Aryna Sabalenka makes big year-end No 1 move as she survives huge Wuhan scare

Aryna Sabalenka has moved above Iga Swiatek in the race to finish as the year-end world No 1 after a rallying victory at the Wuhan Open.

World No 2 Sabalenka could not have started her third round match against Yulia Putintseva much worse, with the Belarusian winning just one game in the opening set.

However, the three-time Grand Slam champion was able to turn the tide in the second set and ultimately ran away with the decider, claiming a 1-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory to reach the last eight.

“Yulia is one of those players who can be really annoying on court. Her style is tricky and she definitely makes you work for it if you want to win matches against her,” said Sabalenka.

“In the first set, she just played incredible tennis, honestly there was nothing I could do. In the second set, I just tried to fix my serve, which didn’t work at the beginning.

“Somehow I just managed to figure my serve and step in and put so much pressure on her. Somehow I was able to win that set and in the third set, I felt like whatever I was doing would go in.”

Victory extends Sabalenka’s impeccable record at the Wuhan Open, with the Belarusian yet to taste defeat in 14 matches at the tournament.

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However, more significantly, it means that she moves ahead of world No 1 Iga Swiatek in the race to finish the year as the best-ranked player.

Sabalenka now holds 8,306 points, compared to Swiatek’s total of 8,285.

With the Pole choosing to skip Beijing and Wuhan this year amid her recent coaching split, Sabalenka was handed the chance to move into pole position in the race to year-end No. 1.

And while she missed the opportunity to usurp Swiatek in Beijing, she could still build a significant advantage ahead of the WTA Finals in Riyadh.

A run to the title in Wuhan would put Sabalenka on 9,091 points for the year and put her firmly in the driving seat to finish the year atop the WTA Rankings.

Sabalenka can’t knock Swiatek off world No 1 directly with a run to a third straight Wuhan title, though she will have the opportunity to do so in Riyadh.

She only has semi-final points to defend at the year-end championships, while Swiatek has 1,500 points to defend after winning the title without losing a match in 2023.

Sabalenka and Swiatek are currently the only two players officially qualified for the WTA Finals.