Aryna Sabalenka takes a big step towards No. 1 at the end of the year as she weathers the great Wuhan scare

Aryna Sabalenka has beaten Iga Swiatek in the race for world number 1 at the end of the year after a rally victory at the Wuhan Open.

World No. 2 Sabalenka couldn’t have started her third-round match against Yulia Putintseva much worse, with the Belarusian winning just one game in the opening set.

However, the three-time Grand Slam champion managed to turn the tide in the second set and eventually prevailed in the deciding set, claiming a 1-6, 6-4, 6-0 win and reaching the last eight.

“Yulia is one of those players who can be really annoying on the pitch. Her style is tricky and she definitely makes you work if you want to win games against her,” Sabalenka said.

“In the first set she just played incredible tennis, to be honest I couldn’t do anything about it. In the second set I just tried to improve my serve, which didn’t work at the beginning.

“Somehow I just managed to find my serve and step in and put so much pressure on her. Somehow I managed to win that set and in the third set I felt like everything I did was going to happen.”

The victory extends Sabalenka’s impeccable record at the Wuhan Open, with the Belarusian still unbeaten in 14 games at the tournament.

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More significantly, she is ahead of world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the race to finish the year as the highest-ranked player.

Sabalenka now has 8,306 points, Swiatek has a total of 8,285 points.

Since the Pole decided to forego Beijing and Wuhan this year due to her recent separation as coach, Sabalenka had the chance to move into pole position in the race for number 1 at the end of the year.

And although she missed the opportunity to usurp Swiatek in Beijing, she was still able to build a significant lead ahead of the WTA Finals in Riyadh.

A run for the title in Wuhan would give Sabalenka 9,091 points this year and give her the lead to end the year at the top of the WTA rankings.

Sabalenka cannot immediately dislodge Swiatek from world No. 1 with a run for a third straight Wuhan title, although she will have the opportunity to do so in Riyadh.

She only has semifinal points to defend at the year-end championships, while Swiatek has 1,500 points to defend after winning the 2023 title without losing a game.

Sabalenka and Swiatek are currently the only two players who have officially qualified for the WTA Finals.

Read on: Who is Aryna Sabalenka’s coach? Former player Anton Dubrov has turned the Belarusian into a dominant force