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Zheng Routs Paolini to Advance to Semifinals at WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia

Tennis - WTA Finals - King Saud University Indoor Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - November 6, 2024 China's Qinwen Zheng celebrates after winning her women's singles group stage match against Italy's Jasmine Paolini REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
Tennis - WTA Finals - King Saud University Indoor Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - November 6, 2024 China's Qinwen Zheng celebrates after winning her women's singles group stage match against Italy's Jasmine Paolini REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
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Zheng Routs Paolini to Advance to Semifinals at WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia

Tennis - WTA Finals - King Saud University Indoor Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - November 6, 2024 China's Qinwen Zheng celebrates after winning her women's singles group stage match against Italy's Jasmine Paolini REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
Tennis - WTA Finals - King Saud University Indoor Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - November 6, 2024 China's Qinwen Zheng celebrates after winning her women's singles group stage match against Italy's Jasmine Paolini REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

Zheng Qinwen cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Jasmine Paolini to reach the semifinals of the WTA Finals on Wednesday.
Zheng needed just over an hour to defeat Paolini in the match that decided the final qualifier from the Purple Group at the season-ending tournament for the top eight women's players, The Associated Press reported.
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, who had won her first two matches to clinch a semifinal spot, lost 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 to No. 5 Elena Rybakina. It was Rybakina's first win of the round-robin phase.
It was Zheng's fourth win in as many matches against Paolini. The 22-year-old Chinese player had 12 aces and broke the Italian's serve five times.
“It's one of the best performances I had during this year,” Zheng said. “I'm really proud. I played in a really difficult group.”
Zheng is the youngest player to reach the semifinals in her first appearance at the WTA Finals since Petra Kvitova in 2011. It’s her seventh semifinal of the year and the first time she has beaten two top-10 opponents in the same tournament. She defeated Elena Rybakina on Monday.
Zheng has won 30 matches since Wimbledon, clinching the Olympic gold medal in Paris and winning titles in Palermo and Tokyo.
She could become the second player to win the singles gold medal and reach the WTA Finals championship match in the same season since tennis returned to the Olympics in 1988, after Serena Williams in 2012.
Paolini finished the season 38-19, having made the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon.
Jessica Pegula withdrew from her last match at the tournament because of a left knee injury. The American, who lost her first two matches and was already eliminated from semifinal contention, will be replaced in the Orange Group by first alternate and ninth-ranked Daria Kasatkina.
Kasatkina will play second-ranked Iga Swiatek on Thursday.

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Bayern Munich's Hiroki Itō Suffers Recurrence of Foot Injury

Bayern Munich's Japanese defender #21 Hiroki Ito plays the ball during the German first division Bundesliga football match between FC Bayern Munich and St Pauli in Munich, southern Germany on March 29, 2025. (Photo by Alexandra BEIER / AFP)
Bayern Munich's Japanese defender #21 Hiroki Ito plays the ball during the German first division Bundesliga football match between FC Bayern Munich and St Pauli in Munich, southern Germany on March 29, 2025. (Photo by Alexandra BEIER / AFP)
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Bayern Munich's Hiroki Itō Suffers Recurrence of Foot Injury

Bayern Munich's Japanese defender #21 Hiroki Ito plays the ball during the German first division Bundesliga football match between FC Bayern Munich and St Pauli in Munich, southern Germany on March 29, 2025. (Photo by Alexandra BEIER / AFP)
Bayern Munich's Japanese defender #21 Hiroki Ito plays the ball during the German first division Bundesliga football match between FC Bayern Munich and St Pauli in Munich, southern Germany on March 29, 2025. (Photo by Alexandra BEIER / AFP)

Bayern Munich defender Hiroki Itō is out indefinitely with another serious foot injury, adding to the team’s defensive woes ahead of its Champions League quarterfinal against Inter Milan.
The Bavarian powerhouse said Sunday that Itō suffered a recurrence of a fracture in his right metatarsal during Bayern’s 3-2 win over St. Pauli in the Bundesliga on Saturday, The Associated Press reported. Itō had gone on as a substitute and was unable to finish the game, leaving Bayern, which had used all of its substitutes, a player short for the final minutes.
Itō, who joined Bayern from league rival Stuttgart before the season, first suffered the injury in a pre-season warmup game against Düren. There was a setback during his comeback in November, necessitating another operation. The Japan defender finally made his comeback in February, playing in six Bundesliga games and two Champions League matches.
“He’s only just battled back after months of rehab and will now be out for a long time again – we can barely imagine how he’s feeling,” board member for sport Max Eberl said. “He’ll get all the support he needs from us.”
Last week, Bayern had defenders Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano ruled out with knee injuries sustained on international duty.
“We’ve now lost a third defender in a short space of time,” Eberl said. “We will now pool our forces even more to continue pursuing our goals.”
Bayern, which leads the Bundesliga by six points with seven rounds remaining, hosts Inter for the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on April 8, with the second leg in Milan on April 16.