Iga Swiatek beats Magdalena Frech 6-2, 6-1 at Wuhan Open, moves past Serena Williams in WTA 1000 wins

Iga Swiatek defeated Magdalena Frech 6-2, 6-1 at the Wuhan Open 2026 on Wednesday to reach the Round of 16. The victory was Swiatek’s 40th win of the season.

The result moved Swiatek past Serena Williams on the list of players with the most WTA 1000 main-draw match wins since the format began in 2009; with 149 victories she climbed to seventh on the all-time list, ahead of Williams’ 148. Swiatek has now recorded at least 40 victories in five consecutive seasons and had been working on maintaining greater consistency in her game.

Swiatek, the tournament’s No.7 seed, recovered from an early break in the opening set and quickly found her rhythm. She began to dictate from the baseline, using powerful groundstrokes and steady play to put Frech under sustained pressure and turn the first set around for a 6-2 scoreline.

The second set proved even more one-sided as Swiatek continued to control rallies and denied Frech opportunities to mount a comeback. She closed out the match 6-1 to secure her place in the last 16.

“We know each other pretty well. I just wanted to focus on being consistent and playing as well as possible. She runs to every ball and sometimes uses the opponent’s power against them. I wanted to avoid playing too aggressively and instead stay solid. I’m happy I did that,” Swiatek said after the win.

The victory marked a strong start to Swiatek’s campaign in Wuhan and positions her to build momentum in the tournament. She will face the winner of the second-round match between Ashlyn Krueger and Lanlana Tararudee in the Round of 16.