Aryna Sabalenka’s difficult season continued after losing her opening match at the Wuhan Open to Ann Li on Wednesday.

After falling in the third round at the China Open earlier this month, Sabalenka was hoping to bounce back at another WTA 1000 event.

Things looked rosy for the 28-year-old when she took the first set in confident fashion, but the American rallied to set up a decider.

The world No 2, who had strapping on her knee throughout the match, called for a medical timeout when she was down a break in the third set but managed to break back and set up a tiebreak.

Sabalenka saved a remarkable 10 match points before falling to a 6-3, 4-6, 6-7 (5) loss to the 26-year-old in Wuhan. That makes it 10 tournaments in a row for the Belarusian without winning a title.

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Sabalenka remains second in the WTA rankings on 7,560 points but missed the chance to pull away from Mirra Andreeva in the Race.

The 19-year-old is just 189 points behind the former world No 1 in the Race, with the four-time major winner on 6,560 points this year.

For her efforts in Wuhan, Sabalenka pockets 65 points and £19,679 in prize money. That will act as scant consolation for a player who is finding wins harder to come by these days.

This is her first slamless year since 2023, and now, she risks falling down the rankings in the coming weeks.