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The battle to finish as the World No. 1 is heating up in the WTA Tour as the top 8 players of the 2024 season are battling it out at the 2024 WTA Finals in Riyadh. Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek are engaged in a fierce battle to take year-ending honors with them.
Sabalenka has had a rollicking start in Riyadh, with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Zheng Qinwen and a 6-3, 7-5 win over Jasmine Paolini. The two wins have already earned the Belarusian 400 points, taking her overall tally to 9416.
On the other hand, Swiatek has just played one match in Riyadh so far, winning 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 against Barbora Krejcikova. The win gained her 200 points and her overall tally stands at 8170 points.
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Sabalenka is slated to face Elena Rybakina in the next match, whereas Swiatek will face Coco Gauff in the next match. The way the points are at the moment, a win for the Belarusian, and a parallel loss for the Pole will ensure the year-end World No. 1 ranking for the former. Even if Swiatek wins her next match, Sabalenka will secure the No.1 ranking with a win over Rybakina as that will take her points tally to 9616. In contrast, the Pole can only reach a maximum of 9470 even if she wins the tournament.
Sabalenka became the World No. 1 last year but was displaced by Iga Swiatek at the WTA Finals
The 2023 US Open saw Aryna Sabalenka ascend to the top spot on the WTA Rankings for the first time. The Belarusian reached the final in New York, losing to Coco Gauff. Swiatek, the defending champion, lost to Jelena Ostapenko which caused a change in the rankings.
However, the three-time Major champion could not hold on to the ranking till the conclusion of the 2023 season. The two players in contention met at the semi-finals at the WTA finals, which saw Swiatek register a dominant 6-3, 6-2 win. She won 6-1, 6-0 against Jessica Pegula in the final, and secured her year-ending World No. 1 ranking for a second consecutive year.
However, the way the two players are positioned on the ranking charts this year, Sabalenka is the favorite to clinch the year-ending No. 1 ranking. For Swiatek to get back the spot, she would hope for Sabalenka to lose all her remaining games at the WTA Finals and for herself to win the event undefeated. That would keep the Belarusian's point tally to 9416 points, and take the Pole's points to 9470 points.
