November 04, (THEWILL) – World number one, Aryna Sabalenka, advanced to the WTA Finals semi-finals in Riyadh after defeating Italian fourth seed, Jasmine Paolini, 6-3 7-5 on Monday. The Belarusian maintained her perfect record in the purple round-robin group with this straight-sets victory.
The 26-year-old Australian Open and US Open champion needs just one more win against Elena Rybakina on Wednesday, or a loss from rival Iga Swiatek, to finish 2024 as world number one. Her qualification for the semi-finals came after Chinese player Zheng Qinwen beat Rybakina 7-6 3-6 6-1 earlier in the day.
Swiatek remains the only player who could overtake Sabalenka for the year-end top ranking. The Polish star must win the tournament without losing a match and hope Sabalenka drops her remaining games to achieve this feat. Swiatek faces American Coco Gauff in her next match on Tuesday.
Sabalenka credited her team after the victory, highlighting their behind-the-scenes work. “We were able to overcome a lot of things. To be able to show such great tennis and become world number one, it is teamwork. It is not only me,” she said.
The win puts Sabalenka in rare company, making her the first player since Serena Williams in 2013-2014 to reach consecutive WTA Finals semi-finals while ranked world number one. In the other group match on Wednesday, Zheng Qinwen and Paolini, both with 1-1 records, will compete for a semi-final spot.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
