Iga Swiatek beat Ann Li 6–4, 6–1 in Wuhan on October 16 to reach her first semifinal at the event. She saved all three break points in the opening set’s final service game, closing a set that lasted 56 minutes.
Earlier service games had stretched to fourteen and ten points. Li finished 0-for-3 on break chances, while Swiatek won seven of the final eight games overall to finish in one hour, 33 minutes.
The result completed semifinal appearances at all ten current WTA 1000 tournaments. WTA identified her as the fourth player since 2009, and the only active player, to achieve that coverage. She had won all three Wuhan matches in straight sets.
Her semifinal opponent was Maja Chwalinska, her partner in the 2017 Australian Open girls’ doubles runner-up team. It would be their first meeting at WTA Tour level.
