Aryna Sabalenka maintained her perfect record at the Wuhan Open and clinched her 50th tour-level win of the year as she beat Katerina Siniakova in straight sets on Wednesday.

The Belarusian returned to winning ways after her shock exit at the China Open, with the score 6-4 6-4 after 94 minutes to reach the third round.

Sabalenka weathered an early storm as Siniakova pushed her at the start before the pair traded breaks just when it looked like she had gained an edge.

However, the world number two broke her serve again in the final game to take the set, and it was a similar story in the second.

The Czech valiantly defended her serve as the pair traded blows, but Sabalenka showed her edge by winning the final two games to set up a meeting with Yulia Putintseva in the next round.

"I missed Wuhan a lot," Sabalenka said. "I just have really good memories of winning, two times, the title here. Just Wuhan brings me a lot of great memories, good vibes.

"Siniakova, who is fighting for every point, it's really good that I was able to finish this match in two sets."

Data Debrief: Posting big numbers

The Wuhan Open has been out of the calendar for the last five years, but Sabalenka has settled back in quickly.

She has won all 13 of her matches played at the tournament (winning the title in both 2018 and 2019) and is the first player to win their first 13 matches in a single city hosting a WTA event since Maria Sharapova in Stuttgart (13-0 between 2012 and 2014).

The victory over Siniakova is her 50th of the WTA Tour in 2024, a number she will be pleased to reach after having her 15-match winning streak snapped in Beijing last week. 

Coco Gauff declared "the third time's a charm" after teaming up with Katerina Siniakova to win the French Open doubles title on Sunday.

Gauff and Siniakova defeated Italian pair Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 in the doubles showpiece on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

The triumph was Gauff's first in a doubles tournament at a grand slam, after she lost the 2021 US Open final alongside Caty McNally and the 2022 French Open showpiece alongside Jessica Pegula.

She only decided to play alongside Siniakova – who has now won eight major doubles titles – at the last minute after neck and back injuries forced Pegula to withdraw.

Speaking after claiming the title, Gauff said: "The third time's a charm. Thank you, Katerina, for playing with me. We decided two days before the tournament to play together. 

"Thank you to the fans. I know 11:30 on a Sunday morning is early for most people. It's early for me."

Gauff and Siniakova only dropped one set in the tournament, against Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk in the semi-finals.

World number three Gauff was the only player not to lose serve in Sunday's final, which contained nine breaks in total.

It marked a second final defeat in as many days for Paolini, who was beaten 6-2 6-1 by Iga Swiatek in Saturday's singles final as the world number one clinched a third straight crown at Roland Garros.

The Italian's tournament may not have ended with silverware, but she will look back on it fondly, saying: "The last two weeks were very nice, very emotional.

"I have a lot of great memories. I can't wait to be back."

Sara Errani will prioritise helping doubles partner Jasmine Paolini ahead of her French Open final against Iga Swiatek this Saturday. 

The Italian duo beat Marta Kostyuk and Elena-Gabriela Ruse 1-6 6-4 6-1 on Friday to book their place in the women's doubles final, where they will face Coco Gauff and Katerina Siniakova.

Paolini has been partners with compatriot and five-time grand slam doubles champion Errani since the start of 2024, and the pair have quickly created a special partnership, having triumphed at the Linz Open and the Italian Open. 

The world number 15 will play in her first grand slam singles final one day before her doubles fixture but faces a sizeable task in stopping Swiatek from claiming a third straight title in Paris. 

However, she has the backing of her doubles partner, with Errani hoping the 28-year-old can enjoy the occasion this weekend. 

"It's a special moment. Of course, being in a slam final is amazing. For sure, I will speak with Jasmine. If I can help a little bit, for me it would be amazing. I don't really know what to say," Errani said.

"I hope she enjoys it. I hope she believes. I believe in her. It's a really tough match, but I think she's an amazing player."

It proved to be a difficult opening set for the Italian pairing, but they were able to recover from that slow start.  

"Today was a really tough match," Paolini said. "The first set, I mean, we didn't see any ball. They were just passing, and we were there and trying to fight.

"Then we said, okay, this cannot go worse. We managed to come back. It was a really tough match, but we are happy to be in the final."

Camila Giorgi progressed into the Miami Open second round despite blowing a 5-0 third-set lead as she edged past veteran Kaia Kanepi in the equal-longest main draw match of the year on Tuesday.

The Italian world number 44, who won February's Merida Open, outlasted the Estonian 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-4) in three hours and 32 minutes.

