While Gauff was able to get the better of Sabalenka in the 2023 US Open final, the Belarusian is 3-2 in their last five meetings. And the fact that this match will be played in incredibly quick conditions makes it hard not to like Sabalenka to push through somewhat easily.

While the final WTA Rankings have begun taking shape, there is still plenty of tennis left to be played. The first match of Wednesday's Group Stage matches at the WTA Finals led off with a highly anticipated meeting between Jasmine Paolini and Qinwen Zheng.

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-ranked women's players.

Paolini entered the tournament as the World No. 4 with a record of 37-17 and one singles title. She advanced to the Wimbledon finals this year before losing to Barbora Krejcikova. She has already made history by becoming the fifth Italian woman to win a match at the WTA Finals.