Chinese wildcard Guo Hanyu produced the biggest upset of the Wuhan Open so far on Tuesday, stunning 12th seed Sorana Cirstea 1-6, 7-6(8/6), 7-5 in a first-round epic that lasted two hours and 41 minutes. The 28-year-old doubles specialist, ranked No. 240 in singles, saved three match points and came back from a set and 0-4 down in front of her home crowd.
Cirstea dominated the early running, cruising through the first set and racing to a 4-0 lead in the second. But the Romanian’s level collapsed as Guo reeled off five straight games, then broke back when Cirstea served for the match at 6-5. In the tiebreak, Cirstea held three consecutive match points from 3-6 up — and missed them all. Guo took the breaker 8-6, then recovered from 3-5 down in the decider to win four straight games and complete one of the most dramatic comebacks of the season.
A win that carried extra meaning
By the numbers, it was historic: the WTA reports Guo is the lowest-ranked player to defeat a top-20 opponent at Wuhan since the tournament began in 2014 — Cirstea is ranked No. 16 — and it was her first tour-level main-draw singles victory since Jiujiang in 2025. But the result meant more than rankings. A tearful Guo revealed afterward that she has been playing under heavy emotional strain since learning this summer that her father had become seriously ill and was admitted to intensive care.
“Knowing this actually made me feel quite helpless,” Guo said, as reported by AFP. “I cannot just have a happy moment on the court and enjoy the game. I will always have a kind of sorrow, so that’s why I made a lot of efforts today.”
What comes next in Wuhan
Guo next faces American Katie Volynets, the world No. 88, for a place in the round of 16. Elsewhere on Tuesday, Marta Kostyuk’s bid for a maiden WTA Finals appearance took a hit: the world No. 10 fell 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to Maria Sakkari in the second round, with only two qualification spots for next month’s season finale in Indian Wells still up for grabs. Sakkari will meet one of two wild cards, Wang Xiyu or Mia Pohankova, in the last 16.
Wuhan’s drama caps a week of stunning scorelines across world sport, from the Brewers’ 20-0 rout of the Reds to Inter Miami’s 4-0 thrashing of DC United — a reminder that rankings and records count for little when the pressure peaks.
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Sources: wtatennis.com, supersport.com
