Aryna Sabalenko left the 2023 Tournament of Champions in the semifinals, the WTA leader suffered a decisive defeat by Iga Svyatek, a great rival in the world tournament. In addition, the player from Belarus can also lose the number one position in the world if the Pole wins in Cancun.

Aryna Sabalenko admits that Iga Svyatek was much better than her

The match between Aryna and Iga sometimes resembled a monologue. The Pole controlled the match, served better, used the power of shots over the net and was clearly more inspired overall.

The 6-3, 6-2 victory was decided after an hour and 36 minutes.

At the press conference, Sabalenko recognized the superiority of her opponent and congratulated her on a confident victory and entry into the finals of the Tournament of Champions.

When asked how she would characterize her performance in Cancun, Arina answered self-critically. “It’s difficult to do that (not to describe its evolution in Mexico). Mediocre, terrible, annoying,” said the athlete from Belarus.

“Iga was impressive today, much better than me,” says Aryna, referring to the clearly lost game against the polka player.

Sabalenka changed her language when asked about the current season. “Unbelievable, unbelievable, the best,” concluded the athlete, who still occupies the first place in the WTA ranking, Eurosport quotes.

Iga Svyatek vs Arina Sabalenko, the result of the match of the Tournament of Champions 2023

• After the victory at the Tournament of Champions, Svyatek leads the head-to-head matches with Sabalenko with a score of 6-3.

• In the grand final, Iga (second seed) will meet American Jessica Pegula (fifth favorite). The match will take place on Tuesday, November 7 at 00:30 (Romanian time) and can be watched live on Digisport 2.

• If she wins the Grand Final of the Tournament of Champions, Iga Sviatek will return to the top spot in the WTA ranking. He will score 9,295 points, while Sabalenko will remain with the current 9,050.

The 2023 Tournament of Champions takes place from October 29 to November 5 on hard court in Cancun, Mexico. Its total prize pool is $9,000,000, starting with the top eight players of the season, and the reigning champion is Caroline Garcia (she did not qualify for this year’s edition).