Sabalenka widens lead in PIF Race to the WTA Finals after Madrid win
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Aryna Sabalenka strengthened her hold on the No. 1 spot in the PIF Race to the WTA Finals following a commanding run at the WTA 1000 Mutua Madrid Open, where she dropped only one set over two weeks and added 1,000 points with Saturday’s title.
The 27-year-old (who celebrates her birthday Monday) has been in outstanding form this season. Her triumph in Madrid marked her fourth final in a row and sixth of the season. She also won the WTA 1000 Miami Open presented by Itaú and WTA 500 Brisbane International presented by Evie.
Sabalenka also reached the finals at the WTA 1000 BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells), the WTA 500 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix (Stuttgart) and the season’s first Grand Slam at the Australian Open, bringing her season total to just under 5,000 points in the race to qualify for the WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF.
Elsewhere on the Leaderboard, former WTA Finals champion Elina Svitolina climbed nine spots to No .7, entering the qualification range after her semifinal run in Madrid.
In doubles, Hsieh Su-Wei & Jelena Ostapenko added 390 points courtesy of reaching the last four in Madrid to give them breathing room in the No. 3 position, with Katerina Siniakova & Taylor Townend (who did not play in Madrid) still topping the Leaderboard thanks to their red-hot early-season form.
This week sees the start of the last WTA 1000 clay tournament taking place at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, with more vital points on offer.
Click here to see the full PIF Race to the WTA Finals Leaderboard in singles and doubles.
The WTA Finals Riyadh presented by PIF features the top 8 singles players and doubles teams on the PIF Race to the WTA Finals Leaderboard (with the 8th spot going to the singles player and doubles team that have won a Grand Slam if ranked No. 8 to No. 20). This showcases the world’s best eight singles players and doubles teams competing in a round-robin format with the singles champion lifting the WTA Finals Billie Jean King Trophy and the doubles champions earning the WTA Finals Martina Navratilova Trophy.
