Rybakina ends troubled year on high with victory over group winner Sabalenka at WTA Finals

Elena Rybakina ended a difficult year on a high as she beat world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 at the WTA Finals in Riyadh on Wednesday.

Already out of the running for a semi-final spot after two round-robin defeats, Rybakina salvaged some pride with a fine win over the US Open and Australian Open champion, who nevertheless finishes top of the Purple Group.

Sabalenka will now play the runner-up in the Orange Group, which will be decided between Coco Gauff, Barbora Krejcikova and Iga Swiatek on Thursday. Jessica Pegula, already out of contention after two defeats from two, pulled out due to injury on Wednesday, meaning Daria Kasatkina steps in to play Swiatek.

“”It was a tough match and I’m really happy I managed to win,” Rybakina said. “It’s nice to finish the year at least with one win over the No 1. Every match I played her was a little better. It’s not easy after such a break but I served really well today. Overall I think it was a good one for me.”

Rybakina shows her quality

Sabalenka, already assured of a place in the semi-finals as the winner of the Purple Group after Zheng Qinwen’s win over Jasmine Paolini earlier in the day, looked like she would go on to win it after levelling it at one set apiece but Rybakina deserved her win.

Out of action since the US Open and after a difficult year in which she has suffered from illness and injury, and split up with her long-term coach, Rybakina showed great resilience, finding the kind of form that took her to the Wimbledon title in 2022.

An early break in the first game put Rybakina ahead but Sabalenka levelled immediately and then broke again on the way to a 3-1 lead. However, Rybakina’s returns were firing and she broke back for 3-3 and then, two games later, found another break before serving out comfortably to take the opening set.

Sabalenka hits back

With her semi-final spot already secure, Sabalenka could easily have let the match go, saving energy for the tough tasks to come, but the world No 1 dug deep instead.

The first seven games went with serve before Sabalenka finally found the breakthrough, taking a 5-3 lead and then serving out to take it to a decider.

Rybakina storms clear

The momentum was with Sabalenka but Rybakina had other ideas, storming ahead 4-1 thanks to some outstanding hitting, winning her 11 points in a row to 4-1, 0-30 on the Sabalenka serve.

Sabalenka steadied the ship to get to 30-30 but a double-fault handed Rybakina another break point, which she took, before clinching victory on her third match point to earn a first group stage win.

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