Skip to content A shattered racquet and a crouch of pure defeat marked the bitter conclusion of the Sabalenka WTA Finals campaign on Thursday night. Aryna Sabalenka crumbled in the deciding set against Elina Svitolina, losing the final six games to drop a tense clash 6-3 3-6 6-1 in Riyadh.
The result dumps the former world number one out of the tournament before the knockout rounds. Svitolina instead marches into the semi-finals, continuing an extraordinary resurgence at age 32. For Sabalenka, the collapse brought down the curtain on a perplexing year that delivered plenty of match wins but none of the grand slam silverware she craves most.
Also read: Jessica Pegula Reaches WTA Finals Semis, Sets Andreeva Clash
How Svitolina dismantled the Sabalenka WTA Finals challenge
Sabalenka arrived at the court determined to erase memories of her heavy loss to Mirra Andreeva two days earlier. She attacked early with an angled forehand winner to break Svitolina immediately. But that crisp authority vanished almost as quickly as it arrived.
Svitolina dug in from the baseline, absorbing power and forcing the Belarusian into wild errors. Sabalenka lost six of the next seven games, surrendering two service games to love as the opening set slipped away. While she rallied sharply to claim the second set 6-3 behind a double break, her composure cracked in the decider.
After Sabalenka failed to consolidate an early advantage in the third set, she hurled her racquet into the court surface. Svitolina pounced on that visible frustration, breaking Sabalenka’s resistance for good when a double fault handed the Ukrainian a decisive 4-1 lead. Svitolina never blinked, calmly serving out the match to seal her place in the final four.
“This is the tournament where you bring everything to the table and try to play every game as if it’s the last.”
What went wrong for Sabalenka in 2024
On paper, Sabalenka put together one of the most dominant statistical campaigns on the women’s tour. She carried the tour’s best win rate into Riyadh at 81% with a 47-11 match record. She also compiled 43 straight-set victories, which led the entire circuit.
Yet the season ended without a single major trophy for the first time since 2022. Sabalenka reached the finals of both the Australian Open and the US Open, but lost both to Elena Rybakina. Those defeats eventually cost her the world number one ranking after a 99-week reign at the summit.
Over the past four years, Sabalenka has reached at least the semi-finals in 13 of 16 grand slams. Even so, she has now lost five major finals while winning four. When the biggest moments arrived this week, the old mental demons returned, producing a combined total of 17 lost games out of 18 across the end of her meetings with Andreeva and Svitolina.
Svitolina and Andreeva surge into the last four
While Sabalenka packs her bags, Svitolina has reignited the form that carried her to the WTA Finals crown in 2018. The Ukrainian star missed substantial time away from tennis before clawing her way back into the world’s top 10 this season for the first time since 2021.
Svitolina advanced as runner-up in her group and will now take on Czech world number eight Linda Noskova. Noskova reached the semi-finals despite suffering a narrow loss to Jessica Pegula, who saved a match point earlier in the week. Svitolina admitted the physical and psychological toll of staying alive in the draw was immense.
“It was an extremely tough match, especially mentally. I was just trying to play one point at a time,” Svitolina said after dispatching Sabalenka.
Pegula awaits Andreeva after the Sabalenka WTA Finals collapse
Teen sensation Mirra Andreeva emerged from the group as the standout performer. The 19-year-old French Open champion crushed Diana Shnaider 6-2 6-1 in just 55 minutes to finish pool play with an immaculate record. Shnaider had entered the draw as an alternate following an illness to Karolina Muchova.
Andreeva dropped only 11 of 47 games across her three group matches. In doing so, she became the youngest player to reach the knockout stage in 17 years. She also surpassed Serena Williams as the youngest player this century to win her opening three career matches at the year-end championships.
Andreeva now meets Pegula in a clash carrying unexpected tension off the court. Pegula had referred to Andreeva as a “diva” during a live-streamed practice conversation with her coach last week. While Andreeva confirmed that Pegula apologised and insisted there was no lingering drama, their semi-final duel promises plenty of fireworks.
Svitolina meets Noskova on Saturday before Andreeva faces Pegula, with all four chasing a spot in Sunday’s championship final.
Source: BBC Sport
