Aryna Sabalenka paid tribute to "legend" Rafael Nadal, acknowledging the retiring Spaniard is "an inspiration to all of us".

The 22-time major winner 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.

Nadal's decision - generally expected given his injury struggles in recent years - has been met with widespread tributes throughout the tennis and sporting world.

And WTA number two Sabalenka - the reigning Australian and US Open champion - was the latest big name to salute the 14-time French Open winner, who was dubbed "the King of Clay".

"He's an inspiration for all of us, for the next generation, for current players. He's a legend," Sabalenka told WTA.

"As he said, everything has a beginning and an end. We are all going to be there. I'm really happy for what he was able to achieve. He was inspiration for everyone. He's a hard worker. He definitely had so much love for this sport."

Sabalenka is through to her 11th successive WTA quarter-final at the Wuhan Open after coming from behind to beat Yulia Putintseva 1-6 6-4 6-0.

The reigning champion recovered from losing the opening set - plus a break point at 4-3 down in the second set - to claim his 14th straight victory in Wuhan. 

"In the first set, I was all over the place," she added. "I'm really glad that I was able to put myself together in the second set and things clicked.

"In that game [the eighth in the second set], I was just trying to cool myself down and just to remind myself to keep trying, keep fighting.

"You have to work for it, you have to run, you have to play the point, build the point, find the right shot, then go for it, not rush things. I was just having that conversation in my head all the time.

"After that game, I felt like something clicked. The return was better. The movement was better. The decisions I was making were much better. I felt like that was really the turning point in the match."

Coco Gauff won an eighth successive match in emphatic fashion as she dispatched Marta Kostyuk 6-4 6-1 at the Wuhan Open.

Fresh from her triumph in Beijing last week, Gauff needed only 61 minutes to get the job done on Thursday.

Gauff, who is aiming to become only the second player to win in Beijing and Wuhan in the same year, will face Magda Linette in the quarter-finals.

"I'm really happy with how I played today," said Gauff.

"It was a pretty straightforward match. Marta and I always have some good battles. Today I was able to get through in straight sets."

Gauff's compatriot Jessica Pegula, meanwhile, was beaten by Wang Xinyu, who is the second Chinese player to reach the quarter-finals of the Wuhan Open since the inception of the tournament in 2014 after Qiang Wang in 2018.  

Data Debrief: Gauff brings up 70 WTA 1000 wins

Gauff has registered her 17th win in hard-court WTA 1000 events during 2024, with only Caroline Wozniacki in 2010 (25) and Bianca Andreescu in 2019 (19) managing more wins in such events before turning 21 since 2009.

The 20-year-old is also the youngest player to hit 70 match wins since the WTA 1000 formate started in 2009. She is only the fourth player to reach that milestone before turning 23, joining Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka and Iga Swiatek.

Gauff's next opponent, Linette, is into her first WTA 1000 quarter-final.

Coco Gauff cruised through her first-ever match at the Wuhan Open with a comfortable straight-sets win over Viktoriya Tomova.

Fresh from winning the China Open on Sunday, Gauff returned to action with a 6-1 6-2 victory in 76 minutes.

The American was given an early scare as her serve was broken in the first game, but she recovered brilliantly, storming through the next six in a row to take the first set.

She picked up where she left off in the second, winning 10 games on the bounce. Despite Tomova showing some late fight after Gauff was 4-0 up, the world number three had already done enough.

Gauff won 15 of 32 first return points (47%), and dominated on her own serve after the early blip, hitting five aces, and winning 83% of her first serve points (24/29).

She will face Magda Linette or Daria Kasatkina in the round of 16.

Data Debrief: Gauff defies age once again

Only Caroline Wozniacki in 2010 (27) has won more WTA-1000 matches in a year than Gauff in 2024 (22) before turning 21, since the format was introduced in 2009. She has equalled Iga Swiatek's record from 2022 (also 22 wins).

In fact, only Swiatek (30) and Aryna Sabalenka (24) have won more WTA-1000 matches than her in 2024, as she extended her winning streak to seven matches.

Among players to have played 10 or more matches in China in the 21st century, Gauff has the highest winning percentage in events played in the country (91.7%, 11-1).

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 believes she has proven to herself that she is going in the "right direction" after winning the China Open in Beijing.

Gauff triumphed 6-1 6-3 in Sunday's final, beating Karolina Muchova in just 76 minutes to claim her second title of 2024, after winning the Auckland Open in January.

She is also now the first player to win each of her first seven WTA hard-court finals in the Open Era.

However, after winning the Cincinnati Open and her maiden grand slam at the US Open last year, Gauff struggled at the start of the hard court swing this time around.

