With Iga Swiatek’s recent defeat at the hands of Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka has now assured the year-end world number-one spot in the WTA Rankings. Last year, Sabalenka briefly displaced the Polish superstar at the top of the rankings but later on Swiatek won the WTA Finals and got back her crown. This time the ‘Tigress’ looked very much determined to retain her top spot! She has already won her previous two matches at the WTA Finals. Can she make it three out of three with a win against Elena Rybakina in her third match? Or will Rybakina complete a hat-trick of losses at the 2024 WTA Finals?

Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena Rybakina: Preview

Aryna Sabalenka started her season emphatically by winning the title at the 2024 AO. After that, her next title triumph came at the Cincinnati Masters. She won another major title this year and this time it came at the US Open. Later on, Sabalenka even went on to clinch the title at the Wuhan Open by defeating Qinwen Zheng in the final by 6-3,5-7,6-3. Carrying on that winning momentum, she started her campaign at the WTA Finals with a win over Zheng and Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in the first two matches. Now, it’ll be interesting to see if she can put up yet another dominating performance on display in her next match.

For Elena Rybakina, this year was a mix of good and bad. She has struggled a lot with her health and fitness issues throughout the season. However, amid all these, she has still managed to win three titles this season. Her first title triumph came at the Brisbane International where she defeated Aryna Sabalenka quite comfortably in two sets. After that, Rybakina won the title at the Abu Dhabi Open and then she reached the finals of the Qatar Open and the Miami Open, but she failed to make full use of those opportunities. Then her next title triumph came at the Stuttgart Open. Rybakina is entering this match, after facing a three-set defeat to Qinwen Zheng in her second group-stage match. What will be the scoreline in the next?

Sabalenka vs Rybakina: Head-to-Head

Both these tennis stars have met quite a few times in their careers. Currently, Aryna Sabalenka leads the H2H scoreline which stands at 6-3..

• 2024 Madrid SF: Sabalenka 1-6,7-5,7-6(5).
• 2024 Brisbane Final: Rybakina 6-0,6-3.
• 2023 WTA Finals R1: Sabalenka 6-2,3-6,6-3.
• 2023 Beijing QF: Rybakina 7-5,6-2.
• 2023 Indian Wells Final: Rybakina 7-6(11),6-4.
• 2023 Australian Open Final: Sabalenka 4-6,6-3,6-4.
• 2021 Wimbledon R16: Sabalenka 6-3,4-6,6-3.
• 2021 Abu Dhabi QF: Sabalenka 6-4,4-6,6-3.
• 2019 Wuhan QF: Sabalenka 6-3,1-6,6-1.

Prediction: Sabalenka to win in straight sets

Elena Rybakina hasn’t looked sharp in this tournament so far. On the other hand, Aryna Sabalenka has been playing at a much higher level than her peers throughout the 2024 season. So considering all these factors, we feel the Belarusian is most likely the favorite in this epic encounter. Apart from that, if we look at numbers, Aryna Sabalenka (1) has a win-loss record of 56-12 this season, whereas, Elena Rybakina (5) has a win-loss record of 41-13.

Since Rybakina is out of contention for the SF, she will perhaps be looking to wrap up this season pretty quickly and make a good start to her 2025 campaign. On the other hand, Aryna Sabalenka will be keen to end this year by clinching a few more wins and taking forward that winning momentum on her mission to retain her AO title in 2025.

If we take a look at their playing styles, Elena Rybakina is an aggressive baseliner. Her powerful serve and impeccable groundstrokes are a real threat to any opponent. She can generate effortless power in both her groundstrokes and serves. Elina Rybakina is often seen aiming to finish points quickly and her high-risk game often leads to an accumulation of both winners and a lot of unforced errors. Considering her incredible height, she also has a good reach and can retrieve shots from unexpected positions on the court.

Aryna Sabalenka is more of a baseliner with a powerful, aggressive style of play. She can also generate a lot of power behind her serves and groundstrokes. Her game is more based on taking control of points and hitting winners. If she gets a grip of the match very early in this battle, then we’d possibly see her clinching yet another straight-set victory in this tournament. Looking at the form she has been in this season, we’re expecting Aryna Sabalenka to do exactly the same in this match.