Sabalenka Started with a Victory at the WTA Finals
The results will determine if the Belarusian remains the world's second-ranked player.
Aryna Sabalenka, photo by Robert Prange, Getty Images
The tournament for the world's top eight tennis players was supposed to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but due to threats from the Houthis and the difficult situation in the Middle East, it was moved to the quiet Californian Indian Wells.
The world's number one player, Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina, withdrew from participation after the draw; she will be replaced by Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk.
Despite her non-participation, she will retain the title of world number one in 2026, but Aryna, if she performs poorly, could lose her rank as the world's second player.
In the opening match, Aryna defeated Czech Karolina Muchova 7:6, 7:5.
In the second match of the subgroup, Russian Mirra Andreeva defeated Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 6:4, 6:0. Earlier, Svitolina refused to take a joint photo of the eight tennis players together with Russian Andreeva and Belarusian Sabalenka.
Sabalenka will play her next match tomorrow against Mirra Andreeva, and on Thursday she will play against Svitolina.