Aryna Sabalenka v Iga Swiatek: How points deductions affect WTA year-end No 1 battle
The WTA year-end No 1 ranking will still be settled at the WTA Finals in Riyadh, but Aryna Sabalenka’s task has been made easier following the controversial points deductions last week.
Sabalenka returned to No 1 in the official WTA Rankings on Monday as she started her second spell at the top after both the top two players in the world were hit with points penalties with Swiatek coming off second best.
Players need to feature in at least six WTA 500 tournaments per year, but both came up short this season with Swiatek playing only two events and Sabalenka four.
It resulted in both losing points from their “worst” events as Swiatek dropped 120 points from the Miami Open while Sabalenka lost 10 points from the Dubai Tennis Championships.
The top two flipped positions in both the official rankings and the Race with Sabalenka now on 9,706 points and Swiatek on 9,665 in the official list.
The Race, though, is a better indicator for the year-end No 1 trophy with Sabalenka moving to 9,081 points and Swiatek sitting on 8,165 points.
But that is not the end of the points deductions as both will be hit with penalties again this week and that will effectively put them on 9,016 and 7,970 ahead of the WTA Finals.
Permutations For Year-End No 1 Ranking
Both Sabalenka and Swiatek only have one tournament left this year: the season-ending event in Riyadh where a lot of points are up for grabs.
A maximum of 1,500 points are available for an undefeated champion while players get 200 points for every group win.
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Three-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka will start the event with a handy 1,046-point lead and if she wins all three of her group games then she will finish the year at No 1 even if Swiatek wins the tournament undefeated as she will move to 9,616 points while Swiatek will be on 9,470.
If Sabalenka wins two round-robin matches, she will still be crowned No 1 if Swiatek fails to win the tournament undefeated.
Swiatek, though, can win the tournament if Sabalenka wins only one round-robin match and the Pole wins two group matches and takes the title or if she goes through undefeated and Sabalenka wins only two group matches, but falls in the semi-final.
The year-end No 1 ranking was also settled at the WTA Finals last year as Sabalenka started the tournament at No 1, but her lead was smaller as she was 630 points ahead. Swiatek, though, went on to win the title undefeated and finished top for the second consecutive year.
