Sabalenka outplays Muchova to win opener

Manila Times - Nov 10, 2026

LOS ANGELES, California — Aryna Sabalenka battled past Karolina Muchova in straight sets to make a winning start at the season-ending WTA Finals in Indian Wells on Monday (Tuesday in Manila). Former world No. 1 Sabalenka was forced to dig deep before finally prevailing 7-6 (7/2), 7-5 in just under two hours. Second-seeded Sabalenka is chasing her first-ever WTA Finals victory after suffering defeats in the 2022 and 2025 finals. The four-time Grand Slam champion from Belarus looked to be in trouble after conceding a break of serve to go 5-4 down in the opening set. But she broke back immediately for 5-5 and subsequently went on to hold her nerve in the tiebreak 7-2 to seize the early initiative. Both players struggled on serve in the second set, with Sabalenka suffering her fourth break as she served for the match at 5-4 up. Crucially though, Sabalenka responded to that stumble by breaking back immediately to lead 6-5, and she made no mistake when serving for the match again, wrapping up victory when Czech opponent Muchova netted a backhand. “I’m just trying to win every match I play, and at the same time trying to stay in the moment and focus on my game on each point, and...

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