FORT WORTH, Texas—Aryna Sabalenka stood stoically ever so briefly, before crouching for an emphatic fist pump to go with a scream.
Yeah, the seventh-ranked woman in the eight-player WTA Finals couldn’t hide the emotion, because she knew exactly what she had done.
Sabalenka ended world No. 1 Iga Swiatek’s 15-match winning streak against top-10 opponents, taking a 6–2, 2–6, 6–1 victory in the semifinals of the season-ending event Sunday night.
The stunner puts Sabalenka in final Monday night against No. 6 Caroline Garcia, who streamrolled Maria Sakkari 6–3, 6–2 and can become just the second Frenchwoman to win WTA Finals after Amelie Mauresmo in 2005.
Caroline Garcia of France follows through on a serve to Maria Sakkari of Greece in the singles semifinals of the WTA Finals tennis tournament in Fort Worth, Texas, on Nov. 6, 2022. (Ron Jenkins/AP Photo)
Swiatek, the French Open and U.S. Open champion and runaway leader with eight tour victories, cruised through three round-robin victories, losing just 13 games to give her the longest winning run against top-10 opponents since Steffi Graf won 17 straight in 1987….