The 2024 WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, will see Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek battle for the year-end No. 1 spot, but both women have been handed difficult groups.
This year's WTA Finals will be the first edition of the tournament played in Riyadh. The 2023 iteration, which took place in Cancun, Mexico, was blighted by numerous problems preparing for it.
Swiatek is the defending champion after defeating Jessica Pegula in last year's final. She also sealed the No. 1 spot by beating Sabalenka in the semifinal, who was No. 1 heading into the event.
That started Swiatek's run of 50 weeks at No. 1, making her the seventh woman in tennis history to have multiple spells of 50 weeks or more at the top of the WTA rankings.
However, Sabalenka regained the No. 1 ranking last week due to a controversial WTA rule about top players having to play a mandatory six WTA 500 tournaments throughout the season.
That led to Swiatek and Sabalenka having the points from their lowest-earning tournament removed. The 120 points the Pole lost from reaching the Miami Open fourth round led to Sabalenka overtaking her.
Sabalenka moved further ahead of Swiatek in this week's rankings after the four-time Grand Slam champion dropped her points from winning last year's WTA Finals and because she had 195 more points removed due to the WTA's rules about mandatory 500-level events.
That means Sabalenka has a lead of over 1000 points in the battle to finish the year at No. 1. If the Belarusian wins all three of her round-robin matches at the WTA Finals, she is guaranteed to claim that spot.
However, Sabalenka will need to beat three quality opponents to achieve that. Elena Rybakina, who confirmed her participation at the tournament after being absent from the WTA Tour for two months, is in Sabalenka's group.
Rybakina and Sabalenka have one of the best rivalries in women's tennis. Their previous matches include a thrilling 2023 Australian Open final, which the world No. 1 won in the deciding set after an incredible match.
Jasmine Paolini is also in Sabalenka's group. The Italian, who reached a career-high ranking of No. 4 this week, has beaten the three-time Grand Slam champion twice, although the last of those was in 2022.
Qinwen Zheng is the other player in the purple group. In 2024, she played Sabalenka at the Australian Open, the US Open, and the China Open but lost on all three occasions.
Coco Gauff is in the orange group with Iga Swiatek. The American, who SportsPro ranked the most marketable tennis player in the world, has only beaten the Pole once in 12 meetings.
A fast court would probably give Gauff the best chance of beating Swiatek. However, it is uncertain how the indoor court in Riyadh will perform since this is the first year the tournament is being held in Saudi Arabia.
The other women in the orange group are Jessica Pegula and Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova. Pegula defeated Swiatek in their last meeting at this year's US Open, where the world No. 4 finished as the runner-up to Sabalenka.
| Purple Group | Orange Group |
|---|---|
| Aryna Sabalenka [1] | Iga Swiatek [2] |
| Jasmina Paolini [4] | Coco Gauff [3] |
| Elena Rybakina [5] | Jessica Pegula [6] |
| Qinwen Zheng [7] | Barbora Krejcikova [8] |