Sabalenka defeated World No.1 Iga Swiatek 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 in a two-hour and seven-minute semifinal match on Sunday night.
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Aryna Sabalenka described her qualification for the WTA Finals as a “miracle” at the start of the week. But, after a huge semifinal upset, her miracle has now extended all the way to the Fort Worth singles final. Sabalenka defeated World No.1 Iga Swiatek 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 in a two-hour and seven-minute semifinal match on Sunday night. Sabalenka won her tour-leading 28th three-set match of the season to advance to her third final of the season.
Sabalenka will now face No. 6 seed Caroline Garcia for the WTA Finals singles trophy, which will break their 2-2 head-to-head record. Sabalenka and Garcia will both finish the year in the Top 5 thanks to their semifinal victories. Former World No.2 Sabalenka won their first meeting a year ago at the 2021 WTA Finals, but Swiatek has had the upper hand in their rivalry since then, winning their four previous meetings this year. Sabalenka came close to winning again in the US Open semifinals, trailing Swiatek by a break in the third set before Swiatek turned the match around to win the title.
Sabalenka won her third career match against a reigning World No.1 in a match that mirrored the US Open semifinal until the final few games. Sabalenka’s two previous victories over a World No.1 came in 2019 Wuhan and 2021 Madrid, both against Ashleigh Barty.
“Overall, I was really calm on the court,” Sabalenka said after her win. “The mindset was just I wanted to make her work for it. I didn’t want to give her another easy win, like she got [in the] first three wins. That’s the mindset I had during this match. I think that’s why I wasn’t really going for all those winners, all those aces, but I think because of the mindset, I made it a lot.”
