Sabalenka, Swiatek clash for supremacy

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek are all set to battle for the year-end No. 1 ranking, which will be decided at the week’s WTA Finals which get underway in Riyadh on Saturday.

Sabalenka “unexpectedly” recaptured the top spot last week after Iga Swiatek dropped points for not fulfilling mandatory tournament requirements this season, and entered the competition in Saudi Arabia as the No. 1 seed.

The Belarusian, however, is more concerned about concluding the year at the summit of the rankings, and wants to avoid last season’s scenario, where she surrendered the position in the closing week of her campaign as Swiatek clinched the WTA Finals title.

Sabalenka has had an incredible 2024, which included two Grand Slam title runs at the Australian Open and US Open.

She secured a third consecutive Wuhan trophy last month and said she was surprised when she learned she had snatched the world number one ranking from Swiatek before the WTA Finals.

“I was like, ‘How, what happened? Where did she lose those 100 points?’ I didn’t expect that,” Sabalenka told reporters in Riyadh on the eve of her Saturday opener against Zheng Qinwen.

“I woke up that morning and my boyfriend was like, ‘Congrats, you became world number one,’ I was like, ‘What? I didn’t do anything,’ kind of like at that moment. I was like, ‘Whatever, I’ll take it.’”

Sabalenka holds a comfortable 1,046-point advantage over her Polish rival in the rankings, which means Swiatek must defend her WTA Finals title to have any chance of clinching the year-end No. 1 spot.

“I want to finish the year as number one, then I’ll be okay. I’ll be more confident in saying I’m world number one, not just because someone lost 100 points,” the 26-year-old Sabalenka said.

Swiatek arrives in Riyadh having not played since her US Open quarter-final exit in early September.