Aryna Sabalenka cemented her status as the favorite to win the 2024 WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with a decisive straight-set win (6-3, 6-4) over Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng.
Sabalenka never lost her serve and served only one double fault on her first match point.
saba…saba… SABALENKA 🔥🔥🔥@SabalenkaA captures the first win in the purple group after defeating Zheng in straight sets. #WTAFinalsRiyadh pic.twitter.com/hkYuIKw6QN
— wta (@WTA) November 2, 2024
The indoor hardcourts are playing extremely fast, benefiting the World No. 1 Sabalenka’s game.
Qinwen Zheng was the fan favorite
Chinese fans came out in force for Zheng who has had a career year including an impressive Asian swing this fall that included a win last week over American Sofia Kenin at the Pan Pacific Open.
Zheng is the only player in the WTA Finals field who played a full Asian swing. For the match, she had a bandage on the back of her right hamstring, but it did not hamper her movement.
She was not intimidated by Sabalenka and stuck with her for much of the match. Sabalenka broke Zheng’s serve once each set which proved to be the difference.
Aryna Sabalenka is going to be tough to beat
The court conditions and surface benefit Sabalenka the most. She won both hardcourt Grand Slam tournaments this year, the Australian Open in January and the US Open in September, bookending a season that also included a shoulder injury that kept her out of Wimbledon.
World number #1 Aryna Sabalenka defeats Zheng Qinwen for the 4th time in 2024 (5-0 in the last 14 months) 6-3, 6-4 to start her WTA Finals campaign in the best way possible.
Really looks like the player to beat this week. pic.twitter.com/U4YdyyP14O
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) November 2, 2024
There is much to marvel about Sabalenka’s game and its evolution in recent years. She was once hampered by serving issues prompting many double faults. She has fixed the problem.
Sabalenka was also viewed as having all power and no finesse. She has worked hard on her drop shots and has utilized them successfully often this season.
In addition to her powerful serve game, she is one of the best returners in women’s tennis.
Conclusion
Though it is only the opening match of the round-robin stage, this title appears to be Sabalenka’s for the taking. No one has played as well on hard courts this year. She is the only player in the field who won multiple Grand Slams this year. Sabalenka is the World No. 1 with a sizeable points lead who has a very good chance of keeping the ranking in the offseason, unlike last year when the World No. 1 ranking was wrestled away from her by Iga Swiatek at the WTA Finals in Cancun.
