It has been less than a month since Qinwen Zheng beat Jasmine Paolini in the quarterfinals of the Wuhan Open, but a few weeks feels like years in the tennis world - especially towards the end of a grueling season.

Aryna Sabalenka reached the semifinals of the WTA Finals with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Jasmine Paolini on Monday for a second straight victory in the group stage.

The 26-year-old is also on the brink of clinching the year-end No. 1 ranking. A win over Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina in the final group match on Nov 6 or a loss by her rival, Poland’s Iga Swiatek, would seal the year-end top spot for the Belarusian.