WTA Finals: Sabalenka makes semi-finals, Rybakina eliminated

Aryna Sabalenka booked her place in the last four of the WTA Finals in Riyadh on Monday, while Elena Rybakina crashed out from the event after suffering her second loss.

Sabalenka defeated Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 7-5 in her second match of the tournament, having already seen off Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday.

Her two straight-sets victories mean the Belarusian is on track to top the Purple Group, with just one match remaining in the group stage.

Should Sabalenka prevail in her final round-robin clash — against the already eliminated Rybakina — she will also lock up the year-end No.1 spot.

“I would say that, overall, the whole match was a tough match,” Sabalenka said after her win over Paolini.

“She’s such a great player, putting so much pressure, moving well, serving great—she’s a great player, and I’m super happy with this win tonight.”

While the win appeared straightforward on paper, Sabalenka was required to defend two set points on her own serve in the 10th game of the second set.

“The second set was quite tricky,” she said.

“Honestly, I don’t know, I was just trying to stay aggressive.

“I was going to fight for this set no matter what, and I’m really happy to close this match in straight sets.”

Rybakina also made Zheng work hard for her victory, with the Kazakh playing in her first event since the US Open after suffering a back injury ahead of the Asian swing.

After dropping the opening set in a tiebreaker, the 25-year-old won four straight games to claim the second set.

However, Rybakina was unable to sustain her level, ultimately falling 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-1 to drop out of semi-final contention.

“I’m really happy to win this match because I’d never beat her before and she’s one of the greatest players right now on tour,” Zheng said after the match.

“She has a huge serve and great groundstrokes, so I’m just happy I was able to keep on my best.

“Even though I had a chance in the second set and didn’t take it, I’m happy I came back in the third set and stayed focus.”

Zheng will have a day off before playing Paolini for a spot in the semi-finals, with the Orange Group in action on Tuesday.

Iga Swiatek will take on Coco Gauff, needing a win to keep her own year-end No.1 hopes alive, while Jessica Pegula and Barbora Krejcikova will fight to avoid elimination in the day’s other match.

Tennis betting sites favour both Swiatek (-188.68) and Pegula (-200) to come through victorious.

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