Sabalenka battles past Muchova to open WTA Finals campaign

Aryna Sabalenka began her sixth successive bid for the WTA Finals title with a hard-fought 7-6 (7-2) 7-5 win over Karolina Muchova, overturning a break deficit in both sets at Indian Wells.

The world number two has never won the season-ending event, having lost finals to Caroline Garcia in 2022 and to Elena Rybakina last year. Rybakina's withdrawal on the eve of this year's competition has left Sabalenka, according to BBC Sport, as arguably the favourite on a court where she won the title in March.

Muchova arrived as the only player in the group with a winning head-to-head record against Sabalenka, and twice built a break advantage in the opening set without converting it. She saved two set points before the contest went to a tie-break, where Sabalenka pulled clear with the help of two forehand errors from her opponent, according to Yahoo Sports.

Sabalenka took control of the second set with three consecutive breaks, though she could not serve out the match on her first attempt and needed a second chance to close it out.

Her delivery was unreliable throughout: seven double faults against four aces, with 59% of first serves landing and 33 of 44 points won behind that shot, figures reported by BBC Sport. She looked frustrated at times but kept her emotions largely in check as her forehand strengthened as the match wore on.

"It was a bit tricky with the sun [and] with the shade," Sabalenka told Sky Sports. "Sometimes I had to adjust my toss, sometimes I had to serve blind, but it's all part of the game."

The win arrives in an unusual season by Sabalenka's standards. For the first time since 2022 she has failed to collect a Grand Slam singles title, losing the Australian Open and US Open finals to Rybakina, with her most recent title coming in Miami back in March.

In the second match of the day, French Open champion Mirra Andreeva opened her first WTA Finals appearance with a straightforward win, beating sixth seed Elina Svitolina 6-4 6-0 in a little over an hour. Andreeva broke in the fifth game of a tight opening set before accelerating through the second to seal victory, according to Yahoo Sports.

Andreeva, 19, will now face Sabalenka, a contest she said beforehand she was most eager to play. Sabalenka holds a 4-2 head-to-head advantage over the Russian, with their most recent meeting coming in last year's Indian Wells final, which Andreeva won in three sets, Tennis365 reported.

Group 2 at this year's finals also contains Svitolina and Muchova, meaning both of Monday's winners are well placed heading into the next round of matches.