The top seed, who also triumphed at the event in 2018 and 2019, kept her undefeated record in Wuhan intact, improving to a perfect 17-0.

Sabalenka was put to the test by a gritty Zheng in a rematch of the 2024 Australian Open final before she captured an Open era record fifth title on Chinese soil.

With two Grand Slam titles and a WTA 1000 success in Cincinnati under her belt already in 2024, Sabalenka picked up her fourth trophy of the season from seven finals reached.

The 26-year-old strengthened her chances of ending the year as the world number one ahead of Iga Swiatek, a battle likely to come down to the wire at the WTA Finals in Riyadh next month.

"That's a really tight ranking right now. Really nice to see," said Sabalenka, who trails Swiatek in the world rankings by less than 100 points.

"We'll see after the Finals if I was good enough this season to become world number one."