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Aryna Sabalenka won the WTA final over Qinwen Zheng.

Posted on by Bobb
Aryna Sabalenka won the WTA final over Qinwen Zheng.

Aryna Sabalenka has secured her status as the favorite to win the 2024 World Cup. WTA Final in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with a decisive straight-set victory (6-3, 6-4) over Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng.

Sabalenka never lost serve and only served one double fault on her first match point.

On indoor hard courts they play very quickly, which benefits the game of the world number one Sabalenka.

Qinwen Zheng was a fan favorite.

Chinese fans turned against Zheng, who has had a strong career year, including impressive success in Asia this fall, including last week’s victory over American Sofia Kenin at the Pan Pacific Open.

Zheng is the only player in the WTA Finals to play the full Asian swing. She was given a cast on the back of her right hamstring for the match, but it did not stop her from moving.

She was not intimidated by Sabalenka and stayed with her for most of the match. Sabalenko broke Zheng’s serve once in each set, which turned out to be the decisive factor.

Aryna Sabalenka will be difficult to beat

The court conditions and surface benefit Sabalenka the most. She won both hard-court Grand Slams this year: the Australian Open in January and the US Open in September, capping a season that also included a shoulder injury that kept her out of Wimbledon.

There is something to be surprised about Sabalenka’s game and its development in recent years. She was once hampered by problems with her serve, causing many double faults. She fixed the problem.

Sabalenka was also seen as someone who had all the power and no sophistication. She has worked hard on her drop shots and has used them to great effect this season.

In addition to her powerful serve game, she is one of the best return players in women’s tennis.

Conclusion

Although this is only the first round-robin match, the title appears to belong to Sabalenka. No one has played as well on hard courts this year. She is the only player in the field to have won multiple Grand Slams this year. Sabalenka is the world No. 1 by a significant points lead and has a very good chance of maintaining her ranking in the off-season, unlike last year when the world No. 1 was taken away from her Iga Swiatek at the WTA Finals in Cancun.