Sabalenka and Swiatek, who lifted the trophy in 2023, will battle for WTA year-end No. 1 at the final tournament of the season, held for the first time in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.The final draw of the WTA season has been revealed, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 2 Iga Swiatek headlining their respective round robin groups at the 2024 WTA Finals.Sabalenka, who returned to No. 1 following victories at the US Open and Dongfeng Voyah Wuhan Open, leads the Purple Group while Swiatek, who won the WTA Finals in 2023, tops the Orange Group.Joining Sabalenka in the Purple Group: No. 4 seed Jasmine Paolini (tied 2-2), No. 5 seed Elena Rybakina (Sabalenka leads 6-3), and No. 7 seed Zheng Qinwen (Sabalenka leads 4-0).Joining Swiatek in the Orange Group: No. 3 seed Coco Gauff (Swiatek leads 11-1), No. 6 seed Jessica Pegula (Swiatek leads 6-4), and No. 8 seed Barbora Krejcikova (tied 2-2).A post shared by WTA Finals Riyadh (@wtafinalsriyadh)Sabalenka, who won two major titles in 2024, arrived at last year’s WTA Finals atop the rankings, but lost her shot at WTA year-end No. 1 to Swiatek, who won their semifinal and demolished Pegula in the final.Swiatek, who won a fourth Roland Garros title this season, has been off the court since losing in the US Open quarterfinals to Pegula, sitting out the Asian Swing and announcing both the firing of longtime coach Tomasz Wiktorowski and the hiring of new coach Wim Fissette.To get back to No. 1, Swiatek will likely need to win the title again to have any chance, as she currently trails Sabalenka by 1046 points. Should Sabalenka go undefeated in round robin play or reach the final with at least one round robin win, she will hold onto the top spot.The 2024 WTA Finals will be held at the King Saud University Indoor Arena in Riyahd, Saudi Arabia following a series of one-off staging in Guadalajara (2021), Fort Worth (2022), and Cancun (2023), the latter dogged by criticism from players.Round robin play begins Saturday, November 2, and the final will take place on November 9.
