Aryna Sabalenka became the first player to secure a semi-final spot at the 2024 WTA Finals in Riyadh after beating Jasmine Paolini.
The year-end championships on both Tours are very unique. They are played in a format that tennis fans are not very used to, as there are round-robin stages held before a traditional draw is formed.
That creates multiple different scenarios and opportunities for players to advance. For example, a player can make it to the semi-finals of the WTA Finals even if they lose two of their round-robin matches.
However, that is a very rare scenario. The last time it happened was back in 2016, when Dominika Cibulkova lost her two round-robin matches against Angelique Kerber and Madison Keys, but still made it to the semi-finals thanks to a win over Simona Halep, later beating Kerber in their second match at the event to surprisingly claim the title.
Elena Rybakina hoped for it to happen this year, as she lost both of her first two round-robin matches, but Sabalenka's win in this match means that the Kazakhstani player can't advance anymore.
The Belarusian player was coming into the match with a win in her first match, but so was Paolini. It was a match between two winners of the first matches, so the pressure wasn't so palpable, even though one of them could secure a semi-final spot early.
In the first set of the match, the reigning World No. 1, who will now need only one more victory to secure the year-end No. 1 spot, won the first four games, totally dominating her opponent.
Sabalenka lost a part of her 4-0 lead, as Paolini was able to recover one of the breaks, but that was not enough to trouble the top seed in the first set. The three-time Grand Slam champion then lost only two more points on her serve in the remainder of the set to win it 6-3.
The second set had a dramatic start. For a moment, it seemed like Paolini could threaten a comeback. She won her first service game and broke Sabalenka's serve immediately after that to lead 2-0.
Unfortunately for the Italian player, she couldn't hold onto that one-break advantage. She lost it in the following game, and what was even worse for her and those who wanted to watch a dramatic match, Paolini was broken again a couple of games later.
That meant Sabalenka turned a 0-2 deficit into a 4-2 lead in a span of a few minutes, putting herself close to another straight-sets win at the 2024 WTA Finals.
Although she lost that lead, Sabalenka was still the better player in the second set, which was enough for her to win the match 6-3, 7-5.
With this win, the Belarusian player became the first player to secure a semi-final spot at the 2024 WTA Finals in Riyadh. On top of that, she gave herself two chances to secure the year-end No. 1 ranking.
She either needs to win her last round-robin stage match, which will be against Elena Rybakina, or win her semi-final match. On top of that, even if she loses both of these matches, she put Iga Swiatek in the position in which she needs to win all of her matches at the event if she wants the year-end No. 1 spot.