RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the semifinals of the WTA Finals with her second straight win in the group stage, beating Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 7-5 on Monday.
Top-ranked Sabalenka cruised through the first set with a 4-0 lead, and saved two set points in the second set to advance to the year-end tournament where the top eight players participate.
Sabalenka will face already eliminated Elena Rybakina on Wednesday in her final group match of the week.
Sabalenka has won 22 of her last 23 matches and three of her last four tournaments.
With another round robin win, she took first place at the end of the year for the first time in her life.
In another Purple Group match, Zheng Qinwen maintained her chances of advancing by beating Rybakina 7-6(4) 3-6, 6-1.
It was Zheng’s first win over Rybakina in three attempts.
Rybakina is unable to advance to the semifinals with 0 wins and 2 losses. She lost to Paolini on Saturday, while Sabalenka earned a clean sweep over Zheng in her opening match in Saudi Arabia.
Zheng and Paolini are scheduled to face each other on Wednesday, with the winner advancing to their first WTA Finals semifinal to face the winner of the Orange Group.
