Sabalenka and Swiatek head to Saudi finals after epic year yet organisers remain dire at marketing their product
T
he final weeks of the women’s tennis season showcased one last twist in the furious race to determine the qualifiers for the WTA Finals. Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, finally caught fire after a year of near misses, bulldozing through her opponents to win a title in Ningbo, China that solidified her spot in Riyadh among the eight best players in the world.
Just as significant as Rybakina’s qualification, though, was its consequences for the player she usurped. Mirra Andreeva, the 18-year-old prodigy who won WTA 1000 titles in Dubai and Indian Wells this year, had seemed like a sure bet to qualify in singles for the WTA Finals. Her failure to do so underscores the fact that this year has been the toughest and most competitive women’s tennis season in years.
At the top, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek have further strengthened their claims as the two greatest players of their generation. While Sabalenka put together another supremely consistent year as the best player in the world, winning her fourth grand slam title at the US Open and reaching the Australian and French Open finals, Swiatek captured the one tournament she never imagined she could win, earning her sixth grand slam title at Wimbledon.
