Elina Svitolina defeated Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 on Friday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in California, eliminating the Belarusian and claiming the final semifinal spot at the WTA Finals.
Sabalenka opened the third set with an immediate break. Svitolina broke back to even the set and then broke again to take a 3-1 lead, eventually securing the match with a forehand winner on her fourth match point. The victory ended a streak of five straight losses to the Belarusian and was her first win over her opponent in more than six years.
“It was a bit of a roller-coaster match,” Svitolina told reporters.
“I played well in the first set but lost a little bit of rhythm. She played well in the second and served much better. I was really happy with the way I could come back in the third after losing the first game,” Svitolina said.
Svitolina spoke about the mental demands of the contest.
“It was an extremely tough match. Especially mentally,” she said.
The eight-day, $10 million tournament was moved from Riyadh to Indian Wells Tennis Garden due to the US-Israeli war on Iran. Svitolina advances to face Linda Noskova on Saturday. Mirra Andreeva meets Jessica Pegula in the other semifinal.
Following the final point, Svitolina raised her arms in joy and stared skyward after shaking the chair umpire’s hand. Maintaining her established policy regarding Russian and Belarusian players following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian did not shake hands with Sabalenka after the match. Sabalenka declined to speak to the media following the loss.
Svitolina enters the semifinals as the No. 6 seed, having previously won the tournament in 2018. The rest of the final four features Andreeva as the No. 3 seed, Pegula as the No. 5 seed, and Noskova as the No. 8 seed.
The four singles players eliminated from the competition are Sabalenka (2), Coco Gauff (4), Karolina Muchova (7) and Marta Kostyuk (9) who replaced top seed Elena Rybakina who withdrew with an illness before the event started. Earlier on Friday, Andreeva defeated Diana Shnaider 6-2, 6-1 in straight sets. Shnaider replaced Muchova, who withdrew before the final day of round-robin matches with a gastrointestinal illness.
For Sabalenka, the defeat brings ranking consequences. Having entered the tournament as the world number two, her losses to Andreeva and Svitolina will drop her out of the top two spots in the rankings. Andreeva is set to end the year as world number two.
Sabalenka’s season also included victories at the Brisbane International in January alongside Indian Wells and the Miami Open in March to complete the “Sunshine Double,” though she did not claim another title subsequently and surrendered the world number one ranking to Elena Rybakina at the US Open.
Earlier coverage: Sabalenka Beats Muchova in WTA Finals Opener