Sabalenka leads Swiatek in race for No 1 at year’s end

Bengaluru — Aryna Sabalenka’s return to top spot in the WTA rankings after leapfrogging Iga Swiatek has set up a thrilling end to the season, with November’s WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia likely to prove decisive in the race to end the year as world No 1.

Sabalenka has enjoyed a spectacular season, defending her Australian Open title in January and adding the US Open trophy to her cabinet in September, as well as enjoying victories in Cincinnati and Wuhan.

Players are mandated to compete in six WTA 500 events, but Swiatek’s decision to skip the tour’s Asian swing due to fatigue meant the French Open champion will manage to play in only two this season. The penalties saw her drop below Poland’s Sabalenka in the rankings.

Sabalenka spent eight weeks at the summit in 2023 before Swiatek overtook her with a victory at the season-ending WTA Finals and the Belarusian hopes for a longer stay as “N1”.

“N1 ... Let’s see for how long this time,” she posted on X on Monday after the latest rankings were released.

Sabalenka is not in action this week after her Wuhan success and will lose points for only playing in four WTA 500 events. She has 9,706 points while Swiatek has 9,665 ahead of the Finals, which will offer 1,500.

The Finals will be held on hard courts in Riyadh on November 2-9 and feature the top eight singles players and doubles teams.

• Japan’s Naomi Osaka said she would skip November’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Spain as she recovers from injuries that have kept her out of key tournaments during the WTA’s Asian swing.

The four-times Grand Slam champion had been one of the big drawcards for the team tournament in Malaga on November 13-20 but will now look to get fit before the 2025 Australian Open. 

Osaka sustained a back injury during this October’s China Open before skipping the Japan Open and the Pan Pacific Open.

Reuters