MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 27: Aryna Sabalenka reacts to defeating Qinwen Zheng of China in the womens singles final on Day 14 of the 2024 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 27, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia (Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images)

Tennis | WTA Finals 2024 | Aryna Sabalenka aims to continue dominant head-to-head record over Qinwen Zheng on day one

By Tony Fairbairn

  • Aryna Sabalenka [1] v Qinwen Zheng [7]
  • Jasmine Paolini [4] v Elena Rybakina [5]
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – Aryna Sabalenka will aim for a fourth win this season over Qinwen Zheng as they meet on day one of the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia.

 

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Aryna Sabalenka [1] v Qinwen Zheng [7] H2H & Match Fundamentals

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Aryna Sabalenka [1] v Qinwen Zheng [7] H2H: Sabalenka leads 4-0  
WTA Finals 2024 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Indoor Hard Prize Money: $350,000
Second on Center Court (Not before 15:00 GMT) Sky/Now TV <- Subscription Required

Day one of the WTA Finals begins with the purple group as newly-crowned world number one Aryna Sabalenka battles Olympic gold medallist Qinwen Zheng for the fourth time this season.

Sabalenka has won all three previous meetings and heads into the tournament as favourite to go one step further than last year. In last year’s event last year Sabalenka lost the WTA Finals title and the year-end world number one to Iga Swiatek but the roles are likely to be reversed in Saudi Arabia this year. However Sabalenka knows she cannot be complacent as she aims to finish another incredible year by claiming another big hard court title having won two Grand Slams this season.

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The top seed couldn’t have asked for a better opponent in the first match as she takes on Zheng in the group opener, a player she has beaten on three occasions this season. However it has been an incredible effort from Zheng to qualify having reached the Australian Open to begin the season, Zheng has finished the season strongly which included reaching the final in Wuhan and winning the Tokyo title. Now having pipped Emma Navarro to the post in order to qualify for the season-ending finale, Zheng will hope to end the year by proving she deserves to be classified amongst the best players in the world.

Sabalenka will continue to be aggressive on the baseline while Zheng will need to take the ball early on return in order to limit the world number one’s options. Unless Zheng can differ her strategy from the previous meetings then it should be another comfortable victory for the world number one to begin her WTA Finals campaign.

Prediction: Sabalenka in straight sets.       

 

 

Jasmine Paolini [4] v Elena Rybakina [5] H2H & Match Fundamentals

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Jasmine Paolini [4] v Elena Rybakina [5]      H2H: Tied at 2-2    
WTA Finals 2024 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Indoor Hard Prize Money: $350,000
Third on Center Court (Not before 16:30 GMT) Sky/Now TV <- Subscription Required

The second match of day one will see Roland Garros and Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini take on the returning Elena Rybakina, who is making her first appearance since her withdrawal at the US Open.

It has been a sensational season for the Italian who is making her singles debut at the WTA Finals. Paolini won her first WTA 1000 event in Dubai earlier in the year and followed that up by reaching her first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros. Not content on that success, Paolini reached another Grand Slam final at Wimbledon as well as reaching the second week at all four Grand Slams. Now Paolini will look to prove her worth on indoor hard courts with the Italian set to finish the season inside the world’s top four.

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Standing in Paolini’s way is Rybakina, who has had a turbulent season full of illnesses and injuries. However when the Kazakh has played she has looked a threat and has won three titles including reaching five finals this season. The fifth seed will ultimately hope she can remain consistently healthy next season but will be encouraged by her form when she has played and knows that indoor hard courts is her favourite surface.

Paolini will grind from the baseline but will use her forehand to add depth and power to her game. Meanwhile Rybakina will look to dominate on serve and use the forehand to pin the Italian behind the baseline. Form suggests that Paolini is favourite for this match but if Rybakina can find her range early on then she should have enough quality to fend off the resilient Italian.

Prediction: Rybakina in three sets.

 

 

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