MATCH POINTS
The Wuhan final will be a rematch of the year's first Chinese final, in Shenzhen in January, won by Aryna Sabalenka 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-3. It was the Belarusian's second three-set defeat of Alison Riske in as many encounters, having also won 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in Rome qualifying in 2018.
No.9 seed Sabalenka is seeking her second title of the season following her victory in Shenzhen in the first week of the year. The Belarusian is 3-4 in finals overall, having lost her first three - Tianjin 2017 to Maria Sharapova, Lugano 2018 to Elise Mertens and Eastbourne 2018 to Caroline Wozniacki - before winning three in a row at New Haven 2018 over Carla Suárez Navarro, Wuhan 2018 over Anett Kontaveit and Shenzhen 2019 over Riske. However, her most recent title match, in San Jose in August, ended in a loss to Zheng Saisai.
All of Riske's previous eight finals came at International level, with the American compiling a 2-6 record in them - the wins coming in her first final, Tianjin 2014, over Belinda Bencic, and her most recent, 's-Hertogenbosch in June over Kiki Bertens.
Sabalenka came into Wuhan having not scored a Top 10 win since beating Caroline Garcia in Beijing last year - but this week, she has changed that in style, garnering her first Top 10 win of the season over Kiki Bertens in the third round and her first ever win over a reigning World No.1 over Ashleigh Barty in the semifinals.
Riske started 2019 having notched up five Top 10 wins over the course of her career, beginning with a first-round upset of Petra Kvitova at the 2013 US Open. Her semifinal defeat of Kvitova yesterday has almost doubled that number, taking her total this season to four. The 29-year-old is guaranteed to crack the Top 30 for the first time next week.
Wuhan 2019 marks Riske's sixth final on Chinese soil out of nine total, and Sabalenka's fourth out of eight.
Sabalenka is bidding to become the first player to successfully defend a Wuhan title, and the fourth player to successfully defend a title in 2019 following Julia Goerges in Auckland, Alison Van Uytvanck in Budapest and Garbiñe Muguruza in Monterrey.
This week is the first time that Sabalenka has attempted a WTA title defence in her career, having been unable to return to New Haven - the site of her maiden title in 2018 - this year due to the tournament's cancellation.
ORDER OF PLAY (starts 2pm)
CENTER
After ATP exhibition
Not before 4.30pm
[9] Aryna SABALENKA (BLR) vs Alison RISKE (USA)
[8] DUAN Yingying (CHN) / Veronika KUDERMETOVA (RUS) vs [2] Elise MERTENS (BEL) / Aryna SABALENKA (BLR)