The length was equal to the Erika Andreeva-Harriet Dart first-round match at the ATX Open last month for the longest this WTA season.

But Giorgi could have had an earlier finish, leading 5-0 in the decider before Kanepi hit back by winning the next five games, only for the Italian to rally in the tie-break, converting her fourth match point.

Giorgi, who blew match points at 5-3 and 5-4, will take on three-time Miami Open winner and 2023 Australian Open semi-finalist Victoria Azarenka in the second round.

Russian 34-year-old Evgeniya Rodina produced the upset of the day's play, beating 37th-ranked Bernarda Pera 6-3 6-4 in 73 minutes and will take on 20th seed Magda Linette in the second round.

Rodina is currently ranked 369th in the world having returned to the WTA Tour midway through last season after a two-year absence, having reached a career-high 67th in May 2019.

World number 39 Elise Mertens eased into the second round with a 6-1 6-4 win over USA's Alycia Parks, setting up a second-round clash with eighth seed Daria Kasatkina.

World number 43 Yulia Putintseva bowed out prematurely, going down 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 to Canada's Rebecca Marino, who advanced to face sixth seed Coco Gauff.

Teenager Linda Fruhvirtova, ranked 50th in the world, also suffered a shock loss, beaten 6-2 4-6 6-4 by 172nd-ranked Canadian qualifier Katherine Sebov, while Laura Siegemund won 6-3 6-4 over 52nd-ranked Mayar Sherif

Katerina Siniakova withdrew due to injury despite winning the first set against USA's Claire Liu, with scores at 6-3 3-3. Liu's prize is a second-round meeting with top seed and reigning champion Iga Swiatek.

Italian Camila Giorgi knocked out another seed on her way to clinching a spot in the Merida Open final where she will face Sweden's Rebecca Peterson.

Giorgi triumphed 7-5 7-6 (7-2) over fourth seed Katerina Siniakova in two hours and 12 minutes in Saturday's semi-final in Akron.

The Italian world number 68 had routed second seed Sloane Stephens 6-0 6-0 on Friday to earn her spot in the last four.

Swedish qualifier Peterson secured her final berth with a 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 over American Caty McNally.

The topsy-turvy match lasted almost three hours, with Peterson fighting back from 4-0 down in the third set by winning the final six games for victory.

Iga Swiatek is through to the quarter-finals of the Ostrava Open after Ajla Tomljanovic retired hurt in their second-round match on Wednesday.

The world number one had won the first set 7-5, but her Australian opponent was forced to concede at 2-2 in the second.

Swiatek is now the female player with the most wins in a single year (58) in the last five seasons. Former world number one Ash Barty recorded 57 victories in 2019.

The second seed in Ostrava is out after Paula Badosa was beaten 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 by Petra Kvitova in front of a delighted Czech crowd, while Elena Rybakina is also through to the last eight after coming from behind to win against Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 7-5.

Wednesday's two other matches saw more success for Czech participants as Karolina Muchova beat seventh seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-4 6-4, while Barbora Krejcikova defeated Shelby Rogers 6-2 6-2.

There was less Czech joy at the Jasmin Open in Tunisia, where Katerina Siniakova was beaten 7-5 6-2 by Claire Liu.

Elsewhere, number three seed Alize Cornet eased past Harriet Dart 6-3 6-4, Elise Mertens came from behind to beat Despina Papamichail and Diane Parry went through against French compatriot Lucrezia Stefanini after the latter retired hurt in the second set.

Katerina Siniakova ended her five-year wait for a WTA singles title after coming from behind to defeat Elena Rybakina and claim the Slovenia Open crown.

The Czech secured the third singles triumph of her career – and first since prevailing at Bastad in 2017 – as she recovered from losing the opening set to deny Wimbledon champion Rybakina 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.

Siniakova – also the doubles world number one – continued her rich vein of form, having captured her third grand slam of 2022 alongside Barbara Krejcikova at the US Open last week.

The world number 82 had come through two matches on Saturday to reach the championship match in Portoroz, and was slow out of the blocks as she fell 5-0 behind in the opening set. Although Siniakova fought back to force the tie-break, Rybakina held her nerve by winning four of the last five points to draw first blood.

The Wimbledon champion, who hit 43 winners, appeared to be closing in on victory in her third final of the year as she broke for 4-3 in the second set. However, Siniakova broke back immediately before eventually forcing a decider.

