Karolina Muchova kept her remarkable tiebreak run alive Wednesday in Wuhan Open Tennis, outlasting Caty McNally 3-6, 7-6, 7-6 in a second-round match that took all the way to the edge. The No. 6 seed improved to 10-0 in tiebreaks this season, a streak that has already become one of the more unusual numbers on the WTA Tour.
The win was not straightforward. Muchova dropped the first set and later said she did not feel like herself early in the match, but she stayed in it long enough to turn both of the final sets in her favor. That resilience has become part of her season: she said she simply tried to fight through every match rather than leave anything on the court.
A tiebreak streak with history behind it
Muchova’s tiebreak record is notable not just because it is perfect, but because of how rare it is. She became the first player this century to win her first 10 tiebreaks in a single season. Before her, the benchmark was nine, reached by Sanchez Vicario in 2000 and Maria Sakkari in 2020.
Muchova also entered Wuhan with momentum from last week in Beijing, where she won tiebreak sets against Katie Boulter and Naomi Osaka. In Wuhan, that same steadiness showed up again at the most important moments. Muchova said she knew she had been strong in tiebreaks this year and, once the breaker began to tilt her way, she felt more confident and kept pressing until seven points.
What comes next in Wuhan
The victory sends Muchova into the first Round of 16 at a WTA 1000 event this season, with a third-round meeting against Diana Shnaider scheduled for Thursday on Center Court. For Muchova, the path forward is about more than the streak itself. It is also about continuing to turn tight matches into wins, something she has done repeatedly this year.
Wednesday also produced another notable result in Wuhan, as Maja Chwalinska beat Marie Bouzkova to reach the Round of 16 at a WTA 1000 event for the first time. Chwalinska is set to face Iva Jovic on Thursday, adding another young-player storyline to the tournament’s early rounds.
