WTA Finals 2023: Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka gear up for year-end World No. 1 battle in all-important semifinal clash

Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka will meet in the semifinals of the 2023 WTA Finals to determine who will end the year as the World No. 1 player.

Swiatek has been doing really well at the year-ending tournament in Cancun, Mexico, this year. She was in the Chetumal group alongside Marketa Vondrousova, reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff, and three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur. The Pole defeated all her opponents in straight sets to advance to the semifinals.

Meanwhile, Sabalenka, who was drawn into the Bacalar group with Elena Rybakina, Maria Sakkari, and Jessica Pegula, easily defeated Sakkari but struggled against Rybakina and Pegula. Her match with the former Wimbledon champion went to three sets, but the Belarusian eventually won with a score of 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to make it to the semifinals.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and World No. 2 Iga Swiatek will now face off in the WTA Finals' second semifinal match on Sunday (November 5). The first one will be an All-American clash featuring Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff.

With that, the scenarios for who will end up as the year-end World No. 1 player are very clear now. If Sabalenka beats Swiatek and reaches the final, she will keep her top spot on the WTA ladder, which she earned after her 2023 US Open exploits.

But if Swiatek defeats her Belarusian opponent, she must win the title to regain her ranking. However, if she cannot emerge victorious in the summit clash, Sabalenka can stay tension-free as her ranking won't be affected.

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Iga Swiatek - "Against Aryna Sabalenka, it’s never easy"

Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek pictured at the 2023 Madrid Open

During a press conference at the 2023 WTA Finals, Iga Swiatek discussed her upcoming semifinal match against Aryna Sabalenka.

She admitted that facing Sabalenka is 'never easy,' but she would concentrate on her game and work on tactical areas to secure the victory.

"I’ll see what the conditions are gonna be like. Against Aryna, it’s never easy. I’m just gonna do my best & focus on myself & what I wanna do on court. We usually have these matches that are exciting & really tough, both mentally & physically. I’m just gonna be ready & see what the wind is gonna look like & what’s gonna happen on court," Iga Swiatek said. (Quotes via Tennis World USA)

"Tactically, I’m gonna prepare. We know our games. We know kind of what it will look like. But we also have to figure something out because we’ve played each other so many times. So we’ll see," she added.

It's worth noting that Swiatek has a 5-3 head-to-head advantage over Sabalenka. Their most recent meeting was in the final of the Madrid Open earlier this year, with the Belarusian winning 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.