Aryna Sabalenka overcame a rusty start in Wuhan as she fought back to beat Rebecca Sramkova in her first appearance since winning the US Open.
The world number one secured her first Grand Slam trophy of the year in New York, retaining her title as she defeated Amanda Anisimova in the final.
But in her first match for over a month, Sabalenka's game was initially riddled with errors and she struggled with the power of Slovakia's Sramkova, ranked 68th in the world.
However, after losing the first set she settled into her game in the second set before steamrolling through the third to wrap up a 4-6 6-3 6-1 victory.