Sabalenka Cruises Past Paolini to Begin WTA Finals in Style

Sabalenka Breezes Past Paolini at WTA Finals in Riyadh

World number one Aryna Sabalenka celebrated her year-end top ranking with a commanding 6-3, 6-1 win over Italy’s Jasmine Paolini at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The Belarusian, who also won the US Open this year, delivered an ace-filled, dominant performance, overpowering her opponent in just over an hour.

Sabalenka Hits 60 Wins in a Landmark Season

This was Sabalenka’s 60th victory of the season, and her 12th win over a top-10 opponent in 2025. She also became the year-end world number one for the first time in her career.

“I’m getting better and better every day,” Sabalenka said post-match.

Sabalenka has now spent 63 weeks at the top of the WTA rankings, including an uninterrupted stretch of 55 weeks since October 2024.

Match Summary: Too Powerful, Too Consistent

• Aces: 11

• First-serve points won: 66%

• Winners: 24

• Games won consecutively: 6 (to end set one and start set two)

Paolini, who is competing in both singles and doubles in Riyadh, showed signs of fatigue as the match wore on.

Despite trading early breaks in the first set, Sabalenka tightened control of the match, storming through six straight games and breaking Paolini twice to seize the momentum.

A late push from Paolini in the second set forced a deuce, but Sabalenka’s big serving and aggressive groundstrokes shut the door firmly.

What’s Next in Riyadh?

• Defending champion Coco Gauff will face fellow American Jessica Pegula next in the Stefanie Graf Group.

• Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina were winners on opening day.

Sabalenka has qualified for the WTA Finals five times, but is yet to win the title. She was runner-up to Caroline Garcia in 2022.

Elsewhere in Women’s Tennis

• Erin Routliffe (NZL) and Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN) opened their WTA Finals doubles campaign with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) win over Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider.

• Victoria Mboko, the 19-year-old Canadian sensation, won the Hong Kong Open, beating Cristina Bucsa 7-5, 6-7 (9-11), 6-2. It’s her second WTA title of the year after a shock win in Montreal.