Elina Svitolina defeats Aryna Sabalenka at WTA Finals

Elina Svitolina beat former world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3 3-6 6-1 at the WTA Finals, ending the Belarusian's season and securing a place in the knockout stage.

Sabalenka showed her frustration by dropping her racquet and crouching at the back of the court after a point was lost, as a semi‑final berth slipped away. She managed to force a deciding set after unraveling late in the first, but then dropped the last six games. The defeat came two days after she had lost each of her previous 11 games in a heavy loss to Mirra Andreeva.

Svitolina, the 2018 champion from Ukraine, will face Czech world No 8 Linda Noskova in the quarter‑finals after finishing runner‑up to Andreeva, who meets Jessica Pegula for a spot in Sunday’s final. This is Svitolina’s first appearance at the tournament since reaching the 2019 final, and she has returned to the top ten for the first time since 2021.

"It was an extremely tough match, especially mentally. I was just trying to play one point at a time," Svitolina, 32, said. "This is the tournament where you bring everything to the table and try to play every game as if it’s the last."