(Guadalajara) Paula Badosa extended her winning streak to eight, overtaking Greece’s Maria Sakkari in two sets of 7-6 (4), 6-4 in the WTA Finals on Saturday.
The 23-year-old Spaniard will finish at the top of her group if Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka defeats Poland’s Iga Swiatek in the evening. Badosa could also secure a place in the semi-finals if Swiatek wins in three sets.
The WTA Finals, which were canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are played as a round robin with the top two players from each group advancing to the semi-finals.
Estonian Anett Kontaveit has already secured a place in the semi-finals.
The semi-finals are on Tuesday and the final is scheduled for Wednesday at the Pan American Tennis Center in Zapopan, a suburb of Guadalajara, Mexico’s second largest city.
Badosa, ranked 63e into the world a year ago, hatched this season. She signed her first two career titles, in Belgrade and Indian Wells, and is one of six players to make the top-10 for the first time this season.
Swiatek, Sakkari, Kontaveit and Barbora Krejcikova, who compete in the WTA Finals, are the other players as well as Tunisian Ons Jabeur, who just missed her qualification for the tournament.
The WTA Finals are being played in Guadalajara for this year alone. The event will return to Shenzhen, China in 2022.