The WTA Finals are group and it has been officially confirmed that Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka won’t face each other until at least the semifinal.
After skipping the entire Asian swing and undergoing coaching changes, the Polish tennis star arrived in Riyadh as the world No. 2 after previously losing the top spot. And although the defending WTA Finals champion is trailing the Belarusian by 1,046 ranking points, she will still have a chance at the prestigious season-ending tournament to reclaim the top position.
On Tuesday, Swiatek was placed in Orange Group, where she drew Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Barbora Krejcikova.
On the other side, Sabalenka leads Purple Group. While the new world No. 1 avoided the Pole, she didn’t want another returning star – Elena Rybakina. Also in the group, there are Jasmine Paolini and Zheng Qinwen.
Sabalenka could secure the Year-End No. 1 even without having to beat Swiatek
If this year’s Australian Open and US Open champion goes three of three in the Round Robin stage at the WTA Finals, she will enter the 2025 season as the world No. 1.
Aryna Sabalenka© Wuhan Open/Instagram – Fair Use
Last year, Swiatek entered the season-ending event as the world No. 2 but ended up stealing the Year-End No. 1 spot after winning all of her five matches and collecting the title. But this time, the gap is bigger between the two and Sabalenka is a bigger favorite than she was a year ago to finish the season as the top-ranked player.
This year’s WTA Finals will also mark the start of the Swiatek and Wim Fissette partnership. Recently, Fissette said that he will have the Pole ready for the matchups against her biggest rivals.
“Top players want to play big matches, that’s their main motivation. They usually don’t have problems with it, it makes them happy. How do I work? I have information, videos. I prepare my players, we discuss strengths and weaknesses, prepare tactically and draw conclusions. In the case of tennis players like Aryna Sabalenka or Elena Rybakina, you make an analysis and look for a way to beat them,” Fissette told Eurosport Poland.