RIYADH:

Aryna Sabalenka kicked off her quest for a maiden WTA Finals title by blasting 11 aces on her way to a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Jasmine Paolini in Riyadh on Sunday.

The world number one was at her serving best, landing a remarkable 81 per cent of her first serves in during the 70-minute contest to shoot to the summit of the Stefanie Graf Group.

It was Sabalenka's 60th win of the season. She trails only Iga Swiatek on the WTA leaderboard for matches won in 2025.

The 27-year-old Belarusian was handed the year-end world number one trophy in a special ceremony in Riyadh on Saturday.

"That felt super special, of course I'm super happy and super proud of the work that has been done and that things are working and

I'm getting better and better every day," said the four-time Grand Slam

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