Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka wants to finish a season as No. 1 for the first time
Image: Keystone
Iga Swiatek recently took a break and changed coach - she only has an outside chance of winning
Image: Keystone
Former star Martina Navratilova criticizes the WTA for going to Saudi Arabia with the WTA Finals
Image: Keystone
Former world number one Garbiñe Muguruza from Spain acts as tournament director in Riyadh
Image: Keystone
The Six Kings Slam, an exhibition tournament featuring Nadal, Djokovic, Alcaraz, Medvedev and Rune, which was won by Jannik Sinner, took place in Riyadh last week
Image: Keystone
Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka wants to finish a season as No. 1 for the first time
Image: Keystone
Iga Swiatek recently took a break and changed coach - she only has an outside chance of winning
Image: Keystone
Former star Martina Navratilova criticizes the WTA for going to Saudi Arabia with the WTA Finals
Image: Keystone
Former world number one Garbiñe Muguruza from Spain acts as tournament director in Riyadh
Image: Keystone
The Six Kings Slam, an exhibition tournament featuring Nadal, Djokovic, Alcaraz, Medvedev and Rune, which was won by Jannik Sinner, took place in Riyadh last week
Image: Keystone
At the WTA Finals in Riyadh, the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (WTA 1) and the Polish Iga Swiatek (2) will battle it out to see who ends the season as number 1. Sabalenka has the edge ahead of the tournament.
Aryna Sabalenka, the winner of this year's two Grand Slam tournaments on hard court (Australian Open and US Open), will finish a year as No. 1 for the first time if she wins all her group matches or reaches the final. The situation is more complicated for Iga Swiatek: to make up the 1046 points deficit to Sabalenka, the French Open winner must win the tournament and hope that Sabalenka does not win all her group matches and does not reach the final.
Iga Swiatek could end a year as world number 1 for the third time: By comparison, Steffi Graf and Novak Djokovic have each achieved this eight times, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal five times each.
A lot of money at stake
In the group stage, Sabalenka will face Italy's Jasmine Paolini (WTA 4), Kazakhstan's Yelena Rybakina (WTA 5) and China's Zheng Qinwen (WTA 7). Swiatek will be up against the Americans Coco Gauff (WTA 3) and Jessica Pegula (WTA 6) as well as the Czech Barbora Krejcikova (WTA 13).
The WTA Finals are being held for the first time in Saudi Arabia and in Riyadh, where almost 20 million dollars were shared out between Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune at a show tournament the week before last on the occasion of the "Six Kings Slam". The Spaniard Garbiñe Muguruza, a former world number 1, is the tournament director. She has the delicate task of presenting the tournament in a good light after it was revealed this week that spectators were being bussed to events for a fee to give the impression that the stadium was full.
Muguruza's task is a complicated one, although she stresses that all the players are excited about the tournament and that she has heard "only positive things" so far. Legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova recently criticized the fact that the WTA is holding its biggest event in a country that is accused of regularly violating human rights and women's rights in particular.
More and more influence
One thing is clear: money plays no role in Saudi Arabia. After Formula 1 (Grand Prix), football, golf (LIV Tour) and horse riding (World Cup Final), Saudi Arabia is also gaining massive influence in tennis thanks to money. A strategic partnership with the ATP has been in place since February. Among other things, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund appears as the name sponsor of the ATP world rankings and as an official partner at major tournaments. Jeddah hosts the Next Gen Finals, the annual finals for the best professionals under the age of 21.
Saudi Arabia has been investing heavily in sport for years. The official goals of the "Vision 2030" state plan are to diversify the economy, become less dependent on oil, open up the country to tourists and offer attractive opportunities for its own population. However, the kingdom is also accused of using its involvement in sport to distract attention from human rights violations and improve its image.
SDA
