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Aryna Sabalenka faces Elina Svitolina for last WTA Finals semi-final spot

Sabalenka must beat Svitolina in Friday's final Group 2 round-robin match at Indian Wells to reach the semi-finals.

By , Sports writer

· 2 min read

Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka (file photo) Photo: Vbrunophotog / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Aryna Sabalenka lost 6-4, 6-0 to Mirra Andreeva in 62 minutes, leaving her WTA Finals hopes in the balance. She now faces Elina Svitolina, who beat Karolina Muchova 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, with the remaining semi-final place at stake.

Key takeaways

  • Mirra Andreeva beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-0 to win Group 2 of the WTA Finals.
  • Elina Svitolina beat Karolina Muchova 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 to keep her semi-final hopes alive.
  • Sabalenka meets Svitolina on Friday in a winner-takes-all Group 2 match.
  • Sabalenka leads the head-to-head against Svitolina 6-1.
  • Svitolina trails 6-1 in the head-to-head and has lost five in a row.

Aryna Sabalenka will play Elina Svitolina on Friday for the last semi-final place in Group 2 of the WTA Finals at Indian Wells Tennis Garden, Indian Wells, USA. NDTV reported that Mirra Andreeva beat Sabalenka 6-4, 6-0 in 62 minutes on Wednesday, while Sky Sports reported that Svitolina came from behind to beat Karolina Muchova 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Context and Previous Results

Mirra Andreeva, the 19-year-old French Open champion, is making her singles debut in the elite season-ending event. She won her first match against an unnamed opponent, and then beat Sabalenka, the world number two and US Open runner-up.

The Russian maintained the momentum in the second set, capitalising on Sabalenka's errors to break early and race into a 3-0 lead. Andreeva did not allow Sabalenka another game, sealing a dominant victory on her WTA Finals debut.

What's at Stake

The winner of Friday's match reaches the semi-finals, while the loser is eliminated. Sky Sports said Sabalenka now faces a winner-takes-all clash. Svitolina, a former WTA Finals champion, has won 11 WTA Finals matches since her debut in 2017, according to Newsbytes.

Only Sabalenka, with 13 wins, and Iga Swiatek, with 12, have won more in that period. Svitolina trails 6-1 in the head-to-head against Sabalenka, losing five in a row and the past three in straight sets.

Head-to-Head and Career Records

Svitolina has a career-high ranking of world No. 3 in singles and No. 108 in doubles from the WTA. She has won 20 WTA Tour singles titles, including the 2018 WTA Finals and five WTA 1000-level tournaments. Sabalenka has been ranked the world No.

1 in women's singles and doubles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), and finished as the year-end No. 1 in singles twice. She has won 24 career singles titles, including four majors, as well as eleven WTA 1000 events.

What happens next

Sabalenka plays Svitolina in the final Group 2 round-robin match on Friday. Sky Sports said the remaining place in the last four is at stake. The sources do not give a start time, so no IST or GMT conversion is possible.

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