After an early exit at the Paris Olympics, she only won once across at Toronto and Cincinnati before seeing her US Open title defence ended in the last 16 by Emma Navarro.

"Everybody can do everything in practice," Gauff told WTA Insider. "This time, when the pressure is on the line, I was just trying to force myself to do things I was uncomfortable with.

"So yeah, I think the result is now reassurance that I am in the right direction.

"A lot of times people forget that I'm still in the developmental phase of my career and nothing is going to be great.

"Most of the people doing well are 25 and older in the top 10, maybe with the exception of Iga [Swiatek]. We have a long way to go, and I still have a lot that I need to work on, and I'm proud of myself thus far.

"I didn't have a complete game at 15, and I don't have one right now, but I've been on tour playing every week almost, trying to be better. I'm just super proud of that."

Gauff will be in action next at the Wuhan Open, making her first appearance at the tournament. 

Naomi Osaka will not play at her home Japan Open next week due to a back injury, organisers confirmed on Monday.

The 26-year-old was forced to retire during the last 16 against eventual champion Coco Gauff at the China Open in Beijing last week because of the same injury.

Osaka was on a three-match winning streak before her meeting with Gauff, having also registered her first comeback victory in two years earlier in the tournament when she beat Yulia Putintseva in the second round.

However, the four-time grand slam winner has not recovered in time and will not be able to play on home soil when the tournament starts on October 14.

"Due to injury, Naomi Osaka has decided to withdraw from the tournament," the Japan Tennis Association said in a statement.

Osaka is still scheduled to play in the Pan Pacific Open Tennis Tournament 2024 in Tokyo, which begins on October 21.

Her last appearance in her home country was at that tournament in 2022, when she withdrew in the second-round match with abdominal pains. 

Coco Gauff said her China Open triumph over Karolina Muchova came down to being relaxed.

Gauff won 6-1 6-3 in just 76 minutes in Beijing to become the youngest winner of the tournament in 14 years.

The victory marked the 20-year-old's second WTA 1000 title, which makes her the second-youngest player since the format was introduced to win her first two finals.

And Gauff explained she took a more relaxed approach in Sunday's showdown.

"I was just like, 'This match is not going to change my life.' I knew regardless of the result today, I was proud. I was able to overcome and still work on things that I've been practising on, too, and stick to it," she said.

"When you get that far, you're just happy to be in the final. I think it's just being relaxed. My first final, when I was 15, was the worst because you're like, 'I'm never going to get this opportunity again,' which is completely not true.

"The experience of winning in the past, I realise that, yes, winning is great. It feels great right now. But tomorrow I'm going to wake up and it's a different day, 70% of the world doesn't know anything about whether I won or lost, probably even more."

Gauff has now claimed three straight wins over Muchova, who is yet to beat the American.

"I lost to her three times in a row. I'll say very similar losses. It was always the latest rounds of the tournaments when I got many matches under the belt," said Muchova.

"It's very physical with her. I felt like second [best] always in the rallies."

Coco Gauff recovered from a set and a break down to reach the China Open final with a 4-6 6-4 6-2 victory over Paula Badosa on Saturday.

Having given up an early break in the opener, Gauff got one of her own by converting her eighth break point in a mammoth eighth game featuring 10 deuces, only for Badosa to hit back immediately to go a set up.

Gauff lost serve immediately in the second set to go on the back foot, only to level the match with back-to-back breaks, the second of them to love.

The decider began with a series of breaks, Gauff taking two of them as the momentum swung her way, then she protected her lead all the way to reach her first final since winning January's Auckland Open.

The 20-year-old is the youngest player to reach the women's singles final at the China Open since Caroline Wozniacki in 2010.

She has fought from a set down to win in each of her last three matches, the first time she has done so in her career. She is the first player to do so in WTA-1000 events since Iga Swiatek at Indian Wells 2022.

Data Debrief: Gauff brings up century

Saturday's match was Gauff's 100th at WTA 1000-level events, and her 67th such victory.

Among American players, only Serena Williams (87), Venus Williams and Jessica Pegula (70) have bettered her 67 wins through their first 100 matches at such events.

Iga Swiatek has announced the end of her three-year partnership with coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, saying the split was a mutual agreement. 

Wiktorowski, who joined Swiatek's team in 2022, helped her become the first Polish player to reach world number one and she has since spent 123 weeks at the top of the rankings.

Swiatek also won 19 of her 22 career titles and an Olympic bronze medal in Paris earlier this year with Wiktorowski, along with four grand slam victories. 

"After three years of the greatest achievements in my career, together with my coach Tomasz Wiktorowski we decided to part ways," Swiatek wrote on Instagram. 

"I want to start with a big thank you and appreciating our work together."

