FILE PHOTO: Tennis - Italian Open - Foro Italico, Rome, Italy - May 18, 2024 Poland's Iga Swiatek and Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka shake hands at the net after Swiatek won the final match REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo
RIYADH (Reuters) - Aryna Sabalenka can finish a spectacular season by securing the year-end world number one ranking, while Iga Swiatek will eye a late surge to reclaim top spot as the duo take centre stage at the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia from Saturday.
Sabalenka retained the Australian Open title in January, lifted the U.S. Open trophy and triumphed in Cincinnati and Wuhan to leapfrog Swiatek and top the WTA rankings last month.
Five-times Grand Slam champion Swiatek made a strong start to the season and has bagged five titles, including her fourth French Open crown, but the 23-year-old from Poland ran out of steam and skipped the recent Asian swing due to fatigue.
The pair are the only players to hold the number one ranking since April 2022 and will battle hard for year-end glory as well as 1,500 points and more than a third of the $15 million prize pot in the capital Riyadh.
"Yeah, that's definitely one of the goals," said Sabalenka.
"I've always been saying that for me it's about finishing the year as the world number one. I'll do everything I can to finish the year as world number one.
"... Anytime we come to the tournament, we want to win. That's the first goal. I'm trying to be focused on the first part. Then, if I'll be able to finish the year as number one, it'll be amazing and I'll be super happy."
Sabalenka, 26, was in a similar position last season, when she arrived at the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico, needing to fend off Swiatek to finish at the top but the 26-year-old Belarusian was unsuccessful in her bid.
Winning three round robin matches or reaching the final are some of the ways Sabalenka can retain top spot this year, while Swiatek needs to successfully defend the trophy to have any chance of overtaking her.
"Obviously we're both fighting for this spot. It's been us basically, over the past few years," Swiatek said.
"I'm in the tournament. I want to play my best and win. I'm going to focus on my first match and do everything step by step.
"She's a great player. She also deserves to be number one. For sure, I'm going to fight for me to be in that place."
Looking to make life difficult for the duo are the likes of Zheng Qinwen, Jasmine Paolini, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina and Barbora Krejcikova.
INTENSE DEBATE
This year's WTA Finals, which run for a week from Saturday, has been the subject of intense debate in the last few months after Riyadh won the right to host it until 2026.
Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in sports like soccer, Formula One and golf in the last few years while critics accuse the kingdom of using its Public Investment Fund to "sportswash" its human rights record.
The country denies accusations of human rights abuses and says it protects its national security through its laws.
WTA chief Steve Simon said last year that Saudi Arabia presented "big issues" as a host for women's tour events, but also acknowledged the progress it had made and continued to engage with players before the WTA Finals deal was struck.
There had also been push-back from tennis greats Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, who said that the WTA's values were in contrast to those of Saudi Arabia.
"Our decision was made with full consultation with our players and our tournaments," WTA CEO Portia Archer said. "That led to the decision to come here and being comfortable with it.
"... We think it'll support women in tennis and enable some very positive things to come out of us being here that will last well beyond the eight days we're here this year and successively the next two years when we host the tournament here."
The season finale will also feature the top eight doubles teams in the world.
WTA Finals singles draw:
Purple Group:
Aryna Sabalenka
Jasmine Paolini
Elena Rybakina
Zheng Qinwen
Orange Group:
Iga Swiatek
Coco Gauff
Jessica Pegula
Barbora Krejcikova
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
