Aryna Sabalenka began her campaign at the WTA Finals in Riyadh with a convincing 6-3, 6-4 victory against China’s Zheng Qinwen on Saturday, increasing her hopes of finishing the season as the world’s top-ranked player. Sabalenka, the Australian Open and US Open champion led the first professional women’s tennis event held in Saudi Arabia, demonstrating her power and finesse, outlasting Zheng at key occasions in their fourth meeting this year.
In a rematch of their Melbourne and Wuhan finals, Sabalenka broke through Zheng’s defences in the sixth game of a tightly contested first set and held her lead with a love service game. In a competitive second set, the Belarusian star was constantly tested in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the King Saud University Indoor Arena, which was cheering on Olympic gold medallist Zheng. Zheng led four times, but Sabalenka came back each game, eventually breaking for a pivotal 5-4 lead with a powerful forehand winner. She then won the match on serve, overcoming a double fault when Zheng’s forehand went long.
The WTA Finals, which feature the world’s top eight singles and doubles players and a record $15 million prize fund, will end on November 9.
