The WTA Finals kicked off on Saturday with a Purple Group match between Aryna Sabalenka and Zheng Qinwen. World No. 1 Sabalenka displayed her dominance, claiming a decisive 6-3 6-4 victory by breaking Zheng’s serve as soon as in every set. This sturdy begin positions the three-time Grand Slam champion effectively within the group stage, the place she’ll be pushing to stay undefeated and lock within the coveted year-end No. 1 rating.
With this victory, Sabalenka extends her good head-to-head towards Olympic gold medalist Zheng to 5-0 and continues a dominant 21-1 streak in current matches.
Being one of many high eight gamers on this planet definitely pays off. Together with her opening win in Riyadh, Sabalenka secured a considerable $350,000 prize, from a record-breaking prize cash of $15.25 million, together with an extra 200 rating factors.
Sabalenka’s clearest path to locking within the year-end No. 1 rating is easy: win all three of her group-stage matches. With one down, she’s two wins away from reaching her objective. Even when she doesn’t sweep the group, advancing to the ultimate would nonetheless safe the highest spot, no matter Iga Swiatek’s efficiency. For Swiatek, the one route again to No. 1 is by successful the event outright.
In addition to Sabalenka and Zheng, the opposite two gamers in Purple Group are Jasmine Paolini and Elena Rybakina. The Orange Group options Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Barbora Krejcikova.
