Karolina Muchova escaped qualifier Caty McNally in two deciding-set tiebreaks on Wednesday, keeping her Wuhan Open campaign alive with a 3-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(4) second-round victory. The sixth seed now takes one of the season’s most reliable tiebreak records into a Center Court meeting with 11th-seeded Diana Shnaider.
Key takeaways
- Muchova improved to 10-0 in tiebreaks during the 2026 season, a new century-best start to a single-year tiebreak record.
- The Czech player has won 14 three-set matches this season and has recovered from a set down eight times.
- Sixteenth seed Maja Chwalinska overturned a 6-1 opening-set loss to defeat Marie Bouzkova 1-6, 6-1, 6-1.
- Chwalinska has reached the last 16 of a WTA 1000 tournament for the first time and will play American teenager Iva Jovic.
- Jovic advanced with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Dayana Yastremska after receiving a first-round bye.
Muchova finds her tiebreak gear in Wuhan
McNally, coming through qualifying, made a commanding start against Muchova and took the first set 6-3 as she pursued what would have been her third top-10 victory on the WTA Tour. Muchova gradually changed the momentum after earning a break in the second set, however, and held her nerve when both remaining sets reached tiebreaks.
The win extended Muchova’s unbeaten tiebreak run to 10 matches in 2026. No player this century had previously begun a season with 10 straight tiebreak victories; Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in 2000 and Maria Sakkari in 2020 each opened with nine.
Muchova had already shown her composure in tight sets during last week’s China Open in Beijing. She won tiebreaks against Katie Boulter in her opener and Naomi Osaka in the fourth round, where she eventually converted her ninth match point.
“I knew I had been doing very well in tiebreaks this year,” Muchova said. “I tell myself that this is something I can handle, and it gives me confidence to be aggressive from the first point. It has been working.”
She added that an early edge can transform the feel of a breaker. “If you make some good shots, winners and serves at the beginning, then you are ahead. When you are playing to seven points, that makes you feel closer to the finish and more confident.”
Muchova’s 14 three-set wins are her highest total in any season, while her eight comeback victories exceed her combined tally from the previous two years. She linked the increase partly to playing a fuller schedule, but also to refusing to concede a match when her level is below par.
“I try to compete in every match and not just leave it there,” she said. “I did not feel great in the first set today and did not feel like myself. Once I broke in the second set, I switched and started swinging more freely. I wanted to keep fighting for the win.”
Shnaider awaits Muchova in Thursday’s opening match on Center Court.
Chwalinska and Jovic set up last-16 contest
Chwalinska also had to reverse a difficult opening set, though her recovery against Bouzkova was emphatic. Bouzkova raced through the first set 6-1, only for Chwalinska to seize control of the next two sets by the same scoreline.
The 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 result gives the Polish 16th seed her first appearance in the round of 16 at WTA 1000 level. Her next opponent is Jovic, the 18-year-old American who made a clean start to her own Wuhan draw after her opening-round bye.
Jovic broke down Yastremska 6-4, 6-1 and said she has followed Chwalinska’s rise since the Pole’s breakthrough run at Roland Garros.
“She has had an incredible season and a major breakthrough,” Jovic said. “Reaching a Slam final is a dream. She is a crafty player, and we have only practised once or twice, so it will be interesting. We will see who can impose their game better.”
