Top seed Aryna Sabalenka reaches semis at WTA Finals with win over Jasmine Paolini

RIYADH – It was no surprise that a big tennis star like Aryna Sabalenka will progress in the WTA Finals, but the Belarusian was quick to credit her team for helping her get to where she is today – on top of the world.

On Nov 4, the world No. 1 secured a semi-final berth at the season-ending tournament by beating Italian fourth seed Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 7-5 to stay unbeaten in the purple round-robin group.

The 26-year-old Belarusian also secured the year-end No. 1 ranking, after Poland’s second-ranked Iga Swiatek lost to American Coco Gauff on Nov 5.

“I’m proud of myself. But not only myself, 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 motivation for me to keep winning on this court. Those guys deserve to be called the best team ever.”

Sabalenka’s win, combined with Chinese Zheng Qinwen’s earlier 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-1 victory over Rybakina, ensured she will finish first in her group regardless of her final result on Nov 6, making her the first player to reach the final four.

Australian Open and US Open champion Sabalenka also won her opening match in Riyadh against seventh seed Zheng. The Chinese player and Paolini, with 1-1 records, both remain in contention for the semi-finals and meet on Nov 6.

Swiatek was the only player who could have overtaken Sabalenka in the rankings, but the 23-year-old lost 6-3, 6-4 to Gauff as the American sealed her semi-final spot, snapping the Pole’s six-match winning run in the WTA Finals in the process.

Sabalenka – the first player to reach back-to-back semi-finals at the WTA Finals as world No. 1 since Serena Williams in 2013-14 – shrugged off any suggestion that her intensity level might drop, having also secured her place in the next round.

She showed what she was made of when she bounced back from 0-2 down in the second set against Paolini, and saved two set points at 4-5 to overcome her opponent and has now won 22 of her last 23 matches on tour.

“The second set was quite tricky. Honestly, I just tried to stay aggressive and show her that I’m going to fight for this set no matter what and I’m really happy I was able to win in straight sets,” she added.

“Halfway through the second set I was already thinking about the third set. But I was like, wait, wait, it’s not the third set until it’s the third set. I’m happy all those shots on set points went in.

“I think the intensity she put in and the way she’s moving, and she’s playing quite aggressive, flat, deep balls, so you always have to stay low, and it kind of like created extra tension.

“Physically it’s really difficult playing against her.”

In the orange group, Barbora Krejcikova ended Jessica Pegula’s chances of qualifying for the semi-finals, defeating the sixth-seeded American 6-3, 6-3 on Nov 5.

“I was fighting for every ball and I felt that I really have to play my best tennis and I was trying to be really solid and trying to put as many balls to the other side as I could,” said the Czech, who bounced back from her opening loss to Swiatek to keep her hopes of making the final four alive.

On the men’s tour, defending champion Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the Nov 10-17 ATP Finals in Turin due to an “ongoing injury”, the record 24-time Grand Slam champion said.

This means Norway’s Casper Ruud, Australian Alex de Minaur and Russian Andrey Rublev are all guaranteed to qualify for the eight-man event regardless of their results in tournaments this week.

“I was really looking forward to being there, but due to ongoing injury I won’t be playing next week,” said the 37-year-old Djokovic on Instagram. REUTERS, AFP