Sabalenka easily beats Paolini in WTA Finals

US Open champion Sabalenka displayed her service prowess to secure a 6-3, 6-1 victory over a tired Italian in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The win over world number eight Paolini was Sabalenka's 60th this year and her 12th over a top-10 opponent.

Sabalenka, from Belarus, has spent a total of 63 weeks at the top of the world rankings, including 55 consecutive weeks since last October.

 "I'm getting better and better every day," Sabalenka said. 

After Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek won on the opening day, defending champion Coco Gauff will face fellow American Jessica Pegula in the second match of the Stefanie Graf Group on Sunday.

Sabalenka has qualified for the year-end finals for the past five years but has never won the title. She finished runner-up to Caroline Garcia in 2022.

The 29-year-old was impressive against Paolini, who is the only player to compete in both the singles and doubles tournaments.

Sabalenka hit 11 aces, won 66% of her first serve points, and hit 24 winners to defeat the agile Paolini.

The two players exchanged breaks in the first set, before Sabalenka won six consecutive games to take the first set and take a 4-0 lead in the second.

Paolini pushed Sabalenka to deuce in the next game, but Sabalenka held on to her first serve, and Paolini rarely posed a threat after that.

Earlier, third-seeded New Zealander Erin Routliffe and Canada's Gabriela Dabrowski began their doubles campaign with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) win over Russia's Mira Andreeva and Diana Schnyder.

On the other hand, 19-year-old Victoria Mboko of Canada continued her impressive year by defeating Spain's Cristina Buxta 7-5, 6-7 (9-11), 6-2 to win the Hong Kong Open title.

This is Mboko's second title of the season, following her impressive victory in Montreal in August.