• The Saudi Tennis Federation aims to inspire one million people into tennis by 2030, offering young athletes the chance to learn tennis and meet top players.
  • Historic event set to conclude on Saturday 9 November, with tickets available at webook.com
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RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – The global stars of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) served a sensational spectacle for the Riyadh crowd on Saturday as the WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF began at King Saud University Indoor Arena.

Saturday's action served up several exciting encounters with the opening matches of the initial round robin, showcasing thrilling tennis for thousands of fans at the King Saud University indoor stadium in Riyadh.

AS IT HAPPENED:

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka defeated 2024 Olympic Gold medalist Zheng Qinwen (CHN) in straight sets, maintaining her dominant record over the Chinese player with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. Afterwards Sabalenka said, “Overall, I love the courts out and the conditions out here. (With the altitude difference) I made a couple of adjustments to my racquet tension since I’ve arrived and the ball is really flying out there. I’m loving it out there.”

In the other singles match up of the opening day, world number four Jasmine Paolini (ITA) defeated world number five Elena Rybakina (KAZ) in straight sets with a 7-6, 6-4 victory in her opening tie of this year’s WTA Finals. After her match, Paolini said, “It was a tough match, dealing with her serve. I think I entered with the match with the right mindset and took my chances. It’s a faster condition of court here so I’m happy with the performance and to get my first win in the WTA Finals.

In the doubles, the pairing of Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) and Ellen Perez (AUS) defeated the third seed Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE) and Elise Mertens (BEL) in the three sets, coming back from losing their first set, eventually winning 1-6, 6-1, 10-6 in an epic final set tie-break.

To round out the opening day, eighth seeded duo Katerina Siniakova (CZE) and Taylor Townsend (USA) earned an inspired victory over WTA World Number 1 pairing Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) and Lyudmyla Kichenok (Ukraine), rallying back from a set down to win out 3-6, 6-3, 11-9.

ORDER OF PLAY – GROUP STAGE (DAY 2)

There’s plenty of drama to expect on day two of the WTA Finals in Riyadh. World number two and defending WTA Finals champion Iga Swiatek (POL) will face off against Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) at 3:30 pm local time, followed by an all-American showdown on center court as Coco Gauff (USA) takes on Jessica Pegula (USA).

The season-ending finals mark a historic moment as the first WTA women’s tennis tournament to be held in Saudi Arabia. As the crown jewel of the Hologic WTA Tour season, the finals feature the world’s top eight female singles players and doubles pairings competing for the top spot in the PIF WTA World Rankings for the 2024 season.

The WTA Finals Riyadh serve as part of the Saudi Tennis Federation’s goal to inspire one million people into the game of tennis by 2030. For information on how to attend this year’s WTA Finals in Riyadh, please visit: https://webook.com/en/events/wta-finals-tickets