Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek punished and stripped of points | Tennis | Sport

Current rules state that players must appear in at least six WTA 500 events every season unless they are injured or have another valid reason that prevents them from doing so.

If players don’t meet the requirements, they are docked points they have earned from bigger events and handed zero points for that tournament instead.

Neither of the top two players have met the threshold, with Sabalenka docked 10 points a week ago, while Swiatek had 65 points taken away from her.

And in the latest ranking update, Sabalenka has been stripped of a further 120 points from Dubai, with her closest rival in the rankings losing the 108 points she won in Stuttgart. The two stars have also had the 400 points they earned at the 2024 WTA Finals removed.

Other players have also been sanctioned in the last two weeks, with Coco Gauff losing 10 points, Amanda Anisimova being stripped of 37 points and Madison Keys seeing 114 points chalked off.

This week’s rankings see Sabalenka retain her place at the top, with 9,870 points, while Swiatek is second after being left with 8,195. Gauff is in third, with 6,563 points to her name.

The world’s top eight players are heading to Riyadh this week ahead of the WTA Finals, which get underway on Saturday.

And ahead of the event, 18-time Grand Slam singles champion Martina Navratilova has insisted Sabalenka is primed to take the honours.

“Incredibly consistent and excellent. One major win, two finals and a semi-final. She was only three or four matches from winning the Grand Slam. Her consistency is not to be underestimated,” Navratilova told the WTA Tour website.

“She’s the heavy favourite on any surface, but particularly on a medium-pace hard court where you get a solid bounce and good footing. Her shots pay off on any surface and she has enough time to get into position.

“It’s fast enough for her to do damage and slow enough for her to prepare for her shots. She’s deadly on this stuff.”