look news india
New Delhi, 5 November (Hindustan Reporter). World number one Aryna Sabalenka entered the semi-finals of the WTA Finals on Monday by defeating fourth seeded Italian player Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 7-5. With this win, she remained undefeated in the purple round-robin group.
The 26-year-old player is on the verge of regaining the year-end number one ranking. A win over Elena Rybakina in the final group match on Wednesday, or a defeat by her rival Poland's Iga Swiatek, will ensure top spot for the Belarusian at the end of the year.
Sabalenka's win and Chinese player Zheng Qianwen's earlier 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-1 victory over Rybakina ensured the top seed will remain in first place in her group regardless of her final result on Wednesday , making her the first player to reach the final four.
Australian Open and U.S. Open Open champion Sabalenka also won her first match in Riyadh against seventh-seeded Zheng. The Chinese player and Paolini, who have a 1-1 record, are both in contention for the semi-finals and will face each other on Wednesday.
Swiatek is the only player who can surpass Sabalenka. The 23-year-old, who plays Coco Gauff on Tuesday, will have to defend her title and hope Sabalenka loses her remaining matches to regain the year-end number one spot.
“I'm proud of myself,” Sabalenka said after her win. Not just on myself, but also on my team. We were able to overcome many things. To show such great tennis and become the world number one player is teamwork. Only I can't do this. Nobody sees the work behind the scenes. But they do a lot for me. I appreciate everything they do for me. This is a motivation for me to keep winning on this court. Those players deserve to be called the best team ever.”
Sabalenka is the first player to reach two consecutive WTA finals as world number one since Serena Williams in 2013–2014.
The 22-year-old Zheng registered her first career win against 25-year-old Kazakh player Rybakina. She recovered from her loss to Sabalenka to become the second Chinese player after Li Na since 1972 to win a match in the finals.
Rybakina, who arrived in Riyadh due to fitness related problems, had to face defeat for the second time.
“I'm very happy to win this match because I've never beaten him before and he's one of the best players on the tour right now,” Zheng said. Even though I had a chance in the second set and didn't capitalize on it, I'm happy that I came back in the third set and stayed focused.”