Sabalenka will replace Swiatek as world No. 1

Second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka rallied from a set down to beat No. 35 Yulia Putintseva 1-6, 6-4, 6-0 to maintain her undefeated record at the Wuhan Open and rise to the top of the WTA rankings.Thursday’s win for the Belarusian allowed her to regain the top spot in the rankings from Iga Swiatek, who is absent from the women’s Asian swing citing personal reasons and fatigue.Sabalenka, the US Open champion, is 14-0 in Wuhan after winning the title in her first appearance in 2018 and defending her crown in 2019 before the tournament took a five-year hiatus from the calendar due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.The three-time major winner started slowly but roared to life during the second set and carried that momentum through the decider to clinch a quarterfinal spot against Magdalena Frech, who defeated Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3, 6-2.Sabalenka finished with 44 winners to 33 unforced errors, while holding Putintseva to 13 winners and 14 unforced errors.Editor’s Picks2 RelatedCoco Gauff…