Swiatek has not competed since losing to Jessica Pegula in the quarter-finals of the US Open, choosing to withdraw from the China Open due to personal reasons. 

The 23-year-old has also pulled out of the recent Korea Open in Seoul, citing fatigue, and next week's Wuhan Open. 

Swiatek won the French Open and US Open during her opening season with Wiktorowski, before embarking on a 37-match winning run in 2022 - the longest streak by a woman this century. 

The Pole won a fifth grand slam, which was her fourth with Wiktorowski, at Roland Garros in June, making it three consecutive wins at the tournament in Paris. 

"Coach Wiktorowski joined my team for three seasons, when I strongly needed changes and a fresh approach to my game," Swiatek continued.

"His experience, analytical and strategic attitude and enormous knowledge about tennis helped us to achieve things I've never dreamed of only a few months after we started working together."

But Swiatek was disappointed with her hard-court performances this season, exiting the Australian Open in the third round and the US Open in the last eight. 

The Pole said she has held "first talks" with prospective new coaches and will take a "couple of weeks" to start work with her next appointment.

"Our main goal was to become number one player in the world and coach Wiktorowski was the one who said it first," Swiatek concluded. 

"Due to this important change on my team, I give myself a couple of weeks to start cooperation with a new coach.

"I'm in the middle of first talks with coaches from abroad (non-Polish) because I'm ready to take the next step of my career. I will let you know when I make a decision."

Karolina Muchova secured an upset at the China Open, snapping Aryna Sabalenka's 15-match winning streak to reach the semi-finals.

The Czech prevailed in two hours and 48 minutes with a 7-6 (7-5) 2-6 6-4 win over the number one seed on Friday.

Muchova started strong, forcing Sabalenka to defend three break points in the opening game, but they were evenly matched throughout.

Sabalenka almost took the first set, but Muchova held her nerve, successfully fighting back against two set points before taking the tie-break.

The Belarusian looked back to her free-flowing best in the second though, earning two breaks as she forced the decider in comfortable fashion.

Sabalenka took an early lead in the final set, but from 4-2 down, Muchova clawed her way back, going on a four-game winning streak at the end to book a meeting with Qinwen Zheng or Mirra Andreeva in the final four. 

Data Debrief: Czech mate

Given Sabalenka's recent hot streak, this does look like an upset, but it is actually pretty run-of-the-mill for Muchova.

She has now won her last three matches against Sabalenka in WTA events, defeating her at Cincinnati, Roland Garros 2023 and China Open 2024. 

Excluding the BJK Cup, only Iga Swiatek (85.3%) has a higher winning percentage than Muchova on hard-court in WTA events during 2024 (84.6%, 11-2), surpassing Sabalenka (82.5%, 33-7).

The 28-year-old has reached just her second career semi-final and is the player with the fewest WTA-1000 wins during the season before the start of the China Open (one) to reach this stage of the tournament.

Coco Gauff came from behind to defeat Yuliia Starodubtseva and reach the semi-finals of the China Open.

Gauff was no match for the qualifier in the first set of Thursday's tie, but the American rallied back to win 2-6 6-2 6-2.

The world number six will face Paula Badosa, the 15th seed, on Saturday.

She is vying for a place in her first final since she triumphed in Auckland in January, and her first at a WTA 1000 event since she won the Cincinnati Open in 2023.

Data Debrief: Comeback queen

Including retirements, Gauff (two) has achieved multiple match wins from a set down at a single WTA 1000 event for the first time in her career, and for the first time at a single WTA event overall since last year's US Open.

Since the format's inception in 2009, meanwhile, only Caroline Wozniacki (eight) has reached more WTA 1000 semi-finals than Coco Gauff (seven) before turning 21. World number one Iga Swiatek (five) is the only other player to reach 5+ semi-finals over that span.

Badosa stands between Gauff and the final. She beat home hope Zhang Shuai in the quarters, and became the second Spaniard to reach the semi-finals of the China Open since the inception of the tournament in 2004 after Garbine Muguruza in 2015.

She is the second oldest player to reach the semi-finals of the China Open in their maiden appearance after Amelie Mauresmo in 2006.

Naomi Osaka was forced to retire from her China Open meeting with Coco Gauff due to a lower back injury, sending the American through to the quarter-finals.

Osaka, who was aiming for her fourth successive win after returning from maternity leave, had earlier caused Gauff plenty of problems as she took the opening set.

After a series of breaks to open the match, Osaka went into the changeover 3-2 up but received treatment on her back after appearing to struggle with her movement.

Some error-prone play by Gauff allowed Osaka to clinch a third break before serving out the opener, but she swiftly gave up a break to go behind in the second set.

