Following her commanding victory at the WTA 1000 Mutua Madrid Open, where she dropped only one set over two weeks to secure the title and 1,000 crucial points, Aryna Sabalenka has significantly extended her advantage at the top of the PIF Race to the WTA Finals standings.
The 27-year-old Belarusian, who celebrated her birthday shortly after the tournament, has demonstrated outstanding form throughout the current season. Her triumph in Madrid marked her fourth consecutive final appearance and her sixth overall final this year. Earlier in the season, she also claimed titles at the WTA 1000 Miami Open presented by Itaú and the WTA 500 Brisbane International presented by Evie.
Sabalenka`s impressive run this season also includes reaching the finals at the WTA 1000 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, the WTA 500 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, and the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open. These strong results have propelled her season total points in the race to qualify for the WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF to just under 5,000.
Elsewhere on the Leaderboard, former WTA Finals champion Elina Svitolina saw a notable climb, moving up nine positions to reach No. 7. Her successful run to the semifinals in Madrid brought her into the qualification range for the prestigious year-end event.
In the doubles race, Hsieh Su-Wei and Jelena Ostapenko solidified their position by earning 390 points after reaching the semifinals in Madrid. This performance provided them with breathing room at the No. 3 spot. Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townend, despite not competing in Madrid, continue to lead the doubles Leaderboard thanks to their strong start to the season.
The focus now shifts to the Internazionali BNL d`Italia in Rome this week. This tournament represents the final WTA 1000 clay-court event of the season and offers players another opportunity to earn vital points towards qualification for the WTA Finals.
The WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF features the top 8 singles players and doubles teams based on their performance in the PIF Race. The eighth spot has a special provision where a Grand Slam winner ranked between No. 8 and No. 20 is prioritized. The event brings together the world’s best eight players and teams to compete in a round-robin format, with the singles champion being awarded the WTA Finals Billie Jean King Trophy and the doubles champions receiving the WTA Finals Martina Navratilova Trophy.
