Svitolina Ends Sabalenka's Season at the WTA Finals

Elina Svitolina beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 at the WTA Finals, the year-end event for the world's best women players, and ended Sabalenka's season. The win puts Svitolina into the semifinals, where she will face Czech player Linda Noskova, the world No. 8.

Sabalenka's exit was sharp. Two days before losing to Svitolina, she lost to Mirra Andreeva, and she dropped the last 11 games of that match. BBC Sport reported that Andreeva's victory over Sabalenka was part of a debut that has gone very well. Andreeva also beat Svitolina, and she finished top of her group. She now meets Jessica Pegula in the semifinals, with a place in the final on the line.

The group stage is a round-robin, where each player in a group plays every other player in it. Top finishers move into the knockout rounds, where one defeat ends a player's run. That is why Svitolina's win mattered so much. A loss would have sent her home.

Svitolina has history at this event. She won the WTA Finals in 2018 and reached the final in 2019. This is her first appearance at the tournament since that 2019 final.

Sabalenka's season has been a mix of highs and near misses. She won three titles this year, including the Sunshine Double, a pair of wins at Indian Wells and Miami in the spring. She also reached the finals of the Australian Open and the US Open. Losing both finals means she has failed to win a Grand Slam title this season, the first year since 2022 that has happened. Her run at the top of the rankings also ended. After 99 weeks as world No. 1, she lost the top spot to Elena Rybakina, following their meeting in the US Open title match in September.

For Svitolina, the next step is a semifinal against Noskova. Two more wins would bring the title.