WTA Finals: Sabalenka beats Paolini, wins purple group, qualifies for the semis

Aryna Sabalenka improved on an opening day victory over Chinese No.1 Zheng Qinwen to a superb victory against Jasmine Paolini of Italy on Monday.

The 26-year-old Belarusian and World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka secured her spot in the semifinals at the WTA Finals Riyadh after defeating No.4 Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 7-5.

“I’m proud of myself. Not only myself, my team. We were able to overcome a lot of things,” Sabalenka said while om court interview after the match.

“To be able to show such great tennis and become world #1, It’s team work. It’s not only me. The behind the scenes work nobody sees. But they do a lot for me. I really appreciate them for everything they do for me. This is motivation for me to keep winning on this court. Those guys deserve to be called the best team ever,” she concluded.

With the win, Sabalenka improved to 2-0 in the Purple Group and, combined with Zheng Qinwen’s victory over Elena Rybakina earlier in the day, ensured her finish as the group winner.

A champion at three of her past four tournaments, winning the Cincinnati Open, US Open and Dongfeng Voyah Wuhan Open, Sabalenka has now won 22 of her last 23 matches and moves within one round-robin win of securing the year-end World No.1 ranking for the first time.

Sabalenka will face Rybakina on Wednesday in the final group match of the week, where a 3-0 record would seal the top spot.

While Paolini falls to 1-1 in the Purple Group after the defeat. Zheng Qinwen has earlier posted a three-set win over Rybakina to also move to 1-1, Day 3’s results set up a win-and-in scenario for tournament debutants Paolini and Zheng.

The two will face off on Wednesday, with the winner advancing to her first WTA Finals semifinal to face the winner of the Orange Group.