Zheng Qinwen defeats Kazakhstan's Rybakina for first win at WTA Finals

Zheng Qinwen of China defeated Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-1 in her second match at the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Monday, securing her first win at the tournament.

Zheng broke Rybakina in the fourth game and then held serve to take a 4-1 lead in the opening set, but surrendered a break in the seventh after a double fault. The set later went into a tiebreaker, where the seventh seed from China built an early 4-1 lead. Rybakina pulled back two points to close the gap to 4-3, before Zheng pulled away again thanks to some sharp serving, and closed out the set to grab a 1-0 lead in the match.

The World No. 7 converted another break point in the second set to take the fifth game, but Rybakina immediately returned the favor to level the set at 3-3. Although Zheng earned two break points in the seventh game, her Kazakh opponent wiped the slate clean with a pair of aces. Rybakina then broke Zheng again to lead 5-3 and served out a love game in the ninth to take the set and send the match into a decider tied at 1-1.

Zheng bounced back quickly in the decisive set by breaking Rybakina in the fourth game. She then extended her lead to 4-1 with a love game. Rybakina saved three break points in the sixth game, but Zheng converted the fourth to increase her edge to 5-1. She didn't give her opponent any chance to battle back in the seventh, as she sealed the deal to keep alive her hopes of reaching the semifinals.

"I'm really happy to win this match because I'd never beaten her before and she's one of the greatest players right now on tour," Zheng said. "Even though I had a chance in the second set and didn't take it, I'm happy I came back in the third set and stayed focused."

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus booked a place in the semifinals after beating Jasmine Paolini of Italy 6-3, 7-5 and picking up her second win at the WTA Finals after defeating Zheng in her opening match.

"I'm proud of myself. Not only myself, my team," Sabalenka said. "We were able to overcome a lot of things. To be able to show such great tennis and become World No. 1, it's teamwork, it's not only me. Nobody sees the behind-the-scenes work. But they do a lot for me. I really appreciate them for everything they do for me. This is motivation for me to keep winning on this court. Those guys deserve to be called the best team ever."