Aryna Sabalenka maintained her perfect record at the Wuhan Open and clinched her 50th tour-level win of the year as she beat Katerina Siniakova in straight sets on Wednesday.

The Belarusian returned to winning ways after her shock exit at the China Open, with the score 6-4 6-4 after 94 minutes to reach the third round.

Sabalenka weathered an early storm as Siniakova pushed her at the start before the pair traded breaks just when it looked like she had gained an edge.

However, the world number two broke her serve again in the final game to take the set, and it was a similar story in the second.

The Czech valiantly defended her serve as the pair traded blows, but Sabalenka showed her edge by winning the final two games to set up a meeting with Yulia Putintseva in the next round.

"I missed Wuhan a lot," Sabalenka said. "I just have really good memories of winning, two times, the title here. Just Wuhan brings me a lot of great memories, good vibes.

"Siniakova, who is fighting for every point, it's really good that I was able to finish this match in two sets."

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The Wuhan Open has been out of the calendar for the last five years, but Sabalenka has settled back in quickly.

She has won all 13 of her matches played at the tournament (winning the title in both 2018 and 2019) and is the first player to win their first 13 matches in a single city hosting a WTA event since Maria Sharapova in Stuttgart (13-0 between 2012 and 2014).

The victory over Siniakova is her 50th of the WTA Tour in 2024, a number she will be pleased to reach after having her 15-match winning streak snapped in Beijing last week.