Aryna Sabalenka has completed a clean sweep of her round-robin at the WTA Finals, having just beaten Coco Gauff to qualify for the semi-finals.
She kick-started her campaign in brutal fashion, brushing aside Jasmine Paolini before then struggling past Jessica Pegula in three hard-fought sets.
And yet, despite a competitive opening set, Coco Gauff could not trouble the world number one, who would take full advantage of the youngster’s well-documented serving frailties to cruise to victory.
In doing so, Aryna Sabalenka has set up yet another mouth-watering clash with the dangerously in-form Amanda Anisimova for a spot in the final.
The Belarusian previewed her third meeting of the year against the American.
Aryna Sabalenka praises the crowd during WTA Finals match vs Coco Gauff
Speaking on-court immediately after her win, Sabalenka started by thanking the Riyadh crowd for their support, even attributing her comeback to them: “Guys, it’s just because of your support.
“I really enjoy playing in front of you, and it’s just incredible to see how much tennis has grown in the last year here and to see all of you coming, watching and supporting us, screaming Coco, Aryna.
“It was really enjoyable playing in front of you. I think that’s why I was so fired up.”
Then asked to expand on that turnaround, Sabalenka continued: “If I knew, probably I wouldn’t put myself in that situation.
“I don’t know, I was just trying to stay aggressive, I guess. I was just trying to, find my, find my game. I was kind of like working for the second set already, but then magically I was able to turn things around and, yeah, super happy with the performance, super happy to get this win in straight sets.
“And, yeah, just happy to be through the round-robin.”
The 26-year-old concluded by previewing her upcoming semi-final match against Anisimova, adding: “She’s always making me work hard.
“It’s always great battles against her, always enjoy playing against her, enjoy fights against her. So I’m super super excited to face her in the semis, and I really hope it’s going to be a great level match.”
Sabalenka will play Nick Kyrgios in a Battle of the Sexes later this year, with this event seemingly only solidifying her position as the best tennis player on the WTA Tour.
There will be a new champion at the WTA Finals this year
With Gauff having been knocked out, we are now guaranteed to have a new first-time champion at the WTA Finals.
And, interestingly enough, this will be the tenth consecutive new WTA Finals champion, further emphasising the unpredictability and competition within the women’s game.
Iga Świątek marked the sole other star who qualified this year who could have recaptured the WTA Finals, but failed to make it out of her group consisting of Elena Rybakina and Anisimova.
Sabalenka will be hoping to add this major title to her sprawling trophy cabinet, but faces a stern task in the semi-final to do so.
