Ann Li knocked top seed Aryna Sabalenka out of the Wuhan Open on Wednesday 14 October, winning 3–6, 6–4, 7–6 on her 10th match point. The American, ranked 31st, needed two hours and 27 minutes to earn the biggest win of her career, according to the WTA.
The Ann Li Sabalenka upset ended the world No. 2’s run at an event she had won three times. It also deepened a slump that has left Sabalenka without a title since March.
Nine Match Points Saved, One Taken
Li had looked beaten earlier. She trailed by a set and 4–2 in the second, but then won nine of the next 11 games to take control, Yahoo Sports reported.
At 5–2 in the decider, she held five match points on Sabalenka’s serve. Sabalenka saved them all, then broke Li as she served for the match at 5–3.
Next, Sabalenka saved two more with a forehand winner and a backhand winner at 4–5. In the tie-break, Li led 6–3, but a line-clipping forehand and a missed return wasted two more chances, the WTA said.
Finally, Li converted her 10th match point with a forehand winner down the line. “I think on some of those match points I was about to lose my mind,” she told the WTA.
The Numbers Behind the Ann Li Sabalenka Shock
Li struck eight aces to Sabalenka’s two, Tennis Now reported. Sabalenka, meanwhile, made 44 unforced errors and had her right leg re-taped by the physio during the third set.
Before this match, Sabalenka had won 20 of her 21 matches in Wuhan. However, she has now won only five of 13 deciding sets in 2026, according to Yahoo Sports.
Saving nine match points and still losing is rare at the top level. For context, Elise Mertens saved 11 to beat Ekaterina Alexandrova in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2025, which the WTA called the most of the 2020s.
Sabalenka’s Difficult Year
On paper, Sabalenka’s 2026 season looks strong. She won titles in Brisbane, Indian Wells and Miami and reached two Grand Slam finals.
Yet both of those finals ended in defeat to Elena Rybakina, at the Australian Open and the US Open. Rybakina also took the world No. 1 ranking from her after the US Open in September.
As a result, 2026 will be Sabalenka’s first season since 2022 without a Grand Slam title, Daily Sabah reported. She also lost early in Beijing, to Nikola Bartunkova, before this exit.
Even so, she has already qualified for the WTA Finals, which move to Indian Wells this year. See every major winner in our Grand Slam champions guide.
Who Is Ann Li?
Li, 26, was born in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and her parents emigrated from China. She gave her on-court interview in Mandarin after the win, Tennis Now reported.
She has two WTA titles, from Tenerife in 2021 and Guangzhou in 2025. Before Wuhan, her best wins came against Anett Kontaveit in Miami in 2022 and Iga Świątek in Madrid this April.
The win over Sabalenka was her third against a top-10 player and her first in four meetings with the Belarusian. In addition, it was her fourth straight third-round run at a WTA 1000 event, a personal best.
What Happened Next in Wuhan
Li backed up the upset on Thursday by beating Janice Tjen 6–1, 7–6, Tennis Now reported. That win was the 100th of her career and took her into her first WTA 1000 quarter-final.
It also lifts her to a projected career-high ranking of 24th. However, her run ended on Friday, when seventh seed Iga Świątek beat her 6–4, 6–1 in the quarter-finals, Deccan Chronicle reported.
As a result, Świątek moves closer to a WTA Finals place and meets her childhood friend Maja Chwalińska in an all-Polish semi-final. In the other half, Britain’s Sonay Kartal faces Jelena Ostapenko. Read our report on how Kartal reached the last four.
A Week of Upsets in Wuhan
Sabalenka was not the only big name to fall. Second seed Jessica Pegula lost her opening match to Ostapenko, and sixth seed Karolina Muchová lost to Diana Shnaider.
Rybakina and defending champion Coco Gauff both withdrew before the event. That left the draw wide open, and the semi-final line-up now features three players chasing a first WTA 1000 title.
Was this the breakthrough Li needed? Share your thoughts in the comments.
