- France international Jegou resumes rugby after rape allegations
- Former Man Utd star Yorke named coach of Trinidad and Tobago
- Botswana's new president sworn in after historic election upset
- Death toll rises to 12 in Serbia train station roof collapse: minister
- US announces $425 mn in new Ukraine security aid
- Portraits of slain leaders watch out on Hezbollah's battered Beirut bastion
- Biden bites baby: a last week of US election oddities
- Wall Street bounces while oil prices climb on Middle East worries
- Emery says Villa are underdogs against Spurs
- Verstappen hit with five-place grid penalty at Brazilian Grand Prix
- South Carolina to execute Black man for shooting store clerk
- New Zealand captain Barrett says Marler has 'loaded gun' with haka jibe
- Kenya reintroduces tax reforms with new deputy president
- Crunch time for bruised Dortmund as Leipzig come to town
- Man City face injury 'emergency': Guardiola
- Sabalenka and Swiatek in No.1 showdown at WTA Finals
- For a blind runner, the New York marathon is about 'vibrations'
- Trump, Harris battle for Wisconsin amid blowback on violent rhetoric
- Zverev downs Tsitsipas to book place in semis of Paris Masters
- Amorim handed challenge of restoring glory days to Man Utd
- Wall Street bounces while oil prices gain on geopolitical fears
- New Zealand still the team to beat for England's Genge
- Kohli fails as India slump in chaotic 10 minutes in third Test
- Valencia MotoGP cancelled due to deadly floods
- Botswana opposition wins election in historic turnaround
- ExxonMobil profits dip as it gives back almost $10 bn to investors
- US hiring slowest since Biden took office, on strikes, hurricanes
- Gaza polio vaccinations to resume Saturday: WHO
- Spain flood deaths top 200, more troops join rescue
- Ruben Amorim: The new 'Special One'?
- India limp to 86-4 as spinners dominate in third Test
- Ruben Amorim named as new Manchester United manager
- Global stocks diverge, oil prices gain on geopolitical fears
- Arsenal 'right in the mix' in Premier League race, says Arteta
- North Korea says will stand by Russia until 'victory' in Ukraine
- Jadeja, Sundar help India bowl out New Zealand for 235 in third Test
- Slot on Liverpool learning curve
- Indonesia tribe's homeland at risk after losing final appeal: NGOs
- 'Brat' named word of the year by Collins dictionary
- Harris, Trump converge on Milwaukee as US election looms
- New Zealand 192-6 after Jadeja strikes for India in third Test
- Taiwan races to remove oil from grounded Chinese ship
- Bagnaia pips title rival Martin in Malaysian MotoGP practice
- On Belgian coast, fishing on horseback -- and saving a tradition
- French brushmakers stage 'comeback' with pivot to luxury market
- 'Recovery tool': theatre helps Ukrainian soldiers reintegrate
- Indonesia adds Google Pixel phones to ban list with iPhone 16
- US election race awaits employment data
- German law easing legal gender change comes into force
- Botswana leader concedes defeat after party drubbed in election
Sabalenka and Swiatek in No.1 showdown at WTA Finals
Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek are all set to battle for the year-end number one ranking, which will be decided at the week’s WTA Finals which get underway in Riyadh on Saturday.
Sabalenka “unexpectedly” recaptured the top spot last week after Iga Swiatek dropped points for not fulfilling mandatory tournament requirements this season, and enters the competition in Saudi Arabia as the number one seed.
The Belarusian however is more concerned about concluding the year at the summit of the rankings, and wants to avoid last season’s scenario, where she surrendered the position in the closing week of her campaign as Swiatek clinched the WTA Finals title.
Sabalenka has had an incredible 2024, which included two Grand Slam title runs at the Australian Open and US Open.
She secured a third consecutive Wuhan trophy last month and said she was surprised when she learned she had snatched the world number one ranking from Swiatek before the WTA Finals.
“I was like, ‘How, what happened? Where did she lose those 100 points?’ I didn’t expect that,” Sabalenka told reporters in Riyadh on the eve of her Saturday opener against Zheng Qinwen.
“I woke up that morning and my boyfriend was like, ‘Congrats, you became world number one’, I was like, ‘What? I didn’t do anything’, kind of like in that moment. I was like, ‘Whatever, I’ll take it’.”
Sabalenka holds a comfortable 1,046-point advantage over her Polish rival in the rankings, which means Swiatek must defend her WTA Finals title to have any chance of clinching the year-end number one spot.
“I want to finish the year as number one, then I’ll be okay. I’ll be more confident in saying I’m world number one, not just because someone lost 100 points,” said the 26-year-old Sabalenka.
Swiatek arrives in Riyadh having not played since her US Open quarter-final exit in early September.
The five-time grand slam champion parted ways with her coach of three years Tomasz Wiktorowski and decided to skip the Asian swing to focus on finding a new mentor: new hire Wim Fissette, who used to coach Naomi Osaka, will be with her for the first time in Riyadh.
- 'Determined' -
Swiatek says she doesn’t feel rusty coming into the tournament and actually practised with Sabalenka ahead of this weekend’s kick-off.
“I am determined, I want to play my best game here and win this,” said Swiatek.
“It was nice just to practise with Aryna because we haven’t done that probably since 2022.
"It was a really good practise. She’s a great player and she deserves to be world number one. But for sure I’m going to fight to be in that place.”
World number five Elena Rybakina also has a new coach in Goran Ivanisevic although they will not start working together until the off-season.
Rybakina split with her coach of five years Stefano Vukov ahead of the US Open and has been battling health issues including insomnia and a back injury.
The Kazakhstani big-server has played just two matches since Wimbledon, and will be making her first appearance since September, when she withdrew ahead of her US Open second round.
“It's not easy to start after this break. But I'm happy with the work we did in the last two weeks. I'm not 100 percent. I'm just looking forward and happy to be healthy now and start playing,” said the former Wimbledon champion.
Zheng is perhaps the most in-form player in the field at the moment. The Olympic gold medallist has put together a 28-4 win-loss record since Wimbledon, including a 12-2 run through the Asian swing, which she wrapped up with a title triumph in Tokyo last week.
The first Chinese player since Li Na in 2013 to qualify for the WTA Finals, Zheng has a tough task ahead of her as she opens her campaign against Sabalenka, a player who has defeated her four times in the last 14 months.
“The trickiest part for me right now is how to really find a way to break through the wall and beat her,” said Zheng.
“I feel the level is there, everything is there, but you have to show it during the match.”
The WTA Finals, featuring the best eight singles players and best eight doubles teams in the world, will begin a three-year stint in Riyadh on Saturday with this year's final on November 9.
E.Schubert--BTB