
WTA Finals begin, Mboko wins second title and FAA makes move for Turin
Black Spin Global: The PodcastMentioned in this episode
Episode Notes
The WTA Finals are well under way in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Defending champion Coco Gauff fell to Jessica Pegula in her opening match in the Stefanie Graf group. As did Jasmine Paolini, against Aryna Sabalenka. Gauff versus Paolini is now a must-win match for both.
Madison Keys, playing for the first time since the US Open, is also in action. The Australian Open champion is in the Serena Williams group alongside Iga Swiatek, Amanda Anisimova and Elena Rybakina.
In the doubles event, Paolini and Sara Errani are the top seeds in the Martina Navratilova group alongside debutant Asia Muhammad and Demi Schuurs. Second seeds Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova are in the Liezel Huber group.
Félix Auger-Aliassime played himself into an ATP Finals spot with his run to the Paris Masters final. The 25-year-old Canadian, who currently occupies the eighth and final place in the Race to Turin, lost to Jannik Sinner in Sunday’s championship match. Sinner returns to No 1 in the world.
World No 6 Ben Shelton also qualified for Turin following his run in Paris where he lost to eventual champion Sinner in the quarter-finals.
To close, we share our thoughts on the ATP adding a 10th Masters event to the calendar from 2028.









