World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka secured her spot in the semifinals of the WTA Finals with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over fourth-seeded Italian Jasmine Paolini on Monday, maintaining her unbeaten streak in the purple round-robin group.
At 26 years old, Sabalenka is on the verge of clinching the year-end No. 1 ranking. A win against Elena Rybakina in her final group match on Wednesday or a loss by her rival, Poland's Iga Swiatek, will secure her position as the top player of the year.
Sabalenka's victory, coupled with Chinese Zheng Qinwen's earlier triumph over Rybakina – 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-1 – ensured that she will finish first in her group regardless of the outcome on Wednesday, making her the first player to advance to the semifinals.
Australian Open and U.S. Open champion Sabalenka also won her opening match in Riyadh against seventh seed Zheng. The Chinese player and Paolini, both with 1-1 records, remain in contention for the semifinals and meet on Wednesday.
Swiatek is the only player who can overtake Sabalenka. The 23-year-old, who plays Coco Gauff on Tuesday, needs to retain her title undefeated and hope Sabalenka loses her remaining matches to claim the year-end No. 1 spot.
"I’m proud of myself. Not only myself but my team," Sabalenka said after her win. "We were able to overcome a lot of things. To be able to show such great tennis and become world No. 1, it’s teamwork. It’s not only me."
"Nobody sees the behind-the-scenes work. But they do a lot for me. I really appreciate them for everything they do for me. This is the motivation for me to keep winning on this court. Those guys deserve to be called the best team ever."
Sabalenka is the first player to reach back-to-back semifinals at the WTA Finals as world No. 1 since Serena Williams in 2013-2014.
Zheng, 22, notched her first career win over 25-year-old Kazakh Rybakina in their third meeting, bouncing back from her loss to Sabalenka to become the second Chinese player after Li Na to win a match at the Finals since they started in 1972.
Rybakina suffered her second defeat after arriving in Riyadh with fitness issues. Zheng, by contrast, came into the event after winning titles in Palermo and Tokyo, plus Olympic gold in Paris.
"I'm really happy to win this match because I'd never beaten her before and she's one of the greatest players right now on tour," Zheng said.
"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 focused."