Gauff ultimately edged a hard-fought, 51-minute second set featuring several more breaks, with Osaka retiring before the decider could get underway, having struggled to land her first serves in the latter stages.

Gauff now advances to the China Open quarter-finals for the second year in a row, with Ukraine's Yulia Starodubtsewa up next for the world number six.

Fellow American and second seed Jessica Pegula, meanwhile, was beaten in straight sets by Paula Badosa, who will face home favourite Zhang Shuai in the last eight.

Data Debrief: Twenty up for Gauff

The victory may not have come in the manner she envisaged, but Gauff has brought up her 20th career win over a former grand slam champion on the WTA Tour.

Since 2000, Gauff is the fifth player to achieve 20 such wins before turning 21, along with Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters (28 each), Martina Hingis (24) and Serena Williams (22).

Naomi Osaka is confident she will be able to gain control of her tie with Coco Gauff at the China Open.

Osaka defeated Katie Volynets 6-3 6-2 on Monday to progress to the last 16 in Beijing.

And the four-time grand slam champion's reward was a meeting with world number six Gauff.

The duo have played each other on four occasions, splitting the head-to-head record with two wins each, though their last meeting came in 2022, with Gauff winning in straight sets.

"She's very athletic obviously. For me, my strongest traits are being aggressive and also my serve," Osaka said.

"So it's definitely going to be a battle - who wants to take control of the point first? And I think it's going to be me."

Osaka's tie with Gauff will represent the first time two former grand slam winners will meet in the last 16 at the China Open since 2016, when Petra Kvitova overcame Garbine Muguruza.

World number two Aryna Sabalenka also sealed her progress on Monday, beating American Ashlyn Krueger 6-2 6-2.

"Control over my emotions, that's the key," said US Open champion Sabalenka, who will face Kruger's compatriot Madison Keys in the next round.

"Before it felt like if I'm not going to win this match, something bad is going to happen. I'm going to die," she explained.

"Nowadays I'm just working hard, I'm trying to improve myself every day. Every time I'm on the court, I'm trying to give my best. If you give your best but you didn't win the match, it's okay."

Sabalenka has now registered 800 winners in WTA 1000 tournaments during 2024, while she is the only woman during the Open Era to register a win percentage of over 80% in WTA tournaments held in China (81.3%, 39-9, minimum10 matches played).

Aryna Sabalenka moved to within two wins of equalling the best winning run of her career after crushing qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew at the China Open.

In her first appearance since her US Open triumph, the top seed overcame a slow start in Beijing to win 6-4 6-1 in an hour and 16 minutes against her Thai opponent. 

Sawangkaew did not make life easy for the Belarusian in the opener, breaking back to level the contest heading into the ninth game before Sabalenka took control. 

The world number two then clicked into gear, winning five games in a row in the second set to roar to a 13th straight victory, though she acknowledged the difficulties she faced on Saturday.

"She's playing great tennis. The first set she played incredible tennis. It was really difficult playing against her," Sabalenka said. 

"Especially on this surface in these conditions. I'm happy I was able to manage that set. In the second set, everything started coming together.

"Thank you so much for the support. It’s really amazing to be back here. I'm happy with this win."

Sabalenka will face Ashlyn Krueger in the next round after the American beat Wimbledon quarter-finalist Lulu Sun in straight sets. 

Data Debrief: Sabalenka continues China love story

Sabalenka has won 18 of her first 21 matches in WTA-1000 tournaments in China, the most of any player since the format's introduction in 2009.

Since Tianjin 2017, when she made her debut at a tournament in China, no women's player has won more matches at WTA events in this country than Sabalenka (38).

Coco Gauff prevailed in her opening match at the China Open, beating Clara Burel in straight sets on Friday to reach the third round.

Playing in her first match since her US Open fourth-round exit, Gauff held off the Frenchwoman's challenge, winning 7-5 6-3 in 102 minutes.

The pair traded breaks early in the contest before Burel pulled in front and looked sure to take the first set.

Gauff pushed back though, saving a set point at 5-4 before eventually edging in front with her fourth break of the set.

It was slightly more straightforward in the second, with Gauff's patience eventually rewarded as a three-game winning streak at the end of the match sealed the victory, setting up a meeting with Katie Boulter in the next round. 

Data Debrief: Hard court advantage

With this victory, Gauff has now won 46 matches at WTA-1000 hard-court events, equalling Caroline Wozniacki for the most such wins before turning 21 since the format was introduced in 2009 (46).

It also marks Gauff's 30th straight win over a player ranked outside the top 50, with her last such defeat coming 15 months ago in the first round of Wimbledon 2023 against Sofia Kenin.