan because this is seriously a tough draw for her," one fan added.
"Very easy draw for Iga. Pretty tough for Sabalenka and Coco," one commenter on Reddit wrote.

Aryna Sabalenka assesses her season before Wuhan Open

Aryna Sabalenka seems satisfied with the kind of season she had while atop the WTA rankings. Apart from winning the 2025 US Open, Sabalenka also clinched titles in Brisbane, Miami and Madrid. While she came close to winning the French Open and even made a semifinal run at Wimbledon, the Belarusian is happy with how her season has gone.

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"I would rate my season as a pretty successful season," she told reporters. "The goal is to stay the same, to improve myself every day, to keep the position of world number one, to see how far I can get in this sport and how much I can win."

It remains to be seen if Sabalenka maintains the No. 1 ranking by the time the season wraps up.

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Edited by Krutik Jain
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