WTA Finals: Sabalenka takes out Paolini to secure semifinal berth

World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus secured her spot in the WTA Finals semifinal in Riyadh after defeating No.4 Jasmine Paolini of Italy, 6-3, 7-5 on Monday, BelTA has learned.

On the opening day the Belarusian defeated China’s Zheng Qinwen (World No.7), 6-3, 6-4, while Jasmine Paolini proved stronger against Kazakhstan’s world number 5 Elena Rybakina, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.

On Monday the Chinese beat Elena Rybakina, 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-1. On 6 November Aryna Sabalenka will play Elena Rybakina.

In the Orange group Poland’s world number 2 Iga Swiatek battled through World No.13 Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. World No.3 Coco Gauff of the United States defeated the USA’s World No.6 Jessica Pegula, 6-3, 6-2.

The group stage will be over on 7 November, with two best athletes from each group advancing to the semifinal. The final will be played on 9 November.

The 2024 WTA Finals will set a record-setting prize pool of $15.25 million. The singles champion will pocket no less than $4.45 million. If a player goes unbeaten towards the title, they could earn as much as $5.15 million and 1,500 points. A year ago, Iga Swiatek beat Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-0 in the final.