Consistency queens: Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek join elite list with 5th straight WTA Finals appearance

Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek have joined the players with the most consecutive appearances at the WTA Finals since 2003, with their 5th consecutive appearance this week in Riyadh. The World No. 1 and World No. 2 have been uninterrupted participants in the tournament between 2021 and 2025.

Swiatek had her opening match this Saturday, where she defeated American Madison Keys by a wide margin, 6-1, 6-2. On the other side, Sabalenka will complete her 5th consecutive appearance this Sunday when she faces Italian Jasmine Paolini.

Both players are now tied for second place in the record books, only behind Poland's Agnieszka Radwańska, with 6 consecutive appearances between 2011 and 2016 (a tournament she won in 2015, while reaching the semi-finals in 2012, '14, and '16).

Sabalenka and Swiatek are also tied with former World No. 1s Karolína Plíšková (2016-2021) and Victoria Azarenka (2009-2013), in addition to 2-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitová (2011-2013).

Swiatek and Sabalenka are not the only ones to achieve a milestone at these WTA Finals. Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula are making their 4th consecutive appearance, joining a total of 14 players who have had at least 4 appearances, including figures like Simona Halep (2014-2017), Jelena Janković (2007-2010), and Maria Sharapova (2004-2007).

This means that the last four editions of the WTA Finals have featured at least half of the draw repeating. The sample of consistency is even greater when reviewing the last three years, as Elena Rybakina joined the players who achieved it three times consecutively this Sunday.

Sabalenka and Swiatek again arrive as the tournament favorites—just like in 2023, where Sabalenka was No. 1 and Swiatek was No. 2. However, in 4 previous appearances, only the Pole managed to lift the title on one occasion—back in 2023, also reaching the semi-finals in 2022. In Sabalenka's case, she reached the final in 2022—losing to Caroline Garcia—while in 2023 and 2024 she was eliminated in the semi-finals.

They have had three previous encounters at the WTA Finals. In fact, the first meeting of their careers was at the 2021 WTA Finals, where Sabalenka was the first seed and took the victory in the Round Robin in three sets. That was the start of a rivalry that currently totals 13 encounters, with Swiatek emerging victorious in 8 of them.

Back in 2022, in Guadalajara, this time with Swiatek as World No. 1, it was Sabalenka who took the victory 6-2, 2-6, 6-1. There was an opportunity for one last revenge in 2024, when in the semi-finals Swiatek took an easy victory 6-3, 6-2 en route to the title.

6 — Radwańska (2011–2016)

5 — Sabalenka (2021–2025)*, -Swiątek (2021–2025)*, Plíšková (2016–2021)** Kvitová (2011–2015) Azarenka (2009–2013)

4 — Gauff (2022–2025), Pegula (2022–2025), Halep (2014–2017), Janković (2007–2010), Kuznetsova (2006–2009), Sharapova (2004–2007), Mauresmo (2003–2006, Dementieva (2003–2006)

3 — Rybakina (2023–2025), Sakkari (2021–2023), Svitolina (2017–2019), Muguruza (2015–2017), Serena Williams (2012–2014, 2007–2009), Li (2011–2013), Wozniacki (2009–2011)