World number one Aryna Sabalenka began her WTA Finals campaign with a dominant straight-sets victory, while defending champion Coco Gauff faltered in a frustrating opening loss.
US Open champion Sabalenka powered past Italy’s Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-1, firing 11 aces and winning 66% of first-serve points.
The Belarusian, who secured the year-end No.1 ranking earlier this week, recorded her 60th win of the season and 12th over a top-10 opponent.
Sabalenka, still chasing her first WTA Finals title after five consecutive qualifications, was in complete control after trading early breaks.
She reeled off six straight games to seal the first set and stormed to a 4-0 lead in the second before closing out the match comfortably.
“I’m getting better and better every day,” said Sabalenka, who was runner-up in 2022.
In contrast, Gauff endured a torrid evening, committing 17 double faults and 75 unforced errors in a 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-2 defeat to fellow American Jessica Pegula in the Stefanie Graf Group.
Gauff, the world number three and French Open champion, was broken nine times and twice failed to serve out the second set.
Though she rallied to take the tie-break, Pegula regrouped quickly and raced through the decider to claim her second straight win over Gauff this year.
Pegula, runner-up at last year’s Finals, took advantage of her compatriot’s erratic serve to close out victory after two hours and 15 minutes.
Elsewhere, third seeds Erin Routliffe and Gabriela Dabrowski began their doubles campaign with a 6-3, 7-6(2) victory over Russians Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider, while second seeds Taylor Townsend and Katarina Siniakova defeated Timea Babos and Luisa Stefani 6-2, 3-6, 10-6.
In other tour action, Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko continued her breakout season by beating Spain’s Cristina Bucsa 7-5, 6-7(9), 6-2 to capture the Hong Kong Open—her second WTA title of the year.
The tournament is offering £12m ($15.5m) in total prize money, an increase of $250,000 on 2024.
The winner of the singles event can earn a maximum of 1,500 points if they go undefeated throughout the tournament.
Players earn 125 points per round-robin match and 160 points per each round-robin victory.
The Grand Slams – Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, US Open – award 2,000 points to the winner.