Both players exchanged breaks early on in the third, but Rybakina's increasing unforced error tally (66) eventually culminated in her opponent claiming another crucial one for 5-4, before serving it out to end the drought.

Over at the Chennai Open, teenager Linda Fruhvirtova also enjoyed a comeback victory as she denied Magda Linette 4-6 6-3 6-4 to land her maiden WTA title.

Aged 17 years and 141 days, Fruhvirtova became the youngest winner on the WTA Tour this season, and is set to climb into the world's top 100 for the first time.

In a tight opening set, Linette broke for 5-4 before holding to love to strike first. A solitary break also proved crucial in the second set; the Czech profiting on this occasion to ensure the final went to a decider.

Linette, who won just two out of nine break points, established early control as she surged into a 4-1 lead, but Fruhvirtova came roaring back as she reeled off five straight games to seal a fitting end to her breakthrough week.

Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina cruised to a straight sets victory over world number 65 Ana Bogdan to secure her place in Sunday's Slovenia Open final.

The Kazakhstan representative broke Bogdan five times while saving all eight break points to seal a 6-1 6-1 triumph and reach a first final since her SW19 victory over Ons Jabeur in July.

In the final, Rybakina will face Katerina Siniakova after she overcame Anna-Lena Friedsam.

Siniakova stormed to the first set, but the second was a much closer affair and the world number 82 watched five match points come and go before she finally clinched a 6-1 7-5 success.

At the Chennai Open, Magda Linette will play Linda Fruhvirtova in Sunday's decider after coming through semi-final encounters in differing fashion.

Third seed Linette raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first set over Katie Swan before the Brit called a medical timeout after just 16 minutes of play, eventually retiring with illness.

Fruhvirtova's semi-final was a much more gruelling affair, as the 17-year-old came from a set down to overcome Nadia Podoroska 5-7 6-2 6-4 and reach her first WTA final.

Ash Barty has won the WTA's Player of the Year award for a second time, while Emma Raducanu's sensational 2021 season was capped with the Newcomer of the Year prize on Tuesday.

Barty collected the tour's top individual year-end award in 2019, having won the French Open and finished that season as the world number one.

And after Sofia Kenin succeeded her in 2020, Barty is back on top this year.

This was the third straight season the Australian superstar claimed the year-end number one ranking, and it saw her land a second major title at Wimbledon. Barty's five WTA titles in 2021 were unsurpassed.

But she has had to share the limelight in recent months with Raducanu, and that was the case again as the 19-year-old Briton was unsurprisingly hailed as the tour's star newcomer.

Raducanu became the first qualifier to win a grand slam when she swept to glory at the US Open, having also impressed in a run to the last 16 at Wimbledon.

The teenager, who has risen from 343rd to 19th in the rankings in the past year, won 10 straight matches without dropping a set from the first qualifying round to the final at Flushing Meadows.

Elsewhere, Roland Garros champion Barbora Krejcikova collected a pair of awards, scooping Most Improved Player and, alongside Olympic, WTA Finals and French Open-winning partner Katerina Siniakova, the Doubles Team of the Year.

Carla Suarez Navarro, who retired in 2020 and was then diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, returned to the tour cancer free in 2021 for a farewell season and carried off the Comeback Player of the Year award.

Kim Clijsters' first appearance at the Indian Wells Open in a decade did not last long, the two-time champion eliminated in the opening round.

Clijsters remains winless since coming out of retirement on the WTA Tour, falling 6-1 2-6 6-2 to Katerina Siniakova on Thursday. 

A four-time grand slam champion, the 38-year-old Clijsters has lost all five of her singles matches since her return last year. 

"I think overall, there's definitely moments where I'm feeling really good out there, and there's moments where I feel too inconsistent," Clijsters – a winner at Indian Wells in 2003 and 2005 – told reporters.

"That's part of this process in general, it's not going to be a smooth ride, and that's what I'm going to try to improve every time I'm out there."

World number 53 Siniakova converted six of nine break points on Clijsters' serve and moved on to face 10th seed Angelique Kerber at the WTA Premier 1000 event.

GOLUBIC HOLDS OFF VONDROUSOVA

The day's only duel between top-50 players saw world number 46 Viktorija Golubic outlast 37th-ranked Marketa Vondrousova 6-1 4-6 6-3. 

Both players struggled with their own service games, combining for three aces and 17 double faults, but it was the Swiss who managed to convert on eight of 14 break-point chances and come out on top. 

