Aryna Sabalenka served seven double faults and was broken four times by Karolina Muchova, but she still won her opening match at the WTA Finals. The second seed beat the Czech 7-6 (2) 7-5 in one hour and 53 minutes at Indian Wells on Monday.
The Group 2 match had nine breaks of serve. Sabalenka won it because she kept breaking straight back, and because she was far stronger in the tie-break. It was her 13th career win at the season-ending championships. That equals Mary Pierce’s record for the most WTA Finals wins by a player who has never won the title.
Breaks traded and a tie-break won
Muchova was making her WTA Finals debut at 30. She qualified in 2023 but pulled out with a wrist injury. She settled quickly and broke for a 3-2 lead in the first set. Sabalenka broke back. Muchova then broke again for 5-4, and again Sabalenka hit back at once.
At 6-5 Sabalenka had two set points on Muchova’s serve. Muchova saved both and held to force a tie-break. That had been her strongest area in 2026: she came into the match with a perfect 10-0 tie-break record for the season. Sabalenka took it 7-2. It was her 13th tie-break win of the year, the most on the WTA Tour.
Neither player held serve in the first three games of the second set. Muchova’s fifth double fault of the match gave Sabalenka a 2-1 lead. When Sabalenka served for the match at 5-4, she was broken for the fourth time. She broke back straight away for 6-5 and won the match when Muchova netted a backhand.
“I was just trying to stay calm,” Sabalenka said afterwards. Asked about Muchova, she added: “She can come back at any time and you have to be focused from the beginning to the end.”
Serve stats show why the match was so close
Sabalenka’s serve is usually the base of her game, but it was unreliable throughout the match:
- Sabalenka: 7 double faults, 4 aces, 33 of 44 first-serve points won (75%)
- Muchova: 5 double faults, 5 aces
- Breaks of serve: Sabalenka 5, Muchova 4
Seven double faults is a lot against an opponent as skilled as Muchova. The Czech mixes slices, drop shots and quick changes of pace, and she makes opponents play extra shots. Each loose service game gave her another chance. Sabalenka was still effective when she landed her first serve, winning three-quarters of those points. Her problem was the second serve, and how often she had to rely on it.
Before the match Muchova led their head-to-head 3-2, and it is now level at 3-3. She had beaten the Belarusian more often than most players on the tour, and her variety again stopped Sabalenka from taking control from the baseline. Sabalenka won because she reacted well after losing serve, not because she dominated.
Record chase and the race for No. 2
This was Sabalenka’s sixth straight appearance at the WTA Finals, the longest run since Agnieszka Radwanska played six in a row from 2011 to 2016. She has now won her opening match five years in a row, level with Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki for the third-longest run since 2003. Only Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams, with six each, have done better. She has also won all 11 WTA Finals matches in which she took the first set.
The title is still the one major prize she has not won. Her record of 13 wins without lifting the trophy shows how often she has gone deep in the event without finishing the job. The draw has changed in her favour this year. World number one Elena Rybakina withdrew on Saturday with a viral illness and was replaced in Group 1 by Marta Kostyuk. Rybakina won four titles in 2026, including the Australian Open and US Open, and took the top ranking from Sabalenka in September.
The win also helps Sabalenka’s ranking. It puts her 379 points ahead of Mirra Andreeva in the race to finish the year at No. 2. Andreeva is her next opponent in Group 2, which also includes Elina Svitolina.
Andreeva is the most dangerous player left in Sabalenka’s group. She is quick and accurate on return and is very good at punishing short second serves. If Sabalenka double-faults seven times again, Andreeva is more likely than Muchova to turn those chances into a win. Sabalenka has shown at Indian Wells that she can get through a match on her return games alone. Beating Andreeva and the rest of this field will probably need her serve back to its usual level.
Muchova’s debut did not end in a win, but she showed she can compete with the tournament’s top remaining seed. She still has two round-robin matches to try to reach the semi-finals.
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Notes:
– **Fact check:** The score, the serve stats, the records and the 379-point gap come from my research notes from earlier tonight, taken from WTA Tennis, Tennis Majors, TennisNow and AFP/Yahoo. I checked the score and quotes again just now with a new search.
– **Quotes:** I couldn’t find any direct quote from Sabalenka about her serve, so the article doesn’t give her one. The two quotes it uses are from the Yahoo/AP reports.
– **Andreeva v Svitolina:** I couldn’t confirm the result of the other Group 2 match, so the article leaves it out.
Sources:
– [ESPN – Sabalenka wins at WTA Finals; Andreeva up next](https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/50437046/aryna-sabalenka-mirra-andreeva-win-wta-finals)
– [Yahoo Sports – Sabalenka picks up first win at WTA Finals](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/aryna-sabalenka-picks-first-win-001621130.html)
– [Tennis Majors – Sabalenka edges Muchova](https://www.tennismajors.com/wta-tour-news/wta-finals/sabalenka-edges-muchova-for-fifth-straight-opening-win-at-the-wta-finals-866573.html)
– [Yahoo Sports – Sabalenka downs Muchova](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/sabalenka-downs-muchova-win-wta-223217667.html)
– [Malay Mail – Sabalenka moves step closer to first WTA Finals title](https://www.malaymail.com/news/sports/2026/11/10/sabalenka-moves-step-closer-to-first-wta-finals-title-after-beating-muchova/242676)
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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