Jasmine Paolini Hopes to Improve on her Game after Aryna Sabalenka’s Demolition at the WTA Finals

Jasmine Paolini fell to World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in the opening match of the Steffi Graf Group at the WTA Finals. The US Open champion gave the Italian star no chance in the match, crushing her with her serving technique and outmuscling the World No.8 strategy on the court to earn her 60th win of the season.

Before the match, Sabalenka had lifted the year-end World No.1 title for the second consecutive year after beating Iga Swiatek to remain at the top of the WTA rankings. She had failed to win any title since the US Open in September and entered the tournament at the back of an unsuccessful title defense in Wuhan.

But that didn’t matter much against Paolini on Sunday (November 2), as the 27-year-old began the match by breaking Paolini early. She then broke the former World No.5 for the second time to win the first set. In the second set, she led 4-0, breaking the Italian Open champion twice in quick succession before Paolini registered her first game.

Sabalenka continued with the onslaught, winning the match 6-3, 6-1 to mark her 12th top 10 win of the season. The Belarusian won 66% of her first serve points and produced 24 winners, outplaying the agile Paolini. Paolini failed to control the match and gifted the World No.1 a lot of free points in the end.

However, Paolini is competing both in the singles and doubles of the WTA Finals, which might be a laborious task for her. Nevertheless, during her interview with Ubitennis, the Italian star revealed that she hopes to improve on her game ahead of her second round-robin tie at the prestigious event:

I could have done better on some important points in the first set, but she played a great match. So I try to take the positives, improve on what I didn’t do well for the next set, and hope to play a better match. As I said, we’ll talk to my team and try to improve, to go on the court with a clear idea of what I have to do against the next opponent. They’re still playing, so I don’t know who I’ll be playing against, but I hope I can play a good match.

Sabalenka is a more experienced player at the WTA Finals compared to Paolini. She has qualified for the season-ending tournament for the past five years but has never won it in her career. Her best run at the tournament was in 2022, when she reached the final before losing to Caroline Garcia 2022.

Aryna Sabalenka focused and calm on winning her maiden WTA Finals in Riyadh

Aryna Sabalenka will be seeking to win her first WTA Finals after several failed attempts. Last year, she was the favorite to claim the title but fell to Coco Gauff in three sets in the semi-finals, and in 2023, it was the same story. This season, the 27-year-old has shown her determination on the court, fighting hard following difficult losses.

The World No.1 has made her first serve her lethal weapon on the court and she will hope to use it when it matters at the tournament. During her on-court interview after beating Jasmine Paolini, she explained that she’s focused on winning the title, while working hard to get better on the court:

I was focused, I was calm and it felt like everything was in control. I’m super happy and super proud of the work that has been done and that things are working and I’m getting better and better every day. And I just hope that we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing and hopefully we can stay there.

Sabalenka’s next opponent is Jessica Pegula on Tuesday (November 4). She currently holds an 8-3 lead in their head-to-head record, but lost their last meeting at the Wuhan Open last month. Should Sabalenka beat Pegula, she’s likely to qualify for the semi-finals of the WTA Finals in Riyadh.

Also Read: Jessica Pegula Breaks Down Coco Gauff’s Secret After Winning Their Opening Clash at the WTA Finals

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