It was Golubic's first win against a player in the top 50 since joining those ranks herself in July; she had been 0-3 against them since then. 

GARCIA RALLIES PAST FLIPKENS, RISKE GETS RARE INDIAN WELLS WIN

Caroline Garcia fought back to defeat Kirsten Flipkens 5-7 6-4 6-0 in a match that took two hours, nine minutes to complete, firing seven aces and winning 71.2 per cent of points on her first serve. 

The Frenchwoman, who had been upset by qualifiers at her two previous tournaments in Ostrava and Chicago, meets 15th seed Coco Gauff in the second round. 

Alison Riske celebrated a victory for just the second time in seven trips to Indian Wells, cruising past qualifier Liang En-shuo 6-2 6-2 to set up a second-round matchup against 16th seed and former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu. 

Alexander Zverev followed up his stunning win over Novak Djokovic by storming to Olympic gold in the men's singles final.

A thumping 6-3 6-1 victory against Russian Olympic Committee's Karen Khachanov was the perfect way for world number five Zverev to land the biggest title of his career.

He won 10 of the last 11 games of his semi-final against world number one Djokovic and carried that form into Sunday's title match, brushing aside the threat across the net.

It makes him Germany's first men's singles champion at the Olympics. Steffi Graf won the women's title as part of a calendar Golden Slam in 1988, and four years later Boris Becker and Michael Stich teamed up to take doubles gold.

For the man who won the ATP Finals in 2018 and reached last year's US Open title match, this marked a step forward in a career many expect will eventually feature grand slam titles.

He secured a swift break in the first set against Khachanov, who was outstanding in the semi-finals against Pablo Carreno Busta but could not impose his game in the gold-medal match.

Another break followed and the set was gone in 43 minutes.

The second set rushed by in a mere 36 minutes, with Zverev against striking early and never looking back.

He created two break points in the second game of that set, and although Khachanov saved them, a third soon followed and the Russian netted on the forehand.

The momentum was all one way and there was never a moment when Khachanov, ranked 25th by the ATP, looked as though he might pose some danger. 

Zverev gave himself a first match point when he punched away a backhand volley, and the glory belonged to the German when Khachanov slapped a forehand into the net on the next point.

BENCIC DENIED GOLDEN DOUBLE

Belinda Bencic was the surprise champion in the women's singles and the Swiss had a chance to land a second gold medal on Sunday when she and Swiss partner Viktorija Golubic lined up in the doubles final.

It was not to be for Bencic and Golubic, however, as they were soundly beaten by the prolific Czech pair of Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova.

A 7-5 6-1 win for the reigning French Open champions meant Bencic and Golubic were left with the silver medal.

But there was little in the way of regret for the Swiss pair, with Bencic showing off both her gold and silver medals after the match, saying: "We are overjoyed. We will fly back on Monday with other medallists. It's a great feeling to know people are waiting and they acknowledge the medals we won for our country.

"The week here was incredibly beautiful. We experienced so many emotions, and it's great to go back and share all of these emotions with everyone at home.

"It's not just about the medals or the titles, it's about the memories you create that will last forever. To share this with Viki is unbelievable.

"The whole week I never felt like I was in a normal tournament or playing alone. She was alongside me the entire way. I always tell her we won this gold medal together as well. When we will be 80 years old and have a coffee, we will talk about this moment and I cannot wait for that."

Nina Stojanovic was the highest seed to bow out in round two of the Prague Open on Wednesday, losing in three sets to Grace Min.

The seventh seed – ranked 90th in the world – gave former Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber a scare on her SW19 debut at the end of last month before eventually going down 6-4 6-3.

However, despite 10 aces, the Serbian was unable to build on that momentum in the Czech capital, losing 3-6 6-1 6-4 against world number 181 Min.

Min had not won a WTA Tour main-draw match since January 2020.

Angelique Kerber defeated Katerina Siniakova in straight sets on Saturday to win the inaugural Bad Homburg Open and end her three-year wait for a title.

The number four seed, whose last tournament triumph was at Wimbledon in 2018, prevailed 6-3 6-2 on home soil in a time of one hour and 25 minutes for her 13th career WTA singles crown. 

Kerber overcame Amanda Anisimova and top seed Petra Kvitova on Friday to reach her first final in two years but took time to get going against Siniakova, who won her only two career titles in 2017.

Siniakova broke Kerber's serve in the third game, only for the German to quickly respond by taking the next game as the pair continued to exchange blows.

