Agencies
Riyadh
Zheng Qinwen crushed Jasmine Paolini to reach the WTA Finals last four as an already-qualified Aryna Sabalenka lost to an inspired Elena Rybakina.
China’s Olympic gold medallist Zheng showcased her power in an easy 6-1 6-1 win that eliminated Italian Paolini.
It left the 22-year-old with a 2-1 group-stage record, with her sole loss coming against Sabalenka on the first day of the tournament.
Zheng is the second Chinese woman to reach the semi-finals of the tournament following the legendary Li Na in 2013.
"I didn’t know what would happen when I came here,” she said. "I just told myself to enjoy it, especially because I am in a really difficult group.”
The No.7-seeded Zheng sweeps into Friday’s semi-finals after taking this winner-take-all match. She’s now beaten Paolini all four times they’ve played and will next meet an opponent to be named later.
"I finally feel that my serve begin to be a bit more consistent,” Zheng told reporters.
"I remember in 2022 my serve also was quite strong. I don’t know why suddenly in 2023 my serve started to drop. In this tournament and the rest of this half year is the first time I’ve felt like the serve start to be back.”
This was a virtuoso display by Zheng. She smashed 12 aces and scored five breaks of serve. Her footwork was flawless, and she even threw in an elegant sprinting drop shot that caused the substantial crowd to gasp.
Sabalenka, who clinched the year-end world No. 1 ranking earlier in the week, fell 6-4 3-6 6-1 to Rybakina in a big-hitting encounter.
The Belarusian, 26, still finished the round-robin stage as the group winner, with her opponent already eliminated after losses to Zheng and Paolini.
"It’s nice to finish the year with at least one win against the world number one. I’m just happy,” said 2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina.
The placings in the second group have yet to be decided, with American Coco Gauff the only player to have secured her semi-final spot.
One of Barbora Krejcikova, who plays Gauff on Thursday, or Iga Swiatek will advance alongside her.