Zheng Qinwen’s WTA Finals Debut Ends in Defeat: Sabalenka Secures Thrilling Win in Season-Ending Showdown

WTA year-end finals kick off Zheng Qinwen loses to Sabalenka in first match

2024-11-03 11:45:05

On November 2, local time, the 2024 Women’s Tennis Players Association (WTA) year-end finals kicked off in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In the singles competition, in the purple group round-robin that started first, Chinese player Zheng Qinwen lost 0:2 to world No. 1 Sabalenka in the first match, and former Wimbledon champion Rybakina lost to two-time Grand Slam runner-up Paolini.

This is the fourth time Zheng Qinwen and Sabalenka have met this season. The first three times were the Australian Open final, the US Open quarter-finals and the Wuhan Tennis Open final. Zheng Qinwen lost all three games.

In the first set, Zheng Qinwen made a double fault in the sixth game. Sabalenka cashed in on her second break point and broke serve first, winning the first set 6:3. In the second set, Sabalenka got another crucial break in the ninth game and took advantage of the opportunity to serve to win the set, winning the year-end finals with a score of 6:4.

In this game, Sabalenka, who is known for her fierce offense, showed strong and stable serving strength, with a first-serve scoring rate of 94%, and her ability to grasp key points is even better.

After the game, talking about her failure in her first show, Zheng Qinwen said that she had a chance to defeat her opponent in the game, but she missed the break point due to a mistake when returning serve with her backhand. This also made her clear the direction for future adjustments and improvements. Compared with the last race in Tokyo, the altitude of Riyadh is higher and the court speed is faster. Zheng Qinwen also said that he has not fully adapted to the change of venue and believes that the situation will improve in the next games.

In another group match that night, former Wimbledon champion Rybakina, who returned from injury shortly after, lost to Italian star Paolini 6:7(5), 4:6. After two group matches, Sabalenka and Paolini ranked in the top two of the group, while Rybakina and Zheng Qinwen ranked third and fourth respectively.

According to the schedule, on the afternoon of the 3rd local time, the Orange Group round-robin match will begin. Sviatek will face Krejcikova, and Gauff will face Pegula.