World number 28 Kerber slowly found her rhythm and opened up a two-game lead at 5-3, but she had to save three break points before Siniakova fired into the net to concede the opening set.

The second set played out in a similar manner to begin with as Siniakova battled back after losing serve in the first game to level at 2-2 against her former world number one opponent.

But Kerber showed her quality by reeling off four games in a row and getting over the line with her third match point to add to her trophy collection.

The victory for the 33-year-old was her 75th on grass, which is the third most among active players behind Serena and Venus Williams.

Kerber is seeded 25th for Wimbledon and will face Nina Stojanovic in the first round next week.

"Everyone knows that I love to play on grass, I really feel well," she said in her on-court interview. 

"I had some great matches. The goal was to have some good matches to prepare for Wimbledon. Let's see and hope I can continue this next week."

Petra Kvitova came from a set down to beat Katarzyna Piter on her return from injury at the Bad Homburg Open, while no play was possible in Eastbourne on Monday due to rain.

Kvitova withdrew from the French Open after suffering a freak ankle injury during her post-match media duties at Roland Garros.

The two-time Wimbledon champion recovered to get her grass-court season under way in Germany and battled to a 4-6 6-1 6-4 over Polish outsider Piter.

A week before the third grand slam of the year gets started at the All England Club, top seed Kvitova trailed 2-0 in the final set as she struggled with her serve, but broke three times to book a second-round meeting with Ann Li.

Sloane Stephens withdrew ahead of her scheduled match with Laura Siegemund due to a foot injury. Riya Bhatia stepped in with Stephens absent, but Siegemund consigned her to a 2-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-1 defeat.

Angelique Kerber needed only 50 minutes to see the back of Ekaterina Yashina 6-1 6-1 on home soil, grasping all five break-point opportunities.

Kerber will do battle with Anna Blinkova in round two and Jessie Pegula's next assignment is an encounter with Katerina Siniakova following a 6-1 6-2 defeat of Amandine Hesse.

Blinkova beat Clara Tauson 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-2, while Sara Sorribes Tormo saw off Martina Trevisan 6-4 3-6 6-2

Miserable weather in Eastbourne prevented Karolina Pliskova, Madison Keys, Bianca Andreescu and Madison Keys from playing at the Viking International.

Barbora Krejcikova became the first woman for 21 years to win both singles and doubles titles at the same French Open as the Czech completed her staggering fortnight in Paris.

"We will have a little glass of champagne," said Krejcikova, the breakout star of Roland Garros this year, after she and Katerina Siniakova fended off Iga Swiatek and Bethanie Mattek-Sands in Sunday's doubles final.

A 6-4 6-2 victory for the Czech duo gave them a third women's grand slam title as a pair, and a second in Paris after their 2018 triumph.

Krejcikova was already established as a world-class doubles player, but it has been as a singles player that she has emerged in recent times, having only entered the WTA top 100 rankings for the first time last October.

A three-set victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Saturday's singles final gave the world number 33 a first major title without a team-mate at her side.

The doubles triumph means the French Open women's title double has been achieved for the first time since Mary Pierce cleaned up in 2000, when the Frenchwoman beat Conchita Martinez in singles and paired up with Martina Hingis to beat Paola Suarez and Virginia Ruano Pascual.

The 25-year-old Krejcikova becomes just the seventh woman to clinch the double, after Billie Jean King, Margaret Court, Chris Evert, Virginia Ruzici, Martina Navratilova and Pierce.

Pierce wrote on Twitter: "Well done @BKrejcikova! Welcome to a very special club."

Krejcikova said she had not slept well after her singles triumph, and she felt not only tired but complained of "having some pains in my leg" after the doubles.

It has been a strenuous fortnight, and she was determined to finally unwind on Sunday evening.

"I think we going to have a dinner together this evening. We will have a little glass of champagne," she said.

"I already said I don't really drink but I think it's a time to actually celebrate it. I think we going to really enjoy ourselves.

"The rest, I just want to go back home. I just really have to relax. I have to spend some time with my family. After that, just start to work again."

Krejcikova will be a marked player at Wimbledon after her rapid rise in the rankings was capped by the slam success.

"I hope I'm going to have some chances on the grass, but I don't really know because I'm not that experienced on it," she said. "We will see.

"I just know from now on I can really enjoy because I have pretty much achieved everything I really wanted.

"Now I can just improve, that's the only thing I can do, just improving. All the guys and the ladies are doing. That's what I think."