Elena Rybakina extended her winning streak to eight consecutive matches with an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 performance against second-seeded Iga Swiatek in round-robin play at the WTA Finals in Riyadh on Monday.
After cruising past Amanda Anisimova in her opener on Saturday, Rybakina claimed her second win of the week to move to the top of the Serena Williams Group and plant a foot in Friday’s semi-finals.
Rybakina was the last of the eight singles players to qualify for these WTA Finals, and she did it by clinching the title in Ningbo and reaching the semi-finals in Tokyo in the last two weeks of qualifying tournaments of the regular season.
“I’ve been playing really well the last few weeks. I was improving each match and of course the results were following after,” said the former Wimbledon champion.
“It’s a great opportunity to play here against the top players. I’m really excited about the next matches and hopefully I can bring the same intensity and the same game.”
Rybakina went into the clash having lost all four meetings she had with Swiatek in 2025 and it looked like she might suffer a fifth straight defeat to the Pole when she dropped the opening set in 35 minutes.
But the Kazakhstani sixth seed adjusted tactically, utilising her kick serve and big forehand to maximum effect to sweep 12 of the next 13 games and complete the upset in one hour and 37 minutes.
“It’s always very tough to play against Iga, she brings so much intensity on the court. In the second set, I pushed myself, the serve improved and I’m happy I stepped in and played much better,” said Rybakina,” who won 70 per cent of her first-serve points against Swiatek.
“Mentally I’m happy I stayed focused no matter if I lost the first set, I was still trying to stay aggressive.
“I tried to follow the tactics from my coach and I got some confidence leading in the second set. I hope I can keep playing like this for the rest of the tournament.”
Madison Keys and Amanda Anisimova will square off later in the day. If Anisimova wins, Rybakina will officially advance to the semi-finals as the winner of the Serena Williams Group.
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The biog
Age: 46
Number of Children: Four
Hobby: Reading history books
Loves: Sports
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Essentials
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Seattle from Dh6,755 return in economy and Dh24,775 in business class.
The cruise
UnCruise Adventures offers a variety of small-ship cruises in Alaska and around the world. A 14-day Alaska’s Inside Passage and San Juans Cruise from Seattle to Juneau or reverse costs from $4,695 (Dh17,246), including accommodation, food and most activities. Trips in 2019 start in April and run until September.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
US households add $601bn of debt in 2019
American households borrowed another $601 billion (Dh2.2bn) in 2019, the largest yearly gain since 2007, just before the global financial crisis, according to February data from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Fuelled by rising mortgage debt as homebuyers continued to take advantage of low interest rates, the increase last year brought total household debt to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in 2008 just before the market crash, according to the report.
Following the 22nd straight quarter of growth, American household debt swelled to $14.15 trillion by the end of 2019, the New York Fed said in its quarterly report.
In the final three months of the year, new home loans jumped to their highest volume since the fourth quarter of 2005, while credit cards and auto loans also added to the increase.
The bad debt load is taking its toll on some households, and the New York Fed warned that more and more credit card borrowers — particularly young people — were falling behind on their payments.
"Younger borrowers, who are disproportionately likely to have credit cards and student loans as their primary form of debt, struggle more than others with on-time repayment," New York Fed researchers said.
Tottenham's 10 biggest transfers (according to transfermarkt.com):
1). Moussa Sissokho - Newcastle United - £30 million (Dh143m): Flop
2). Roberto Soldado - Valencia - £25m: Flop
3). Erik Lamela - Roma - £25m: Jury still out
4). Son Heung-min - Bayer Leverkusen - £25m: Success
5). Darren Bent - Charlton Athletic - £21m: Flop
6). Vincent Janssen - AZ Alkmaar - £18m: Flop
7). David Bentley - Blackburn Rovers - £18m: Flop
8). Luka Modric - Dynamo Zagreb - £17m: Success
9). Paulinho - Corinthians - £16m: Flop
10). Mousa Dembele - Fulham - £16m: Success
Astroworld
Travis Scott
Grand Hustle/Epic/Cactus Jack
