Sabalenka blasts past Paolini in WTA finals opener in Riyadh

RIYADH: Aryna Sabalenka kicked off her quest for a maiden WTA Finals title by blasting 11 aces on her way to a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Jasmine Paolini in Riyadh on Sunday.

The world number one was at her serving best, landing a remarkable 81 percent of her first serves in during the 70-minute contest to shoot to the summit of the Stefanie Graf Group.

It was Sabalenka’s 60th win of the season. She trails only Iga Swiatek on the WTA leaderboard for matches won in 2025.

The 27-year-old Belarusian was handed the year-end world number one trophy in a special ceremony in Riyadh on Saturday.

“That felt super special, of course I’m super happy and super proud of the work that has been done and that things are working and I’m getting better and better every day,” said the four-time Grand Slam champion.

“I just hope we’ll keep doing what we’re doing and hopefully we can stay there.”

Sabalenka jumped to 3-0 lead and, despite briefly losing her break advantage, scooped the opening set in just 36 minutes.

She swatted away a pair of break points to hold on to her early lead in the second frame and cruised to the finish line, as Paolini, who is playing singles and doubles this week in Riyadh, ran out of steam.

“She’s a tough opponent, we played a lot and every time it’s a tough battle, doesn’t matter what the score is, I always have to stay focused,” said Sabalenka of the eighth-seeded Italian.

“I think I’m mostly happy with my focus today. I was calm and it felt like everything was in control.”

Meanwhile, Mirra Andreeva, who lost her doubles opener alongside Diana Shnaider, said her mysterious absence from the Tokyo was a misjudgment. If she had played she could have secured the eighth and final singles spot in Riyadh this