Elina Svitolina beat Liudmila Samsonova 6–2, 5–7, 6–2 in Wuhan’s second round on October 14, 2026. After missing two match points in set two, she recovered to take the decider 6–2.
Svitolina followed a 6–2 opening set with an early second-set break. Samsonova broke back to level, saved two match points late in the set and then took it 7–5, extending the contest into a third.
Afterwards, Svitolina said she had needed to raise her level again in the decider. She highlighted choosing the right shots and the right ball to attack, alongside maintaining her focus after the second-set reversal.
The result gave Svitolina two wins from two meetings with Samsonova. The fifth seed was set to face the winner of Katie Volynets against Guo Hanyu in the last sixteen.
