World number 10 Daria Kasatkina showed why she is the highest ranked player at the Granby Championships, defeating fifth seed Nuria Parrizas-Diaz 6-3 6-2 in convincing fashion.
Kasatkina, who is enjoying a career-high ranking, got the job done in straight sets despite struggling with her serve, committing all nine of the match's double faults.
While she was only able to win a below-par 58 per cent of her service points, she also won 58 per cent of her return points, and it was that ability to deal with the Spaniard's serve that proved to be the difference.
Kasatkina will play France's Diane Parry in the semi-final after she got the better of Germany's Tatjana Maria 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-4) in a near three-hour tussle.
Parry only had one ace compared to Maria's 10, but she excelled in the longer rallies, with her return success rate jumping up from 16 per cent to 47 per cent when she was able to see a second serve.
Australia's Daria Saville will contest the other semi-final after her 6-3 6-0 domination of China's Xiyu Wang, and she will play Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk after she defeated Canada's Rebecca Marino 6-2 4-6 6-2.
Meanwhile, Liudmila Samsonova continued her terrific run at Tennis in the Land as she beat Magda Linette 6-4 6-3.
Samsonova is yet to lose a set at the tournament, but will face her toughest test next when she meets Bernarda Pera in the semi-final.
Pera, who previously eliminated top seed Barbora Krejcikova in straight sets, came out on top against American compatriot Sofia Kenin 6-2 5-7 6-3, despite creating one fewer break point opportunity.
Alize Cornet is also yet to lose a set on her run to the semi-final, proving too strong for Shuai Zhang 6-4 6-2.
Cornet will play Aliaksandra Sasnovich for a place in the final after the Belarusian pulled away in the second set of her 6-4 6-1 win against American Madison Brengle.
Sabalenka breezes into third consecutive Wuhan Open semi-final
Aryna Sabalenka continued her Wuhan Open dominance as she reached her third consecutive semi-final at the competition with a straight sets victory over Magdalena Frech.
Sabalenka needed just over an hour to down her Polish opponent, emerging a 6-2 6-2 victor in a largely one-sided contest.
The Belarusian laid down a marker of her intentions early on, serving a love game in the opener before quickly racing into a 4-0 lead.
Frech would get her first point on the board in the fifth game, but the damage had been done in the opening exchanges as Sabalenka saw out her serve to take the advantage.
The world number two threatened to end the contest in double quick time after she claimed a 3-0 lead in the second set, only for Frech to respond and close to within one game.
However, Sabalenka held firm to secure the win, sealing the triumph with her third match point as she extended her winning streak to 15 matches in Wuhan.
Sabalenka will now face Coco Gauff for a place in the final in what will be the pair's first encounter since the Belarusian's semi-final win at the Australian Open earlier this year.
Data Debrief: Sabalenka continues Wuhan love story
Sabalenka is only the second player after Ashleigh Barty to reach the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open in all their first three appearances at this tournament.
Only Serena Williams (21 in Rome, 20 in Miami and 19 in Madrid) has won more consecutive matches in a single city hosting a WTA-1000 event than Sabalenka in Wuhan (15) since the format’s introduction in 2009.
Gauff storms into Wuhan Open semi-final
Coco Gauff recorded her 50th WTA Tour-level win of the season as the American stormed into the semi-final of the Wuhan Open.
Poland's Magda Linette was no match for Gauff on Friday, as the world number four won 6-0 6-4.
Gauff was in top form throughout the contest, as she saved all five break points she faced and completed the victory in under 90 minutes.
"I'm really happy with how I played," Gauff said.
"Obviously a smooth first set. Had chances to maybe close it out in the 5-3 game in the second, but happy I was able to close it out on my serve."
Data Debrief: Home away from home
Among current players to have played more than 10 WTA matches in a single country, only Iga Swiatek in France (94.6%), Caroline Wozniacki in Denmark and Simona Halep in Romania (93.3% each) have a higher winning percentage than Gauff in China (92.9%).
Gauff is the second-youngest player to make the semi-final of the Wuhan Open and China Open during the same season, after Jelena Ostapenko in 2017.
She also became the third player to claim 50+ WTA main draw wins in 2024, after Swiatek and Sabalenka. They are the first trio to secure this milestone for consecutive seasons since 2008-2009.
'Your legacy will live forever' - Djokovic hails Nadal 'tenacity, dedication, fighting spirit'
Novak Djokovic believes Rafael Nadal's "legacy will live forever" as the 24-time major winner paid tribute to his great rival.
Nadal announced on Thursday via a video on his social media platforms that he will retire from competitive tennis following next month's Davis Cup finals in Malaga.
It brings the curtain down on a glittering career in which he won 22 grand slams, including a record 14 French Open singles triumphs.
His major tally was then a record, but has since been surpassed by Djokovic, against whom he contested what many believe to be tennis' greatest rivalry.
The pair faced off 60 times, including nine times in slam finals, with the Serb boasting a narrowly superior 31-29 record, while he prevailed in their final clash at the Paris Olympics.
And Djokovic has followed suit in paying tribute to the Spaniard, who was dubbed "the King of Clay" for his exploits at Roland-Garros.
"Rafa, one post is not enough to express the respect I have for you and what you have done for our sport," he wrote on his social media platforms.
"You have inspired millions of children to start playing tennis, and I think that's probably the greatest achievement anyone can wish for.
"Your tenacity, dedication, fighting spirit are going to be taught for decades. Your legacy will live forever. Only you know what you had to endure to become an icon of tennis and sport in general.
"Thank you for pushing me to the very limit so many times in our rivalry, which has impacted me the most as a player.
"Your passion for representing Spain has always been remarkable. I wish you the best possible farewell in Malaga with the Davis Cup team of Spain. I will be there in person to pay respect to your stellar career."
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