Aryna Sabalenka saw her 2026 season come to a disappointing end after crashing out of the WTA Finals at the hands of Elina Svitolina.
The former world No. 1 lost the final six games in a row during the match, which resulted in a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 victory for Svitolina.
This outcome allowed Svitolina to secure her spot in the final four, where she is scheduled to face Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova on Saturday, according to reporting from Yahoo Sports.
Svitolina, who is competing in the tournament for the first time since 2019, managed to break a five-match losing streak against Sabalenka.
Reflecting on the match, Svitolina described the contest as a difficult experience.
“Very happy with the performance. It was not an easy match. It was a little bit of a roller coaster,” Svitolina said to Sky Sports.
Sabalenka’s exit follows a challenging week that included a crushing defeat to Mirra Andreeva just two days prior.
The world No. 2 failed to win a grand slam title this year, falling in the finals of the Australian Open and the US Open to Elena Rybakina.
Meanwhile, Andreeva continued her dominant run in the tournament by defeating Diana Shnaider 6-1, 6-1 in only 55 minutes.
Shnaider had been called up as a late replacement after Karolina Muchova withdrew due to illness shortly before the match.
At 19 years and 193 days old, Andreeva became the youngest player in the history of the tournament to win all three round-robin matches.
This achievement broke a record previously held by Serena Williams since 2000, as noted by The Independent.
Andreeva is now set to compete in a semifinal match against Jessica Pegula.
Regarding her own advancement to the semifinals, Svitolina expressed optimism about the next stage of the competition.