According to statistician Opta,, external Sabalenka is the fourth female player since 1990 to win her first 20 main draw matches at a single WTA level event, following Monica Seles (33-0) at the Australian Open, Steffi Graf (25-0) at Leipzig and Caroline Wozniacki (20-0) at New Haven.
Sabalenka, who defended the U.S. Open title in September, took control of the match against Rybakina, holding serve to seal the first set and then breaking the Kazakhstan’s serve in the first game of the second set.
Despite some shaky serving in the closing stages, Sabalenka easily won and tied with Pegula – whom she has won eight of 10 times.
When asked about her winning streak at the tournament, four-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka said she felt a “really good” connection with fans in China.
“I feel at home every time I play here. It’s crazy, honestly,” she said.
Meanwhile, sixth-seeded Pegula dropped the first set against Siniakova before fighting back to win the second set unchallenged. She then won the third set for her 50th win of the season and boosted her chances of advancing to next month’s season-ending WTA Finals.
In Friday’s other quarterfinals, third-seeded Coco Gauff will face Laura Sigmund, while second-seeded Iga Swiatek will face seventh-seeded Jasmine Paolini.
